Cecil Kennedy

Still Life in White

1956

Oil still-life of a bouquet of ocher, rose, cobalt, lavender, and ivory wildflowers, informally arranged in a goblet against a background of rust and periwinkle. Signed lower right...

Signed, verso, "Ament" and "de la Roche" for Janet Ament de la Roche (American, 1916-2000) and titled "Black Vase"; painted circa 1955. Oil still-life of a black teapot...

Signed lower right, 'Lars Swane', dated 1986, and inscribed verso 'Tilhører Palle Nielsen'. A substantial, oil still-life showing variegated, red and yellow tulips informally arranged in a cobalt blue patterned vase, resting inside a cobalt and ivory bowl on a wooden table beside various books, with a view beyond through a window to a winter landscape. Son of the artists Sigurd Swane...

Signed lower left with monogram, 'R.M.' for Rose Marshall' (American, 19th century) and dated 1887. Additionally signed, verso, on old label, 'Mrs. Rose Marshall. Displayed in the original and substantial, 19th century carved giltwood and gesso frame...

Signed lower left "Vantore" for Mogens Erik Christien Vantore (Danish, 1895-1977) and painted circa 1925. A substantial, early twentieth-century Impressionist still-life of blue ast...

A substantial, Post-Impressionist oil still-life showing a view of various objects including fruit, a glass bottle and a sea-shell assembled on a draped table-top. A dynamic and vibr...

Provenance: Selma Herringman, New York, ca. 1955-2013; thence by descent to: Private Collection, New York, 2013-2020 This seventeenth century Spanish still-life of a laden table, known as a bodegón, stands out for its dramatic lighting and for the detailed description of each object. The artist’s confident use of chiaroscuro enables the sliced-open squash in the left foreground to appear as if emerging out of the darkness and projecting towards the viewer. The light source emanates from the upper left, illuminating the array, and its strength is made apparent by the reflections on the pitcher, pot, and the fruit in the basket. Visible brush strokes accentuate the vegetables’ rough surfaces and delicate interiors. Although the painter of this striking work remains unknown, it is a characteristic example of the pioneering Spanish still-lifes of the baroque period, which brought inanimate objects alive on canvas. In our painting, the knife and the large yellow squash boldly protrude off the table. Balancing objects on the edge of a table was a clever way for still-life painters to emphasize the three-dimensionality of the objects depicted, as well a way to lend a sense of drama to an otherwise static image. The knife here teeters on the edge, appearing as if it might fall off the table and out of the painting at any moment. The shape and consistency of the squash at left is brilliantly conveyed through the light brush strokes that define the vegetable’s fleshy and feathery interior. The smaller gourds—gathered together in a pile—are shrouded partly in darkness and stand out for their rugged, bumpy exterior. The stoneware has a brassy glaze, and the earthy tones of the vessels are carefully modulated by their interaction with the light and shadow that falls across them. The artist has cleverly arranged the still-life in a V-shaped composition, with a triangular slice of cheese standing upright, serving as its pinnacle. Independent still-lifes only became an important pictorial genre in the first years of the seventeenth century. In Italy, and particularly through the revolutionary works of Caravaggio, painted objects became carriers of meaning, and their depiction and arrangement the province of serious artistic scrutiny. Caravaggio famously asserted that it was equally difficult to paint a still-life as it was to paint figures, and the elevation of this new art form would have profound consequences to the present day. In Spain Juan Sanchez Cotan...

Strange Tracey are proud to be the exclusive agent for Fran Mora in the United Kingdom. Born in Huelva in the south of Spain in 1979, Mora studied at the School of Fine Arts in Sev...

Oil on canvas painting by Jill Davenport (American, 20th Century) still life titled "Banjo Player" from the Attic series. Signed and dated on bottom lef...

Early substantial, expressionist abstract still life by Lee Lippman (American 1926-2020). Bursting with color and movement titled "Still life with onions" ...

LaValley is an American artist born in New York in 1858. His style is realism and most of his paintings were either landscapes or still lifes. This perticular painting is an exclent ...

Flowers in A Basket by Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer. A Still Life of flowers in a basket including jasmine, honeysuckle, dahlias, parrot tulips, delphiniums and white carnations.