Leon Collins Art

This retablo was purchased by the gallery in Mexico City. I knew the family that sold this retablo to me. The writing says" Puebla 1940,. It is a prayer to St. George thanking him that his dog saved him from being attached from a snake. He is is thankful that his dog was not bitten by the snake. Bernardino Pantoja This ex-voto is in excellent condition. It is framed behind conservatorship glass. The framed size is 14" x 15". The class should only be cleaned with ammonia free cleaner. An ex-voto is a votive offering to a saint or to a divinity; the term is usually restricted to Christian examples. It is given in fulfillment of a vow (hence the Latin term, short for ex voto suscepto, "from the vow made") or in gratitude or devotion. Ex-votos are placed in a church or chapel where the worshiper seeks grace or wishes to give thanks. The destinations of pilgrimages often include shrines decorated with ex-votos. Ex-votos can take a wide variety of forms. They are not only intended for the helping figure, but also as a testimony to later visitors of the received help. As such they may include texts explaining a miracle attributed to the helper, or symbols such as a painted or modeled reproduction of a miraculously healed body part, or a directly related item such as a crutch given by a person formerly lame. There are places where a very old tradition of depositing ex-votos existed, such as Abydos in ancient Egypt. Especially in the Latin world, there is a tradition of votive paintings, typically depicting a dangerous incident which the offeror survived. The votive paintings of Mexico...

This is painting is from the School of Cusco depicting St. Michael the Archangel defeating the devil in battle. It is oil on canvas and is in very goo...

Fred E. Robertson (1878 - 1953) Swapping Horses, 1947 Signed and dated lower right Oil on masonite 12 5/8 x 24 inches Fred Robertson, like his more famous older sister, Anna Mary Ro...

An antique American folk art painting in its original period frame. Featuring a man walking his dogs in the woods with a stunning s...

The sweetness that characterizes the work of Mexican painter Jose Maria de Servin (1917-83) is a melancholy and placid one. While he worked in the most modern of styles, he adapted i...

Earl Swanigan (1964-2019). Portrait of Ronald Reagan, 2010. Oil on masonite panel, measures 12 inches wide; 13 inches h. on left side; 12.5 inches h. on ...

This painting is iconic of Pichas Shaar's aesthetic, and stylistic influences. A ceramic mosaicist and sculptor as well as a painter, Shaars strong decorative sense was evident in his colorful canvas, with their frequent rectilinear geometry, depicting stylized figures, often mythological or biblical subjects. Pinchas Shaar (born Szwarc, later Shaar) was born in Lodz, Poland in 1923. already at a young age he drew small graffiti and characters of fairy tales. at sixteeen he met the Polish painter Wladyslaw Strzeminski, a disciple of the Russian painter Kazimir Malevich, who encouraged Pinchas’ artistic education. Strzeminski encouraged Pinchas' artistic education and introduced him to the works of such painters as Picasso, Leger, Matisse, and Mondrian. Pinchas had his first exhibition in 1938 and also completed photomontages for a poetry book by Moshe Broderson that was published in 1939. Then, in September 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland. On February 1940 the Jews of Lodz had to move to a ghetto and perform forced labor. The artist experienced the horrors of war and the Nazi holocaust concentration camps. Pinchas worked in a prefabricated furniture factory. However, after his artistic abilities were discovered, he became a draftsman. He also designed decorations for the ghetto's theater. In 1944 the Germans liquidated the Lodz ghetto...

Oil n canvas Stephen Basso's highly original pastels and oil paintings are romantic, yet thought provoking fantasies. His whimsical works are alive with boundless imagination, wr...

Sculptural folk art piece by listed artist Sharon Yavis. This work is constructed by applying layers of wood to create an almost three dimensional effect ...

A young man at a crowded upper-class Haitian swimming pool attracts attention. We see him only from the back in a Magritte like pose. Transfixed expressions of some of the nubile bare-breasted bathing beauties and one man with his hands down his pants give us a clue that the mystery man is special. This is a fascinating work packed with drama and overflowing with pent-up emotion.
Bigaud's narrative is as complex as his figural composition of lookers and swimmers. Notice the sight lines of the lookers go back to front while the two swimmers go from left to right. The twenty-two figures are contained in the rectangular shape of the pool, which is pushed to the front of the picture plane. The cars of the pool partygoers are seen in the background with one witness. He is fully clothed and is most likely a chauffeur. The fully clothed female at the pool offering food is a servant. A boxy-looking radio with a pack of cigarettes and the style of the cars give glue to the date. Most Haitian art depicts average working people. The pool party departs from that tradition and shows life of the Haitian upper class. Most likely, this was painted in Petion-Ville. The higher the elevation in Port-au-Prince the more wealthy the homes. Although the artist's painting technique may be described as naive or lacking polish.
It's one of the reasons why the work radiates charm and interest. The painting is oversized with huge dimensions of 55 x 48 and will be a statement in any room. Wilson Bigaud is considered to be a Haitian master. The condition is good. Three repaired one-inch issues on the extreme center and upper right edge. Visible only on close inspection. Otherwise presents very well and is elegantly framed, ______________________________________ Haitian master Wilson Bigaud is renowned for works portraying everyday life and rites of passage—vodou rituals, fortune-tellers, weddings, cockfights, and carnivals—with voluminous figures and lucid colors. Born in Port-au-Prince, in 1946 Bigaud was among the first to attend DeWitt Peters’s Le Centre d’Art d’Haïti, where he studied with Hector Hyppolite...

Steven is now one of the top emerging artists in the U.S. His works are ground breaking, bold and imbued with unflinching disregard to painting conventions. ...

Dated verso: "July 12, / 2001". Inscribed verso: "422". Label on stretcher: "422 The church and Lavender Fields/ 30" x 40", Oil on linen/ Prov July 2001".