|
|
American (New York / California) 1856-1937 "New York City Scene" - Columbus Circle, c1910Oil on Board Signed l.r. CCC, verso with initials CCC and stamp: The Colin Campbell Cooper Collection" Image size: 4.25" x 6.25"
The New York Times wrote in 1911 that “first and foremost in enthusiasm for the modern New York of today, the city of towering skyscrapers and fevered street traffic, is Colin Campbell Cooper, who may be considered the skyscraper artist par excellence of America…” Cooper was one of the first painters to use skyscrapers as an integral part of his subject matter.
Several years ago, I saw the traveling exhibit of these “monolith” paintings. They had simultaneously a great power and intimacy that did not communicate to me until standing in front of them. We are pleased to present this twilight scene – probably an early view of Columbus Circle and Monument in New York City, the Circle being completed in 1905. This scene is now history, as the Circle has recently been completely renovated.
In 1921, Cooper moved permanently to Santa Barbara, California, becoming one of the most important early Southern California painters. His very colorful garden painting, "The Pergola at the Samarkand Hotel, Santa Barbara" graces the cover of All Things Bright and Beautiful, California Impressionist Paintings from The Irvine Museum (Gerdts, 1998).
SOLD
|
|||
|
American (California / Washington DC) 1868-1955
“Bathers Amongst The Rocks in a Cove” Signed 'F. Carl Smith' l.l., and titled indistinctly verso Housed in the apparent original frame Note: Founding Member of the Laguna Beach Art Association
This is an extraordinary work of early Laguna Beach California by Frederick Carl Smith, who was one of the founding members of the Laguna Beach Art Association in 1918. Smith studied at the Cincinnati Art School, before studying in Paris in the 1890’s with Bouguereau, Ferrier, and Constant. In Paris, he exhibited at the Salon in 1897 and 1899. Upon his return to the States in 1900, he worked in Washington DC, primarily as a portrait painter, exhibiting at the National Academy of Design and the Corcoran Gallery, among others. In 1917, he moved to California where he painted this extremely vibrant and well executed scene of young bathers on the rocky beach.
Although Smith is not one of the most widely known of the early California painters, this work is outstanding in any body of work. The brilliant colors are the most immediate attraction to the painting. However, close examination reveals a quite subtle play of warm and cool hues – particularly in the flesh tones and sea. The light is typical of Laguna in some seasons (and also the South of France), often resulting in this distinctive palette of colors. The composition is flawless, and the rendering of the children, while executed in rich impasto strokes, is both free and exact – equal to the best of any master. It is housed in what appears to be the original painted panel giltwood frame.
Image Size: 12” x 16”
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
American (New York / Massachusetts)1868-1948
“Stream Through a Summer Landscape” Oil on Canvas Signed l.r. O.P. Black, Housed in the original carved giltwood frame
Olive Parker Black is best known as a landscape painter of the Northeastern United States. Her Hudson River school paintings also incorporated the influence of her teachers: Barbizon from Hugh Bolton Jones at the Art Students League; free brushwork and impressionism from William Merritt Chase at the New York National Academy of Design (and probably Shinnecock). She was considered one of Chase's best students. Usually quite evident in Black's work are atmospheric effects of the season and time of day.
She exhibited at the National Academy of Design from 1897 to 1930, and in Boston with the Boston Art Club, and in Philadelphia at the Art Club of Philadelphia. In 1910, she moved from her native Cambridge, Massachusetts to New York City, where she exhibited at the National Academy of Design (1897 to 1930). She also exhibited at the Carnegie Institute. She was a member of the National Association of Women Artists, the National Academy of Design, the New York Society of Painters, American Artists Professional League and the Copley Society in Boston.
After moving from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to New York City in 1910, Olive Parker Black continued to summer at South Egremont, Massachusetts, where she painted many of her finest rural landscapes - many with streams weaving though the grassy pastoral countryside. "Stream Through a Summer Landscape" is an exceptional example, quite similar to "Winding Stream" we offered last year, and perhaps depicts the same scene from a different viewpoint.
Image Size : 16.25'' x 24.25''
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
Australian / American (New York / Massachusetts) 1876-1978
Oil on Board Signed l.l. Hayley Lever Signed and titled verso
Labels verso from
Chapellier Galleries, NYC, and New Britain Museum of American Art Prior to immigrating to America in 1912, Richard Hayley Lever, worked in England for 18 years, settling in St. Ives, Cornwall. There he began painting luminous harbor scenes, perfecting that subject matter upon his arrival in America - as in this extraordinary example. "Sunset on the Bay" again features Lever's strategic placement of pure blacks against lights and vivid colors, making the waters seem to glisten and dance. I know few painters who employ this device with such effectiveness. The directional brushwork not only builds energy, but depicts the city without painting a single detail - save a few lights.
I find most of Lever's paintings more about the joy of paint, color, light and energy than about the actual subject matter. There is usually a touch of whimsy or play, even in the more serious or misty scenes. Lever once said: "Art is the recreation of mind in line, form and color. If I were confined to my own backyard for the rest of my life, I'd still have more pictures in my mind than I would have time to paint. Art is nothing but having a good time". This is very evident in "Sunset on the Bay".
Lever held a lifetime membership in The National Arts Club, taught at the Art Student's League, and served as Director of the Studio Art Club in Mt. Vernon, NY. He held memberships in most American and British societies, including the National Academy of Design and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters. He is represented in 30 museums, listed in 64 books, and numerous magazine articles.
Image size : 6” x 9”
SOLD
|
||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Peña
"Reclining Female Figure with Servant" (In the Odalisque manner) Pencil on Paper Apparently Unsigned
Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Peña was the leading painter of the Barbizon landscape school. Among his favorite early subjects were Odalisques, bathers, erotic mythologies, and sentimental idylls - inspired by the poetry of Victor Hugo and Near Eastern paintings of Eugene Delacroix. The Odalisque is a subject matter throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, from Ingres (Odalisque - 1814, Odalisque and Slave - 1839), each Renoir (1870) and Matisse (1924-5) painting an Odalisque, to Manet's Olympia (1863). Even Picasso painted his own Odalisque in 1951. In a sense, this small untitled drawing seems something of a mirror to Olympia, the reclining female accompanied by a servant, holding possibly a small turbaned child -- or flowers -- although it was executed some years earlier than Olympia. De la Peña's interpretation is quite sensual, although retaining a delicacy and mystery not found in some of the other more provocative Odalisque depictions. It is interesting to note that his romantic Near Eastern images came from his imagination, as he lost a leg to snake-bite at age 13, and was unable to travel.
Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Peña is represented in leading museums around the world, including The Louvre; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; National Gallery of Art; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, France; and Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Image Size : 3.35" High x 5.7" Long
SOLD
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|
||
|
|
American / California (La Canada, CA) 1878-1960
Oil on Canvas Signed l.l. E. Roscoe Shrader Housed in a 22K giltwood frame
A quite rare offering by early California painter, teacher and illustrator, Edwin Roscoe Shrader, "Vine Covered Cottage" is among the best of the works I have viewed by this painter. Shrader studied at the Art Institute of Chicago prior to gaining a scholarship with well-known illustrator Howard Pyle. Under Pyle's tutorage, he became a very accomplished illustrator of books and magazines. Shrader was a member of the New Hope (Pennsylvania) school of painters from 1914-17, exhibiting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in 1913 and 1916. In 1917, he returned to California and joined the staff of the Otis Art Institute, of which he was dean at his retirement in 1948, . His paintings and illustrations usually depict people, their activities, and historical Indian subjects. His work can be seen in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
"Vine-Covered Cottage" could have been executed during his 1914-17 New Hope residence, as it depicts a scene more characteristic of Pennsylvania than of California. This painting is outstanding in every respect. The simple facade of a white house and portico at mid-summer is transformed into luminous pure color and energy, with bold diagonal strokes and strategically-placed color dabs. The brushwork uses its own texture and incised lines to delineate the trellises, the chimney, and even the violet shadows of the portico, allowing the canvas beneath to contribute to the form. The spontaneous and direct nature of each stroke - put down and left alone - allows the eye to sense it is watching the actual execution.
Image Size : 14'' x 17''
SOLD
|
||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
Oil on Panel, c1910 Signed l.l E.K.K.Wetherill, and verso The panel stamped for "Lucien Lefebvre-Foinet 18 Rue Vavia & 2.Rue Bres-Paris"
We are very fortunate to have just purchased three works by Philadelphia and New York painter Elisha Kent Kane Wetherill. Wetherill studied with Thomas Anshutz at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in the late 1890s and from 1906-09, with J.P. Laurens at the Académie Julian in Paris, 1902, and with James Abbot McNeill Whistler, also in Paris. He specialized in views of New York, including figural work as well as landscapes and seascapes. He was a member of the National Academy of Design, Salmagundi Club, Allied Artists of America, Brooklyn Society of Etchers, and the Philadelphia Sketch Club. In 1915 Wetherill received a gold medal at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco and, in 1926, won a silver medal at the Sesqui-Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. He also exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago, and at the National Academy of Design in 1925.
All of the work I have viewed by Elisha Wetherill is of excellent quality, as would be expected from his superlative mentors. One figural painting was extraordinary, bringing a strong 5 figure price at auction. His work is just being released on to the market by his family. The three paintings we are currently offering are all quite exceptional paintings in some regard.
"Flower Market in Paris" has a very "light" touch to the well thought-out but simply-painted scene. The carefully constructed composition is still visible in the underlying pencil lines that graphed the intercepting angles and distances. The result is as pleasing as the finest symphony, even though having a somewhat casual ease in appearance. The subtle warm and cool variations of single hues give a soft vibration, reflecting the gentler era gone by.
Image Size : 7.5" High x 9.5" Wide
|
||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
Oil on Panel Provenance: The estate of the artist Bearing 2 estate stamps verso: The panel stamped for "Lucien Lefebvre-Foinet 18 Rue Vavia & 2.Rue Bres-Paris"
"Country Road" is the second selection by Elisha Kent Kane Wetherill (see the above listing for biographical information). The vibrant colors form a somewhat abstract post-impressionist pattern, making the subject matter secondary to the paint and its almost sponge-like application - a characteristic of much of his work. Wetherill achieves a jewel-like shimmer to the surface through the vibration of warm and cool hues of a similar hue and value - most in the tertiary range (oranges, violets, and greens). His composition again - though appearing spontaneous - is quite carefully executed. The curving lines of the road and tree-tops are precisely balanced by the simply suggested outlines of the buildings - both in the triangles of the roofs, and the horizontal and vertical lines. These are elements that set very fine art apart from the random good painting.
Image Size : 7.5" High x 9.5" Wide
|
||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
Oil on Panel Provenance: The estate of the artist Bearing 2 estate stamps verso: The panel stamped for "Lucien Lefebvre-Foinet 18 Rue Vavia & 2.Rue Bres-Paris"
"Sailing Near the Shore" is our third and largest selection by Elisha Kent Wetherill, whose biographical information is detailed above with "Flower Market in Paris". Once again, the vibrant post-impressionist flatly-lit colors command the panel. In another unusual almost contemporary palette and application, cobalt greens are juxtaposed with violets, cerulean blues and acid yellow-greens - punctuated by the coral sails and markers. The format that appears so simple is actually precisely composed, with subtle divisions of space, gentle diagonals and strategically positioned verticals and color. The result is simultaneously quiet and powerful.
Image Size : 10.5" High x 18" Wide
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
American (New York / Pennsylvania) 1865-1929
"Image of Figures Sitting at an Outdoor Cafe" Graphite on Paper Signed l.r. Robert Henri, above the initials J.C.L.
Robert Henri remains one of America’s most important painters. He was a founder of the New York group of painters - “The Eight” - later known as The Ashcan School. He was a highly influential teacher at New York’s Art Student’s League, as well as several other schools, including the New York School of Art (formerly the Chase School). His merits, museums and literature are far too vast to attempt in a few words. His collection of lectures, published as The Art Spirit (1923), greatly influenced the course of American art because he encouraged many students towards independence and personal expression, urging them, in particular, to pay close attention to their feelings and reactions to subject matter and to translate these directly into their paintings. As a teacher he also stressed self-reliance and self-respect.
Most know Henri for his strong portraits, lit usually with classical three-quarter lighting, producing powerful contrasts, enhanced through slashing brush strokes and quite strong coloration against a muted deep background. His figural drawings are equally powerful - the directional graphite marks with the same spontaneity, strength and immediacy found in his finished paintings. Part of the enjoyment I find in drawings is seeing the artist actively thinking on paper - the exploration, losing and finding what is important - all still visible. This thinking process is quite often lost in a finished painting.
Robert Henri’s works are held in most major American museums, and the Luxembourg Gallery in Paris.
Image Size : 6.5" High x 4.25" Wide
SOLD
|
||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
American (Pennsylvania) 1908-1995
"Night on Front Street - Effects of the Rain" Watercolor and gouache on Board Unsigned
Provenance: Estate of the Artist Aton P. Albers Jr. studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and worked as an art director in Pennsylvania. Known primarily as a mural painter, he also was a successful designer of stained glass windows and church decorations. He exhibited at The Art Alliance, The Academy of Fine Arts, The Society of Independent Artists, and the Philadelphia Sketch Club, as well as in several New York galleries.
This illusive and finely painted watercolor scene of the Philadelphia mid 20th century harbor is reminiscent of the works of James McNeill Whistler - the subtle colors lost into sepias accented with a few lights - mistily depicted, yet fully descriptive of both locale and feeling.
A contemporary Philadelphia review of a similar Albers painting states, "Albers' painting shows an unusually quiet moment in the busy life of Philadelphia's maritime port. Here in the world's largest fresh water port, 1/7 of the nation's water commerce is handled. Every 20 minutes a cargo ship arrives or departs at one of the 267 wharves and piers that line the length of the avenue. Clanging locomotives, with their long lines of freight, honking trucks and drays shunt these cargoes back and forth in a seemingly impossible maze of confusion and noise."
Image size: 7.75"H x 10.75"W
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
Acrylic and Graphite on Paper Signed Right Center Norwood Creech Exhibited Southern Tenant Farmers Museum, Tyronza Arkansas, 2010
Norwood Creech is the third in a family of female painters, all well schooled in the classical traditions in both painting and drawing. Yet Norwood's style has emerged distinctively her own, combining the best of classical aspects with best of the contemporary spirit, energy and brevity. She has already attained a strong auction record and had noteworthy honors and exhibitions. These honors include a Master Program with Wayne Thiebaud, at Santa Fe Institute; an exhibition for the Lincoln Center Institute for Aesthetic Learning; and a residency at Dorland Mountain Artist Colony, Temecula, California. She has had numerous exhibitions, including the University of Memphis Museum. She is represented in some leading collections throughout the United States.
"Landscape in a Box" is both conceptual and impressionist in nature. The Eastern Arkansas landscape is often noted for its very flat nature, being represented here within a three-dimensional open box. It is a quite unique exploration of imposing two- and three-dimensional forms upon one another, while retaining strong yet free delineation and brushwork. She has also been fascinated by the expansive unbroken Delta sky, which dominates the Eastern Arkansas landscape, and - so perfectly - this painting.
Featured in "Delta Crossroads, Summer 2010" - click to view the 2-page article
Image size : 22 ¼” H x 34”W"
|
||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
American (Massachusetts / Maine) 1864 – 1940 “New England Coast With Boats” Oil on Canvas Signed and Dated l.l. Woodbury 1901
Charles Herbert Woodbury is recognized as one of the finest marine painters of the 20th century. He chose to live and work near the water, in Ogunquit, Maine. There, in 1898, he founded the Ogunquit School, and became one of the most influential teachers of his time, training over 4000 students – many of whom were already important painters. He taught there until his death in 1940, and was singly responsible for the making Ogunquit a preeminent summer art colony. He also taught at Wellesley College, Dartmouth College, and The Art Institute of Chicago.
Woodbury had over 100 solo exhibitions in his lifetime, in addition to invitational and juried shows. Memorial exhibitions have continued, including the 1988 M.I.T. monumental Woodbury exhibition titled Earth, Sea and Sky that traveled to museums through 1993. He is represented in many major museums throughout America.
In his sea paintings, you see not only transparent liquidity of water, but the motion that he held so very important. He told his students to paint in verbs, not nouns: "Don't just paint it, paint it doing something." This is evident in “New England Coast With Boats". The long, smooth directional brush strokes, simply applied, give not only transparency but rolling motion to the water, and moisture to the sand - contrasted with the lively short strokes of the colored boats, in the grayness of a New England day.
(Recently cleaned and reframed)
Image size: 17” High x 21” Wide
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
To view additional Special Catalogs, please click below:
|
|||
|
|
|||
Links in the above photographs will take you to detailed online images and information.
Should you have further questions, please email, call, or come to visit.
Millicent Creech
901-761-1163 (shop) / 901-827-4668 (cell)
581 S. PERKINS ROAD / LAURELWOOD COLLECTION / MEMPHIS, TN 38117
Hours : Wed.-Sat. 11-6, or by appointment
Private showings available
Complimentary Gift Wrap Available Upon Request / We ship worldwide: Shipping Options
mfcreech@bellsouth.net / www.mfordcreech.com
Home Accessories Ceramics Early Asian Ceramics Fine Art Furniture Glassware Silver
