Rainey Bennett

'At the Park', Metropolitan Museum, NY MoMA, AIC, ASL, Whitney Museum, Toledo

1958

Signed lower right, 'DeMartis' for James Joseph DeMartis (American, 1926-1996) and painted circa 1965. Born in Queens, New York, James Joseph DeMartis served with distinction in World War II and was decorated at the Battle of the Bulge. He subsequently attended painting classes at New York's Museum of Modern Art (1946-47) and, later, at the Art Students League of New York. He then enrolled at the California School of Fine Arts in Santa Monica, California until 1949, before leaving t study in Europe in 1950. He settled in Florence, Italy where he attended L’Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze (1950-54). While continuing to study painting, he participated in several group and one-man shows in Italy and Switzerland. In 1956, DeMartis returned to New York at the height of the American Abstract Expressionist movement. He settled with his new family in Brooklyn and, after participating in a series of grass-roots galleries opened with fellow artists, he opened the Armory Gallery and studio in Manhattan. He also exhibited in other Manhattan galleries and at the National Arts Club. In 1961, De Martis was awarded the prestigious Emily Lowe Award for Painting. This led to to shows at the Ward Egglestone, ROKO, Pierantonio and Artemis West galleries from 1962-68. He then returned to Europe to participate in a group show in Florence. Upon his return, he opened the Brownstone Gallery in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn, where he exhibited his own and others’ works until 1988. James De Martis exhibited widely and with success including at one-man shows in Tokyo, Brooklyn, New York, Sarasota, Florida, San Francisco and Santa Fe. Select Exhibitions: 1953 Brodighera, Italy 1954 Galerie an der Reuss, Lucerne, Switzerland 1955 La Casa di Dante, Florence, Italy 1956 Walden School, New York, New York 1957 Bottega 57 Gallery, Brooklyn, New York 1960, 61 Hicks Street Gallery, Brooklyn New York 1960 Heights Casino, Brooklyn, New York 1961 Ward Eggleston Gallery, New York, New York 1962 Ray Gallery, Brooklyn New York 1962 Pietroantonio Gallery, New York, New York 1962,3,5,7 Armory Gallery, New York, New York 1965 Brooklyn Arts Gallery, Brooklyn, New York 1966,9 Brooklyn Heights Association 1967 Roko Gallery, New York, New York 1970,3,4,5,8,9,83 Brownstone Gallery, Brooklyn, New York 1972 Artemis East Gallery, New York, New York 1975 Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York 1977 Marcoleo Gallery, New York, New York 1978 Long Island University, Brooklyn, New York 1989,91,92 Gallery Gion Tokyo, Japan 1994 Private show, Sarasota, Florida 1995 Private show, San Francisco, California 1995 Private show, Copake, New York 1996 Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, Pennsylvania May, 2018 Retrospective show, Ashawagh Hall...

Signed lower left, 'C. Riter' for Carl Frederick Riter (American, born. 1915) and dated '6-'67'. Stamped verso with certification of authenticity...

Signed lower right 'Engel G' and titled, 'Californie ... Cote d'Azur'. Born in Badenweiler, Irma Leisinger first studied in Paris with Andre Lhote from 1926. In 1930, she entered th...

Signed lower right, "M. Backman"; additionally signed verso, titled 'Corporation Yard' and painted circa 1960. This notable California woman artist exhibited widely and with success...

Gabriel Van Schnell (Dutch fl. 1908/1947) The Sudden Shower Signed, inscribed and dated ‘Gabriel 1946. SUDDEN SHOWER. / SUNSHINE. WIND AND RAIN’ (lower edge) 5 x 5 in. (12.7 x 12.7...

Miniature Landscape Provenance: Virginia Field, Arts administrator; New York, N.Y. Assistant director for Asia House gallery. (she was friends with John von Wicht and Andy Warhol) Born in 1897, Ben-Zion Weinman...

A fantasy scene with Elves and a beautiful girl lost in thought at the base of a tree. Elizabeth Mary Watt, G.S.W.A. In 1919, she was elected as ...

This is a beautiful expressionist style drawing by Juanjo Saez. Juanjo's pictorial work is an exploration of color, texture, and movement, creating vibrant compositions that capture ...