Louvre Abu Dhabi Acquires Gilbert Stuart Portrait of Washington

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1803, Gilbert Stuart, Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon Bonaparte Crossing the Alps, Portrait of George Washington

Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828), Portrait of George Washington, 1822. Oil on canvas. (PHOTO: LOUVRE ABU DHABI (PHOTOGRAPHY APF)

Scheduled to open this fall, the Jean Nouvel-designed Louvre Abu Dhabi has already amassed a collection of 300 objects along with another 300 works on loan from the French government. A just-announced acquisition may seem unlikely: an 1822 portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart will now reside at the Louvre’s new outpost in the United Arab Emirates.

Los Angeles’s Armand Hammer Foundation sold the work to the Louvre Abu Dhabi for an undisclosed sum, reports Kelly Crow of The Wall Street Journal. Other Washington portraits by the artist have fetched around $8 million, according to auction records.

Finished 23 years after Washington’s death, the first President is depicted with one hand on a document and another wrapped around a sword hilt. A rainbow appears in the distance.

Jean François Charnier, curatorial director of Agence France-Museums, is shaping the collections. He said the Washington image was bought to hang near Jacques-Louis David ’s epic portrait, “Napoleon Crossing the Alps,” on loan from the Palace of Versailles in France in a gallery devoted to the rise of the individual in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825), Napoleon Bonaparte Crossing the Alps,  1803. Oil on canvas. PHOTO: MUSÉE NATIONAL DES CHÂTEAUX DE VERSAILLES ET DE TRIANON/RMN (CHÂTEAU DE VERSAILLES) F. RAUX

(Source Wall Street Journal)

« New Frontier IV : fastes et fragments » au musée du Louvre

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1864, Abraham Mignon, avec une libellule, Corn and Cantaloupe, Fleurs dans une carafe de cristal placée sur un piédestal en pierre, Fruit Piece Apples on Tin Cups, Jean-Siméon Chardin, John Haberle, Joseph Biays Ord, Raphaelle Peale, Small Change, Still Life with Shells, William Sidney Mount

Abraham Mignon, Fleurs dans une carafe de cristal placée sur un piédestal en pierre, avec une libellule, huile sur toile, Paris, musée du Louvre. © RMN-Grand Palais (Musée du Louvre) / Franck Raux

PARIS – Dernier épisode du partenariat New Frontier qui lie le musée du Louvre, le High Museum of Art, le Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art et la Terra Foundation for American Art, l’exposition « Fastes et fragments. Aux origines de la nature morte américaine » se penche sur l’essor de la nature morte aux Etats-Unis au XIXe siècle. À la suite des expositions consacrées au paysage, à la peinture de genre et au portrait, New Frontier IV permet à nouveau d’enrichir le dialogue autour de la peinture américaine. Rassemblant dix œuvres issues des collections des quatre institutions partenaires, cette dernière édition illustre, comme les précédentes, la façon dont les peintres américains, tels Raphaelle Peale, Martin Johnson Heade ou William Michael Harnett, ont adapté les modèles européens à leur époque et à leur pays, participant ainsi à l’émergence d’une voix nationale.

John Haberle, Small Change [Petite monnaie], 1887, huile sur toile, Bentonville, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. © Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Photography by Amon Carter Museum of American Art

En dépit d’une tradition vieille de plusieurs siècles en Europe, la nature morte émerge tardivement aux États-Unis. C’est au cours du XIXe siècle, grâce à de profondes mutations politiques, économiques et sociales, que le genre gagne en popularité. Un nouveau type de commanditaires apparaît, désireux de représenter leur fortune à travers certains objets symboliques. Raphaelle Peale, le premier, s’illustre par une production austère et efficace où les produits cultivés en terre d’Amérique se trouvent mis en valeur.

Raphaelle Peale, Corn and Cantaloupe [Maïs et cantaloup], vers 1813, Bentonville, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. © Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Photography by Dwight Primiano

La nature morte américaine s’inspire longtemps des codes stylistiques européens. Avec l’évolution du rapport au luxe, les compositions s’enrichissent et les sujets se diversifient. Après la guerre de Sécession cependant, la nature morte américaine revient à des sujets plus nationaux et le symbolisme intervient pour affirmer certaines valeurs morales spécifiques ou critiquer le matérialisme prégnant dans la société américaine à l’époque, comme dans Small Change de John Haberle.

Joseph Biays Ord, Still Life with Shells [Nature morte aux coquillages], vers 1840, huile sur toile, High Museum of Art. © High Museum of Art

Présentée au Louvre à partir du 5 février 2015, l’exposition-dossier « New Frontier IV. Fastes et fragments. Aux origines de la nature morte américaine » rejoindra ensuite le Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art à Bentonville, Arkansas (16 mai – 14 septembre 2015) puis le High Museum of Art à Atlanta, Géorgie (26 septembre 2015 – 31 janvier 2016).

Jean-Siméon Chardin, Pipes et vase à boire, dit aussi La Tabagie, vers 1737, huile sur toile, Paris, musée du Louvre. © Musée du Louvre, dist. RMN / Angèle Dequier

PARIS.- The final installment of the “American Encounters” exhibition series co-organized by the musée du Louvre, the High Museum of Art, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Terra Foundation for American Art, the exhibition “The Simple Pleasures of Still Life” explores the rise of still-life painting in 19th-century America. In the wake of the exhibitions on landscape, genre painting, and portraiture, this exhibition provides a new opportunity to foster dialogue on American painting.

Featuring 10 artworks from the collections of the four partner institutions, this final exhibition follows on from the previous ones to illustrate how American painters like Raphaelle Peale, Martin Johnson Heade and William Michael Harnett adapted European models to their time and country, and thus contributed to the creation of a national voice.

Despite a centuries-old tradition in Europe, still life was slow to gain favor in the United States. The genre became popular with the major political, economic, and social changes that took place over the course of the 19th century. A new type of patron began to emerge, eager to represent their wealth through certain symbolic objects. Raphaelle Peale, considered the first American painter of still life, won renown for his austere and efficient style with a focus on products cultivated on American soil.

For a long time, American still life drew inspiration from European codes of style. As people’s relationship to luxury evolved, the compositions were enriched and the subjects diversified. After the Civil War, American still-life painting renewed with more national subjects and symbolism was used to assert certain specific moral values or to criticize the materialism prevalent in American society at the time, as in Small Change by John Haberle.

For a long time, American still life drew inspiration from European codes of style. As people’s relationship to luxury evolved, the compositions were enriched and the subjects diversified. After the Civil War, American still-life painting renewed with more national subjects and symbolism was used to assert certain specific moral values or to criticize the materialism prevalent in American society at the time, as in Small Change by John Haberle.

At the Louvre from February 5, 2015, the spotlight exhibition “American Encounters: The Simple Pleasures of Still Life” will then travel to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas (May 16–September 14, 2015) followed by the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia (September 26, 2015– January 31, 2016).

The rise of American still life
European academic hierarchies placed little value on still life, a genre that began as a rather confidential practice in the United States. The New World painters had a preference for portrait or landscape paintings, which garnered greater interest from patrons, as shown in the previous exhibitions.

At the turn of the 19th century, American economic development gave rise to a new category of buyers who were partial to representations of objects that reflected their daily life and success. In circa 1813, Raphaelle Peale painted Corn and Cantaloupe, appropriating the traditional European format of still life and adapting it to his audience to share his vision of American bounty. Cantaloupe, sweet potato, and corn are used to evoke the great plantations, particularly the one belonging to the painting’s first owner, Dr. Benjamin Lee, in Maryland.

Mid-century naturalism
From its tentative beginnings, still life went on to flourish towards the middle of the century. The subject matter was more luxurious: fruits and vegetables were joined by flowers and game meats, reflecting the changes in tastes arising from greater wealth and industrial production.

With the emergence of wealthy collectors interested in the Dutch Golden Age still lifes, artists like Martin Johnson Heade (1819–1904) made a specialty of particularly elaborate paintings with subtle symbolism. Still Life with Apple Blossoms in a Nautilus Shell, painted in 1870, is a clever pastiche of Nordic painting or Abraham Mignon’s vases of flowers, one example of which is presented in the exhibition. The virtuoso execution of drapery and the delicate rendering of the flowers portray a context of seduction that undoubtedly marked the beginning of a new relationship to luxury and sociability in American society.

Trompe-l’œil and symbol
The Civil War led to an abrupt change. Still life painters like William Harnett (1848–1892) renewed their focus on characteristically American objects, specializing in trompe-l’œil with a willingly symbolic and sometimes subversive resonance. A distinctive feature of American still life in the second half of the 19th century, the use of trompe-l’œil echoed the emergence of popular taste for what were referred to as “bric-a-brac” paintings, eclectic collections, and exotic objects. Part of the long tradition of visual illusionism, trompe-l’œil was also used to challenge the materialist values of society and political corruption. In such a way, Small Change by John Haberle highlights the relationship with money in America at the height of its economic development: demystified, a coin is used to hold a little self-portrait that seems placed there like a challenge to the authorities. The viewer is thus made party to the illusion, but also guided by the artist to decipher the code.

William Sidney Mount, Fruit Piece Apples on Tin Cups, 1864.

2015 Winter Antiques Show in New York showcases 3,000 years of timeless art and design

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'Maximilian' lounge chair, 1880, “bouquetière”, Candelabrum, circa 1630, circa 1690, circa 1740, circa 1942, Desk and Chair, Egyptian bronze, England, George II Mahogany Windsor Chair, George III Satinwood and Marquetry inlaid secretary bookcase, Harlem Street Scene, Heart-and-Hand Love Token, Herter Bros., Hiram Powers, Jacob Lawrence, John Singer Sargent, John Vesey, King Willem III, marble bust, Mayhew & Ince, Proserpine, Queen Mary II, seated cat, Turner’s-Thrown Fruitwood Armchair

Herter Bros., NY. Desk and Chair, 1880. Maple, at Associated Artists. 

NEW YORK, NY.– Ancient Egyptian bronze sculpture, gilded Herter Brothers side chairs owned by John Pierpont Morgan, and paintings by celebrated American artists William Merritt Chase, John Singer Sargent, and Childe Hassam, will gather for the 61st year of the Winter Antiques Show from January 23-February 1, 2015 at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City. The Show is America’s most prestigious antiques show, providing museums, collectors, dealers, design professionals, and first-time buyers with opportunities to see and purchase exceptional pieces showcased by 73 renowned experts in American, English, European, and Asian fine and decorative arts, from antiquity through the 1960s. Every object exhibited at the Show is vetted for quality and authenticity.

“The Winter Antiques Show offers unparalleled access to the world’s most exquisite and astounding historical objects—and this year is no different,” said Peter Pennoyer, the renowned classical architect who together with his wife Katie Ridder, the celebrated interior designer, are the Show’s 2015 Honorary Co-Chairs. Ms. Ridder continued, “We both feel that timeless pieces with history add a distinctive character to today’s interiors, whether the spaces are designed to evoke a period of yesterday or even something a bit more contemporary. We’re thrilled to be part of the Show, and look forward to seeing all of its remarkable design opportunities.”

Exhibitor Highlights:

• Fine English furniture will reign supreme as the Winter Antiques Show welcomes four new UK-based leaders in the field: a pair of commodes (c. 1775-80) by Mayhew & Ince at Apter-Fredericks Ltd.; an early Turner’s armchair (c. 1630) and a George II Mahogany Windsor Chair (c. 1740) at Thomas Coulborn & Sons Ltd.; and a George III Satinwood and Marquetry inlaid secretary bookcase (c. 1790) at Hyde Park Antiques.

Pair of commodes, circa 1775-80 by Mayhew & Ince at Apter-Fredericks Ltd.

Early Turner’s-Thrown Fruitwood Armchair, England, circa 1630 at Thomas Coulborn & Sons Ltd.

Rare George II Mahogany Windsor Chair, England, circa 1740 at Thomas Coulborn & Sons Ltd.

George III Satinwood and Marquetry inlaid secretary bookcase, circa 1790 at Hyde Park Antiques.

• Museum quality paintings by famed American masters will be prevalent at the 2015 Show: Boy in Red: Portrait of Josiah Lasell (c. 1895) by William Merritt Chase and Royal Palms, Melena, Cuba (c. 1895) by Childe Hassam at Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc.; The Candelabrum (1885), an impressionist portrait study by John Singer Sargent at Adelson Galleries; Sunrise at Mid-Ocean (1907), a significant seascape by Thomas Moran, at Schwarz Gallery; and Harlem Street Scene (c. 1942) by Jacob Lawrence at Jonathan Boos, LLC.

John Singer Sargent, Candelabrum. Oil on canvas, 1885. Signed lower left by John S. Sargent at Adelson Galleries.

Thomas Moran, Sunrise at Mid-Ocean. Oil on canvas, 1907 at Schwarz Gallery.

Jacob Lawrence, Harlem Street Scene, circa 1942 by  at Jonathan Boos, LLC.

• Showcasing the breadth and diversity of the show are a dozen exhibitors in early to mid-20th century design. This year’s highlights include a pair of iconic leather, aluminum, and steel Maximilian lounge chairs (c. 1958) designed by John Vesey at Liz O’Brien; colorful Italian glass at Glass Past; and a French desk and armchair (c. 1925), made of fine mahogany and leather, by Louis Süe and André Mare at Maison Gerard.

John Vesey (1925-1992), pair of iconic leather, aluminum, and steel ‘Maximilian’ lounge chairs, circa 1958 at Liz O’Brien.

• Maintaining the Show’s strong American core are more than 15 Americana dealers, and important folk art pieces will be exhibited by many: a paper and watercolor Heart-and-Hand Love Token (c. 1820) at Olde Hope Antiques, Inc.; a vibrantly decorated Pennsylvania cornercupboard (1863) at new exhibitor Kelly Kinzle; a handsome pair of portraits of a young couple seated in red chairs, attributed to George G. Hartwell of the esteemed Prior Hamblen School, at Frank & Barbara Pollack American Antiques & Art; and an early ambrotype if a calls of students and their teacher (c. 1855) at David A. Schorsch-Eileen M. Smiles American Antiques.

A group of nine colorful and charming love tokens. One with associated note dated ‘1848’, and two noted as Philadelphia origin, at Olde Hope Antiques, Inc.

• Sculpture from all ages will be especially prevalent in 2015, due to the addition of two new exhibitors specializing in the medium: an Egyptian bronze seated cat (c. 715332 BC), perhaps used as a vessel for a mummified cat, at Rupert Wace Ancient Art Limited; a marble bust of Proserpine by famed American sculptor Hiram Powers at new exhibitor Conner • Rosenkranz, LLC; Tete de Femme (1929), a bronze art deco bust by Gustave Miklos at The Fine Art Society; and Saul Bazerman’s mid-century Self-Portrait (c. 1952) at Gerald Peters Gallery.

An Egyptian bronze seated cat (c. 715332 BC), perhaps used as a vessel for a mummified cat, at Rupert Wace Ancient Art Limited.

A marble bust of Proserpine by famed American sculptor Hiram Powers at Conner.

A bronze art deco bust by Gustave Miklos at The Fine Art Society.

• Exhibitors in Chinese and Japanese material add to the Show’s eclectic mix: a rare Chinese export porcelain tureen and cover modeled as a goose (c. 1750) at Cohen & Cohen; a Yayoi Neolithic earthenware vessel (c. 2nd -3rd century AD) at Joan B. Mirviss, Ltd.; a pair of paintings depicting Chinese women accompanied by pipes and pets (c. 18th century) at Martyn Gregory; and a pair of green and yellow Fu Lions (c. 1662-1722 AD) at Ralph M. Chait Galleries, Inc.

A pair of paintings depicting Chinese women accompanied by pipes and pets, circa 18th century, at Martyn Gregory.

Pair of Chinese Green Glazed Biscuit Porcelain Fu Dogs, Kangxi period, AD 1662-1722, at Ralph M. Chait Galleries, Inc.

• After an intense search, Aronson of Amsterdam (a 134 year old family firm specializing in Dutch Delftware) has recently reunited a pair of unusual bouquetieres depicting Their Majesties King Willem III and Queen Mary II (c. 1690). The figures are attributed to The Greek A Factory, where Queen Mary ordered many magnificent pieces of Delft for Hampton Palace. The pair will be exhibited together for the first time at the 2015 Winter Antiques Show.

Pair of unusual bouquetieres depicting Their Majesties King Willem III and Queen Mary II, circa 1690, at Aronson of Amsterdam.

• Objects with noteworthy provenance include a Herter Brothers “Pompeian” side chair (c. 1880) that was probably commissioned for John Pierpont Morgan’s lavish Madison Avenue mansion at Associated Artists, LLC; an English Palace Wall Regulator (c. 1770) by John Arnold that was commissioned by a member of the Russian royal family for Catherine the Great at Thomas Coulborn & Sons Ltd.; a Chinese Famille Verte quandrangular vase (1662-1722 AD) from the collection of Henry Clay Frick at Ralph M. Chait Galleries, Inc.; and a grand scale Chippendale looking glass (c. 1760) that was part of the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary project and was discussed in correspondence between Franklin and his wife at Bernard & S. Dean Levy.

An English Palace Wall Regulator (c. 1770) by John Arnold that was commissioned by a member of the Russian royal family for Catherine the Great at Thomas Coulborn & Sons Ltd.

Scottsdale Auctions & Appraisals announces its latest online fine art auction

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250 BC-200 AD, ca 500 to 900 CE, Ca. 1200-1400 A.D., ceramic horse, Chupicuaro figure, Costa Rica, human skull, Jaguar Urn, Madhya Pradesh, Madura, Margaret Tafoya, Maria Martinez, matte black-on-black ceramic jar, Mayan Territories, Nicoya Peninsula, Pablo Picasso, Popovi Da, Pre-Columbian Costa Rican, Rajasthan, San Ildefonso Pueblo, sandstone torso, Tang dynasty, wedding vase with impressed bear paws, Yakshi

Pre-Columbian, Mayan Territories, ca 500 to 900 CE. Carved volcanic stone head in the form of a human skull. Provenance: Important Hollywood Collection of Donick Cary, an American television writer. 8″H. Estimate $4,000 – $6,000. Photo Scottsdale Auctions & Appraisals

SCOTTSDALE, AZ.- Scottsdale Auctions & Appraisals, a gallery specializing in Pre-Columbian, Classical, Egyptian, Tribal & Native American Art announced its latest online fine art auction – Fine Pre-Columbian and Tribal Art, Classical and Asian Antiquities – featuring more than 400 lots of authentic examples from around the world. Offered on LiveAuctioneers auction bidding format allows bidders to register and then place bids at their own pace right up until each auction’s closing.

Everything in the auction is an authentic, quality item. All art has been legally acquired and is legal to sell. All auction lots can be viewed online or by visiting the gallery now through Jan. 17, 2015. The auction features numerous lots of ancient Pre-Columbian art including items selected from the Wally Katz collection and selected fine quality lots from the collection of Walter Knox in Scottsdale.

The first part of The auctions offers numerous selections of ancient Anasazi, prehistoric ceramics dating from 1000 AD. Including three large ancient storage ollas. The first section continues with offerings of several contemporary Native America artists such as Maria Martinez and Margaret Tafoya from Santa Clara pueblo. Also a number of lots of plains Indian beadwork, large selection of Navajo Jewelry, Hopi Kachinas and Apache baskets.

Classic matte black-on-black ceramic jar by Maria Martinez and Popovi Da, San Ildefonso Pueblo. Dimensions: 4.75 in. high x 6.5 in. diameter. Estimate $4,500 – $6,500. Photo Scottsdale Auctions & Appraisals

Substantially sized, flawlessly potted, polished, and painted. An Avanyu (mythical horned water serpent) encircles the jar from just above the shoulder to just below the rim. The image is painted in the negative, Maria’s signature technique. Borderline gunmetal finish. The body of work Maria created with her son Popovi is widely considered to be the finest of her long career. This stunning jar is a prime example of Maria’s artistry at its peak. Signed Maria / Popovi as shown.

Large wedding vase with impressed bear paws. 11.5″ h x 8″ w. Signed Margaret Tafoya (1904-2001) on the bottom. Estimate $3,500 – $4,500. Photo Scottsdale Auctions & Appraisals

Large Native American, Mogollon Tularosa storage olla 1200 AD – 1300 AD 13 inches tall and 15 inches dia. Estimate $4,000 – $6,000. Photo Scottsdale Auctions & Appraisals

Mogollon refers to the pre-historic site which bordered the Anasazi and Hohokam in the Central valley. This massive, 13 inches tall and 15 inches diameter is done in interlocking stair step designs, beautiful rim. The paint is bold and really stands out in a room. Comes with display ring. A wonderful and rare piece being offered at a fraction of its value. Legally excavated on private ranch.

Reassembled by a museum qualified restorer, restoration is barely visible, reassembled from approx. 10 pieces, which is expected in ollas of this size.

The second group of offerings is ancient Pre-Columbian artifacts including important pieces such as a Costa Rican Jaguar jar from the museum displayed estate of Wallace Katz NY., and an impressive and rare Chupicuaro Female Figure from Arte Primitivo and the collection of Walter Knox along with over a hundred other lots of authentic pre-Columbian art.

A rare and authentic Pre-Columbian Costa Rican Jaguar Urn, Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica. Ca. 1200-1400 A.D. Size: 11″ H. Provenance: The Estate of Wallace Katz. Estimate $5,000 – $7,000. Photo Scottsdale Auctions & Appraisals

A highly decorated, polychrome pottery vessel in the form of a crouching jaguar with loop arms and paws resting on knees. Open toothy mouth, openwork tail support, rattles incorporated in the legs. Painted ocher-cream ground with elaborate black and red-orange zoomorphic and geometric decoration. Mineral deposits on the surface. Two minor stable hairlines from the rim. Size: 11″ H.

Large, 14-1/4”H. pre-Columbian hollow pottery standing female Chupicuaro figure, 250 BC-200 AD. A rare and impressive example. Provenance: Ex. Mort Lipkin Collection, acquired in London, 1970s, Ex- Arte Primitivo Gallery NY,NY, Ex- Knox Artifacts Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ. Estimate $15,000 – $20,000. Photo Scottsdale Auctions & Appraisals

holding both hands to her chest. Depicted with an elongated head, open mouth with individually applied teeth, large incised eyes and wearing ear spools. Cream ground with red painted geometric facial decoration, poncho and lower leg bands. Scattered surface deposits. A rare and impressive example. Custom Lucite base. Large, 14-1/4”H.

Next a fine offering of world class Asian artifacts including a very large Han Dynasty 250 AD warrior and an absolutely breathtaking Tang Dynasty horse, 24 inches tall with a Thermoluminescence test from Oxford dating the pieces to the Tang Dynasty 618 AD – 906 AD and a beautiful India sandstone sculpture, ca. 900 AD – 1100 AD of a sexy female form of Madhya Pradesh over 23″ tall.

Chinese Tang Dynasty, 618-906 AD . An exceptional, world class, very large ceramic horse, 61 cm (24″). Oxford, England thermoluminescence acquired July 17th 2013, report # C113E14. Estimate $25,000 – $30,000. Photo Scottsdale Auctions & Appraisals

the goddess of nature standing in a graceful tribhanga with her hips swung to the right, wearing a long dhoti, wide beaded belt with three beaded festoons suspended from her waist. Beaded collar with central beaded strand falling between her ample, rounded breasts. Some minor losses and normal surface weathering. Mounted on a custom metal base.

in active pose with arched neck and head slightly tilted; the musculature carefully defined to the neck, chest and legs; the mouth open showing power and aggression; shallow channel to the rear of the neck to accept a separate mane; the saddle and saddle blanket carefully molded, colored with orange and ochre pigment; the tail shown docked and bound. Similar in style to the Sancai but this one is painted and not glazed. The quality of this sculpture and it’s size suggests that it was for a royal tomb or a high ranking person. 8 kg, 61 cm (24″).

UK art market, acquired prior to 1980. Oxford, England thermoluminescence acquired July 17th 2013, report # C113E14. All four samples dated between 618 AD – 906 AD.

We have handled hundred of Tang and Han Dynasty horses over the years and this is by far the finest we have ever seen. The powerful pose is one that is extremely rare and I have not seen a similar pose in any museum or collection. Cf. Sotheby’s NY. 23 March 2004, lot 595 for lesser example, price realized $226,400 (USD) : Also Sotheby’s NY. 19 March 2007, lot 519, price realized $228,000.00 also a much inferior piece.

Large sandstone torso, high relief carving of Yakshi, Madhya Pradesh or Rajasthan, the goddess of nature. Provenance: Private NYC collection, ex. Massachusetts collection, acquired 1970s. Ex- Arte Primitivo Auctions NY, NY. Estimate $12,000 – $15,000. Photo Scottsdale Auctions & Appraisals

the goddess of nature standing in a graceful tribhanga with her hips swung to the right, wearing a long dhoti, wide beaded belt with three beaded festoons suspended from her waist. Beaded collar with central beaded strand falling between her ample, rounded breasts. Some minor losses and normal surface weathering. Mounted on a custom metal base. Size: 23-1/2inch.

The auction continues with a number of selections of fine art including three Pablo Picasso ceramic Madura plates, an original oil painting of noted artists Carl Oscar Borg, Billy Schenck, Marion Kavanagh Wachtel and several original photographs from the last sitting of Marylin Monroe by Bert Stern.

Picasso, Pablo (1881 – 1973), Bull Under Tree, 1952. Ceramic Madura plate 7 1/2 inches diameter. Signed: This work is stamped ‘Edition Picasso,’ and glazed ‘Edition Picasso,’ on the reverse. Estimate $2,500 – $3,5000. Photo Scottsdale Auctions & Appraisals

Picasso, Pablo (1881 – 1973), Picador, 1952. Ceramic Madura plate 7 1/2 inches diameter. Signed: This work is stamped ‘Edition Picasso,’ and glazed ‘Edition Picasso,’ on the reverse. Estimate $2,500 – $3,5000. Photo Scottsdale Auctions & Appraisals

Picasso, Pablo (1881 – 1973), Bird Under the Sun, 1952. Ceramic Madura bowl 6 1/4 inches diameter. Signed: This work is stamped ‘Edition Picasso,’ and glazed ‘Edition Picasso,’ on the reverse. Estimate $800 – $1,500. Photo Scottsdale Auctions & Appraisals

These works are stamped ‘Edition Picasso,’ and glazed ‘Edition Picasso,’ on the reverse
In 1946 Picasso in Golfe Juan with his friend Louis Fort, decided to visit the pottery exhibition in Vallauris. He took a particular interest in the Madura stand and asked to be introduced to the owners РSuzanne and Georges Rami̩. They invited him to their Madura Pottery workshop in Vallauris. There he made three pieces which he left to dry and bake.
A year later Picasso returned to see how the pieces had turned out. He was delighted with the quality of the work and asked if he could make more. They agreed and an area of the workshop was arranged especially for him. Immediately, he began to work, inspired by his portfolio of sketches. So began a long and very productive partnership between Picasso and Madura. The whole Madura team became part of the creative process. They made sure Picasso had all the materials he needed and assisted in producing perfectly finished works of art. Suzanne Ramié shared her vast experience, teaching him all the secrets of ceramics.
The ceramics ranged from vases, sculptures, plaques to even a complete dinner service. The familiar themes included bullfighting scenes, portraits and nature – goats, birds, and fish. In 24 years over 633 pieces were created in limited editions all engraved with the Madura stamp.
Literature: Ramié, Alain, 1988, Picasso, Catalogue of the Edited Ceramics

Bert Stern (American, 1929-2013), Marilyn Monroe, from The Last Sitting, 1962, 12.5″ x 13″ on 13″ x 19″ archival photo matte paper or pigment print., ed 41/100 made in 2012. Signed in crayon in the margin recto; artist’s stamp & Signature verso. Estimate $5,000 – $7,000. Photo Scottsdale Auctions & Appraisals

If you are in Scottsdale we invited you to stop by and preview the auction at 7056 E. Main St. Scottsdale, AZ. Please call ahead (480) 703-3122 the owner of the gallery, invites you to visit in-person, no appointment needed. A printed copy of the current auction Catalog is available upon request through the website www.scottsdaleauctions.com

Scottsdale Auctions & Appraisals is a brick and mortar gallery located in the art of the Scottsdale gallery district. We also specialize in auctions of small collections to entire estates on staff specialists and experts in Pre-Columbian Art, Classical and Egyptian Antiquities, Asian Antiquities and Antiques and Ethnographic Art including Native American collectables and Navajo weavings. The gallery conducts absentee internet auctions approximately 6 times a year, plus special exhibitions, retail, and private sales. We offer free appraisals and can assist in museum donations and authenticity testing.

Walter Gay, The Fragonard Room at the Frick Collection, 1926

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Frick Collection, The Fragonard Room, Walter Gay

Walter Gay, The Fragonard Room at the Frick Collection, 1926.

(Source: architecturaldigest.com)

Walter Gay, The Boucher Room at the Frick Collection, 1928

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The Boucher Room, The Frick Collection, Walter Gay

 

Walter Gay, The Boucher Room at the Frick Collection, 1928. (via Architectural Digest)

Important paintings by Mattia Preti and Gilbert Stuart acquired by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

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Gilbert Stuart, Mattia Preti, Portrait of Rebecca White Pickering, The Visitation

Mattia Preti (Italian, 1613–1619), The Visitation, oil on canvas, 47 5/16”H × 67 1/32”W. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond. Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Endowment.

RICHMOND, VA.- Two important paintings, one by 17th-century Italian painter Mattia Preti and the other by 19th-century American portraitist Gilbert Stuart, have been acquired by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and are on view in the galleries in time for the holidays.

17th-century Italian painting
• Mattia Preti (Italian, 1613–1619), The Visitation, oil on canvas, 47 5/16”H × 67 1/32”W. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond. Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Endowment

The Visitation is an exceptional religious scene by the Baroque master Mattia Preti, whose work illustrates the realistic tendencies perfected by fellow Italian artist, Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi). Preti is generally described as the last great exponent of Caravaggesque naturalism, and here he revels in the tenderness of the scene unlike the coarse treatments of some of his counterparts. Especially appropriate to the Christmas season, this painting depicts the meeting of the Virgin Mary and her cousin Elizabeth, the first episode in the life of Christ recorded by Luke.

Preti, although born in Calabria and active in Naples and Malta later in his career, was working in Rome at the time this painting was produced. The museum’s holdings include important works by great artists active in Naples including Luca Giordano, Paolo de Matteis, Francesco Solimena, Salvator Rosa, and Artemisia Gentileschi. The addition of this work further enhances VMFA’s collection as a destination for the study of the Neapolitan baroque.

In this powerful and dramatic painting, Preti represents the meeting of the Virgin Mary with her older cousin Elizabeth. Mary hastened to visit her kinswoman following the Annunciation by the Angel Gabriel. Elizabeth, who was soon to give birth to St. John the Baptist, recognizes that Mary has been chosen as the mother of the Son of God, and greets her with the words “Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. . . . For lo, as soon as the voice of thy salvation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.” (Luke 1:42-44)

“This old master painting will become a visitor favorite, as well as a touchstone for the artist,” Director Alex Nyerges said. “We can think of no better Christmas gift to the commonwealth than exquisite art for all to enjoy.”

Gilbert Stuart (American, 1755-1828), Portrait of Rebecca White Pickering (Mrs. Timothy Pickering), 1817-18, oil on wood. J. Harwood and Louise B. Cochrane Fund for American Art.

19th-century American portrait
• Gilbert Stuart (American, 1755-1828), Portrait of Rebecca White Pickering (Mrs. Timothy Pickering), 1817-18, oil on wood. J. Harwood and Louise B. Cochrane Fund for American Art.

Gilbert Stuart – “the Vandyke of the Time”– was a master portraitist whose talents coincided with the needs of a generation anxiously crafting a new American identity. After the Revolution, persons once subject to the hierarchical social structure of the British Empire were freed to negotiate public and private selves within the context of a self-determined republic. To this end, Stuart imbued his clients’ portraits with the social parity accorded an international society of merchants, landowners and aristocrats. With its dazzling display of luxurious textures, this stunning likeness of the Massachusetts matriarch, Rebecca White Pickering (1754-1828), numbers among his finest work.

“Celebrated by his contemporaries for his life portraits of George Washington,” Susan Jensen Rawles, interim department head of American art said, “Stuart’s extraordinary talents are rarely as evident as in this portrait of Rebecca Pickering, its rich tones rendered with a fluid touch. We are thrilled to add it our American collections.”

84 Japanese works
Also acquired are 84 works by the 20th century Japanese shin-hanga woodblock print master, Kawase Hasui. In addition to this gift, collectors René and Carolyn Balcer have donated more than 580 Hasui works to VMFA. The exhibition, Water and Shadow: Kawase Hasui and Japanese Landscape Prints, is on view in VMFA’s Evans Court Gallery.

Born in Tokyo, Kawase Hasui was trained in traditional Japanese painting, watercolor, and oil painting. He studied Japanese prints with Kaburaki Kiyokata (1878-1972), and then began to work as an illustrator for magazines and advertisements. In 1918, Hasui’s first experimental prints were published by Watanabe Shōzaburō (1885-1962), initiating a collaboration that would last for the rest of Hasui’s life. The prints created by Hasui were named as “new prints” (shin-hanga), an art movement that began in the early 20th century. By bringing together the talents of an artist, a block carver, a printer, and a publisher, shin-hanga works mimicked the traditional collaborative process of ukiyo-e printmaking, as opposed to the “creative prints” (sosaku-hanga), another movement that emerged in Japan at the same time and advocated artists to create prints through their individual effort.

Tibetan textile
• Tibetan, Temple Hanging, dyed and painted silk appliqué, 93½”H × 67⅛”W. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond. Gift of Anne and Larry Heilman.

VMFA’s world-class Himalayan collection is enriched by the gift of a large and visually powerful Tibetan textile. Nearly eight feet tall, it is composed of hundreds of small, quilted and embroidered silk elements—most auspicious emblems—joined to form an elaborate garland centered on an unfolding lotus. This colorful hanging would once have enlivened the interior of a Buddhist temple, where it might have either fronted a large altar or hung above an entryway, rather like an ornamental festoon in western architecture. Donors Anne and Larry Heilman­­­­ of Chevy Chase, Md., acquired the textile in Kathmandu, Nepal in 1972.

Additional Acquisitions
American
• Edward Heim (American, before 1880 – after 1937), Bessie Potter Vonnoh, ca. 1927, photograph, 9½ x 7¼”. Gift of Alexander Reeves, Richmond

Decorative Arts
• Jean Lurcat (French, 1892-1966): three Aubusson tapestries from 1965, wool:
Gemini, woven by the Atelier Gisèle Brivet, 41½ x 58¼”
The Awakening, woven by the Atelier Gisèle Brivet, 48 ⅜ x 79¼”
Cascade, woven by the Atelier Picaud, 42¾ x 58¼”
Gift of Mary and Lucien Rubenstein, Madison, WI

Photography
1. Selection of photographs by Rodchenko and other Russian Constructivists.
• Alexander Rodchenko (Russian, 1891–1956):
° with Henri Manuel (Russian, 1874 – 1947), Alexandr Rodchenko’s Worker’s Club installation at the 1925 Decorative Arts exhibition in Paris, 1925, gelatin silver print, 11.8 x 9.25”
° House on Novinskii Boulevard – Project architect Moisei Ginzburg, 1929, vintage gelatin silver print, 4¾ x 6¼”
° The Worker’s Faculty Student, 1924, vintage gelatin silver print; 4.8 x 3.4”
° Workers’ Demonstration, 1932, toned vintage gelatin silver print , 17.4 x 11.10”
° Fotomontazh k poeme V. Mayakovskovo ‘Pro Eto’ (Photomontage for Mayakovsky’s poem, ‘About This’), 1923, gelatin silver print, 9.4 x 6.8”
° Corner, 1925 (Untitled (Building), 1925), gelatin silver print, 5 x 6.10”
° Dom Mosselproma. House of Mosselprom, decorated by Rodchenko, 1925, gelatin silver print, 9.8 x 6.4”
° Canteen at the Electric Plant, 1929, gelatin silver print, 6.12 x 4.8”
° Pryzhok s shestom (High Jumper), 1937, gelatin silver print, 5.12 x 6.12”
° Pine trees. From the Karelia series, 1933, gelatin silver print; 8.8 x 5.8”
• Gustav Klutsis (1895 – 1938), Delo Chesti, Slavy, Doblesti i Gerojstva! (A Matter of Honor, Glory, Valor and Heroism!), 1931, vintage gelatin silver photomontage
• Max Alpert (1899–1980), Untitled (Dnepr Dam), gelatin silver print; 12.12 x 9”
• Piotr Otsup (1883 – 1963), S. Kobozev na sjemke prazdnovanija pervoj godovshchini Oktriabria. I.S. Kobozev (photographer) photographing the first October Celebration, 1918, gelatin silver print, 6.8 x 4.10”
• Georgi Zelma (Russian, 1906 – 1984):
° Tractor Driver, Birobizhan, mid – 1930s, vintage gelatin silver print; 2.3 x 3.1”
° Krasnaya Ploschad’, Kolonna ‘Elektrozavoda’. Red Square, Column of Electro-Factory, 1931, gelatin silver print, 4.1 x 6.5 in. Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund

2. 12 photographs purchased from the Estate of George Cruger:
• Mary Ellen Mark (American, b. 1941), India, 1989, gelatin sliver print
• Alvin Langdon Coburn, (British,1882–1966), Greyfriars Church, photogravure
• Unknown photographer, (Point Lobos), ca. 1930, silver gelatin print,
• Unknown photographer, Louvre Gallery nearly Empty, 1939, series of five silver-gelatin prints
• Claudio Cambon (American, b. 1967), ‘Papa’ John Wallace, Bosun, 1998, gelatin-silver print
• Unknown photographer (perhaps from New York Herald-Tribune), two gelatin-silver prints depicting José Ramón Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez, 1927, gelatin-silver print
• Underwood & Underwood, Some Men Climb ‘Some Heights’ To Get Some Women, ca. 1930. Kathleen Boone Samuels Memorial Fund

3. Gyorgy Kepes (American/Hungarian, 1906-2001), four untitled abstractions, gelatin silver prints. Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund

4. Arnold Newman (American, 1918-2006), four silver gelatin prints:
• Man Ray, Los Angeles, 1948
• Moses & Raphael Soyer, NYC, 1942
• Grandma Moses, Eage Bridge, NY
• Danny Kaye Kathleen Boone Samuels Memorial Fund

5. Elisabeth Sunday (American, born 1958), Emerge (Tuareg Woman, The Sahara Desert, Mali), 2007, platinum print on rag paper. Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund.

Museums announce final installation in multi-year collaboration focusing on the history of American art

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Abraham Mignon, Jean-Siméon Chardin, Joseph Biays Ord, Raphaelle Peale, William Michael Harnett, William Sidney Mount

Abraham Mignon, Flowers in a Crystal Vase on a Stone Pedestal, with a Dragonfly, n.d (Musée du Louvre)

ATLANTA, GA.- The Musée du Louvre, the High Museum of Art, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and the Terra Foundation for American Art have announced the final installation in their four-year collaboration focusing on the history of American art. Opening at the Louvre on Feb. 5, 2015, American Encounters: The Simple Pleasures of Still Life explores how late 18th- and early 19th-century American artists adapted European still-life tradition to American taste, character and experience. The culminating presentation of the American Encounters series—which has aimed to broaden appreciation for and dialogue about American art both within the U.S. and abroad—The Simple Pleasures of Still Life follows previous installations examining important genres in American art, including portraiture, landscape and genre paintings.

Following the installation at the Louvre (Feb. 5 – April 27, 2015), The Simple Pleasures of Still Life will travel to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark. (May 16 – Sept. 14, 2015), and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Ga. (Sept. 26, 2015 – Jan. 31, 2016).

Though a centuries-old tradition in Europe, still-life painting was slow to take hold in the U.S., increasing in popularity over the course of the 19th century, an era of remarkable political, economic and social transformation. The subjects depicted in American still lifes evolved throughout these decades, drawing on and expanding the traditions of Dutch-style tabletops laden with fruits and vegetables and ornate French bouquet arrangements in the selection, arrangement and depiction of objects imbued with New World symbolism. As the country became more cosmopolitan, a result of its growing industrial and economic power, art patronage in the Gilded Age increasingly focused on the representation of wealth in pictures of exotic objects popular among the upper classes. The subjects of still-life painting during this period served as evocative emblems—whether of regional identity, moral values or eclectic collecting— and reflect the story of an evolving nation.

“This focused presentation could not be a more fitting conclusion to the American Encounters series,” said Stephanie Mayer Heydt, Margaret and Terry Stent Curator of American Art at the High Museum of Art. “Each individual painting, intimately scaled and packed with lush imagery rife with symbolic and historical meaning, invites close observation and tells the story of a young nation finding its voice. We’re thrilled to share this distinctly American experience and educate audiences about the history of American art both at home and abroad.”

Added Guillaume Faroult, curator, Department of Paintings, Musée du Louvre: “Our partnership over the past four years has allowed for unprecedented opportunities for scholarship, engagement and creative exchange. Collectively, we have been able to provide a much richer, holistic narrative of the development of American art than any of the institutions could have presented alone. This collaboration has had a significant impact on the understanding and appreciation for American art in Paris and beyond, and we look forward to continuing the dialogue fostered by this installation series.”

The ten masterpieces in the The Simple Pleasures of Still Life speak to the diversity of the still-life genre in the U.S. and range from works by artists De Scott Evans, Martin Johnson Heade, Joseph Biays Ord, William Sydney Mount and Raphaelle Peale to trompe l’oeil masterworks by John Haberle, William Michael Harnett and George Cope. Two paintings by John-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin and Abraham Mignon demonstrate the European examples frequently emulated by American artists first experimenting with still life in the early 1800s. The presentation at the High will be supplemented with four additional paintings drawn from the museum’s extensive holdings in American art, including works by William Mason Brown, Joseph Decker and John Frederick Peto.

Highlights include:

Pipes and Drinking Pitcher (1737) by Jean-Siméon Chardin (Musée du Louvre), the most popular French still-life painter of the 18th century, depicts an unusual subject for the artist that subtly conjures sensory pleasures.

Corn and Cantaloupe (c. 1813) by Raphaelle Peale (Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art) demonstrates how American artists adopted the European “tabletop composition” to feature distinctly American horticulture: the ear of corn and a Maryland-specific variety of cantaloupe grown on the plantation of the painting’s original owner. 

Civil War-era Apples on a Tin Cup (1864) by William Sidney Mount (Terra Foundation for American Art) juxtaposes opposing symbols of the apple— the iconic American fruit and a common gift from children to Union soldiers during the Civil War—atop an empty, battled-worn army-issued cup to create a poignant contrast between sustenance and absence in a nation weary from war.

Still Life with Bust of Dante (1883) by William Michael Harnett (High Museum of Art) is a trompe l’oeil painting illustrating the late 19th-century trend towards collecting eclectic and exotic objects made available through rapidly expanding international commerce.

Joseph Biays Ord, Still Life with Shells, 1840, purchase with funds from Margaret and Terry Stent Endowment for the Acquisition of American Art

Saint Louis Art Museum announces transformative gift of Asian and American art

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10th-11th Century, and Auspicious Clouds, Bowl with Design of the Three Abundances, cong, Dish with Design of Gardenia Sprays, Ewer, Fang Ding, Floral Sprays, George Washington, Horse Groom, Liangzhu culture, Ming Dynasty, Northern Wei dynasty, Qing dynasty, Rectangular Food Vessel, Rembrandt Peale, Shang Dynasty, stem bowl, Xuande period, Yongzheng Period

Chinese, Ewer with Design of Floral Scrolls and Spout in the Form of a Lion-Dog, 10th– 11th century; Saint Louis Art Museum, Spink Asian Art Collection, Bequest of Edith J. and C.C. Johnson Spink.

SAINT LOUIS, MO.- The Saint Louis Art Museum on Monday accepted the transformative gift of 225 works of art from the collection of the late C.C. Johnson Spink and Edith “Edie” Spink.

The bequest includes superb works by American artists – including John Singleton Copley, Rembrandt Peale, Norman Rockwell and Andrew and Jamie Wyeth – but the gift is most notable for more than 200 works of Asian art that range from Chinese ceramics of the Neolithic period to works from Meiji-era Japan. The works of art were formally accepted Monday afternoon at a meeting of the museum’s collection committee.

The Spinks’ Asian art collection was developed with the intent of filling major gaps in the Art Museum’s collection and with a specific goal of allowing the museum to present a complete history of Chinese ceramics from prehistoric times to the end of the imperial system.

“This extraordinary gift is the result of three decades of strategic collecting by Johnson and Edie, who were guided by a shared desire to expand and elevate the Museum’s collection,” said Brent R. Benjamin, director of the Saint Louis Art Museum. “I am grateful for their generosity, and all of us at the museum are excited to include their legacy as an essential part of our visitors’ experience.”

Many of the most significant pieces in the collection have appreciated greatly in value in recent years, to the extent that it would have been impossible for the Museum to purchase them on the open market. A conservative estimate of the value of the Spink Asian Art Collection is $50 million. Certain pieces, in particular the most unusual and rare of the bronzes and porcelains, could command prices well over $5 million each.

“The Saint Louis Art Museum’s collection of Chinese art is impressive, but the dramatic increase in market prices has made it a challenge to further develop that area of the collection,” said Mark Weil, a Museum commissioner and the chairman of the museum’s collections committee. “This gift includes works of such a high level that we would have been unable to secure them at auction or in the private market.”

The Spink Asian Art Collection primarily comprises works by Chinese artists, although the gift also includes six important Japanese works. The collection includes 83 ceramics, eight works in glass, 52 jades and hardstones, 22 works made from lacquer and other organic materials, and 50 examples of metalwork. Highlights include:

Rectangular Food Vessel (fang ding) with Flattened Feet in the Form of Kui-Dragons, a Shang dynasty (11th century BC) bronze bowl with two horseshoe handles and supported by four feet in the shape of long-tailed birds. Saint Louis Art Museum, Spink Asian Art Collection, Bequest of Edith J. and C.C. Johnson Spink.

Ritual Object in the Form of a Prismatic Cylinder (cong), a rectangular shaped, dark green jade cylinder from the Liangzhu culture and dating to 3000–2000 BC. The object depicts 10 faces on each corner. Saint Louis Art Museum, Spink Asian Art Collection, Bequest of Edith J. and C.C. Johnson Spink.

Standing Figure of a Horse Groom, an earthenware figure from the Northern Wei dynasty (early 6th century). Saint Louis Art Museum, Spink Asian Art Collection, Bequest of Edith J. and C.C. Johnson Spink.

Stem Bowl with Design of Flowering Branches of Tree Peony, Pomegranate, Chrysanthemum, and Camellia, a large Jingdezhen ware stem bowl dating from the Xuande period of the Ming dynasty (early 15th century). Saint Louis Art Museum, Spink Asian Art Collection, Bequest of Edith J. and C.C. Johnson Spink.

Bowl with Design of the Three Abundances, Floral Sprays, and Auspicious Clouds, a large carved pale blue and celadon-glazed bowl from the Yongzheng period of the Qing dynasty (early 18th century). Saint Louis Art Museum, Spink Asian Art Collection, Bequest of Edith J. and C.C. Johnson Spink.

Dish with Design of Gardenia Sprays, a shallow, circular porcelain plate from the Yongzheng period of the Qing dynasty (early 18th century) featuring floral designs in white on a ground of blue underglaze. Saint Louis Art Museum, Spink Asian Art Collection, Bequest of Edith J. and C.C. Johnson Spink.

The gift demonstrates the broad collecting interests of the Spinks. In addition to Asian art, the gift includes such important works of American art as:

George Washington, a bust-length portrait of the founding father from about 1845 by Rembrandt Peale. The painting, which includes a trompe l’oeil stone oval opening with visible cracks and seams in the stonework, is one of the best known depictions of Washington. Saint Louis Art Museum, Spink Asian Art Collection, Bequest of Edith J. and C.C. Johnson Spink.

Thanksgiving, an iconic 1943 painting by Norman Rockwell purchased from the artist by J.G. Taylor Spink and given to his son, C. C. Johnson Spink, upon his return from Coast Guard duty during World War II. The painting, which was reproduced for the Nov. 27, 1943 cover of the Saturday Evening Post, depicts a young refugee in war-ravaged Italy giving thanks for a GI’s rations and coat.

Hot Stove League, a 1956 painting by Rockwell that shows two old men bickering about baseball while keeping warm next to a potbelly stove. The painting, which shows one man holding a newspaper and another holding a baseball magazine, likely had a special significance for the Spink family, which owned The Sporting News and related baseball publications.

The watercolors Glass Lamps and Open Door by Andrew Wyeth (1917–2009) and Butts and Cattle Rubbed by his son, Jamie Wyeth, that together highlight one of the most noteworthy families of American artists.

Many of the masterworks included in the Spink gift are already on view and can be seen in the Asian Art and American Art galleries thanks to a series of long-term loans approved by Mrs. Spink starting in 2004. Next year, several dozen ceramic pieces from the Spink Collection will be displayed in the complete reinstallation of Gallery 230.

The gift is a testament to museum patrons C.C. Johnson Spink and Edith “Edie” Spink. In the early 1970s, the St. Louis natives began a period of aggressively collecting art with the long-term goal of expanding the collection of the Saint Louis Art Museum.

“The Spink’s generosity and investment in the Saint Louis Art Museum’s collections is inspirational,” said Barbara B. Taylor, president of the museum’s board of commissioners. “This gift illustrates their love of art and their desire to leave a legacy that will have an impact on our visitors for years to come.”

Charles Claude Johnson Spink was the publisher of The Sporting News, and he was the last owner from the family that in 1886 founded the St. Louis-based national sports publication known as “the Bible of Baseball.” After Mr. Spink died in 1992 at the age of 75, his wife Edith Spink entered politics. As mayor of Ladue, Mo. from 1995 to 2005, Mrs. Spink was one of the St. Louis area’s longest-serving mayors when she retired from office. She died in 2011 at the age of 90.

‘Fine Impressions: Whistler, Freer, and Venice’: Freer Gallery founder Charles Lang Freer’s first Whistler purchase goes on view

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etching and drypoint on paper, James McNeill Whistler

Quiet Canal; James McNeill Whistler (1804– 1903); United States; 1879-1880; etching and drypoint on paper; Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1887.25.

WASHINGTON, DC.- In 1887, businessman Charles Lang Freer acquired his first works by American artist James McNeill Whistler, a set of delicately rendered etchings known as the Second Venice Set. The result of a chance encounter, this single act led to Freer amassing one of the world’s finest collections of Asian and American art and later founding the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art. Opened Oct. 18, the exhibition “Fine Impressions: Whistler, Freer, and Venice” tells the story for the first time of how Freer’s precipitous purchase catalyzed a shift in taste and came to define his subsequent career as a connoisseur and collector.

Up to that point, Freer had been uninterested in works by the expatriate American. “Why anyone in the world should make any fuss over Whistler as an artist” was, he said, beyond him. Viewing Mansfield’s collection changed Freer’s mind. As he later remarked to Mansfield, “My purchasing, I recall, began the day thereafter, and has continued ever since whenever opportunity has offered.”

Freer’s precipitous act marked the beginning of a long and fruitful partnership with Whistler. The mutually beneficial relationship between collector and artist eventually led to the founding of the Freer Gallery, today the world’s largest and finest repository of works by Whistler.

The Second Venice Set is well known within Whistler’s oeuvre. It has most frequently been exhibited to highlight changes in Whistler’s style and to underscore the popularity of Venice as a tourist destination and artistic subject. Fine Impressions, however, tells the story from Freer’s perspective: how his epiphany in Mansfield’s apartment and his acquisition of the Second Venice Set catalyzed a shift in taste and came to shape his legacy as a connoisseur and collector.

Nocturne: Furnace; James McNeill Whistler (1804–1903); United States; 1879-1880; etching and drypoint on paper; Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1887.24