John Brock Lear

Resting Man (Man relaxes draped only in a small towel)

1937

This is a drawing from the artist's sketchbooks. This pencil drawing shows a nude male in repose, The drawing is dated November 30 '36 (1936). Clearly the works are authentic and this sketch is signed "Jackson Lee Nesbitt...

This very early original red conte drawing is signed "Jack L. Nesbitt, 4/21/34". On the back of the drawing, Nesbitt has written "Quick sketch from fountain on Plaza". Jack was a student of Thomas Hart Benton at the Kansas City Art Institute during this period. The figure on the drawing is of a nude young boy with both arms in the air. A very rare early work by this fine artist. Jackson Lee Nesbitt, a noted printmaker and painter of the American Scene, dedicated his artistic career to the portrayal of ordinary people going about the business of their lives. A native of Oklahoma, Nesbitt created scenes from the Midwest during the 1930s and 1940s, but in the 1950s, when interest in his work diminished, he moved to Atlanta and established a second career in advertising. Thirty years later, Nesbitt sold his business and resumed his artistic career from Atlanta. He was born in McAlester, Oklahoma, on June 16, 1913, the only child of LuCena Grant and Howard Nesbitt. The family resided in Muskogee, Oklahoma, where his father owned a commercial printing business. Jack, as Nesbitt was known, helped out in the family business until 1931, when he enrolled at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. Two years later Nesbitt enrolled at the Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri. As a first-year student, he learned etching from John deMartelly, attended Ross Braught's painting class, and met his future wife, Elaine Thompson, who was a costume design student. Thomas Hart Benton, who joined the faculty in the fall of 1935, quickly became a close friend and mentor to the younger artist. In 1937 the management of the Sheffield Steel Corporation contacted deMartelly concerning an etching commission. Because Nesbitt was an outstanding student, his teacher suggested him for the job. When Nesbitt arrived at the plant one afternoon, he was taken to the open-hearth furnace area, where he diligently sketched anonymous workers in that dramatic setting until five o'clock the following morning. On the strength of his sketches, he was commissioned to create a series of etchings illustrating different phases of the steel industry. The commission launched Nesbitt's career as a professional artist. The commission with Sheffield Steel Corporation provided the financial security that enabled Jack and Elaine Nesbitt to marry on June 1, 1938. He graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute about the same time. Working as a freelance artist, Nesbitt augmented his commissioned work with genre scenes of the Midwest, and he routinely went with Benton on sketching trips to rural Arkansas. Beginning in 1939 Nesbitt's work gained widespread recognition. Open Hearth Door, a Sheffield Steel Corporation painting, was chosen to represent Missouri in the American Art Today exhibition at the New York World's Fair. Associated American Artists selected one of his etchings, Watering Place, for an edition of 250 prints that were sold through subscription. Having a print published by the association ensured national distribution, and four more of Nesbitt's works, all of rural southern genre scenes, were later selected by the print publisher. Over the next decade Nesbitt's work was exhibited in California, Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, New York, and Oklahoma. He was awarded the Eames Prize by the Society of American Etchers in 1946, and his work was included in the book American Prize Prints of the Twentieth Century, by Albert Reese. Major corporations with operations in the Midwest, including Brown and Bigelow, Butler Manufacturing Company, Humble Oil and Refining Company, Omaha Steel Works, Pratt and Whitney...

Signed by artist "M. O'KEEFE 2013" at lower left. Media is graphite on clay-coated panel. Overall dimensions including the frame are 18 x 15 inches.

James Tissot was among the most successful and critically acclaimed artists of the Victorian era. Although the artist is celebrated for his elegant scenes of fashionable life in Paris and London, this work is a fascinating rarity within his oeuvre. In this monumental pastel, Tissot depicts a prehistoric woman draped in a tiger skin, presented with a striking pose and heroic air. His delicate portraiture, combined with his fascination with conveying texture, demonstrates why he was one of the most revered artists of his generation, and La femme préhistorique illustrates the remarkable technique for which he was renowned. This work was completed in preparation for a series of works exploring the Old Testament undertaken by Tissot from 1899-1902 that remained unfinished at the time of his death. A portion of this series focused on illustrations of Adam and Eve, and among these sketches were images of a nude Eve partially draped in animal furs. Towards the end of his life, following his conversion to Catholicism, biblical subjects became important to the artist. A few years before this work was completed, Tissot embarked upon a highly ambitious group of nearly 300 watercolors illustrating the New Testament, presenting the illustrated epic in its entirety at the Paris Salon of 1894. Both of these series were a critical artistic departure for the artist, stemming from a desire to create works separated from his typical images of modern society. This pastel imagines Eve as the prototype of womanhood in the guise of a prehistoric woman. Tissot rarely painted the nude, and his skill as a draftsman highlights the figure's natural beauty, contrasting it with the stark landscape surrounding her. Although a study, this monumental work is incredibly well-finished and highly engaging, with the statuesque model commanding the majority of the canvas. Her pose is strong and theatrical, and she addresses the viewer with a direct, confident gaze. The imagined historical subject of this drawing is grounded by Tissot’s exceptional attention to detail. A master of conjuring an array of textures, Tissot showcased this ability in this work by juxtaposing many types of fabrics and natural elements within one composition. The tiger skin with which the woman partially covers herself was a favorite studio prop of Tissot’s, appearing in many of his most influential works from the period, including several paintings of his partner and favorite model Kathleen Newton. It, in particular, showcases the artist’s understanding of texture, yet it also serves as an exotic element that elevates the sensuality of the scene when placed against the woman’s bare skin. Born in 1836 in the port town of Nantes, Tissot traveled to Paris at the age of 20 in order to join the studios of Hippolyte Flandrin and Louis Lamothe. During this period, he became close with James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Edgar Degas and Edouard Manet, and the impact of these friendships is reflected in his portraits of modern life. Having enjoyed considerable success in Paris during the 1860s, Tissot fought in the Siege of Paris, and after the fall of the Commune in 1871, he went to London, where he stayed for the next ten years. He was met with incredible success there, and he also met the love of his life, Kathleen Newton, a divorcée, with whom he lived from about 1876 until her death in 1882. Today he is regarded among the great masters of Belle Époque painting, and his works can be found in important collections worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the National Gallery of Art, the Musée d’Orsay, the Tate Gallery and many others. This pastel remained in Tissot's private collection until his death in 1902 and is referenced in the posthumous 1902-3 valuation of Tissot's home at 64 avenue du Bois...