Bright Mirror Art for a New Day BAKER SCHORR FINE ART MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY BAKER SCHORR FINE ART MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY
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Bright Mirror Art for a New Day
BAKER SCHORR FINE ART MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY
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Bright Mirror Art for a New Day W
hen I first saw Jacob Kainen’s painting Bright Mirror, I knew it would be the cover of this catalogue. It wasn’t just the color or the dream-like forms that caught my eye, it was the title. We are all needing a bright mirror to gaze into right now. Before we rush into 2021, it is worth taking a moment of reflection—not just on the external events that have impacted us—but on what is happening inside us and how we have treated others. Who are we and what do we see when we look in the mirror? Artists are great at asking this question and have long provided that bright mirror for the world. Not because their works are always rosy and uplifting, but because they reflect truth and insight, detail and observation that the viewer might otherwise miss. As I study the lives of the artists whose work I carry at Baker Schorr, it grows clearer that throughout history artists have not only mirrored culture, their imaginative and radical visions have created it, changed it, and told the truth about it. They have illuminated culture with hope and optimism during challenging times. We can see ourselves in their work and stories. In his 2001 obituary in the Washington Post, Jacob Kainen is described as an artist who, “In the 20thcentury battle between the representational and the nonobjective, fought with courage on both sides, and with tenderness as well. He loved painting, he once wrote, for ‘its opacities and translucencies, its reserves and contrasts, its magical charge of color.’ When depicting mundane subjects—fire escapes or street signs—he made them seem enchanted. When presenting abstract forms—squares or grids or ovals— he made those chill shapes seem humane.” This is the kind of magic you will find at Baker Schorr Fine Art. All the works in this catalogue and in our inventory celebrate the reflective qualities of art throughout history and the rich stories of the artists themselves. Rosa Bonheur, for example, was a radical woman painting in the mid to late 1800s. From a family of artists, she was known for her powerful and realistic depictions of animals. The paintings of Cleve Gray are
mystical calligraphic abstractions. His gestural marks appear to float above the picture plane. Jane Wilson is seen as a bridge between the realistic and figurative painters of the late 1950s and the Abstract Expressionists. An Iowa farm girl, she painted landscapes as well as Manhattan street scenes (not to mention a commissioned portrait of Andy Warhol in 1960). French artist Francois Aubrun dedicated his life to the almost sacred pursuit of painting light and atmosphere. James Brooks worked on murals for the WPA Federal Art Project and served as an army artist during World War II before his work turned toward Social Realism and abstraction. Art is both revelatory and evocative, continually enlightening the viewer in new ways over time. Perhaps this is why we crave art—and how collectors are born! Baker Schorr is a resource for art of the highest quality in Texas and beyond. BSFA’s inventory features twentieth century modern art, with a focus on post-war American abstract painters; and contemporary art, including both twentieth century works and works by current practicing artists. Our collection also includes nineteenth century American and European paintings. In addition to group and solo shows throughout the year, BSFA’s 2020-21 program includes safelyplanned receptions, artist lectures, gallery talks, and other special events. Shows and events will be accessible on our website for those who are unable to gather in person. Gerhardt Richter says, “Picturing things, taking a view, is what makes us human.” As we end one year and enter another, may we do so with humanity, tenderness and plenty of magic. The mirror is bright. There is always art for a new day. Kathryn Schorr Baker Schorr Fine Art, Midland, Texas October, 2020
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Modern The Modern Art movement emerged in 1872 with the emphasis on color, light and blurred brushstrokes of Impressionism. French painters like Monet, Degas and Renoir were at the forefront of this new era when artists were reinterpreting and challenging the rules of realistic academic painting. The Modern art genre included several major movements including Post-impressionism, Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism, Surrealism, and by the middle of the twentieth century, Abstract Expressionism. Abstract expressionists abandoned figurative styles in favor of an emphasis on color, form, composition, emotion, and the creative process.
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ioneer of American Modernism, Andrew Dasburg was born in Paris, France, raised in Germany, and came to the United States with his mother in 1892. He trained at the Art Students League in New York with Kenyon Cox and DuMond, and privately in Woodstock with Birge Harrison. In 1908 he visited Paris, where he saw the work of Modern masters Matisse, Picasso, and Cezanne. Dasburg was invited to Matisse’s studio and was profoundly influenced by the artist and his work. He also dedicated himself to the study of Paul Cezanne, applying the fundamentals of Cubism to his personal vision of the American scene. Dasburg returned to America in 1908, bringing with him his new European influences. In 1917 Dasburg visited New Mexico at the urging of Maurice Sterne. By then a leading proponent of Cubism, Dasburg settled in Taos in 1930, producing powerful Western landscapes, many in the Cubist style. Dasburg’s ideas would influence his peers and even some of the older Taos group. When Dasburg celebrated his 90th birthday in Taos in May 1977, he had been painting there for 60 years.
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Andrew Dasburg American, 1887-1979 P U E B LO V I L L AG E Oil on canvas, 1925 24 x 30 inches Signed lower right Provenance: H. V. Allison Galleries, New York Private Collection, Florida
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Rosa Bonheur French 1822–1899 PYR E N E E S FA R M E R S M A R K ET B O U N D Oil on canvas, 1884 25 x 39 3/4 inches Framed: 32 1/2 x 47 inches Signed and dated lower left Provenance: Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge, New York Private Collection, New York Private Collection, Wilton, CT
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Andrew Newell Wyeth American, 1917–2009 T H E D O R M E R W I N D O W, CU S H I N G , M A I N E Watercolor on paper, 1949 15 x 22 inches Signed lower right Provenance: Private Collection, CA M. Knoedler & Co., NY, 1949
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Abstract Expressionism describes a movement in American painting that flourished in New York City after World War II, also known as the New York School. These artists used abstraction, often on largescale canvases, to convey emotional content. Emphasizing the physical interaction of artist, paint and canvas, abstract expressionists conveyed meaning through the color, texture and application of the paint itself. Given the cultural climate of the time, the movement centered on unfettered artistic freedom and had resonance in many mediums including drawing and sculpture. Within Abstract Expressionism were two broad groupings—Action painters, led by artists like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, who attacked their canvases with expressive gestural marks and brush strokes; and Color Field painters like Mark Rothko and Clyfford Still, whose work was characterized by large areas of flat color, sometimes evoking a meditative response from the viewer.
Lawrence Calcagno American, 1916–1993 R E D H O R I ZO N L I N E Oil on canvas, 1966 59 x 70 inches
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Josef Ongenae Belgian, 1921–1993 VINA I Oil On Masonite, 1963 39 x 39 Inches Signed and dated 1963 verso Provenance: Private Collection, Brussels, Belgium
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John Little American, 1907–1984 SABINE E
Oil on canvas, 1968 54 x 50 inches Signed and dated verso Provenance: The Estate of the Artist
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“His colors are brilliant and often searing...not colors that sunlight finds in nature; they are colors that an aroused sensibility finds, with joy, in the act of painting.”
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—Peter Schjeldahl, The New York Times, 1972
eloved American painter Wolf Kahn died in March of this year at the age of 92.
Wolf Kahn American, 1927–2020 U NT IT L E D Oil on canvas, 1984 52 x 66 inches Signed lower center Provenance: Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York Acquired by the present owner from the above
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Leonard Edmondson American, 1916–2002 U NT IT L E D Oil On Board, 1947 23 x 28 3/8 Inches Signed and dated lower right Provenance: Original label to San Francisco Museum of Art, 1950
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Opposite page:
Doug Argue American, b. 1962 U NT IT L E D Oil on canvas, 2019 72 x 70 inches Signed verso Provenance: Commission from the Artist
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Al Held American, 1928–2005 6 5 -A 17
India ink on paper, 1965 22 1/2 x 35 Inches Provenance: Andre Emmerich, NY General Electric Corporate Art Collection
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James Brooks American, 1906–1992 B LO W Oil on canvas, 1968 50 x 49 inches Signed and dated lower right Provenance: Louise Himelfarb Gallery Estate of Charles B. Slackman
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ane Piper studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Barnes Foundation and privately with Arthur B. Carles in the 1930s. She taught painting at the Philadelphia College of Art. Piper enjoyed a long career with a rich exhibition history. Her works, primarily still lifes in a Cubist style, employing luscious color and brushwork, may be found in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the National Academy of Design. Critic Walter Thompson described her paintings as “a panoply of forms in which the rhythms and interrupting accents have the intricacy of a complex musical score.”
Jane Piper American 1916–1991 R E D AT T H E C E NT E R Oil on canvas, c. 1980 48 x 60 Inches Signed Lower Left Provenance: Veerhoff Galleries (label verso) Private Collection, Berkeley, California
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Ilya Bolotowsky Russian/American, 1907-1981 YE L LO W TO N D O Acrylic on wood, 1971 7 3/4 inch diameter Framed: 13 1/2 x 13 1/2 x 2 1/4 inches Signed and dated lower right Provenance: Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York, New York; From the Modernist Icon Collection, courtesy of Bryce Hudson Modernist Icon Gallery, St. Petersburg, Florida.
Exhibited: Intersection: Art from the Modernist Icon Collection– Leslie Curran Gallery, St. Petersburg, FL, 2016
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Wolf Kahn American, 1927–2020 A DVA N C I N G S H A D O W S Oil on canvas, 1984 36 x 44 inches Signed lower right Provenance: Jerald Melberg Gallery (label verso)
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François Aubrun French, 1934–2009 U NT IT L E D # 3 8 5 Oil on canvas 32 x 40 inches Signed and dated 1967 Provenance: The Estate of the Artist
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U NT IT L E D # 2 3
Oil on canvas 51 x 51 inches Signed and dated 1969 Provenance: The Estate of the Artist
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Contemporary Contemporary Art refers to art— painting, sculpture, photography, installation, performance, and video art—produced in current day. Many art historians consider the late 1960s (the end of Modern Art or Modernism) to be the starting point of the Contemporary Art genre. In reaction to the preceeding Modern Art movement, Pop Art emerged. Pioneered by artists like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, pop artists were interested in portraying mass culture. Other contemporary art movements include Photo Realism, Conceptualism, Minimalism, Performance Art, Installation Art, Earth Art, and Street Art.
Formento & Formento RICHEILLE II ( C I R CU M STA N C E S E R I E S )
Archival pigment print Fine art edition of 12 30 x 45 inches Signed on verso
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Joseph B. O’Sickey American, 1918–2013 HORSES IN CORNFIELD #6 Oil on canvas 66 x 92 inches Signed at lower right Provenance: Kent State University, Ohio (acquired in 1974)
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Peter Frederik Van Os Dutch 1808–1860 C LO S E O F T H E DAY Oil on panel 13 1/8 x 18 3/4 inches Framed: 23 3/4 x 28 1/2 inches Signed lower right Provenance: Private Collection, Wilton, CT
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Carl Holty American, 1900–1973 ST I L L L I F E W IT H H O U S E P L A NTS Oil on masonite 36 x 48 inches Signed lower right Provenance: Property from the estate of Francis M. Bator, Massachusetts.
Opposite page:
U NT IT L E D ( B LU E , G R AY, G R E E N ) Oil on canvas, 1964 66 x 55 Inches Signed lower right
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George Oberteuffer American, 1878-1940 SPRING LANDSCAPE Oil on canvas, 1910 25 1/2 x 31 3/4 inches Framed: 37 1/4 x 43 3/4 inches Signed and dated lower right Provenance: Collection of Vicki Lesser
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Laura Coombs Hills American 1859–1952 A Z A L E AS Pastel on paper on board 21 1/4 x 17 1/2 inches Framed: 27 1/4 x 24 3/4 inches Signed upper left Provenance: The Guild of Boston Artists, Boston, Massachusetts
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Sally Michel Avery
Giorgio Cavallon
American 1902–2003
American, 1904–1989
S E AS I D E R OA D ( B LU E S ) Oil on canvas, c. 1975 30 x 40 inches Framed: 35.5 x 45.5 x 3.25 inches Signed lower left Provenance: Property from a Maryland Collection
U NT IT L E D Oil on canvas, 1971 50 1/2 x 42 inches Framed: 53 3/4 x 45 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches Signed and dated lower right Provenance: AM Sachs Gallery, New York Exhibited: Giorgio Cavallon: A Retrospective View, Mar. 19–May 20, 1990, The William Benton Museum of Art, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, cat no. 48 The Estate of Elizabeth H. Fuller
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Ogden Minton Pleissner American, 1905-1983 F I S H E R M A N BY A ST R E A M Watercolor 7 x 9 1/2 inches
Label verso Provenance: Collection of Clune Walsh II Collection of Paul Tudor Jones II Crossroads of Sports Gallery C A I N S R I V E R AT S A B B I E S RIVER CAMP Watercolor, 1949 6 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches Signed lower left Provenance: Seabury Stanton Collection Marion S. Tripp Collection, acquired in 1970 by bequest from Seabury Stanton
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Arthur Shilstone American, b. 1922 F LY F I S H I N G S C E N E Watercolor 15 3/4 x 23 inches Signed lower right
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Cleve Gray American, 1918–2004 R AQ I A Acrylic on canvas, 1994 45 x 72 Inches Signed and dated verso Provenance: Private Collection, CT
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Cleve Gray American, 1918–2004 T H E R E # 13 Acrylic and sawdust on canvas, 1982 70 x 70 inches Signed, titled, dated and inscribed verso Provenance: Irving Luntz, Palm Beach, acquired directly from the artist By descent from the above to the present owner
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Jacob Kainen American, 1909–2001 B R I G HT M I R R O R Acrylic on canvas, 1973 48 x 36 1/8 inches Signed and dated lower right
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Howard Chandler Christy American, 1872–1952 O L D M I L L DA M , PAS S I N G S H O W E R S Oil on canvas, 1946 39 1/2 x 41 1/2 inches Signed and dated lower left Provenance: Private Collection, Coral Gables, FL Estate of Dr. Arthur and Ruth Sokolof
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Jules Breton French 1827–1906
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ne of the primary painters of peasant themes in the nineteenth century and an artist strongly influenced by his own native traditions from northern France, Jules Breton had renowned fame by the time of his death 1906. Primarily a painter of daily life with an inherent understanding of the old masters like Raphael, Breton created an idealized version of the common people.
W O M E N S I N G I N G , E N D O F DAY Oil on canvas, 1857 9 1/2 x 12 inches Framed: 19 3/4 x 22 1/4inches Signed lower right and dated Provenance: Private Collection, Connecticut, since 2005 Wylie Associates, Norwalk, Connecticut, 1990 DĂŠpot at the Ghent Museum, 1904-1939 De Vigne Family, Ghent
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Luigi Loir French, 1865–1916 L A S E I N E À AS N I È R E S Watercolor on paper Signed lower right: Loir Luigi 7 x 10 1/4 inches Framed: 16 3/4 x 19 inches Provenance: Private Collection, France Sotheby’s Paris, June 27, 2013, Lot 138
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André Derain French 1880–1954 D E S I G N F O R D ÉC O R Gouache on paper, 1947 19 x 25 inches Framed: 28 3/8 x 34 3/4 inches Stamped with the atelier cachet lower left Provenance: Galerie Lialowitsch, Basel Galerie Bargera, Cologne Anneley Juda Fine Art, London Grosevenor Gallery Gallery Bargera; Galerie Lialowitsch
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Edmund Marie Petitjean French 1854–1929 O ST E N D E Oil on canvas 40 1/2 x 58 5/8 inches Framed: 51 x 69 inches Signed lower left
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Ryan Painter Johnson American, b. 1993 ‘ G O O S E C R E E K T R A I L’ O R B LO S S O M Acrylic on canvas, 2020 30 x 48 inches Signed and dated ’20 lower right
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Jane Wilson American 1924–2015 J U L I A I N T H E PA R K Oil on canvas 55 x 50 inches Signed lower right and dated 1964
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Charles Green Shaw American, 1892–1974 R E B I RT H Oil on canvas, 1961 50 x 40 inches Framed: 52 x 42 x 2 inches Signed lower left Provenance: Bertha Schaefer Gallery, New York
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Francisco Miralles Spanish 1848–1901 L E P ET IT B O U Q U ET Oil on panel, 1878 9 1/2 x 8 inches Framed: 15 1/4 x 13 inches Signed upper left and dated
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t is said that Milton Avery straddled the worlds of representation and abstraction. He pushed the boundaries of color, line, and form, finding poetry in minimalism, in the everyday. He created works of surpassing serenity and delicacy, a sensibility shared by his wife, Sally Michel Avery, and daughter March Avery.
Milton Avery American, 1893–1965 TREES AND TREES Oil on paper, 1962 22 1/2 x 34 1/2 inches Framed: 28 1/2 x 40 1/2 x 2 inches Signed and dated lower right Provenance: Marianne Friedland Gallery, Naples, FL Private Collection, Toronto, Ontario
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Ellen Heck American, b. 1983 A VA R I E D E D IT I O N P L AC E A N D P R O C E S S S E R I E S Woodcut, drypoint, aquatint, 2020 22 x 22 inches
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John Little American, 1907–1984 LO N G AC R E Collage on board, 1961 22 x 30 inches Signed, dated lower left & signed, dated verso Provenance: The Estate of the Artist
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Tina Fuentes American, b. 1949 N U B ITA D E C O LO R I I Oil on board. 2017 12 x 12 inches Signed and titled verso
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Jay Rosenblum American, 1933-1989 U NT IT L E D Silkscreen 20 1/2 x 20 inches Provenance: The Estate of the Artist
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Vernon Kiehl Newswanger American, 1900–1980 PA R I S Oil on linen, 1928
32 x 24 inches SIgned and titled bottom left Provenance: Private Collection, New Jersey
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Alexander Corazzo French/American, 1908–1971 T H R E E R E L AT E D ST RU C T U R E S
Oil on canvas, c. late 1930s 30 x 40 inches Signed on side Provenance: Private Collection, Minnesota
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orman Bluhm embraced abstraction and propelled it forward with a sensibility all his own. Bluhm’s work was informed by his rich knowledge of the history of art. Born in Chicago, Bluhm initially studied architecture, while spending his spare time learning to fly. After the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II, Bluhm became a pilot and flew 44 missions over North Africa and Europe. After the war he moved to Paris where he attended art classes at the Académie de la Grande Chaumiére and Ecole des Beaux Arts. In 1956 he returned to New York and began a lifelong successful career as an Abstract Expressionist painter. He was part of a vibrant and glamorous “movement”, socializing with a handful of art-world titans and collaborating with the curator and poet Frank O’Hara. His work is included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney and the Museum of Modern Art.
Norman Bluhm American, 1921–1999 U NT IT L E D Oil on paper mounted on canvas, 1961 36 x 24 inches Signed and dated upper right
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Provenance: Irving Galleries, Palm Beach The Collection of Edwin M. Roth, Aspen Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, Chicago, May 23, 2018, lot 75 Private Collection, Stockholm
IBANEZ Oil on canvas, 1964 40 x 30 inches Signed lower right Provenance: Betty Parsons Gallery, New York (stamp on stretcher) Acquired by current owner from the Estate of Charles B. Slackman of New York City and Sag Harbor, N.Y.
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Robert Richenburg
Jack Roth
American, 1917–2006
American, 1927–2004
M O M A C O L L AG E Torn and pasted papers on cardboard, 1960 22 x 28 inches 30 1/4 x 36 1/4 x 2 inches Provenance: Thomas McCormick Gallery, Chicago Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2003 Exhibited: New York, Museum of Modern Art, The Art of Assemblage, October 2 - November 12, 1961, no. 181; Dallas, Texas, Dallas Museum for Contemporary Arts, January 9 - February 11, 1962; San Francisco
U NT IT L E D Acrylic on canvas, 1976 80 x 69 inches Signed verso and dated ‘76 Provenance: The Estate of the Artist
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Allen Tucker American, 1866–1939 FAU V I ST L A N D S C A P E , 19 16 Oil on canvas Signed and dated lower right 25 x 30 inches Framed: 33 x 38 inches Provenance: The Art Students League Allen Tucker Memorial Private Collection, Ridgefield, CT
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March Avery American, b. 1932 C H EC K E R P L AYE R S Oil on canvas, 1961 31 1/2 x 47 1/2 inches Signed and dated bottom left Provenance: Private Collection, Pennsylvania
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Cleve Gray American, 1918–2004 H O N O LU LU
Acrylic on canvas, 1970 68 x 49 inches Signed and dated Gray 70 at lower right Provenance: The Estate of the Artist
Formento & Formento J U L I A ( C I R CU M STA N C E S E R I E S )
Archival pigment print Fine art edition of 12 30 x 45 inches Signed on verso
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Fred Troller Swiss/American, 1930-2002 U NT IT L E D Pastel on paper, 2000 40 x 26 inches Signed and dated recto Provenance: The Estate of the Artist
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Jose Pedro Costigliolo Uruguayan, 1902-1985 U NT IT L E D Oil on canvas, 1969 39 1â „2 x 39 1â „2 inches Signed and dated lower right Provenance: Purchased by
previous owner from the Bruzzone Galeria De Arte , Uruguay, 1970s
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Jean F. Monchablon French 1855–1904 S O L E I L À R O S É E SU R L A VA L LO N D E L’A PA N É E P R E S C H ÂT I L LO N ( U N S L E S ) Oil on cradled panel 17 x 23 1/2 inches Framed: 25 3/8 x 32 1/4 inches Signed lower right Provenance: By descent in the collection of a prominent Maine family
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John Stephan American, 1906–1995 DISC #2 Acrylic on linen canvas, 1974 36 x 34 inches Signed, titled and dated ‘74 verso Provenance: Harcus Krakow Gallery, Boston, MA (label verso) Stop & Shop Corporation Collection
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Julian Alden Weir American 1852–1919 C O M P O S IT I O N I N G R E E N Oil on canvas 18 1/2 x 14 1/4 inches Framed: 26 x 22 inches Signed lower right Provenance: Alexander Galleries, New York Private Collection, Newtown, CT
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Cover image: Jacob Kainen, Bright Mirror, 1973, see pg 37 Back cover: Formento & Formento, Julia (Circumstance Series), see pg 65 Page 2: Giorgio Cavallon, Untitled, 1971, see pg 31 Page 3: Kathryn Baker Schorr at Baker Schorr Fine Art, photograph by Melissa Grimes Design by Lilla Hangay, Santa Fe, NM Printing: Capital Printing, Austin TX Š Copyright 2020 All rights reserved. No portion of this catalog may be reproduced, stored in any form, of transmitted by any means, without written permission from Baker Schorr Fine Art. Kathryn Schorr, owner/director Audrey Grimes, gallery associate Lauren Roybal, gallery associate
Ally Village 200 Spring Park Drive, Suite 105 Midland, Texas 79705 d 432.687.1268 c 432.230.2042 info@bakerschorrfineart.com bakerschorrfineart.com
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