Michigan - Paintings

Framed Painting 24.5" x 22.5" inches Canvas size 17.5" x 15.5" inches Sam Karres Born in Wyandotte, Michigan in 1929, Sam Karres earned a B.F.A. and M.A. in art from Wayne Universit...

Artist: Hilo Chen Title: City - 4 Year: 1977 Painting oil on canvas Size 54 x 54 inches 137 x 137 cm Contemporary photo-realist painter Hilo Chen (Yee-Lum) was born in 1942 in Taiwan and later became an American citizen. He is noted for his paintings of nudes and flowers. Chen's as painter is nothing less than superb. The skin tones of his nudes seem more "real" than life itself. You feel as though you can almost touch these women who are so oblivious to being observed. Chen's work is held in public collections at: The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY; San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose CA...

Appears to be unsigned. Untitled, circa 1970s Oil on Canvas 50" x 40 1/4" In very good original condition. A nice, large, vintage abstract painting full of color.

“Untitled #34” was created by Sam Gilliam, one of the great innovators in postwar American painting. It is dated and signed on the lower front. The thick handmade paper is rich with folds and texture and the colors lively. In addition to Acrylic paint on the surface there appears to be imbedded color in the handmade paper which has additional embossed accents. Unframed the piece measures 16 x 14. Provenance of Yaw Gallery, Birmingham, Michigan is on the verso along with the note that the Paper Surfaces in contact with this artwork are acid free. In the mid-1960s he emerged from the Washington D.C. scene with works that elaborated upon and disrupted the ethos of Color School painting. A series of formal breakthroughs would soon result in his canonical Drape paintings, which expanded upon the tenets of Abstract Expressionism in entirely new ways. One profound manner was the sculpture aspect of the painting giving it a free flowing expression of pure color. In the latter half of the 1950s, Washington D.C. saw a flourishing of abstract art that emphasized the form-making capabilities of pure color. Known as The Washington Color School, the loosely affiliated group of abstract painters knew each other through various teaching experiences. The moniker has an uncertain origin but likely originated with the title of a 1965 exhibition at the Washington Gallery of Modern Art, "Washington Color Painters," curated by Gerald Nordland. The show exhibited the works of Kenneth Noland, Paul Reed, Morris Louis, Howard Mehring, Thomas Downing, and Gene Davis. Additionally, Leon Berkowitz...

" Sailing in Sunshine ", circa 1970s Oil on Canvas 50" x 40" Housed in a Slat-wood frame Overall Size: 50 1/2" x 40 3/4" Appears to be in very good condition. We are looking f...

"Nightlights" is the perfect name of this sparkling gorgeous piece by Alcalay. Dozens of colors are used to described a lively, moving street scene of night lights, including headlig...

Emmeline B. Spencer (American, Born 1880) Signed: Emmeline Spencer (Lower, Right) " Floral Still Life ", circa 1920s-1930s Oil on Canvas 24 1/8" x 20" Housed in a 2" Period Orn...

Robert Sealock (American, 20th Century) Signed: RWS 93 (Canvas Verso) " Divided By Time ", 1993 Oil on Canvas 48 1/4" x 40" This large modern painting is in nice original condi...

Mathias Alten (German/American 1871-1938) Signed: M. Alten (Lower, Left) " Summer Fields ", circa 1914 Oil on Canvas Laid on Board 10" x 14" Housed in a 2" Carved Newcomb Mackl...

Foster Jewell (American, 1893-1984) Signed: F. Jewell (Lower, Right) " Mission San Juan Capistrano ", circa 1934 Oil on Canvas 21" x 25" Beautifully housed in a 4" Carved Frame ...

Charcoal drawings add warmth to an artwork and this is a nice one by Terry Futvoye. It has a few minor imperfections but still looks nice in the frame. Reframing is an option if t...

Unknown Artist, Late 19th Century Signed: L.H. (Lower, Right) Along a Winter Path, c. 1880s Oil on Canvas 22" x 36" Housed in a 4" Ornamented Frame Overall Size: 30" x 44" An ...

Arvid Frederick Nyholm (Swedish-American, 1866-1937) Signed: A Nyholm (Lower, Right and Lower, Left) " Mother and Child in a Landscape ", circa 1910-1920 Oil on Canvas 25" x 30"...

SALE ONE WEEK ONLY UNTITLED by Fanny Rabel a Mexican artist who was born in Poland in 1922 is a soul wrenching work depicting among other things, the children killed by Nazi bombing in Spain during the Second World War. The lavender and purple surrounding the seated female figure and the kneeling child suggest both grief for the innocents' deaths and the prayers being offered for an end to the carnage. The bright gold and red can be read as either explosions or the hopeful light of redemption after death. Like Picasso's Guernica from 1937, this painting from 1965 can stand as a powerful anti-war statement. Numerous key galleries and museums such as Morton Auctions, Cerro de Mayka have featured Fanny Rabel's work in the past. Her anti-Nazi and anti-Fascism politics resulted in her participation in a mural called Retrato de la Burguesía in 1940 for the Sindicato Mexicano de Electricistas building on Alfonso Caso Street in Mexico City. Rabel met a group of exiled Spaniards in Mexico along with Antonio Pujol, who invited her to take part in a mural project headed by him, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Joseph Renau, Luis Arenal, Antonio Rodríguez Luna and Miguel Prieto. The artist died in 2008. Fanny Rabel born August 27, 1922, in Poland born Fanny Rabinovich, was a Polish-born Mexican artist who is considered to be the first modern female muralist and one of the youngest associated with the Mexican muralism of the early to the mid-20th century. She and her family arrived in Mexico in 1938 from Europe and she studied art at the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda", where she met and became friends with Frida Kahlo. She became the only female member of “Los Fridos” a group of students under Kahlo’s tutelage. She also worked as an assistant and apprentice to Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros, painting several murals of her own during her career. The most significant of these is "Ronda en el tiempo" at the Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico City. She also created canvases and other works, with children often featured in her work, and was one of the first of her generation to work with ecological themes in a series of works begun in 1979. She is considered to be the first female muralist in Mexico. She was an assistant to Diego Rivera while he worked on the frescos for the National Palace and an apprentice to David Alfaro Siqueiros. Her most important mural is Ronda en el tiempo located in the Museo Nacional de Antropología, which was created from 1964 to 1965. She also created murals at the Unidad de Lavaderos Público de Tepalcatitlán (1945), Sobrevivencia, Alfabetización in Coyoacán in 1952 Sobrevivencia de un pueblo at the Centro Deportivo Israelita (1957) Hacia la salud for the Hospital Infantil de México (1982), La familia mexicana at the Registro Público de la Propiedad (1984) (which Rabel preferred to title Abolición de la propiedad privada) and at the Imprenta Artgraf. In collaboration with other artists, she participated in the creation of the murals at the La Rosita pulque bar (disappeared) and at the Casa de la Madre Soltera. She entered the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda" shortly after it was established in 1942, taking classes with José Chávez Morado, Feliciano Peña and Frida Kahlo, with whom she became close friends. She changed her last name from Rabinovich to Rabel during her career. Rabel married urologist Jaime Woolrich and had two children Abel and Paloma Woolrich, both of whom became actors. The first exhibition of her work was in 1945 with twenty-four oils, thirteen drawings, and eight engravings at the Liga Popular Israelita with Frida Kahlo writing the presentation. In 1955, she had an individual exhibition at the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana. She had a large exhibition at the Museum of the Palacio de Bellas Artes to commemorate a half-century of her work. Her last exhibition was in 2007 at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana. Her work can be found in collections in over fifteen countries including those of the New York Public Library, the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., the Royal Academy of Denmark, the National Library in Paris, the Casa de las Américas in Havana, the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla and the Museo de Arte Moderno in Mexico City. A retrospective of her work after her death called Retrospectiva in Memoriam, Fanny Rabel (1922-2008) was held at the Museum of the Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla . She is considered to be the first modern female muralist in Mexico although she also did significant work in painting, engraving, drawing, and ceramic sculpture. Her work has been classified as poetic Surrealism, Neo-expressionism and is also considered part of the Escuela Mexicana de Pintura (the dominant art movement of the early to mid 20th century in Mexico) as one of the youngest muralists to be associated with it along with Arnold Belkin and José Hernández Delga. Rabel was more drawn to depicting mankind’s pain rather than happiness, sharing other Mexican muralists' concerns about social injustice. However, she stated to Leopoldo Méndez that she could not create combative works, with clenched fists and fierce faces, and she wanted to leave the Taller de Gráfica Popular. Méndez convinced her to stay, saying that more tender images are important to political struggle as well. Children with Mexican faces...

Lockwood De Forest (American, 1850 - 1932) Signed: L d F May 13 / 07 (Lower, Right) Oil on Paperboard 9 5/8" x 14 1/8" " Point Lobos ", 1907 (Titled, Lower Right) Housed i...

Arturo Mallmann’s abstract landscapes radiate a shiny gloss that makes them appear as glass canvases, but they are not in fact glass. Mallmann’s process includes a complicated approa...

"Untitled Abstract I" is an Original Oil on Canvas by G. CURTIS. The piece is part of a set. It measures 37.5 x 49.5 x 1 inches with frame. It is signed and dated by the artist. The ...

Zula Kenyon (American, 1873-1947) Signed: Kenyon - '06 - " Curious Kittens ", 1906 Pastel on Paper 13 1/4" x 16 1/2" Housed in a 4" Period Ornamented Frame with a 1" Liner Over...

Antonieta Brandeis (Czech/Italian, 1848-1926) Signed: A. Brandeis (Lower, Right) " Ponte Alle Grazie ", Florence, Circa 1900-1910 Oil on Canvas 16 1/8" x 20" Housed in a 5" Gold...

Framed vintage Chinese landscape/portrait paintings on silk paper. All three paintings are in great condition, unframed they measure 6 in x 5 in, with framing the entire piece measur...

John Pairman (Scottish, 1788 - 1843) Signed: J Pairman 1820 (Lower, Right) " Portrait of a Gentleman ", 1820 Oil on Canvas 22 1/4" x 18 5/8" Housed in a 2 3/4" Husar Frame Ove...

Original Oil on Canvas, Signed by Artist. Measures approximately 22.5 x 28.75 x 1.75 inches with frame. The date of creation is unknown, but is believed to be within the early 21st C...

Tom Perkinson Summer at the Harbor 1989 Large Acrylic Painting Canvas 50.5 x 40.5 inches Framed Size 55.5 x 45.5 inches Tom Perkinson was ...

Flowers painted beautifully in watercolor by Susan Palmer would look nice in so many homes! This painting is an original and signed by the artist with the...

Marcel Mouly was the last student of Pablo Picasso and painted this abstract original oil in Paris in 1968. The image size is 10" by 13.5" The frame size is 20.5" by 26" Le Cheval ...

Oil on Unstretched Canvas 19 x 25 in, Signed by Artist Good Condition

“Joe Louis” is a breathtakingly beautiful portrait of a man who was the best in his profession yet humble in his demeanor. Louis was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1937 until his temporary retirement in 1949. He was victorious in 25 consecutive title defenses, a record for all weight classes. Louis had the longest single reign as champion of any boxer in history. He is widely regarded as the first person of African-American descent to achieve the status of a nationwide hero within the United States, and was also a focal point of anti-Nazi sentiment leading up to and during World War II because of his historic rematch with German Boxer Max Schmeling in 1938. He was instrumental in integrating the game of golf, breaking the sport's color barrier in America by appearing under a sponsor's exemption in a PGA event in 1952. The artist, Henry Heading...

Colorful Floral Abstract Painting Acrylic on Silk 56" x 75 3/4" Housed in a Black Metal Frame Overall Size: 56 1/2" x 76 1/4" This monumental painting was recently discovered...

Artist: Ian Hornak (1944-2002) Title: Song of Zephyrus, Variation II Year: 1979 Medium: Acrylic on Canvas Size: 71 x 45 inches Inscription: Signed, dated, and titled by the artist. P...

Thomas Rose Miles (British, 1844-1916) Signed: T R Miles (Canvas Verso) " Striving Hard to Reach the Wreck " Oil on Canvas 22" x 34" Housed in a 3 1/4" Fr...

A pensive woman is the subject of this portrait in pencil by Michigan artist Doreen Olin Rice. It is framed and wired--ready to hang.

Mathias Alten (German/American, 1871-1938) Signed: M. Alten (Lower, Right) " Nude Dancer ", circa 1925 Oil on Canvas 42" x 32" Housed in a 3" Carved Ne...

"Geostructure II" is an intensely colorful painting of the primary shapes of the circle, square, and triangle. Though the shapes are repetitive their mixed juxtapositions and the creative use of color moves the eye around the canvas with constant interest. This painting is an extraordinary example of Franklin Jonas...

Now available, and ready to be hung and enjoyed! Unknown Artist Signed: Clayton ? (Lower, Right) " Still Life ", circa mid 20th Century? Oil on Canvas 36" x 24" Housed in a 3...

SALE ONE WEEK ONLY "Untitled" by Nicholas Bodde depicts vibrant layers of color on narrow aluminum strips. These pieces are interchangeable and can be hung in various ways. Each is signed on the verso and was created in 2013. All three are sold as a set. Each aluminum panel measures 39 " h x 2.5" w. Bodde was born in New York he lives and works in Germany. He considers himself a German painter, who uses lacquered aluminum to create works that are beautiful in their simplicity and in their joyful exploration of color. The artist drives upon the tradition of European constructivism as well as Colour Field Painting, noting influences by Mark Rothko and Barnett Newmann. Bodde claims that his paintings “reveal themselves differently from close up and from a distance. When viewed from a distance they clearly appear related to constructivist geometric tendencies. But from close proximity, one notices that my main objective is painting and not construction.” The artist has reduced his subject to parallel vertical or horizontal lines and fields that race across the hard surface in a controlled riot – as if the viewer were looking out of a fast moving car while driving by fields of colorful flowers. Bodde constantly questions the colors, focusing on creating a construction through using different colors. He sees his creations as a mode of communication with the world. He paints on aluminum plates by successive coats of painting that he applies with different utensils to finally obtain a result that imprints itself into the eye’s retina. The game of colorful stripes, more or less large, sometimes with the feeling of the brush, sometimes flat, reflects the light differently on each lap. The brightness of his palette, a willful choice, accentuates the vitality that emanates from this painting. His works hesitate between the vibrating and nearly irritating colors and the calm of a monastic construction.   Bodde received his formal education from the University of Arts in Bremen (1989) and has been exhibited in numerous solo and group shows across the world, including venues such as the Yeh Gallery in Seoul, Planet Art...

Jim Stella Triptych 2017 Mixed Media Oil, Acrylic, Oil Stick and Collage 48 x 72 in  24" x 48" in  each panel  Jim Stella was born in Detroit in 1954 and was attracted to art from an early age. He attended University of Detroit Jesuit high school where he was inspired by art teacher Jim Bridenstien. In 1973 he attended Pratt Institute, NY where he studied sculpture and anatomy. He later returned to Michigan to attend the University of Michigan on a medical illustration scholarship.Stella graduated with high honors. He continued his artistic education at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, where he studied watercolor under the direction of Richard Jersey...

Mathias Alten (German/American 1871-1938) Signed: M. Alten (Lower, Right) " Autumn Landscape with Country Road ", c. 1934 26" x 32" Oil on Canvas Housed in a 3 1/4" Frame Over...

SALE ONE WEEK ONLY Stephen Goodfellow's figurative paintings can be read as a narrative puzzle that are a challenge to pick apart. In this painting both characters are smiling suggesting something pleasant has happened or is about to happen. There is much more going on: sink full of forgotten dirty dishes...

August Laux (German/American, 1853-1921) Signed: August Laux (Lower, Right) " Hide and Seek ", circa 1880 Oil on Canvas 16" x 20" Housed in a 3" Period Ornamented Frame with a 1...

Unknown artist, signed Payton 1970 Hawaii (Lower, Right) Untitled, 1970 Oil on Canvas 50" x 34" A wonderfully curious painting, whose untold history is something to marvel a...

William Samuel Schwartz (Russian/American, 1896-1977) Signed: William S Schwartz (Lower, Left) " Elements ", c. 1928-29 (Date based Upon 8 Pl...

SALE ONE WEEK ONLY This abstract acrylic work by Max Günther is an exquisite example of his abstract cityscape work. A preferred subject of Günther's, his work took cityscape shapes...

George Raab (American, 1866 - 1943) Signed: G. Raab 1912 (Lower, Right) " Doctor Lake ", 1912 Oil on Canvas 18" x 22" Housed in a 3" Period Carved Frame in the style of Newcomb ...

"Untitled Abstract II" is an Original Oil on Canvas by G. CURTIS. The piece is part of a set. It measures 49.5 x 37.5 x 1 inches with frame. It is signed and dated by the artist. The...

SALE ONE WEEK ONLY "Red Harmony" is an abstract painting that does have a sculptural presence in the shapes of the red areas. The lush greens blend various shades into a background that while it does contrast sharply with the reds, it is not in conflict. The overall effect of this work is dynamic in its energy while at the same time harmonious. One of the original Cass Corridor artists from the 1960s William Antonow studied at the School of the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts (now the College for Creative Studies) and at Wayne State University, where he received his BFA (1967) and MA (1970.) Antonow’s first one-person show at the Willis Gallery in 1971, represented a radical departure from his early work – abstract bronzes shown at the Michigan Artists exhibitions at the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1969 and 1970. A founding member of the Willis, Antonow publicized his exhibition with a cryptic invitation stating, “art isn’t anything.” Echoing the challenge implicit in the exhibition announcement, the works in the show consisted of precariously balanced piles of such non-art materials as wood crates and barrels, corrugated paper or cardboard, cellophane and beer cans. These brash, paint-slathered juxtapositions of salvaged objects were perhaps the first example of the nascent “tough art” aesthetic of the Cass Corridor. (Both Gordon Newton’s wood constructions and Bob Sestok’s crude “radio wheels” first appeared in 1972.) In 1975, in the inaugural group exhibition of the Willis at its new location in the Fisher Building...

Acrylic on Canvas, 2005 12 x 16 in, Unframed Signed by Artist Good Condition

SALE ONE WEEK ONLY This painting of four different species of fish that can be found in South Korea is from the mid-20th century Korean artist Kim Kyung. Seafood from both the seas that surround the peninsula and from its rivers are an integral part of the livelihood and cuisine of Koreans. Kim Kyung (in Hanja, 金耕, in Hangul 김경) was born in South Korea, his real name, under the current Revised Romanization was Kim Gyeong-Eun (in Hanja 金萬斗, in Hangul 김경은). His name follows the East Asian convention of family name first, though some Western galleries choose to reorder his name with the Western convention as Kyung Kim. He was born in Hadong, Gyeongnam during the Imperial Japanese occupation, as the eldest son of a poor farm family, and at the age of 18 he entered the art department of Japan University. In 1943, he returned to his hometown to escape being drafted into the Japanese army...

SALE ONE WEEK ONLY Stephen Goodfellow's figurative paintings can be read as a narrative puzzle and are a challenge to pick apart. We are at the beg...

SALE ONE WEEK ONLY Steve Huston worked construction to support himself through college. That experience seems to have heightened his aesthetic interest i...

Bookatz's artistic practice embodies a dynamic and multifaceted approach to creation. His canvases resonate with an improvisational interplay, a reflection reminiscent of the nuance...

SALE ONE WEEK ONLY “Benedicte Olrik” is the portrait of Benedicte Olrik the 18 year-old daughter of another famous artist, Ole Henrik Benedictus Olrik (1830 – 1890) and future wife ...

Alfred Juergens (American, 1866 - 1934) Signed: Alfred Juergens (Lower, Left) " Indian Creek " (Michigan) Oil on Board 14 1/2" x 19" Housed in a 3...

Paul Lucien Maze, an Anglo-French painter, was renowned as one of the great artists of his generation. Known as “The last of the Post Impressionists", Maze utilized oils, watercolours and pastels, his subjects varied from French maritime...

Cathleen S. Mann (American, 1896 - 1959) Signed: Cathleen Mann 1941 (Lower, Right) " Portrait of Maureen O'Sullivan ", 1941 Oil on Canvas 30" x 25" Housed in a 3 1/2" Period Fra...

Impressionist Landscape" is an exquisitely peaceful late summer scene along the banks of a quiet river. The dappling yellow and green leaves and the spots of blue sky give the perfect impressionistic feel to the scene. Impressionism was a style or movement in painting originating in France in the 1860s, characterized by a concern with depicting the visual impression of the moment, especially in terms of the shifting effect of light and color. Methven captured this impression perfectly. It is as fresh today as when it was painted in 1902 so much so that you can almost hear the rustle of the leaves and see the shifting light. The gold gilt frame is original to the piece. Without the frame the piece measures 20 h x 16 w. It is signed by the artist. Methven was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the 1930's he moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he painted with other area Chicago artists and showed at The Art Institute of Chicago. He spent his summers in Benton Harbor, Michigan, along Lake Michigan. He is known for his landscapes and water scenes. Michigan has numerous rivers, creeks and small lakes and Methven would have had a wealth of scenes to draw upon for his numerous oil paintings. He studied under Henry Fenton Spread who taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and later founded Spread's Art Academy. In 1902, this academy became the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. Spread was named the first president of the Chicago Society of Artists in 1889. Known primarily as a portraitist, Spread also painted landscape and genre scenes. Although a skilled artist, he did not exhibit widely; his primary legacy being fostering a love of art in Chicago. Fellow artist (and former student of Spread), Ralph Clarkson, the noted Chicago society portrait painter, stated that Spread' s "fine and advice formed the careers of the men who were not only to achieve prominence as artists, but to occupy leading places as art teachers". Harry Wallace Methven...

"Untitled Abstract" is by the American painter, Robert Goodnough, known for calligraphy-like markings circa 1960s. Though he was associated with the Abstract Expressionists, Goodnoug...

Charles Franklin Chamberlain (American, 1871 - 1947) " Michigan Landscape " Oil on Canvas Laid on Board 16" x 20" Housed in a 3 1/2" Frame Overall Size: 22 1/2" x 26 1/2" Appears to be in very good condition. Bio: Chamberlain, Charles Franklin, figures and landscapes in oils...

Jack Lorimer Gray, 1927-1981, was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia to Scottish parents. His talents as an artist were spotted by E. Wyly Grier while Gray was still a child. He attended t...

SALE ONE WEEK ONLY Jennifer's "Untitled" piece appears to be a landscape with a colorful stripped form arising out of the grasses. It is an iconic image that she incorporates into her work. The following excerpt from her Artist Statement best describes her feeling about it: I stopped the slug imagery and started making purely abstract paintings. Eventually, abstract lines and forms evolved into “characters.” They lived in landscapes of a realistic sort. They were abstractions on a representational journey. It occurred to me that they were the slugs. I thought they had gone but they hadn’t. It occurred to me that they were the slugs. I thought they had gone but they hadn’t. They were the slugs transformed. Evolved slugs and broken out from their cocoons. They had become abstract “butterflies.” Jennifer Wynne Reeves was known for creating a body of paintings, drawings and photographs that speak to and confront formalist and humanist dilemmas. Beyond her achievements in the art world, Reeves enjoyed a considerable fan-base as a result of her astonishing Facebook presence where she chronicled and interwove her art and diaristic prose. Reeves solo exhibitions included Art & Public in Geneva, Gian Enzo Sperone in Rome; Max Protetch, Ramis Barquet and BravinLee programs, NYC. Reeves was also celebrated for her writing. She produced a graphic novel, The Anyway Ember and Soul Bolt, a book of images and prose. “Profoundly rewarding works” said LA Times writer, David Pagel, in a review her 2015 exhibition at CB1 Gallery. Reeves is a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow recipient. The following is an artist’s statement about her theory off work: “Twenty years ago, I called them slugs. In the beginning, they were like long lumps without arms or legs. Powerless. Difficult. Paralyzed. I thought maybe they were the symbols of sloth or depression or fear. They didn’t do anything. I wondered if I should stop making them? They were not beautiful. Nobody liked them. Nobody wanted to look at them. They were repellent and, worse, they were funny. I hated that. I wanted to be a “serious” artist. I was conflicted. I had to make the images that came to me but I was embarrassed. Maybe it wasn’t a fancy path but painting slugs was more honest than painting flowers (nothing against flower paintings, mind you). It came down to a moral choice. So, I determined to follow the slug road. Maybe it was a road that led somewhere? Or maybe not. After several years, I thought I hit a dead-end. I stopped the slug imagery and started making purely abstract paintings. Eventually, abstract lines and forms evolved into “characters.” They lived in landscapes of a realistic sort. They were abstractions on a representational journey. It occurred to me that they were the slugs. I thought they had gone but they hadn’t. It occurred to me that they were the slugs. I thought they had gone but they hadn’t. They were the slugs transformed. Evolved slugs and broken out from their cocoons. They had become abstract “butterflies.” Little kids liked them. I hated that. I wanted to be a “serious” artist. I’m not sure, exactly, who they are. They could be our conscience, our psychology, or simply the part inside us that yearns. They could be artists, modernists or the first of “us” that crawled out of the ocean. My best hunch is they are whatever it is that makes us want to make. I hope that’s a good thing and beautiful and seriously funny. Whatever the case, I’d like to know what it’s all about.” Jennifer Reeves...

Helene Marie Margueite Perdriat (French, 1894-1969) Signed: Helene Perdriat (Lower, Right) " The Catch ", c. 1920 Oil on Canvas 39 1/2" x 32" Housed in a 3" Stepped Frame Over...