Susanne Wenger

Iwin Series No. 2

1968

1970's modernist anthropomorphic animals at a bar by Stephen Martin (American, 20th Century). Several animals sit at a bar, with a few in the b...

A late 1960's modern Pop Art etching of horses by Marc Foster Grant (American, b.1947). The galloping horse motif is repeated, in the style of Warhol...

Mid-century portrait of a young girl by a window by acclaimed California artist Ben Messick (American, 1891-1981). Signed "Ben Messick" in plate, and in pencil in the lower right corner, by the estate. Presented in an off-white mat. Unframed. Paper size: 12"H x 12"W The following is submitted by Jim Lafferty whose sources include the autobiography of the artist: William Washington Messick married Sarah A. Bristow January 2,1889 and from this marriage a son, Benjamin Newton Messick was born on January 9, 1891 on a farm near Strafford, Missouri. His art talent was apparent from the time he was a child and later recognized by his commanding officer in World War I. He completed his training in Los Angeles at Chouinard in the late-1920s and is well-known for his Regionalist scenes and Modernist paintings. He was an instructor at Chouinard through the 1950s & influenced a generation of LA Modernists. Little is recorded in his autobiography about Messick's life from his teen years and service during the War. He enrolled at Chouinard Institute in the Fall of 1925, and was given a three-year scholarship by Mrs. Chouinard. In 1925 he won a cash award at the Los Angeles County Fair for a group of pen and charcoal drawings done in the parks and streets of Los Angeles. These works give the appearance of being spontaneous and fluid. In 1930 Messick left Chouinard as a full-time student and rented an apartment on West Eighth Street to use as a studio and living quarters. He had his own ideas on what he was trying to accomplish in art. "If you should ask what is the message of my drawings, I should say that they may explain themselves or may be just a technical exercise." By the mid 1940s, Messick's position in the art world had been well established as a teacher, painter, printmaker, writer and critic. Over his life time he had over 400 shows and exhibitions. Starting in 1939 he produced a number of stone lithographs that appear to the untrained eye as original drawings. To Messick the image was the most important aspect of his lithographs, and his signature in the plate was sufficient. Hand signing each lithograph did not seem necessary to him. He exhibited prints widely including the Albany Print Club and the Metropolitian Museum. To further substantiate the authenticity of Messick's prints the Eclectic Gallery under the authority of the Messick family posthumously pencil signed each estate-acquired stone lithograph. Messick had a childhood fascination with the circus and started drawing and painting the circus in 1935. His circus work, especially his clown studies, and his lithographs became his trademark work for in the 1940s and 1950s. A critic for ART REVIEW described his Big Top work this way: "His circus canvases...

1970's modernist etching of a man and woman at home with their dogs by Stephen Martin (American, 20th Century). The enigmatic couple both wear sungla...

Artwork Size: 12 x 19 in Edition 1 of 40 "Flood and Weather Gauge" is a multi-colored print from hand-carved engravings, matted and framed, by Ke Francis. As a writer as well as a visual artist, many of Francis' artworks have a literary aspect to them, whether it is pure illustration or an implied narrative. "Flood and Weather Gauge" was created as a purely visual image without any accompanying text. However, Francis creates an implied narrative within the piece through the relationship and dialogue between the overwhelmed homemade weather gauge and the intensifying weather conditions of the flood. Over ten years after the original work's creation, a version of Flood and Weather Gauge accompanied Michael Hannon...

Although "High Flyer" is a contemporary setting of a bungee jump in an American traveling circus it is also a tribute to "Miss La La," a circus performer of...

This archival pigment print is a ltd. edition of 25 Archival ink printed on MOAB Entrada white paper Paper size 21.5 X 26.5 in. Image size 18.25 X 23.5 in The Globe of Thunder is an actual attraction performed by daredevils in traveling circus shows. The Globe of Thunder attraction might have 2 to 6 motorcycles cycling round inside the mesh globe...

The Vortex of Doom is an actual attraction performed by daredevils in traveling circus shows. After decades of creating Coney Island inspired images, t...