James Brooks

“Untitled Abstract”

Circa 1975

Original mid-century modern abstract oil on canvas painting by the well known Russian/American artist Nahum Tschacbasov. Signed lower right and dated 1945. Condition is very good. P...

Original, highly textured oil on canvas painting by Jacques Gandon. Signed lower right and dated 1953. The painting has the visual appearance of a woven fabric abstract. Can be hung horizontally or vertically. Condition is very good, no issues. Original artist pine strip frame. Frame has wear consistent with its age. Overall framed measurements are 24.5 by 37 inches. Vintage Jonathan Adler...

Original oil on canvas painting titled “Multishore” by the well known American artist, Syd Solomon. Signed Syd Solomon lower right. Signed and dated Syd Solomon 1971 on the stretcher, inscribed as titled on the reverse 30 × 26 inches. Condition is excellent. The painting is housed in its original wood with silver reveal floating frame. Overall framed measurements are 32.75 by 28.75 inches. Provenance: A private collector. Syd Solomon was born near Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1917. He began painting in high school in Wilkes-Barre, where he was also a star football player. After high school, he worked in advertising and took classes at the Art Institute of Chicago. Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, he joined the war effort and was assigned to the First Camouflage Battalion, the 924th Engineer Aviation Regiment of the US Army. He used his artistic skills to create camouflage instruction manuals utilized throughout the Army. He married Ann Francine Cohen in late 1941. Soon thereafter, in early 1942, the couple moved to Fort Ord in California where he was sent to camouflage the coast to protect it from possible aerial bombings. Sent overseas in 1943, Solomon did aerial reconnaissance over Holland. Solomon was sent to Normandy early in the invasion where his camouflage designs provided protective concealment for the transport of supplies for men who had broken through the enemy line. Solomon was considered one of the best camoufleurs in the Army, receiving among other commendations, five bronze stars. Solomon often remarked that his camouflage experience during World War II influenced his ideas about abstract art. At the end of the War, he attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Because Solomon suffered frostbite during the Battle of the Bulge, he could not live in cold climates, so he and Annie chose to settle in Sarasota, Florida, after the War. Sarasota was home to the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, and soon Solomon became friends with Arthur Everett “Chick” Austin, Jr., the museum’s first Director. In the late 1940s, Solomon experimented with new synthetic media, the precursors to acrylic paints provided to him by chemist Guy Pascal, who was developing them. Victor D’Amico, the first Director of Education for the Museum of Modern Art, recognized Solomon as the first artist to use acrylic paint. His early experimentation with this medium as well as other media put him at the forefront of technical innovations in his generation. He was also one of the first artists to use aerosol sprays and combined them with resists, an innovation influenced by his camouflage experience. Solomon’s work began to be acknowledged nationally in 1952. He was included in American Watercolors, Drawings and Prints at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. From 1952–1962, Solomon’s work was discovered by the cognoscenti of the art world, including the Museum of Modern Art Curators, Dorothy C. Miller and Peter Selz, and the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Director, John I. H. Baur. He had his first solo show in New York at the Associated American Artists Gallery in 1955 with “Chick” Austin, Jr. writing the essay for the exhibition. In the summer of 1955, the Solomons visited East Hampton, New York, for the first time at the invitation of fellow artist David Budd. There, Solomon met and befriended many of the artists of the New York School, including Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning, James Brooks, Alfonso Ossorio, and Conrad Marca-Relli. By 1959, and for the next thirty-five years, the Solomons split the year between Sarasota (in the winter and spring) and the Hamptons (in the summer and fall). In 1959, Solomon began showing regularly in New York City at the Saidenberg Gallery with collector Joseph Hirshhorn buying three paintings from Solomon’s first show. At the same time, his works entered the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Wadsworth Athenaeum in Hartford, Connecticut, among others. Solomon also began showing at Signa Gallery in East Hampton and at the James David Gallery in Miami run by the renowned art dealer, Dorothy Blau. In 1961, the Guggenheim Museum’s H. H. Arnason bestowed to him the Silvermine Award at the 13th New England Annual. Additionally, Thomas Hess of ARTnews magazine chose Solomon as one of the ten outstanding painters of the year. At the suggestion of Alfred H. Barr, Jr., the Museum of Modern Art’s Director, the John and Mable Ringling Museum in Sarasota began its contemporary collection by purchasing Solomon’s painting, Silent World, 1961. Solomon became influential in the Hamptons and in Florida during the 1960s. In late 1964, he created the Institute of Fine Art at the New College in Sarasota. He is credited with bringing many nationally known artists to Florida to teach, including Larry Rivers, Philip Guston, James Brooks, and Conrad Marca-Relli. Later Jimmy Ernst, John Chamberlain, James Rosenquist, and Robert Rauschenberg settled near Solomon in Florida. In East Hampton, the Solomon home was the epicenter of artists and writers who spent time in the Hamptons, including Alfred Leslie, Jim Dine, Ibram Lassaw, Saul Bellow, Barney Rosset, Arthur Kopit, and Harold Rosenberg. In 1970, Solomon, along with architect Gene Leedy, one of the founders of the Sarasota School of Architecture, built an award-winning precast concrete and glass house and studio on the Gulf of Mexico near Midnight Pass in Sarasota. Because of its siting, it functioned much like Monet’s home in Giverny, France. Open to the sky, sea, and shore with inside and outside studios, Solomon was able to fully solicit all the environmental forces that influenced his work. His friend, the art critic Harold Rosenberg, said Solomon’s best work was produced in the period he lived on the beach. During 1974 and 1975, a retrospective exhibition of Solomon’s work was held at the New York Cultural Center and traveled to the John and Mable Ringling Museum in Sarasota. Writer Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. conducted an important interview with Solomon for the exhibition catalogue. The artist was close to many writers, including Harold Rosenberg, Joy Williams, John D. McDonald, Budd Schulberg, Elia Kazan, Betty Friedan...

Original, oil paint and acrylic paint on canvas by the well known American artist, Syd Solomon. Signed bottom middle by the artist. Titled and dated verso 1983. Condition is excellent. Original gallery floating frame. Overall framed measurements are 38 by 42 inches. Provenance: A Sarasota, Florida collector. SYD SOLOMON BIOGRAPHY Written by Dr. Lisa Peters/Berry Campbell Gallery “Here, in simple English, is what Syd Solomon does: He meditates. He connects his hand and paintbrush to the deeper, quieter, more mysterious parts of his mind- and he paints pictures of what he sees and feels down there.” --Kurt Vonnegut Jr. from Palm Sunday, 1981 Syd Solomon was born near Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1917. He began painting in high school in Wilkes-Barre, where he was also a star football player. After high school, he worked in advertising and took classes at the Art Institute of Chicago. Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, he joined the war effort and was assigned to the First Camouflage Battalion, the 924th Engineer Aviation Regiment of the US Army. He used his artistic skills to create camouflage instruction manuals utilized throughout the Army. He married Ann Francine Cohen in late 1941. Soon thereafter, in early 1942, the couple moved to Fort Ord in California where he was sent to camouflage the coast to protect it from possible aerial bombings. Sent overseas in 1943, Solomon did aerial reconnaissance over Holland. Solomon was sent to Normandy early in the invasion where his camouflage designs provided protective concealment for the transport of supplies for men who had broken through the enemy line. Solomon was considered one of the best camoufleurs in the Army, receiving among other commendations, five bronze stars. Solomon often remarked that his camouflage experience during World War II influenced his ideas about abstract art. At the end of the War, he attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Because Solomon suffered frostbite during the Battle of the Bulge, he could not live in cold climates, so he and Annie chose to settle in Sarasota, Florida, after the War. Sarasota was home to the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, and soon Solomon became friends with Arthur Everett “Chick” Austin, Jr., the museum’s first Director. In the late 1940s, Solomon experimented with new synthetic media, the precursors to acrylic paints provided to him by chemist Guy Pascal, who was developing them. Victor D’Amico, the first Director of Education for the Museum of Modern Art, recognized Solomon as the first artist to use acrylic paint. His early experimentation with this medium as well as other media put him at the forefront of technical innovations in his generation. He was also one of the first artists to use aerosol sprays and combined them with resists, an innovation influenced by his camouflage experience. Solomon’s work began to be acknowledged nationally in 1952. He was included in American Watercolors, Drawings and Prints at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. From 1952–1962, Solomon’s work was discovered by the cognoscenti of the art world, including the Museum of Modern Art Curators, Dorothy C. Miller and Peter Selz, and the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Director, John I. H. Baur. He had his first solo show in New York at the Associated American Artists Gallery in 1955 with “Chick” Austin, Jr. writing the essay for the exhibition. In the summer of 1955, the Solomons visited East Hampton, New York, for the first time at the invitation of fellow artist David Budd...

"House, and Flowers, and Moonlight," an original oil on canvas by Ralph Rosenborg, is a piece for the true collector. In 1988, Louise Nevelson wrote: "Ralph Rosenborg was the first recognized pioneer whose experimental art announced the coming of Abstract Expressionism in the United States during the mid-1930s. Rosenborg was the first to introduce and instruct Jackson Pollock on Abstract Expressionism while at the Non-Objective Painting Museum in the early 1940s, which became the Guggenheim Museum. Ralph Rosenborg is The American Artist. Rosenborg produced daring artworks and explored the possibilities of movements that are expressive of ideas, sensations and passions intended to provoke pure emotions." Both the technical talent of Rosenborg and his choice of subject matter pair perfectly with custom wood frame. This masterful work is perfect for those who have an affinity for abstracts, abstract expressionism, landscapes, and color-rich works. This Rosenborg painting has an important history, with the rare provenance of moving through both Sothebys and Christies auction houses, as well as two notable dealers including Nat Halper and H. Marc Moyens. Full provenance details are outlined below. Artist: RALPH ROSENBORG (1913-1992) Title: HOUSE, AND FLOWERS, AND MOONLIGHT Medium & Surface: ORIGINAL OIL ON CANVAS (framed) Signed: HAND SIGNED AND DATED BY ARTIST LOWER RIGHT AND ON VERSO Year Created: 1957 Country of Creation: UNITED STATES Canvas Dimensions: 22.25 x 28.25 INCHES Frame Dimensions:* 33.25 x 39.25 x 1.875 INCHES *This work of art is being sold framed. Additional Info: HIGHLY COLLECTIBLE WORK BY RALPH ROSENBORG IN GREAT CONDITION AND FEATURING ITS BEAUTIFUL CUSTOM WOOD FRAME. ORIGINAL ARTIST LABEL IS AFFIXED TO VERSO, AS WELL AS SOTHEBY'S AND CHRISTIE'S LABELS. Artist Info/Bio: ARTIST BIOGRAPHY DOCUMENT IS INCLUDED Documentation: CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY IS INCLUDED Provenance: CHRISTIE’S, NEW YORK, JAN 12, 2010 COLLECTION OF H. MARC MOYENS SOTHEBY’S, NEW YORK, APRIL 1, 1998 COLLECTION OF NATHAN (1907-1983) & HELEN HALPER (1908-1996), MA HCE GALLERY, PROVINCETOWN, MA (OWNED BY NATHAN HALPER) About the Artist: Ralph Rosenborg, an American painter, was known for his abstract paintings that inclined not toward geometric form, but rather the interpretation of nature. Rosenborg was born in New York in 1913, his talent for the fine art appearing early. While still in high school, he won a scholarship to classes at the American Museum of Natural History, meeting Henriette Reiss, who he continued to study under privately well after the classes ended. Reiss had worked with Wassily Kandinsky earlier in her career, and as such introduced Rosenborg to the vast arena of vanguard European ideas, as well as provided him a broad-based instruction in music, literature, and art history. After four years, Rosenborg was ready to exhibit. He did so initially in group exhibitions at ACA Galleries, and later in Mayor La Guardia’s 1934 Mile of Art at Radio City. He quickly gained notoriety, and began to show frequently throughout the 1930s, leading up to his first solo exhibition at the Eighth Street Theater...

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