Tag: Maurice Prendergast

Stuart Davis 192 East Main and 51 Mt. Pleasant Ave. Marsden Hartley Dogtown Common. Gloucester art at Sotheby’s. One a Whitney Museum Deaccession.

Posted on by Catherine
Illustration: C. Ryan. Stuart Davis in Gloucester. Stuart Davis paintings hint of memories and impressions of Gloucester, Paris, and New York | 192 East Main St., 51 Mt. Pleasant Ave., and Romany Marie. And Marsden Hartley’s Dogtown Common.

At Sotheby’s Modern art auction November 15, 2022, approximately 460 lots were primed to go, minus several pulled ahead of (and announced before) the sessions. Gloucester inspired several works including one that was a deaccession from the Whitney Museum of American Art. Did Stuart Davis and Marsden Hartley sell?

STUART DAVIS

photo captions for above grid: (1)Stuart Davis 1912 w/c. (2)black and white photo, Smithsonian collection, documents a Romany o/c portrait by Robert Winthrop Chanler, circa 1916-1925. (3)Stuart Davis Flags, 1931, Lot 331 had a presale estimate of $300,000-$500,000. Bidding opened at $160,000 and then passed, failing to climb past $190,000. Unsold.

About Stuart Davis Flags, 1931

The letters in the band of green on the black flag spell “Romany Marie”, the name of restaurants owned by Marie Marchand, an immigrant from Romania. Her modest bistros and support were safe harbor for creatives whether serving just one customer or impromptu salons. Many of her habitual customers, like Davis, ascended to the top of their field. Davis painted a watercolor portrait of her in 1912 when he was 20 years old. He painted Flags 19 years later, a full generation spent building into his voice and career, much of it split oscillating between New York City and Gloucester. In 1928-29 he spent a momentous year+ studying abroad in Paris and married his first wife. The trip was made possible thanks to Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. The painting hints of memories and impressions of all three cities: Gloucester, Paris, and New York.

Liquor, coffee and conversation can make some taverns and cafes legendary. Romany Marie served strong coffee, no booze. Florent Morellet’s all night diner, Florent, on Gansevoort in the meatpacking district 1985-2008 was a place that I imagine was like Romany Marie’s was a century before. Gloucester has had its fair share; Duckworth’s Bistro is one now and an apt one to mention for its ardent support of the community, French nod, and address at 192 East Main. (Its customer base is more akin to Chanterelle than Florent.)

Helen Davis, artist and Stuart Davis’s mother, operated “Davis Sculpture Studio” from that same building, and resided at the back in later years. She was 96 when she died in Gloucester in 1965, one year after her son. Marie Marchand died in 1961 (obit: La Reine Est Morte, Village Voice March 2, 1961, Vol. VI, No. 19).

Davis’s parents bought a home on 51 Mt. Pleasant in Gloucester in 1930. They were summer renters prior, famously at the Red Cottage on East Main. Davis said John Sloan raved about Gloucester so much that he finally took him up on visiting in 1915.

About Stuart Davis Anchors,

Davis felt Gloucester was the best locale on the Atlantic seaboard, and you can feel his devotion in the second Davis work for sale at this auction, Anchors, illustrated below, on the left, paired with an earlier Davis, Rue Lipp, 1928 on the right, for comparison.

It’s a beauty. Gloucester and Paris are past and present in Anchors, flipping back and forth, shaken and stirring. Anchors’ prominent black and red double anchors look like the siphon on the blue soda bottle in Rue Lipp, 1928, while the delicate fizzy line contained in the carafe branded “La Cressonee” is bold, unbound, and skybound in Anchors.

Anchors is jazzed up with witty pairs. The circle inventions are solid and light–wheels on a cart, parasols, poppies, proto pop inspiration for Thiebaud’s suckers decades later?–no matter. Analogues for Davis and viewers may not be the same, yet land a connection.

Meanwhile at the auction in 2022, Stuart Davis Anchors, Lot 341 failed to find a buyer for less than 1 million despite having reached 1.8 million when it last sold at Christie’s in 2014. Sotheby’s presale estimate was 1.2-1.8 million.

Other highlights from the sale failed to sell including a Cassatt and Avery.

photos above: Private Way, 1915 (Gloucester=blue skies); The Morning Walk, ca.1919 collection Earl Davis; Boats, 1917, Philadelphia Mus. of Art; La Cressonnee ad circa 1914-1920s–which Davis spins in Rue Lipp ,1928; Anchors, 1930; anchor E. Glou. 2022; 51 Mt. Pleasant Ave; Reed’s Wharf; 192 E. Main – Duckworth’s

MARSDEN HARTLEY

Unsold- The bidding for Lot 338 Marsden Hartley Autumn Hillside, circa 1909 (double sided) opened at $110,000, then $120,000, then ‘passed’ at $130,000, failing to meet its reserve. The presale estimate was $150,000-$200,000.

Sold- Lot 340 Marsden Hartley Autumn Dogtown Commons, 1934, was deaccessioned by the Whitney Museum of Art. The bidding started at $130,000 on to $140,000 and $150,000 then stopped at $160,000. Sold. Phone bidder ($201,600 with fees). The presale estimate was $200,000-$300,000. Sounded like the reserve was $150,000. A third Hartley, a still life, fetched $40,000.

The Whitney Museum deaccessioned other works including a vivid Maurice Prendergast. Picnic Grove exceeded its pre sale estimate ($60,000-$80,000). Bidding started below $60,000 and eventually reached $120,000.

Not Gloucester. lovely, too

Charles Burchfield watercolor Lot 339 The Butterfly Tree, 1960 opened at $250,000 and soared to $480,000. Burchfield Lot 510 Hemlock in November No. 2 sold for $800,000. Lot 572, Maxfield Parrish New Moon 1943 (presale estimate $500,000-$700,000) sold for $700,000.

There weren’t strictly American sales this season so this one covered a lot of ground. Consignors assigned the morning sale face a B-side slot. Session 1 began at 9:30 AM, first lot #202 | session 2 began at 11:20AM | session 3 began at 2:30pm with lot 501.

Session 2 offered Stuart Davis and Marsden Hartley works inspired by Gloucester. While helping clients bid at auctions with 20th C material, it’s inevitable that I come across inventory with Gloucester ties.

photo caption: With hours of lots to move through, Sotheby’s split up the gavel duties. The auctioneer opening session 3 was lively and engaging!

Sotheby’s marquee modern 2022 fall sale was the day before.

Sotheby’s November 14 Modern sale

Aggregate sales from Sotheby’s Modern evening sale (Nov.14, 2022) Part 1 were $116.3m ($137.9m with fees) for the first half comprised of the Solinger collection. Lots sold from Part 2 of the evening sale sold for 220 million (with fees bringing the total press release report north of 250 million, and aggregate to 360 mil). Potential collectors are identified or queued on wait lists ahead of sales. The Piet Mondrian Composition No. II, 1930 sold for 51 million plus fees (a new ‘personal best’ for Mondrian at auction). Last it came up at auction was 1983. 1930 was the same year of the Davis painting. It’s fascinating how parallel ideas evolve.

The Nolde poppies circa 1930 sold –with fees– for 151,200 in the morning sale.

Here’s a look at iconic art inspired by #GloucesterMA for sale at the big auction houses November 2018

Posted on by Catherine

For sale at Sotheby’s November 2018

WINSLOW HOMER Yacht in a Cove Gloucester Harbor_ca 1880_wc_Sothebys Nov 2018 American pre sale auction estimate 200000 to 300000
WINSLOW HOMER Yacht in a Cove Gloucester Harbor_ca 1880_watercolor_upcoming Sothebys Nov 2018 American sale. Pre-sale auction estimate is $200,000 – $300,000

Last spring a Homer image of Gloucester boys in a dory fetched $400,000. Relatable, though not Gloucester: Life Brigade is expected to fetch 4x that amount at Sotheby’s; another classic motif , Gathering Wild Blackberries, is estimated to sell for $150,000-$200,000. There is a smashing Marsden Hartley of Dogtown.

 

EDWARD HOPPER_Two Comedians_ upcoming Sotheby's American sale Nov 2018_from Sinatra collection est 12 mil to 18 mil
EDWARD HOPPER_Two Comedians_ upcoming Sotheby’s American sale Nov 2018_from Sinatra collection_The pre-sale estimate is 12 million to 18 million. (Not a Gloucester Hopper- there are no Gloucester Hoppers in these November sales)

For sale at Christie’s November 2018

c STUART DAVIS_Private Way_(Gloucester MA)_1916_ oil on canvas_Christies Nov 2018 presale auction est 60 to 80,000
STUART DAVIS Private Way, 1916.oil on canvas. Christies Nov 2018 presale auction est 60,000 to 80,000

Besides Stuart Davis, artists featured include Jane Peterson, Martha Walters, Hayley Lever, and George Bellows. There’s a classic Nahant work by William Stanley Haseltine and a marine themed WPA mural study by Lyonel Feininger.

c EDWARD HOPPER _Chop Suey_32 x 38_ 1929 oc_Christies presale estimate 70 mil to 100 million
EDWARD HOPPER Chop Suey, 1929, 32 x 38 inches, oil on canvas, Christies steep presale estimate 70 million to 100 million (from Barney A. Ebsworth collection) There are no Hopper works featuring Gloucester in these sales.

Click on thumbnails to enlarge the photo and see descriptions. I’ll post results after the sales. 

 

 

This is what Gloucester looks like at the WHITE HOUSE and CITY HALL: it’s all local!

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Cat Ryan submits-

There’s a magnificent permanent art collection displayed throughout Gloucester’s City Hall, its public buildings and many outdoor locations. In an effort to promote, encourage and share current local art and artists with the public, Mayor Romeo Theken showcases a wide variety of media on temporary loan throughout the Mayor’s office. I took some photos back in February. She requested that buoys painted by our local youth at Art Haven be featured in Kyrouz Auditorium, along with the ‘Downtown Quilt’, the 13th panel from the Gloucester Neighborhood Quilt Project. These quilts are made by residents creating art with Juni Van Dyke, the Art Program Director Gloucester Council on Aging at Rose Baker Senior Center. (Twelve panels were prominently displayed for the 2014 Inauguration for former Mayor, Honorable Carolyn Kirk.)

 

Office of Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken, City Hall, Gloucester, February 2015

Donna Ardizzoni, business owner, GMG contributor https://ardizzoniphotography.wordpress.com/about-2/

 

Ana Connoli, photograph, Gloucester from Port. Hill

 

Phil Cusumano, painting, http://www.philcusumanoart.com/

 

Tina Greel, statue, https://www.facebook.com/tina.greel

 

Jennifer Johnson, photograph

 

Ken Knowles, painting, http://www.kenknowlesfineart.com/ken_final/home.html

 

Marty Luster, photograph, GMG contributor

 

Bridget Matthews, photograph

 

Sam Nigro, painted oar, http://www.gloucestertimes.com/news/local_news/talk-of-the-times-gloucester-man-grows-a-squash-for/article_76b0f29b-1e05-527f-b676-889ee7768aa9.html

 

Shelly Nugent, photograph

 

Eileen Patten Oliver, painting, http://eileenpattenoliver.com/ and here https://goodmorninggloucester.wordpress.com/2015/03/03/14-works-by-eileen-patten-oliver-at-island-art-and-hobby/

 

Premier Imprints, tea tray, http://www.premier-imprints.com/

 

Louise Welch, photograph City Hall

 

The local art on display had me thinking about the collection at the ‘People’s House’ for our Nation: what’s the best art inside the White House? No matter what is your artistic preference, Gloucester and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts could top the charts as the City and state with the best and most art ties featured at the White House. Let’s break down a selection of that Massachusetts list currently on display at the White House room-by-room, shall we?

 

In the Oval Office:

Not one, but two Edward Hopper paintings, lent by the Whitney Museum of American Art, are installed one over the other, Cobb’s Barns, South Truro and Burly Cobb’s House, South Truro.  There are more than 100 Edward Hopper works inspired by Gloucester, MA. The Childe Hassam’s painting, Avenue in the Rain, and Norman Rockwell’s painting, Statue of Liberty, remain on view.

 

In the Blue Room:

Fitz Hugh Lane’s Boston Harbor gifted by Lew Wasserman

 

In the East Room:

Gilbert Stuart’s Washington, John Singer Sargent’s Roosevelt

 

In the Green Room:

Sargent’s Mosquito Net, John Marin’s Circus, George Peter Alexander Healy’s painting of Adams and Polk and Louisa Adams by Stuart

 

In the Red room:

Martin Johnson Heade’s Sunrise, Bricher’s Castle Rock Nahant, more portraits by Stuart and Healy

 

In the State Dining room:

Healy’s portrait of Lincoln

 

In the Ground floor corridor:

Healy’s Millard Fillmore portrait, Thomas Ball Daniel Webster sculpture, a craftsman chair attributed to Samuel MacIntire, and Charles Hopkinson’s portrait of Calvin Coolidge

 

In the private quarters:

William Glackens Pavilion at Gloucester, and two Maurice Prendergast’s paintings, Boston Harbor and Revere Beach

 

More examples in the collection and in storage such as: Augustus Saint-Gaudens bronze bust of Lincoln, John Henry Twachtman’s oil painting, Captain Bickford’s Float; Henry Hobart Nichols painting, Gloucester Dock; and Worthington Whittredge oil painting, Thatcher’s Island off Rockport, MA.

 

Several artists are represented by more than one piece. How does the White House collection work? It is unusual for the White House to accept art by living artists. There are more than 450 works of art in the permanent collection. New art enters the collection after its vetted and is restricted to works created at least 25 years prior to the date of acquisition. For the public rooms, the Office of the Curator works with the White House advisory committee, the First Lady serves as the Honorary Chair, and the White House Historical Association. The private rooms are the domain of the First Family. Works of art from collectors, museums, and galleries can be requested for temporary loans and are returned at the end of the President’s final term. The Obamas have selected contemporary art, including abstract art, from the permanent collection, and borrowed work for their private quarters. Besides the Hopper paintings and John Alston’s Martin Luther King sculpture, they’ve selected art by *Anni Albers, *Josef Albers, Edgar Degas, Jasper Johns, Louise Nevelson, *Robert Rauschenberg, Edward Ruscha, and *Alma Thomas. * indicates works that have been donated to the permanent collection. The Obama Administration upgraded the website so that anyone unable to visit in person can have open access. I encourage visits to the website https://www.whitehouse.gov/about/inside-white-house/art. I love the diverse rooms and all the interconnected doors such as the splendid Green Room installation with the Marin and the Jacob Lawrence activating the threshold.

 

My gratitude to Chris Pantano, Office of the Mayor, Gloucester, MA,  and the Office of the First Lady and the White House Office of the Curator for various courtesies shown to me while I prepared this entry.