Beautiful works by the modern master head to auction in just over a week.
Available October 18 are original oils by renowned modernist Vincent van Gogh via Buy Art Auctions and liveauctioneers.com
The work shown here, titled “Family in a Wheat Field,” is an outstanding example of Van Gogh’s expressive impasto texture, lively brushwork, and exquisite color combined with a nostalgic theme of a child’s first steps towards her father.
To learn more, visit liveauctioneers.com.
October 18: Own a Van Gogh
October 31: Lopez at Roux & Cyr
On view through the end of the month are outstanding works by painter Leah Lopez.
Working out of New York, the paintings of artist Leah Lopez are absolutely exquisite. Bringing emotion, sensitivity, and brilliant luminance to her still life’s, he works have a presence that is often compared to the Dutch masters.
Opening on October 2 and on view through October 31 is an exhibition of Lopez’s most recent oils at Roux & Cyr International Fine Art Gallery in Portland, Maine. Joining Lopez’s works are the paintings of Maine’s very own George Wardwell.
To learn more, visit Roux & Cyr International Fine Art Gallery.
Featured Artwork: Benjamin Wu
Benjamin Wu
“Supply Station”
Oil on canvas
48 x 72 in.
$79,000
www.broadmoorgalleries.com
[email protected]
Benjamin Wu bio and accolades:
Born in 1961, Benjamin Wu studied art at the Guangzhou Fine Art Institute in China from 1978 to 1985. Upon completion of the oil painting program in the institute, he became a teacher at the Guangzhou Fine Art Institute. Although he’s honored to receive many compliments for his work, he realized, one must learn from the best to be the best. That’s when he decided to further his studies in the United States.
Benjamin Wu pursued his studies in painting and received his MFA degree from Academy of Art College in San Francisco in 1991. Since then, he worked as a freelance illustrator and continued to pursue fine art.
Benjamin Wu’s exquisite paintings have garnered many awards in exhibitions and competitions.
In 2006, he received the “Merit Award for Portrait and Figurative Art” from the Asian Art Exhibition in Tokyo.
Quickly following that, he received the “Merit Award” for his still life from Salon International 2007 in San Antonio, Texas.
In 2009, he was the Best of Show winner for Salon International 2009.
In 2010, Benjamin Wu was the featured artist in the Nov/Dec’s issue of Art of the West magazine.
In 2011, Benjamin Wu won the Best in Show award at Scottsdale Salon of Fine Art at Legacy Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona.
From 2011 to 2014, Benjamin Wu had been participated in The West Select Exhibition at Phoenix Art Museum.
In 2015, Benjamin Wu participated in the show of Masters of American West in Autry museum.
www.broadmoorgalleries.com
[email protected]
Arcane Chamber
The portraits by Jerome Lagarrigue offer viewers an eclectic, abstracted view of what lies beneath.
“On over-sized dimensions, the brushstrokes, a shade of tone, a move of the spatula, tell us what is hidden behind what we saw a thousand times,” says painter Jerome Lagarrigue, a French artist living and working in New York. Indeed, there is something that lies beneath the portraits of Lagarrigue’s sitters that touches on their emotions, trials, triumphs, and tribulations that is mesmerizing in his current solo exhibition at Waltman Ortega Fine Art in Miami.
Jerome Lagarrigue, “Mirror I,” oil on canvas, 30 x 24 in. (c) Waltman Ortega Fine Art 2015
Titled “Arcane Chamber,” the exhibition will feature 13 of Lagarrigue’s most recent works, each displaying the acclaimed artist’s gestural style combined with abstract, atmospheric spaces. The gallery writes, “These paintings embrace introspection, weird thoughts, decisions that had to be made along the painter’s path — self-portraiture minus the lens.”
Jerome Lagarrigue, “Nude 2,” oil on canvas, 40 x 30 in. (c) Waltman Ortega Fine Art 2015
Of particular note is the magnetic “Amadou III.” With only his head and neck in view, the subject gazes out of the picture amidst an abstract patterning of saturated blue hues. The man’s musing is captivating, leaving the viewer pondering the character behind the paint. Deep purple hues with dashes of orange compose the sitter’s dark skin, a brilliant contrast with the blue space. Below, balancing yellows, reds, and orange are applied with large, expressive strokes that have even left strong vertical runs of paint.
“Arcane Chamber” opens on October 10 and will be on view through November 10.
To learn more, visit Waltman Ortega Fine Art.
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.
Windows to the Divine
The Collectors for Connoisseurship National Symposium is just around the corner. An amazing lineup of tours and other presentations await.
Friday, November 13, is a date to remember as the organization Windows to the Divine hosts its inaugural Collectors for Connoisseurship National Symposium, centering on the theme of the “Renaissance of Realism.” The organization, which seeks to promote connoisseurship, collecting, and artists, is overjoyed to be presenting a number of outstanding speakers, including Fine Art Connoisseur editor-in-chief Peter Trippi, artists Daniel Sprick and Robert Jackson, and art patrons Tim Newton of the Salmagundi Club and Shannon Robinson of Windows to the Divine.
The event will take place at the Denver Art Museum, and attendees will be offered special tours of the museum’s current exhibition “Wyeth: Andrew and Jamie in the Studio” between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., before presentations and a “Meet the Artists” gathering.
Under the same title as the symposium, Denver’s own Gallery 1261 will host an exhibition of amazing works by a star-studded cast of artists. Featured artists include Scott Fraser, David Gray, Quang Ho, Robert Jackson, David Leffel, Lucong, Sherrie McGraw, Jill Soukup, Daniel Sprick, and Nancy Switzer, as well as Mia Bergeron, Greg Block, David Cheifetz, Zoey Frank, Greg Gandy, and Daniel Keys.
Registration for the events can be found here. To learn more, visit Windows to the Divine. Former Fine Art Today editor Jeffrey Carlson also detailed the organization and the associated events here in April 2015.
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.
‘esherick to NAKASHIMA’
America has an incredibly rich fine craft tradition dating to the late 19th century. The introduction of Modernism has only encouraged craftsmen and -women to push the boundaries of their mediums in new and conceptual ways. Two master woodworkers are being highlighted during an exceptional exhibition.
Wharton Esherick (1887–1970), universally considered the “dean of American craftsmen,” is continually recognized for his revolutionary contributions to the development of non-traditional, modern design in wood furniture. Forgoing the surface embellishment popularized by the Arts and Crafts style, Esherick focused on the pure forms of furniture as pieces of sculpture. His influence is still felt today and profoundly moves artisans of the Studio Craft Movement.
Of equal stature with Esherick is the Japanese-American George Nakashima (1905–1990), also considered a father of the American craft movement and honored with the Order of the Sacred Treasure by the Emperor of Japan. Part of Nakashima’s lasting legacy is his unique aesthetic, which combined the traditions of Japanese architecture with modern technology that originated in the Western world.
Wharton Esherick, “Spiral Stair,” (c) Modernism Museum Mount Dora 2015
The works of both men and more are currently featured in an outstanding exhibition at the Modernism Museum Mount Dora in Mount Dora, Florida. “esherick to NAKASHIMA” is an outstanding exhibition that will focus on both masters and their influences on several other craftsmen. Paul Eisenhauer, executive director and curator of The Wharton Esherick Museum, suggests, “Modernism Museum Mount Dora is doing something that has never been done before. It provides an opportunity for people to interpret the world around them and the objects in it in an entirely different way.”
The exhibition is curated into 5 small rooms that are designed to appear as livible spaces. What is more, these ‘rooms’ surround a large open area with themed/complimentary groupings of artworks. The resulting effect is one of deep appreciation for the range of techniques and skills, in addition to a thick sense of nostalgia.
“esherick to NAKASHIMA” opened on October 3.
To learn more, visit the Modernism Museum Mount Dora.
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.
California & American Fine Art Auction
Nearly 250 superb works of American art will be available during an October 20 auction in Monrovia, California. Will one be yours?
Healthy bidding and climbing prices can be expected during John Moran Auctioneer’s October 20 auction of Californian and American Fine Art. With 237 exquisite works, there’s a little something for every collector. Nearly as exciting as the auction itself is the fact that it will take place at Moran’s new Monrovia, California, location, with bidding in person, by telephone, absentee, or live online.
Gideon Jacques Denny, “San Francisco Bay before the Golden Gate Bridge,” oil on canvas, 20 x 36 in.
(c) John Moran Auctioneers 2015
Of the hundreds of artists represented, highlights include Conrad Buff, Phil Dyke, Edgar Payne, Millard Sheets, and Guy Rose.
One fabulous work is Thaddeus Welch’s “Cows in a California Pasture.” Within the painting’s large horizontal format, we find a small group of cattle waltzing along a trail on the slope of a mountain. In the distance is a receding valley along with fading peaks. Hammer price is expected to be between $3,000 and $5,000. Another highlight is the famed maritime painter Gideon Jacques Denny’s “San Francisco Bay before the Golden Gate Bridge.” Bobbing over thrashing, dark waters are a number of beautiful wooden vessels. As the sun fades into a thick fog, Denny has diffused the light into a smooth graduation of yellow, orange, and brown. A small yellow highlight is the only indication of the sun’s location, in addition to the highlights that cascade across the waves as they stretch toward the viewer.
In existence since 1969, John Moran Auctioneers have set “benchmarks in many specialty markets, particularly in California and American paintings,” they suggest. “As one of America’s top auctioneers, John Moran has successfully sold tens of thousands of California and American paintings over the past 40 years and ranks among the country’s most senior specialists in this field. In 2001, John Moran became the first auctioneer in the world to see a California painting in excess of one million dollars.”
The California & American Fine Art Auction will take place Tuesday, October 20 at 6 p.m. Pacific.
To learn more or view the full catalogue, visit John Moran Auctioneers.
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.
Featured Lot: Eugène Delacroix, “Reclining Nude”
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: Eugène Delacroix, “Reclining Nude.”
There is no debate that Eugène Delacroix (1798–1873) was one of the most important artists in France during the Romantic period. Through his use of expressive brushwork and exquisite color, Delacroix challenged the boundaries of Neoclassicism championed by his contemporaries, such as Ingres, drawing inspiration from the Baroque master Peter Paul Rubens and renowned colorists of the Venetian Renaissance such as Titian.
Rather than adhering to the ideals of Greek and Roman art, Delacroix, along with his close artistic and spiritual companion Thèodore Gèricault, sought the exotic through travels to North Africa and had a strong identification with the Romantic idea of “the sublime,” a term made popular by — among others — the poet Lord Byron.
Albeit small, a beautiful painting attributed to Delacroix is available from Trinity International Auctions during the October 10 sale beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern. Titled “Reclining Nude,” the 10 x 16 painting shows a female exotic nude reclining on pillows and tapestries. Propping her head, the figure looks in profile out of the frame. Hints of gold jewelry, her headdress, and patterned bedding suggest that the figure is of foreign nationality, perhaps a subject painted during the artist’s travels to North Africa. The piece is signed in the lower right corner.
The robust nature of the figure recalls the well-endowed bodies of a Rubens composition while the luminance and masterful use of colors also recall Delacroix’s Venetian sympathies. Set against a sparsely populated and dark background, the brightly lit figure contrasts sharply with her surroundings, allowing her figure to separate from the surface with convincing three-dimensionality.
To view the full catalogue, visit Trinity International Auctions.
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.
Pope Gets Warm Welcome, and a Portrait
Capping off his tour of the United States, Pope Francis was presented with a gorgeous papal portrait just last week in Washington, D.C.
Portraits of popes have been executed for nearly as long as the Catholic Church has existed, and now Pope Francis has acquired his own, from acclaimed portraitist Igor Babailov. Babailov has painted the official portraits of some of the most important individuals of our era, including presidents, prime ministers, royalty, and three popes, as well as various celebrities.
The portrait itself, titled “The Holy Cross,” is a massive 72 x 48 inches and displays His Holiness three separate times. Within the upper left of the image, we find the Holy Family, complete with baby Christ, Joseph, and the Virgin. At center, His Holiness is seen all in white, reverently gazing out toward the upper left and out of the frame, his hands folded. A shower of divine light, spills over his shoulders into a depiction of St. Peter’s Basilica. Beneath the façade, Pope Francis is shown kneeling, kissing and washing the feet of a disabled individual. The other side of the canvas shows His Holiness embracing a diverse group of children.
For more information, watch the video below or visit The Franciscan Monastery.
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.
State Museum Shuts Its Doors
One of the nation’s premier state museums has been forced to close its doors to the public due to a government budget impasse.
The Illinois State Museum is home to some of the country’s best researchers and is recognized for its contributions in a diverse range of disciplines, including fine art, paleontology, zoology, and local history. In addition, the museum has, for over 100 years, offered the public a chance to enjoy and learn from its collection and has been an invaluable asset to the state of Illinois.
Despite opposition from the state legislature and the public, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner has closed the museum due to a state budget impasse that has now lasted over 100 days. The measure was taken to save the state from an ever-increasing budget crisis, and layoffs are likely to follow.
Although the museum is closed indefinitely to the public, scientists remain at work on their research, though their days appear to be numbered. Eventually, the museum may employ only a team of a few individuals to preserve the collections.
To learn more, visit Fox Illinois.
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.