John Stockton De Martelly

Old Moon, Regionalist Artist, Student of Thomas Hart Benton

1930

John Farrar (American, 1928-1972) Signed: John Farrar (Lower, Left) “ Pardner ”, 1943 Titled Above Signature (Lower, Left) Oil on Canvas 26 ⅛” x 32 ⅛” Housed in a 2 ½” period ornamented Newcomb-Macklin frame in toned gold leaf, in good original condition. Outside Size: 30 1/2" x 36 5/8" A recent discovery of a painting that appears to be Farrar’s family dog. This was done when he was just fifteen years old. As a teenager in the 1940s, Farrar received much local acclaim in the Washington D.C. art Scene. Words like “Child Prodigy”, “Brilliant” and “Gifted” were used to describe him in the local newspaper. He had a great bout of early success which included developing patrons among Washington DC’s art elite but this was short lived as he was afflicted with schizophrenia and alcoholism as an adult causing him to spend much of his life in mental institutions. In 1942, Farrar won the Washington Times-Herald's outdoor art fair. This painting was executed the following year when he was 15 (1943). That same year he won the top prize at Atlanta University’s third annual “ Exhibition of Paintings, Sculpture and Prints by Negro Artists ” with a piece titled “ Queenie ”. Approximately one hundred and fifty works of art were included in the show, representing the best works of more than seventy-five contemporary African American artists. This show included works by Romare Bearden, who was awarded Honorable Mention for his painting “ The Two Genrerations ”. Also included among the exhibitors - Charles H. Alston, Allen Rohen Crite, Aaron Douglas, Fredrick Flemister, Sargant Johnson, Horace Pippin, Jacob Lawrence, Marjorie Wheeler Brown, Hughie Lee Smith, Lois Mailou Jones...

Orville Bulman (American, 1904 - 1978) Signed: Bulman (Lower, Right) " Big Man on a Piano ", 1958 Oil on Canvas 14" x 18" Housed in its original 4 3/4" Frame Overall Size: 24 3...

Astley David Middleton Cooper (American, 1856 - 1924) Signed: A.D.M. Cooper 90 " Indian Encampment by the River ", 1890 Oil on Board 20" x 30" Housed in a Walnut Frame with a L...

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...

In this sentimental work from 1939, Benton expresses his admiration for the rural lifestyle of the Midwest. He highlights the connection between man and the land by depicting two fig...

In this charming regionalist lithograph, Benton captures a classic Midwestern American scene: two men talking, drinking, and smoking together in a bar. Titled 'Discussion', the artwo...

HARRY STERNBERG (American, 1904-2001) THOMAS BENTON, 1943. Color screenprint on gray card stock wove paper. Edition of 30. Signed "Benton by Sternberg" in ink, by hand by the artist...

Original stone lithograph created 1944 by well-known Regionalist Thomas Hart Benton. The print is in excellent condition with full margins and pencil signed lower right. Also signed in the stone. It is matted in a 4-ply archival mat and rests in a simple black frame. Image size: 10 ½ x 15. Frame size: 18 x 23. Published by AAA. Ed: 250. Thomas Hart Benton found inspiration for his art in the ebb and flow of daily life in rural and small-town America. Wreck of the Ol’ 97, one of his best-known prints, is based on a ballad of the same title that tells the story of a rail disaster. A speeding locomotive attempting to make up lost time jumped the tracks as it descended a Virginia mountain...