William Frederick Foster, A.N.A (1882-‐1953) Eight works from a private California collection April 11th – May 15th, 2013
Anderson Galleries, Inc.
354 N. Bedford Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 Tel 310 858 1644 info@andersongalleries.com www.AndersonGalleries.com
William Frederick Foster, A.N.A. (1882-‐1953) Eight works from a private California collection April 11th – May 15th, 2013
Anderson Galleries is pleased to feature this select exhibition of works by William Frederick Foster, A.N.A. (American, 1882-‐1953) to our friends and patrons from April 4th through May 2nd, 2013. We are excited to take part in the rediscovery of the artist and present this initial survey of his later works executed primarily in California from 1930 to 1941. Foster worked in the great figural tradition of Frank Duveneck, William Merritt Chase and Robert Henri and studied with them in his early years. An accomplished illustrator, painter and teacher he was a legitimate heir to the 20th Century Ashcan and Realist movements. Though a highly productive artist during his lifetime, he did not achieve the lasting recognition his work deserves. This group of works reflects Foster’s fascination and preoccupation with the female figure both as muse and mistress, a theme that would endure throughout his career. Whether the models are dressed and coiffed in the latest fashion; sultry and semi-‐dressed in the darkened recesses of the painter’s studio; or simply, alluringly nude, these paintings establish Foster as a significant contributor to American figural tradition. Foster was a gifted and supremely confident draftsman. His early work as an illustrator depicts sumptuous interiors and furnishings with handsomely dressed figures in the high style of the Gilded Age. He won critical acclaim for this work and long-‐term contracts from the leading magazines of the time. Foster arrived in Los Angeles, California in 1932. Still recovering from a nearly fatal motorcycle injury, there is a decisive sea change in both his style and subject. Freed from the constraints of his magazine publishers, he deliberately turned away from refinement and adopted a freer and more Elegant Lady, 1910 expressive handling of paint.
Foster was now clearly painting to please his own instincts and inclinations. The society ladies from an earlier era have been largely stripped of their artifice. He introduced bold yellow, red and brown pigments onto his palette and the settings are now indistinct and generalized, placing all emphasis on the figure herself. The dressed and semi-‐ dressed figures are painted in a direct and more abbreviated Lady with Fan o/c 1930 style with lively expressive strokes and strong tonal contrasts. He sometimes chose to leave part of the figure unfinished, asking the viewer to fill in the details. Random drips, rapid corrections and clearly spontaneous re-‐workings of the figure in still wet paint point to Foster’s passionate temperament. Henry J. Seldis of the Los Angeles Times observed, “...paint was even dearer to him than the pretty women he painted and loved.” His nude figures reveal a lighter more delicate touch; softer more neutral tones prevail though the vigorous brushwork remains. The two examples featured in this exhibition are seen from behind. Their hair is pinned up as if they have just left or are about to enter the bath. The model’s poses appear almost classically inspired. Foster paints them with a deliberate modesty but obvious appreciation. Foster’s career began auspiciously as a student of Frank Duveneck in his native Cincinnati. In 1902, he went to New York City where he painted scenery and studied at the New York School with Robert Henri and William Merritt Chase. From 1903 to 1931 he worked as an illustrator, with a brief teaching stint in 1919 at the Art Institute of Chicago. Foster’s work in New York as an illustrator from 1903 to 1931 for the Saturday Evening Post, Cosmopolitan and Life magazines established his national reputation. His colleagues during this Golden Age of illustration included James Montgomery Flagg and the Leyendecker Brothers. He won the National Academy of Design's Clark Prize in 1926 for the best figure composition painted in the United States by a non-‐ Seated nude o/c 1940 academician. The following year, he was voted an Associate Member based on recognition for The Girl in Brown. Determined to pursue figure painting for its own sake, Foster moved to Los Angeles in 1932 where would spend the remainder of his life. He taught at the Chouinard School of Art in Los Angeles and gave private classes in his studio.
He also worked on a mural project at the Hearst estate in Wyntoon, California and was an active member of the California Art Club. Foster died of a stroke on June 27th, 1953 in Los Angeles. The exhibition is accompanied by the monograph: William Frederick Foster, A.N.A. Portrait of a Painter by Phyllis Barton, 472 pages, 11 ½ x 10 inches, 44 color plates, 550 black and white halftones. Notes, selected bibliography and index. Richlaine Publishing, Los Angeles. *Please note that all paintings in the exhibition are available for purchase and are documented and illustrated in the monograph. We invite you to view the exhibition William Frederick Foster, A.N.A (1882-‐1953), Eight works from a private California collection, April 11th – May 15th, 2013. Gallery hours: Monday-‐Friday, 11-‐6 or by appointment. Joyce and Kevin Anderson Anderson Galleries, Inc. Spring, 2013.
1.
Elegant Lady in an Interior, c. 1910 Oil on canvas, (Grisaille) 34 x 22 inches Signed lower left Literature: William Frederick Foster, Portrait of a Painter, page 171
2.
Lady with a Brown Fan, c. 1930 Oil on canvas, 28 x 24 inches Signed center right Literature: William Frederick Foster, Portrait of a Painter, page 57.
3.
Lady with the Binoculars, c. 1939 Oil on canvas, 30 x 27 inches Signed center left Literature: William Frederick Foster, Portrait of a Painter, page 358.
4.
Seated Nude with Upswept Hair, c. 1940 Oil on canvas, 37 x 28 inches Signed lower right Literature: William Frederick Foster, Portrait of a Painter, page 404.
5.
The Red Vase, c. 1940 Oil on canvas, 23 x 30 inches Signed lower left Literature: William Frederick Foster, Portrait of a Painter, page 385.
6.
Lady in a Print Dress with Umbrella, c. 1940 Oil on canvas, 31 x 25 inches Signed lower right Literature: William Frederick Foster, Portrait of a Painter, page 362.
7.
Seated Back Nude with White Drape, c. 1940 Oil on canvas, 44 x 30 inches Signed lower left Literature: William Frederick Foster, Portrait of a Painter, page 379.
8.
Lady with Purple Hat and Mandolin, c. 1941 Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 inches Signed lower right Literature: William Frederick Foster, Portrait of a Painter, page 371.
LIST OF ARTWORKS
William Fre de rick Fos te r (Ame rican, 1882-1953) Elegant Lady , 1910 Oil on canvas 34h x 22w in WF-1001
$7000.00
William Fre de rick Fos te r (Ame rican, 1882-1953) Lady with a Brown Fan, c. 1930 Oil On Canvas 28h x 24w x 0d in WF-1002
$6000.00
William Fre de rick Fos te r (Ame rican, 1882-1953) Lady with the Binoculars, c. 1939 Oil On Canvas 30h x 27w x 0d in WF-1003
$6000.00
William Fre de rick Fos te r (Ame rican, 1882-1953) Seated Nude with Upswept Hair, c. 1940 Oil On Canvas 37.25h x 28w x 0d in WF-1007
$9000.00
William Fre de rick Fos te r (Ame rican, 1882-1953) The Red Vase , c. 1940 Oil On Canvas 23h x 30w x 0d in WF-1006
$6000.00
354 North Bedford Drive ~ Beverly Hills, California 90210 Tel 310 858 1644 Fax 310 858 1643 E info@AndersonGalleries.com www.AndersonGalleries.com
William Fre de rick Fos te r (Ame rican, 1882-1953) Lady in a Print Dress with a Parasol, c. 1940 Oil On Canvas 31h x 25w x 0d in WF-1005
$6000.00
William Fre de rick Fos te r (Ame rican, 1882-1953) Seated Back Nude with White Drape, c. 1940 Oil On Canvas 44h x 30w x 0d in WF-1008
$9000.00
William Fre de rick Fos te r (Ame rican, 1882-1953) Lady Wearing Purple Hat with Mandolin, c. 1941 Oil On Canvas 30h x 40w x 0d in WF-1004
$8000.00
354 North Bedford Drive ~ Beverly Hills, California 90210 Tel 310 858 1644 Fax 310 858 1643 E info@AndersonGalleries.com www.AndersonGalleries.com