Catherine McCarthy Art

Signed lower left, 'Ejnar Kragh' (Danish, 1903-1981) and dated 1950. A substantial, mid-century Impressionist oil showing a view of Paris with a figure strolling beside the Seine. ...

Andre KAUFFER (1893-1971) Seaside landscape - Quiberon, circa 1940 Oil on canvas Signed lower left Located “Quiberon” on the back 23 x 46 cm Old frame in painted wood Born in Nancy ...

Jacques BERLAND (1918-1999) Portrait of a woman, circa 1950 Oil on canvas 34 × 25 cm A figurative painter of the Paris School, Jacques Berland's work was brought back into the limel...

A substantial, sunlit landscape showing a fruit-tree in blossom in the foreground with verdant fields receding towards rolling hills beneath turquoise and lavender clouds. Signed ...

Signed lower left, 'Hortense M. Gordon' for Hortense Crompton Mattice Gordon (Canadian, 1886-1961) and dated 1949. Previously with: Dominion Gallery of Montreal (stamp, verso). Photo courtesy of Art Gallery of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Hamilton artist Hortense Crompton Mattice Gordon was one of Canada’s earliest non-representational painters, embracing abstraction in the 1930s. She was also an active member of Canada's first English-speaking abstract group, Painters Eleven. A scholarship recipient, Hortense Mattice first attended the Hamilton Art School and, subsequently, moved to Chatham, Ontario. Initially focusing on porcelain painting, Mattice quickly began building a portfolio of oils and, from 1908, was exhibiting both her porcelain and landscapes at what is now the Chatham Cultural Centre (1908) and the Art Gallery of Ontario (1909). During this time, Mattice frequently traveled to the United States and, in 1915, visited the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, where she would have seen early works by important modernists including Picasso and Matisse. She started her teaching career in Chatham but, having received a job offer from the artist John Sloan Gordon, returned to Hamilton to teach at the Hamilton Art School in 1918. The two artists married in 1920. In 1922, Gordon and her husband took a study trip to France and, inspired by the fervent of Modernist ideas in Paris, expanded her own approaches to art, developing an increasingly soft, loose paint handling style. It was not until the 1930’s, after a few more trips to France and her discovery of Piet Mondrian’s work, that elements of abstraction began to appear in Gordon’s work. After the death of her husband in 1940, Gordon attended the Cranbrook Academy of Art and studied with Hans Hoffmann (1941-1945) whose influence and friendship pushed her to explore non-objective painting. After her training with Hofmann and in Cranbrook, Gordon began to exhibit regularly and with success in both Canada and the United States including at the Riverside Museum (New York, 1947), Creative Gallery (New York, 1952), in Ann Arbor (Michigan, 1952), Phillips Gallery (Detroit, 1952), the Flint Institute of Arts (Michigan, 1952), Mount Allison University (New Brunswick, 1952), the Galerie Agnes Lefort in Montréal and Art Gallery of Hamilton (retrospective, 1960). She was a member of the Contemporary Artists of Hamilton (honorary president in 1948), the Ontario Society of Artists, the Hamilton Women...

Signed lower left, 'W. Schwartz' for Walter Erwin Otto Schwartz (Danish, 1889-1958), dated 1935 and inscribed 'Skagen' lower right. A substantial, psychologically penetrating portrait of a young woman with braids, shown dressed in a charcoal wool coat and wearing a copper-colored neck-scarf. The self-possessed sitter stands and meets the viewers gaze directly, proving herself an unusually confident subject for this noted Danish Modernist. Nephew of the Danish academic artist, Frans Schwartz, Walter Schwartz grew up surrounded by the painters who frequented the Danish art colony on the picturesque island of Skagen. Walter first studied formally (1904-8) with Michael Ancher...

Signed lower left, 'Roger Derieux' (French, 1922-2015) and painted circa 1960. Born in Paris, Roger Derieux first studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and, subsequently, ...

"Transfiguration" is a captivating original abstract painting by the talented artist Pawel Kontny (also known as Paul Kontny), created during the mid-20th century. This unique composition was crafted using a combination of marble dust, gesso, and oil glaze on masonite, resulting in a striking raised texture that adds depth and dimension to the artwork. The use of marble dust and gesso gives the piece a rich, tactile quality, making it visually stunning. The painting is rendered in a harmonious palette of neutral tones, including shades of brown, beige, yellow, and grey, creating a subtle yet powerful interplay of light and shadow. These muted hues evoke a sense of calm and contemplation, allowing the viewer to immerse themselves in the abstract forms and textures that dominate the canvas. This piece is presented in its original black and gold frame, which enhances its vintage charm and complements the sophisticated color palette. "Transfiguration" is an exceptional work of art, perfect for collectors of mid-century abstract art...

Signed lower right, 'V. Isbrand' for Victor Isbrand (Danish, 1897-1989) and painted circa 1945. Precocious as a child, Victor Isbrand painted professionally from a young age and was...

Brazilian artist Ozz Franca reflects on performance, identity, and detachment in this mixed-media composition. Two figures dominate the central space: a Pierrot and a figure whose fa...

Signed lower right, 'A. Naur' for Albert Naur (Danish, 1889-1973) and painted circa 1955. A cheerful, mid-century oil showing a pair of leisure chairs wit...

Mixed media assemblage sculpture/painting. Hand signed and dated recto and verso. Provenance: Galerie Alphonse Chave, bears their label verso Michel, Fernand (1913-1999) Born in 1913 in Neuviller-lès-Badonviller in the Vosges, Fernand Michel began working at the age of twelve in a Landes pottery factory. When his mother died, he went to live in Alsace with an aunt and became an art bookbinder. A lover of poetry, he bonded with Jean Vodaine, Jean Dubuffet and Alphonse Chave (Alphonse Chave was an art lover, dealer and collector. On November 15, 1947 in Vence, under the name Les Mages, he opened a contemporary art gallery which would also become a high place of art brut and unique art . The gallery took its final name - Galerie Alphonse Chave - in 1960. He exhibited Dado, Philippe Dereux, Jean Dubuffet, Max Ernst, Henri michaux, Louis Pons, Man Ray, Dorothea Tanning, Zao Wou-ki as well as other creators.) Around 1962, he began carving zinc after finding a plaque in a landfill. From this period, he made numerous assemblies, most often of large dimensions, which he called "zinc works" where buxom bathers, Venus callipyges, nuns and holy nitouches rub shoulders. The corroded and battered material over the years, used as is, gives his works a certain harshness, however softened by more ornamental pieces. Fernand Michel lived in Montpellier. He died in 1999. His work is present in the collection of La Fabuloserie in Dicy. Publications Revue "Création Franche" N ° 16, November 1998 Catalog "Donation Claude Massé", March 1999 Catalog "Collection Création Franche - 1989-2010", September 2010 Revue "Création Franche" N ° 38, June 2013 Franche Creation, Special Issue N ° 2, April 2015 His son Patrick Michel's collection is housed in Montpellier in the Musee d’arts brut, singulier and autres. "I used to accompany my father to his exhibitions since he was exhibited every year at the Galerie Chave in Vence. I still remember that Alphonse Chave once offered me a little toy (a car!) from his shop. I therefore met the artists Philippe Dereux, Armand Avril, François Ozenda, Pascal Verbena, Louis Pons, Jean Vodaine, Henri Comby, Fred Deux and Eugène Gabritschevsky- I took the decision to create the museum in order to save (and protect) my father’s work- my father was often classified under the ‘Art Brut’ label but in fact he belonged to the ‘Singular Art’ label... The term Art Brut exists since Jean Dubuffet gave it to us in 1945, covering self-taught and marginalised artists..The terms Outsider Art and Art Brut are fine with me- I place Nek Chand before Le Facteur Cheval. I also like the Art Brut artists Augustin Lesage...