Erle Loran

Blacksmith (Untitled)

1936

A Laborer Resting, 1930, oil on canvas, signed and dated lower center, 36 x 30 inches, inscribed verso “July – 1930 / Title – A Laborer Resting / Artist – Robert Gilbert / Price - $2...

Civilization, c. 1948, oil on canvas, signed lower left, 20 x 24 inches, label verso reads “Eugene M. Dyczkowski / Grand Inland, N. Y. / Civilization,” inscribed verso in the artist’...

This mural study is part of our exhibition America Coast to Coast: Artists of the 1930s Industry and Commerce, 1936, tempera on panel, 16 ½ x 39 ½ inches, signed verso “John Ballator, Portland Ore.” provenance includes: J.C. Penney Company, represented by Russell Tether Fine Arts Assoc.; presented in a newer wood frame About the Painting Industry and Commerce is a prime example of WPA Era muralism. Like a Mediaeval alter, this mural study is filled with icons, but the images of saints and martyrs are replaced with symbols of America's gospel of prosperity through capitalism. Industry and Commerce has a strong narrative quality with vignettes filling the entire surface. Extraction, logistics, design, power generation, and manufacturing for printing, chemicals, automobiles and metal products are all represented. To eliminate any doubt about the mural's themes, Ballator letters a description into the bottom of the study. Ballator also presents an idealized version of industrial cooperation, as his workers, lab-coated technicians and tie-wearing managers work harmoniously toward a common goal in the tidy and neatly designed environments. Although far from the reality of most industrial spaces, Ballator's study reflects the idealized and morale boosting tone that many mural projects adopted during the Great Depression. About the Artist John R Ballator achieved success as a muralist, lithographer, and teacher during the Great Depression. Born in Oregon, he studied at the Portland Museum Art School, the University of Oregon and at Yale University where he received a Bachelor of Fine Art. In 1936, Ballator was commissioned to paint a mural panel for the new Department of Justice Building in Washington DC, an important project that spanned five years with several dozen artists contributing a total of sixty-eight designs. Ballator completed murals for the St. Johns Post Office and Franklin High School, both in Portland, Oregon. He also contributed to the 1938 murals at Nathan Hale School in New Haven, Connecticut. During the late 1930s, Ballator taught art for several years at Washburn College in Topeka, Kanas, where he completed a mural for the Menninger Arts & Craft Shop before accepting a professorship at Hollins College...

This painting is part of our exhibition America Coast to Coast: Artists of the 1930s Street Cleaners, c. 1940s, oil on canvas, signed lower right, 28 ¾ x 42 inches, Gallery Z...

Hermine David (1886-1970), Marechal Ferrant (The Blacksmith), etching and drypoint, signed in pencil lower right [also signed in the plate lower left], ...

The Blacksmith by John Edwards (England, 1940 - 2020) signed oil on canvas, framed framed: 29 x 23.5 inches canvas : 23 x 18 inches Provenance: private collection, UK Condition: very...

John Hermansader (American, 1915 - 2005) Signed: J. Hermansader (Lower, Right) Steelworkers, c. 1940s Oil on Canvas 30" x 24" Housed in a 3" Frame Overall Size: 35 1/2" x 29 1/4" Craquelure throughout. In otherwise good condition. Biography: John Hermansader (1915–2005) was an American painter, graphic designer, and jazz fan. He is remembered for his iconic designs of Blue Note record covers. John Bancroft Hermansader was born on November 1, 1915 near Reading, Pennsylvania. In the 1930s, he studied at the Memphis Academy of Art in Tennessee and the New Bauhaus in Chicago, Illinois. In New York City he studied with Robert Motherwell at the New School of Social Research. In 1939, he and his wife Rosemary were founders of the Hot Club of Newark, New Jersey, a significant group of jazz enthusiasts. John became the first president. In 1951, when Blue Note Records began issuing 10 inch records, Hermansader was one of their first designers, along with Paul Bacon and Gil Melle. Looking back at this era, Michael Cuscuna of Mosaic Records said, “ What John Hermansader and Paul Bacon really did was evoke the feeling of the music. They used everything from Bauhaus designs to things that were really otherworldly.” Angelynn Grant adds, “When people think of Blue Note covers they think of Frank Wolff”s photography and Reid Miles design. But John Hermansader laid the groundwork that got them going along that path.” Richard Cook, who wrote Blue Note Records: The Biography states, “Hermansader in particular balanced the twin issues of photography and type in a way that would mirror the concerns of the Blue Note of the years ahead.” “John Hermansader was passionate about oil painting, “beautiful lyrical abstractions, full of color and movement.” He was an abstract expressionist painter who drew inspiration for his work from listening to jazz.” - (Obituary, Pilot, Redding Conn., July 14, 2005, p. 32A) His exhibitions included and the Gallery of Contemporary Art at Sunken Meadow, Long Island, 1951–58, Panoras Gallery 1956...

Very decorative oil painting by Anders Montan, in the forge, 19th century Signed lower right. Famous Swedish artist. Dimensions with frame: 104 cm x 11...