Montecito Highlights on View
Claude Monet
Claude Monet (1840-1926)
Le Mont Riboudet a Rouen au Printemps oil on canvas 21 1/2 x 28 5/8 in. 1872 Provenance: Durand-Ruel, Paris, acquired from the artist in February 1873 Gustave Caillebotte, Paris, acquired from the above circa 1876 Martial Caillebotte, Paris, by descent from the above Albert Chardeau, Paris, by descent from the above Sale: Galliera, Paris, 12th June 1964, lot 94 Maurice Lehmann, Paris Lester Osterman, New York, acquired by 1971 Wildenstein Gallery, New York Private Collection, USA, acquired by 1975 Wildenstein Gallery, New York Private Collection, acquired from the above by the family of the present owner Literature: Henri Perruchot, 'Scandale au Luxembourg', in L'Œil, Paris, September 1955, discussed p. 45 Charles Merrill Mount, Monet: A Biography, New York, 1966, discussed p. 226 Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet. Biographie et catalogue raisonné, Lausanne & Paris, 1974, vol. I, no. 216, illustrated, p. 209; vol. V, no. 216, listed p. 26 Daniel Wildenstein, Monet, Catalogue raisonné, Cologne, 1996, vol. II, no. 216, illustrated p. 96
The year 1872 saw great inspiration and productivity for Claude Monet. It was the year that Monet painted the notable Impression, Sunrise, on view at the 1874 exhibition in Paris that gave the Impressionist movement its name. Earlier that spring while visiting Rouen, Monet created many oil paintings depicting the changing scenery as urban development took hold. Included among them was this more traditional landscape, Le Mont Riboudet a Rouen au Printemps, which embraces the natural beauty of the French countryside. The work was first purchased by Paul Durand-Ruel, Monet’s major patron and primary dealer, and later procured by fellow painter Gustave Caillebotte.
Salvador DalĂ
Salvador Dalí (1904-1989) Les Yeux Fleuris oil on canvas 27 x 19 3/8 in. 1944 Provenance: Marquis Georges de Cuevas, Monte-Carlo Hans Schemke, France Private Collection, France Private Collection, England Private Collection, California Literature: Robert & Nicolas Descharnes, Dalí, Le dur et le mou, Sortilège et magie des formes, Sculptures et objets, Azay-le-Rideau, 2004, no. 580, illustrated p. 228
In Les Yeux Fleuris, Dalí depicts three rows of four long-lashed crying eyes against a brick wall backdrop. The quintessential Surrealist, Dalí often depicted eyes in his painting, sculpture, and fashion (especially jewelry) as both a symbol for the act of perception and as an allusion, and to promote a new way of seeing. The painting’s provenance traces back to Marques Jorge de Cuevas, who owned another similar work by Dali – the 15-foot-wide Yeux Fleuris, a 1931 tempera and oil on canvas that was used on the set for Mad Tristan, a 1944 ballet.
Salvador Dalí (1904-1989)
Signature de Dali oil on canvas 48 x 48 in. c. 1955
Provenance: Tex McCray & Jinx Falkenburg, New York, gift from the artist circa 1955 Private Collection, California, by descent
The present work was painted by Salvador Dalí during a nationally televised appearance on “At Home with Tex & Jinx,” a pioneering talk show that combined news, celebrity interviews and household tips. Dalí gave this painting to the show's glamorous hosts after the production, and it has remained in their family's collection. Illustrating the artist's expressive and abstracted signature rendered in his favored rich red tone, this work underscores Dalí's significance as not only a major Surrealist painter, but an early proponent of abstraction.
Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper (1882-1967) Farm House at Essex watercolor on paper 14 x 19 15/16 in. 1929 Provenance: Private Collection, Massachusetts Private Collection Kennedy Galleries, TInSc. New York Private Collection Craig F. Starr Associates, New York Literature: Gail Levin, Edward Hopper, a Catalogue raisonnĂŠ, New York, 2006, vol. II, no. 242, illustrated p. 211.
Farm House at Essex, a watercolor from 1929, is a masterwork by Edward Hopper. Created in the same year as Chop Suey, the record-setting painting that sold at auction in November 2018 for $91.9 million, this piece presents a quiet scene from a New England coastal town. Hopper’s depiction of a solitary house in a landscape devoid of people exemplifies the sense of stillness that made him one of the most important painters of twentieth-century American art.
Tom Wesselmann
Tom Wesselmann (1931-2004) 1962 Plus 35 Nude Sketch II alkyd oil on canvas 43 x 58 5/8 in. 1997 Provenance: Buschlen Mowatt Gallery, Vancouver, BC Private Collection, Vancouver, BC, acquired from above 2001 Private Collection, Florida Exhibited: Buschlen Mowatt Gallery, Vancouver, BC, "Tom Wesselmann: American Icon," 2001-2002
Tom Wesselmann was a painter, considered a Pop artist, though he never agreed with the label. He was best known for his Great American Nude series in which his female figures were reduced to their erogenous zones. He would omit the face and most individualistic characteristics, in a way that he hoped would “make figurative art as exciting as abstract art.� It was thought that he made voyeurism and the ideal female form into a consumer product through his work.
Henry Moore
Henry Moore (1898-1986) Two Seated Figures Against Wall bronze with brown patina 19 5/8 x 19 3/8 x 9 3/4 in. 1960 edition of 12 Provenance: Private Collection, Washington
Henry Moore, a father of Modern British sculpture, is known for his large-scale, semi-abstract sculptures in bronze and marble. Influenced by such wide-ranging artistic traditions as Surrealism, Classical, PreColumbian, and African art, Moore is best-known for his abstracted representations of the supine human figure and mother-and-child groups. This 1960 bronze sculpture of two seated figures demonstrates Moore’s gestural treatment of material. The focus on family groups is reflective of the artist’s move toward a sense of optimism after World War II. Small sculptures like this one are rare, and in subject matter and composition are reminiscent of his earlier seated figures based upon ancient Egyptian royal sculpture.
Ed Ruscha
Ed Ruscha (b. 1937) The End
glass hologram set 11 x 14 in. each 1998-2014 Edition RU 21/25
Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) Portrait of Diego Rivera charcoal on paper 13 x 8 1/2 in. c. 1933 Provenance: Lina Boytler, gifted from artist Private Collection, bequeathed from above Private Collection, Texas Exhibited: Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit. 15 Mar.-12 Jul. 2015, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit. Frida Kahlo e Diego Rivera. 20 Sep. 2014-8 Feb. 2015, Palazza Ducale, Genova. Kahlo, Frida. Frida Kahlo. 20 Mar.-31 Aug. 2014, Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome Kahlo, Frida, Frida Kahlo: Retrospective. 20 Apr.-9 Aug. 2010, Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin. The exhibition traveled 1 Sep.-10 Dec. 2010, Bank Austria Kunstforum, Vienna. Literature: Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit. Detroit Institute of Arts, 2015: 106, Cat. 50, illustrated in color. Frida Kalo e Diego Rivera. Palazzo Ducale, 2014: 94, illustrated in color. Frida Kahlo. Scuderie del Quirinale, 2014: 120, illustrated in color. Salomon Grimberg, Frida Kahlo: Song of Herself. Merrel: London, 2008: 101, illustrated.
Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)
Triple Self-Portrait as a Toddler, Adolescent, Woman pencil on paper 9 x 8 1/2 in. 1931 Provenance: Lina Boytler, gifted from artist Private Collection, bequeathed from above Private Collection, Texas Exhibited: Kahlo, Frida. Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up. 16 Jun.-4 Nov. 2018, Victoria and Albert Museum, London. The exhibition traveled to 8 Feb.-12 May 2019, Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York as "Frida Kahlo: Appearance Can Be Deceiving" Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit. 15 Mar.-12 Jul. 2015, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit Frida Kahlo e Diego Rivera. 20 Sep. 2014-8 Feb. 2015, Palazza Ducale, Genova Kahlo, Frida. Frida Kahlo. 20 Mar.-31 Aug. 2014, Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome Kahlo, Frida, Frida Kahlo: Retrospective. 20 Apr.-9 Aug. 2010, Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin; The exhibition traveled 1 Sep.-10 Dec. 2010, Bank Austria Kunstforum, Vienna Literature: Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up, Victoria and Albert Museum, 2018: 75, Cat. 69 (As untitled, illustrated in color Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit. Detroit Institute of Arts, 2015: Cat. 50, p. 106, illustrated in color Frida Kalo e Diego Rivera. Palazzo Ducale, 2014: 94, illustrated in color Frida Kahlo. Scuderie del Quirinale, 2014: 121, illustrated in color Salomon Grimberg, Frida Kahlo: Song of Herself. Merrel: London, 2008: 70, illustrated
Guenther Uecker
Guenther Uecker (b. 1930) Poesie der Destruktion mixed media on canvas 24 x 24 x 5 1/2 in. 1984 Provenance: Riva Yares Gallery, Scottsdale Private Collection, Chicago, acquired from the above in 1985 Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, Chicago Heritage Auctions, California, 24 May 2018, Lot 77046 Private Collection, California, acquired from the above Exhibited: Scottsdale, In America: The Southwest Nail Reliefs and Sculpture 1984, Riva Yares Gallery
Jim Dine
Jim Dine (b. 1935) Double Silver Point Robes
silverpoint and acrylic on 2 joined canvases, wood, knife, and string in artist's frame 53 1/2 x 96 in. 1964 Provenance: Sidney Janis Gallery, New York Priviate Collection, acquired from the above Private Collection, by descent from the above
Julian Schnabel
Julian Schnabel (b. 1951) Pascin Pig Passin Time
oil, plates, and bondo on board 48 x 40 x 6 in. 1983 Provenance: Irena Hochman Fine Art, New York Galerie Bischofberger, Zurich Sotheby's London: Monday, October 15, 2007 [Lot 00269], Contemporary Art Private Collection, Washington
Pascin Pig Passin Time is part of Scnabel's broken plate series of paintings. Inspired by the trencadĂs (or broken tile mosaic) of architect Antoni GaudĂ when he traveled through Europe including Barcelona in 1978, this series of works brought theatricality and process back to mainstream painting. With a humorous title and depicting his first wife, Jacqueline Beaurang, the broken ceramics give Schnabel an assertive and textural surface in which to create large-scale works that captured the brash and audacious period of the 1980s.
Anselm Kiefer
Ansem Kiefer (b. 1945) The Fertile Crescent
mixed media on board 39 1/2 x 29 1/2 in. 2008 Provenance: Thaddeus Ropac Private Collection, Ontario Heather James Fine Art, Palm Desert, California Private Collection, Texas
When Anselm Kiefer traveled to India in the early 1990s, he observed towers of brick that reached toward the sky. Essential to the manufacturing of mudbrick, the same bricks being fired within the towers were used to build them up. In a process of creation and destruction, the towering structures were then gradually dismantled as bricks were needed for construction elsewhere. Fascinated by the metaphorical resonance of this cycle of birth and decay, Kiefer’s work adopted the imagery of grand architectural constructions, monuments to ambition and its collapse. It recalls early civilizations in ancient Mesopotamia and reflects Kiefer’s own history growing up in Germany in the aftermath of World War II. In this mixed media piece from 2008, The Fertile Crescent, Kiefer incorporates thick layers of heavy texture that crackle like the dry bed of a once vital river. This specific tower imagery is drawn from Kiefer’s The Seven Heavenly Palaces, a large-scale installation first conceived at his sprawling studio at Barjac in the South of France.
Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder (1898-1976) Blue Dots in Red Loops gouache 42 1/2 x 29 1/2 in. 1969 Provenance: Perls Galleries, New York Makler Gallery, Pennsylvania Private Collection, Pennsylvania Private Collection, California Heather James Fine Art
Alexander Calder (1898-1976)
Untitled (Spirals and Circles) gouache 30 5/8 x 23 in. 1968 Provenance: Edgardo Acosta Gallery, California Pasquale Iannetti Gallery, California Private Collection, California Heather James Fine Art
Damien Hirst
Damien Hirst (b. 1965) Overwhelming Love
household gloss, butterflies 36 x 60 in. 2008 Provenance: Sotheby’s, London, Damien Hirst - Beautiful Inside My Head Forevet, September 16, 2008 lot 140 Private Collection, acquired from above sale Private Collection, California
Alex Katz
Alex Katz (b. 1927) Ukulele Player oil on canvas 54 x 48 in. 1981 Provenance: Marlborogh Gallery, New York Private Collection, North Carolina Leland Little Auctions, Ltd., "The Winter Quarterly Auction", Lot 177, 2 December, 2017 Private Collection, Puerto Rico
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