Horace Vernet, “Arab Rider (detail),” 1839, oil on canvas, 16 x 13 1/4 inches
In this ongoing series for Fine Art Today, we take a longer look at the history and features of a soon-to-be-available artwork of note. This week we highlight a magnificent tableaux by a 19th-century French painter regarded as the master of battles.
On Tuesday, September 19 in Paris, France, Christie’s will open a stunning auction of Tableaux pictures circa 1400-1900. Among the highlights of the sale is a stunning portrayal of an oriental soldier on horseback by 19th-century Frenchman Horace Vernet (1789-1863) — considered by many of his contemporaries (and current historians) to be the greatest painter of military history of his generation.
According to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, Vernet was “predestined for art by family inheritance: the grandson of the engraver Jean Moreau le Jeune on his mother’s side and, on his father’s side, of Joseph Vernet, France’s foremost painter of land- and seascapes.” Indeed, from an early age, Horace displayed incredible natural gifts in art and was considered a prodigy, becoming a professional artist in his teens.
Horace Vernet, “Arab Rider,” 1839, oil on canvas, 16 x 13 1/4 inches
“In a series of battle scenes from the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, [Vernet] gave a foretaste of what was to become his specialty,” the NGA continues. “The Revolution in July 1830, which raised Louis-Philippe, Vernet’s patron, to the throne, opened vast opportunities of official employment to him. The rapid flow of state commissions for battle pieces that now came his way taxed even his prodigious facility. Four very large canvases for the Galerie des Batailles at Versailles, shown at the Salon of 1836, were followed by a second series in 1841. Accepting his calling as that of a painter of modern national subjects, specifically of scenes of combat, Vernet conceived of his work as a form of eyewitness reportage that required observation at the actual theaters of war. In five long visits to North Africa (1833, 1837, 1839-1840, 1845, 1853), he gathered on-the-spot documentation of the French conquests in Algiers and Morocco, material that he later worked up into wall-size canvases destined for Versailles. Louis-Philippe’s overthrow by the Revolution of 1848 and the advent of Napoleon III in 1849 scarcely affected his activity. The year 1850 found him at the French siege of Rome; in 1854, he visited the battlefields of the Crimea. He had in the meantime enjoyed the lucrative patronage of Czar Nicholas I during two long visits to Russia in 1836 and 1842-1843.”
Highlighting the September 19 auction at Christie’s is a beautiful work from France’s campaign to annex Algeria between 1830 and 1834. Completed in 1839, the work — titled “Arab Rider [La Retraite]” — was inspired by Vernet’s official visit to Algeria in 1833 as official painter to Louis-Philippe. Although many of France’s artists, such as Eugene Delacroix, were fascinated by the exploits of the French Army, Vernet was equally inspired by the oriental fighters, as evidenced by this Arab cavalier.
According to Christie’s, “Arab Rider” is a small but “monumental” painting. “Vernet’s excellence is represented by the picturesque details, which he carefully captures with care and accuracy. The shining coat of the thoroughbred, brilliant leatherwork, and dynamic character of the composition make this work a real jewel.”
Auction estimates are between $82,000 and $120,000. To learn more, visit Christie’s.
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Julie Bell, "Gazing Pond," 2016, oil on linen, 18 x 24 inches
written by Louise Joyner
The career of Julie Bell (b.1958) is a testament to the enduring power of realism in American art. Focused on eight recent paintings, this article reveals the depth of her inspiration and sensitivity to her subject matter, even as it underscores the broad range of influences she has absorbed and made her own.
Julie Bell, “Champion,” 2016, oil on linen, 60 x 48 inches
The daughter of an architect father and artist mother, Bell grew up in Beaumont, Texas, in an environment that nurtured her desire to become a painter. Drawing has mattered as long as she can remember, yet she only began to study art formally during high school, then majored in drawing at DeKalb County Community College in Atlanta. There Bell was inspired by her teachers and introduced to color theory, which she has so evidently come to master. Her studies continued under the wildlife artist Jerry Newman at Lamar University (in Beaumont), where she made her first serious life drawing study. At Northern Michigan University, Bell probed the psychology underlying animals’ appearances with the sculptor Wolf Niessen. By 1982, she was a married mother of two living in Ohio, yet found time to take drawing classes at Lorain County Community College while accepting commissions to illustrate children’s books.
This is an excerpt from “Julie Bell: Looking Back, Looking Within”. Find the full article in the July / August 2017 Edition of Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine.
Growing up in the Wasatch Mountains of northern Utah, Ellie Wilson’s love for nature and beauty grew at an early age. After painting outdoors for the first time as a young college student, she knew she had found what she wanted to do with her art. Upon graduating with a BFA from Brigham Young University, she sold-out a 22-piece solo show and launched her professional career.
To capture the vitality of natural scenes, all of Ellie’s landscapes begin as plein air studies using a limited palette. Through rigorous efforts in school, studying independently and working with several influential landscape painters, Ellie has gained a greater understanding of value, edge control, and composition. She paints outdoors every week to keep her eye fresh, but generally finishes her work in her studio. She keeps her paints with her on the road at all times so she’s prepared to capture a beautiful skyline, storm, or sunset.
Ellie will be a first-time participant in the Zion National Park Plein Air Invitational this fall. She will be joined by 23 other artists who will be painting in the park November 6-12, giving free demonstrations and selling their work to support the Zion National Park Forever Project. As the official nonprofit partner of the park, the Forever Project provides much-needed funding for park improvements and programs.
Elisabeth Vigée-Le Brun, “Lady Hamilton as Sybille of Cumes,” 1791-92, oil on canvas, 95 x 78 cm, Stéphane Barbier-Mueller Collection, Photo: Luis Lourenço
Though it dates back to 1959, La Biennale des Antiquaires has only now become an annual event, renamed La Biennale Paris.
La Biennale Paris is now an annual event in 2017! Hosted at the historic Grand Palais, the international antiques and fine art fair has 92 confirmed prestigious exhibitors this year. A unique celebration of the French art de vivre, La Biennale Paris has been exhibition the finest works from some of the world’s most impressive galleries, antique dealers and jewelers for more than 50 years.
This year’s fair is overseen by new leadership in the Biennale Commission, Christopher Forbes, who remarked “The Paris Biennale is the most important fair of its kind in France, and one of the greatest in the world, alongside TEFAF Maastricht and the Winter Show in New York. To follow in the wake of Henri Loyrette, whom I admire deeply, is at once a privilege and an honor. I am committed to maintaining the level of excellence established by my eminent predecessors and look forward to being part of transforming this Biennale into the most brilliant edition that has ever taken place.”
La Biennale Paris will take place between September 11-17. To learn more, visit La Biennale Paris.
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.
Henri Martin, “Young Saint (Jeune sainte),” 1891, oil on canvas, 65.4 x 49.3 cm, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Brest, France
The Salon de la Rose+Croix in Paris was a short-lived (1892-1897) series established by the eccentric French author and critic Joséphin Péladan to represent the doctrines of his Rosicrucian order—a fraternal, esoteric religious sect. What is “Mystical Symbolism”? The Guggenheim has an answer.
Hosted at various galleries around Paris, the Salon de la Rose+Croix was considered an international crossroads for artists, some conservative, some radical, yet most seeking to underscore the spiritual dimension of art and provoke visionary states of mind in their viewers. The Guggenheim Museum in New York City is currently presenting a unique exhibition titled “Mystical Symbolism”, which is the first-ever of its kind, featuring only works that were shown in the R+C. “This historically inflected lens” the museum says, “allows for a reconsideration of the complexities of Symbolism, particularly the movement’s more numinous branch.”
On view now through October 4, among the artists represented include Vasily Kandinsky, František Kupka, Piet Mondrian, Henri Martin, and more. To learn more, visit the Guggenheim Museum.
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.
Andrea Kowch, “Flame,” 2017, acrylic on canvas, 10 x 10 inches
Collectors are flying in from across the globe to New York to take advantage of an opportunity to meet this emerging American Master and bask in the unveiling of her nine newest paintings.
RJD Gallery in Bridgehampton, New York, is expecting huge crowds for this weekend’s opening reception for “Into the Wind,” a solo exhibition of nine new acrylics by acclaimed realist painter Andrea Kowch. On Saturday, August 26, the artist will be on hand for the opening. All nine paintings have pre-sold even though her collectors have yet to see the works.
Andrea Kowch, “Night Watch,” 2017, acrylic on canvas, 8 x 8 inchesAndrea Kowch, “Gust,” 2017, acrylic on canvas, 18 x 14 inches
A number of limited edition signed prints will also be available during the opening reception. Of her newest works, Kowch suggested, “Inspired by memories, inner emotions, history and my fascination with nature and the human psyche, the stories behind my paintings stem from life’s emotions and experiences, resulting in narrative, allegorical imagery that illustrates the parallels between human experience and the mysteries of the natural world.”
“Into the Wind” will remain on view through October 1. To learn more, visit RJD Gallery.
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.
In partnership with Liss Llewellyn Fine Art, Watts Contemporary near Guildford, United Kingdom, has crafted the first selling exhibition dedicated to a major figurative artist of the Modern British era. Details here!
On view now through September 24 at Watts Contemporary is a major retrospective dedicated to the life and career of Evelyn Dunbar (1906-1960), now considered to be among the most important artists in 20th-century British art. Bringing together 150 pictures — over half of which have never been shown publicly — the exhibition aims to highlight the artist’s importance and why her status has been vaulted to such heights.
Evelyn Dunbar, “Design for Contents Page of Gardeners’ Choice,” 1937
The gallery has offered a wonderful, comprehensive overview of the artist’s career, which we’ve quoted in full here:
“Evelyn Dunbar was born in Reading, Berkshire, into a merchant family. In childhood she moved to Kent, where she lived for most of her life. While at school she won national awards for drawing. Between leaving Rochester Grammar School for Girls and going to art college she spent a year or two writing and illustrating children’s books, mostly featuring winsome children. ‘Hot Pie’ (1925), included in this exhibition, is a typical example.
“This early period is also notable for family portraits, of which ‘Sleeping Beauty’ (1928), an affectionate portrait of her father William, is an endearing example.
“Dunbar studied at the Royal College of Art, and between 1933 and 1936 she was amongst a team of recent graduates from the RCA who were invited by their tutor, Cyril (Charles) Mahoney, to create a mural design for the hall and adjacent areas of Brockley County Schools for Boys in Lewisham. Included in the exhibition are Dunbar’s sketches for a 12-meter frieze of the local landscape and for two of 24 spandrels illustrating Aesop’s fables and other moral instances.
“A close relationship developed between Dunbar and Mahoney, subsequently leading to the jointly written and illustrated Gardeners’ Choice (London: George Routledge & Sons, 1937). This exhibition includes several of Dunbar’s original drawings for the book, both of the plants featured and of the numerous and intriguing vignettes based on the garden at The Cedars, the Dunbar family home in Rochester.
Evelyn Dunbar, “Portrait of Flying Officer Roger Rolley RAFVR,” 1944
“In 1937 Dunbar received a commission from Country Life to design its 1938 Gardener’s Diary. For this, Dunbar created particularly inventive pen-and-ink personifications of the months, each featuring the associated work or produce. This exhibition includes a study of September, seen as a doughty lady gardener surrounded by vegetable marrows and sunflowers.
“Evelyn Dunbar’s Christian Scientist background helped the artist to develop firm ideas about the interaction of mankind and nature. Initially limited to the context of the family garden in Kent, her ideas found a wider field of expression when, having been appointed Official War Artist in 1940 — Dunbar was the only woman war artist to be salaried throughout WW2 — she quickly became particularly associated with the Women’s Land Army. This exhibition features previously unseen studies for major paintings from this period, including ‘A Land Girl and the Bail Bull’ (1945, finished painting in the Tate collection) and ‘The Queue at the Fish Shop’ (1944, finished painting in the Imperial War Museum’s collection). These and other war pictures reveal how, in recording women’s Home Front activities, Dunbar could promote a gentle and unaggressive feminism.
“In 1940, the artist met and later married Roger Folley, then an RAF officer but later to become a leading horticultural economist. Their common interests and convictions encouraged Dunbar, after the war, to concentrate on a series of allegorical paintings and drawings which reflected her beliefs, and her debt to Ruskin and the Pre-Raphaelites, whose ideas about the function of art and the place of narrative in painting she acknowledged as strongly influential. Pen and Indian ink sketches for ‘Faith, Hope and Charity’ (1948) — with Charity characteristically faceless — show the beginnings of what might have become a major allegorical painting had Dunbar completed it. But never one to waste a good idea, her design eventually ended up as a Christmas card.
Evelyn Dunbar, “Study for a Christmas Card Design,” 1942
“Evelyn Dunbar divided her post-war years between allegories, teaching as a Visitor at the Ruskin School, exhibiting and, towards the end of her life, recording her beloved Kent in landscapes again expressive of the synergy between man and nature. ‘Kentish Landscape’ (1955) is a typical example, with agricultural activities omnipresent but subtly understated.
“Evelyn Dunbar died suddenly at the age of 53, leaving behind a studio collection of some 800 works which only came to light in 2013 when a painting by Dunbar appeared on the BBC Antiques Roadshow. Having seen the show, Ro Dunbar, a relative of the artist, set to exploring the extraordinary hoard of paintings, drawings and studies hidden in the attic of her Kent home. The unrecorded works were identified with the help of Christopher Campbell-Howes, the artist’s nephew and biographer (Evelyn Dunbar: A Life in Painting, on sale at the exhibition), who had been tracking contents of the ‘lost studio’ — dismantled in its entirety after Dunbar’s death in 1960 — for some 10 years. The discovery of the Hammer Mill Oast Collection doubled the known body of Dunbar’s work overnight and has enabled a reappraisal of the artist’s place in 20th century British art history.
Evelyn Dunbar, “Studies for putting on Anti-Gas Protective Clothing Study D,” 1940
“Commenting, Paul Liss, Director of Liss Lllewelyn Fine Art, appointed by the Dunbar Family to sell the Hammer Mill Oast Collection and organizer of the acclaimed museum exhibition Evelyn Dunbar: The Lost Works (Pallant House, 2015), said:
‘“Through a display of 150 works, this exciting exhibition at Watts Gallery-Artists’ Village examines all aspects of the output by Evelyn Dunbar. This is the largest group of works by Dunbar ever to be exhibited for sale.’
‘“To hold an exhibition of the work of Evelyn Dunbar at Watts Gallery-Artists’ Village is particularly apt. Whilst in so many ways Dunbar’s work is firmly rooted in the 20th century aesthetic of the interwar years she was also part of the last generation to receive an art school training firmly rooted in the ideals of the 19th century.’
Evelyn Dunbar, “Study for Background of a Land Girl and a Bail Bull,” 1944
‘“As such her approach to creativity had much in common with that of Watts, dependent on the human figure, on narrative and on the rules of formal composition. Unashamedly fascinated by art in all its forms (she produced book illustrations, needlework, shop signs, and murals, as well as easel paintings) her work will be naturally at home in the context of the Watts Artists’ Village.”
“Evelyn Dunbar: Studies, Illustrations and Paintings continues the Watts Contemporary program that provides a unique opportunity for visitors to discover and buy affordable art and craft that resonate with the Arts and Crafts heritage of Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village.”
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.
Gunnar Tryggmo, “Resting Zebras,” watercolor, 15 x 22 inches
Through August 31, collectors and connoisseurs can delight in wildlife magic at Trailside Galleries in Jackson, Wyoming. What’s the occasion?
The Society of Animal Artists has sent over paintings and sculptures by 80 juried artists to Trailside Galleries through August 31. Founded in 1960, the SAA has been devoted to promoting excellence in the artistic portrayal of the creatures sharing our planet, and to the education of the public through art exhibitions, informative seminars, lectures, and teaching demonstrations. Today, the organization represents hundreds of the world’s finest artists, many of whom feature in the current exhibition.
Michael Pape, “Ghostly Encounter,” acrylic on canvas, 8 x 16 inchesKevin Johnson, “Little Thunder-Bison,” graphite on illustration board, 14 x 23 1/2 inchesJames Fiorentino, “Portrait of a Bighorn Sheep,” watercolor, 18 1/2 x 18 1/2 inchesGuy Combes, “Cohors Praetoria,” oil on canvas, 14 x 24 inchesDiana Reuter-Twining, “Maestro,” bronze, 26 x 20 x 7 inchesBruce Lawes, “A Little Flirt,” oil, 18 x 13 inchesMelinda Brewer, “The Huntman’s Coat,” watercolor, 8 3/4 x 10 inches
Among the SAA’s early members are Patricia Allen Bott, Guido Borghi, Elizabeth Rungius Felda, Paul Bransom, John Clymer, Gifford Cochran, Brenda Frey, Anna Hyatt Huntington, Gertude K. Lathrop, Robert Lougheed, Ugo Mochi, Clement Weisbecker, and Walter Wilwerding. Among others, artists represented in the current exhibition include Guy Combes, Bruce Lawes, Jan Martin McGuire, James Morgan, Suzie Seerey-Lester, Rachelle Siegrist, Wes Siegrist, and Ezra Tucker.
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.
Dian Paramita, “Sushi,” oil on canvas, 8 x 8 inches
Indonesian painter and 2016 Studio Incamminati graduate Dian Paramita is giving collectors a fantastic chance to both bolster their collections and contribute to a worthy cause, all at the same time. What’s the buzz?
On view from August 11 through September 1 at Philadelphia’s Twenty-Two Gallery is a great example of how art can serve both connoisseurs and community. Titled “Food for Thought,” the exhibition showcases 30 still life works by recent Studio Incamminati graduate Dian Paramita.
Dian Paramita, “Chococroissant,” oil on linen, 8 x 10 inchesDian Paramita, “Durian,” oil on linen, 8 x 8 inches
The still life is a tour de force of Paramita’s talent, as she’s captured many popular foods from different cultures around the globe. In particular, the artist’s attention to textural detail and color are worthy of mention, in work executed with the skill and precision collectors have come to expect from Studio Incamminati pupils.
Dian Paramita, “Happy 4th,” oil on linen, 8 x 8 inchesDian Paramita, “Crinkle,” oil on linen, 8 x 8 inches
Exciting as well is the fact that 20 percent of the proceeds will be donated to MANNA, a non-profit organization that cooks and delivers nutritious, medically appropriate meals and provides nutrition counseling to people who are battling life-threatening illnesses such as cancer, renal disease, and HIV/AIDS.
Dian Paramita, “Anchovy,” oil on linen, 8 x 10 inchesDian Paramita, “A Cup Full of Dreams,” oil on linen, 16 x 12 inches
Dian Paramita is a painter from Indonesia, based in Philadelphia. She graduated from Studio Incamminati’s Advanced Fine Art Program in 2016. Her artistic background includes skills in painting and drawing in the style of contemporary realism. She is intrigued by the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, which embraces beauty in the naturally imperfect world, and Paramita’s painting centers around celebrating the ephemerality of everyday life. In her still life paintings, she mainly focuses on capturing the temporary beauty of food that often is taken for granted.
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.
Sherrie Wolf, “Postcards from Paris #1,” 2017, oil on canvas, 32 x 38 inches
Two exhibitions are currently underway at this Portland, Oregon, gallery. One features a first-timer to the space, exploring wilderness and human reflection, while the other delves into images inspired by the artist’s time in Paris. This dynamic display is worth your gaze.
Russo Lee Gallery in Portland, Oregon, is one busy space through September 2. Currently on view are two outstanding exhibitions featuring the works of Chris Russell and Sherrie Wolf. Russell’s show, titled “Naturalize,” represents the artist’s shift of focus, from an exploration of wilderness concentrating on dense imagery of foliage to a reflection on human-shaped spaces of gardens and cultivated nature.
“His creative process remains painterly,” the gallery writes, “building up images of plant structures and patterns that take on gestures of abstraction, reminding the viewer of the presence of the artist’s hand in the making of the painting, much as the gardener’s hand shapes the landscapes of his or her making.”
Chris Russell, “Precarious Balance,” 2017, oil on linen, 42 x 36 inches
“Postcards from Paris” is Sherrie Wolf’s incredible display of paintings inspired by her time in the City of Light. In the show, Wolf “continues to experiment with juxtaposing images of historical artwork, often in the form of postcards and art books, with a wide variety of still life subject matter, inspired by her movements through Paris, whether on the street or in the apartment where she stayed,” Russo Lee writes. “Wolf’s virtuosity with the use of light, shadow, and reflection continues to astound in an array of beautiful images that keep drawing the eye further in.”
Both shows will hang through September 2. To learn more, visit Russo Lee Gallery.
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.
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