Ohio - Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Preliminary drawing for the sculpture Catacombs Black crayon on paper, 1971 Signed and dated lower right (see photos) Provenance: Estate of the artist Michael and Alan Lipton (sons) ...

Preliminary drawing for the sculpture Diadem Black Crayon on paper, 1957 Signed and dated lower left The preliminary drawing for the 1957 sculpture of the same name in the collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art...

Ink, graphite and colored pencil on graph paper The final composition measured 28 x 28 inches Annotated #615 in the lower right corner of the sheet Provenance: Francine Seders Galler...

Composition No. 12 Gouache on paper, c. 1926 Signed lower right: “Urban Weis” (see photo) Condition: Excellent Image: 16 5/8 x 10 5/8" Frame: 21 1/2 x 15 5/8" Provenance: Dudensing G...

Untitled Abstrraction Gouache, watercolor and pigments on paper, c. 1960 Signed lower right in pencil (see photo) Image: 17 x 22 inches Sheet: 25 1/4 x 29 3/4 inches Frame: 25 1/4 x ...

Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000) People, 1964 Ink and crayon on paper Signed and dated upper right 36.5 x 24 inches Clarence Holbrook Carter achieved a level of nation...

Joseph Glasco (American, 1925-1996) Seated Figure 1970 India ink on paper 16 x 11.5 inches Signed and dated lower right Joseph Glasco was born in Paul’s Valley, Oklahoma and grew up...

Butterfly and Heart Drawing in black felt pen over color screenprint 'spot' composition Signed in full (bottom edge) and dedicated (top edge) Dedicated by the artist Annotated in fe...

Signed lower center edge Annotated verso: “5 Juin 1966 _____ et de soleil, de et d’oseille” Image: 6 3/4 x 4 5/8" Frame: 14 1/2 x 12 3/4" Finishe...

Untitled Abstraction Pen and ink on paper, 1932 Signed and dated in ink lower center Condition: Excellent Sheet/Image size: 10 3/8 x 6 1/4 inches Frame size: 16 1/2 x 12 1/2" Provena...

Untitled Abstraction Graphite on paper, c. 1950 Unsigned Signed with the estate stamp verso (see photo) Provenance: Estate of the artist Inherited by his neighb...

Untitled Abstraction Graphite on paper, c. 1946 Signed with the estate stamp verso Provenance: estate of the Artist Inherited by his neighbor/caregiver Conditio...

Preliminary drawing for a sculpture Black crayon on paper, 1959 Signed and dated middle right (see photo) A rare 1950's AbEx drawing. Provenance: Estate of the artist Michael and Ala...

aka Beni Kosh Untitled (Abstraction) Watercolor on paper, 1970's Unsigned Ben Kosh Estate Stamp verso, No. 754 Condition: Very good Sheet size: 10 5/8 x 14 9/16 inches Provenance: Estate the Artist Bingham & Vance, Shaker Heights...

Untitled Abstraction Graphite on paper. c. 1946 Unsigned Provenance: Estate of the Artist Inherited by his neighbor/caregiver Condition: Staining at corners ...

Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000) Study for Worlds Beyond, 1980 Graphite, collage and white heightening on illustration board Signed and dated lower right 10.75 x 4.5 in...

Byron Browne (American, 1907-1961) Abstract Collage, 1933 Collage, charcoal and ink on paper Signed and dated lower middle 16 x 19.5 inches 24 x 29 inches, framed Byron Browne was a...

Untitled Watercolor, cut out and construction on paper, 2013 Signed and dated in pencil lower right Condition: Excellent Image size: 22 x 30 inches Frame size: 30 x 37 inches Archiv...

Surrealist landscape with organic shapes Watercolor on paper, 1960-1970 Signed CE Harris lower right corner (see photo) Stamped with the artist’s estate stamp verso (see photo) Reference: Beni Kosh Collection Estate Stamp #705 Provenance: Estate of the artist A wonderful example by one of the few African American Surrealist painters. “An African-American born Charles E. Harris, the name under which he painted until the early 1960s when he took the name of Kosh. His paintings span the period 1949-71, and reflect abstract and surreal figurative subjects which include Cleveland street scenes, jazz clubs, and depictions of Christ.” Courtesy of Rachel Davis Fine Art “Beni E. Kosh was born as Charles Elmer Harris, in Cleveland Ohio. He changed his name in the 1960’s, which translates to “Son of Ethiopia”. He rarely exhibited or sold his work and was affiliated with the African-American artists’ “Sho-nuff Art Group” and the Karamu House and studied under Cleveland artist Paul Travis. His style is very diverse and he experimented with Cubism, portraiture and abstractions in series. His paintings span from 1949 – 1971, and reflect abstract and surreal figurative subjects, which include Cleveland street scenes, jazz clubs, and depictions of Christ. He received little recognition during his lifetime and was only “rediscovered” literally days after his death when hundreds of his paintings were rescued by an art dealer.” (Courtesy Pennsylvania Art...

#45 Ink on paper, 1970 Signed, titled, and dated in pencil by the artist One of a series of drawings, all made in 1970, which stemmed from Hogue's interest in Persian calligraphy. H...

Readings from the "Communion of Saints": folio from an Italian Missal Pigment on vellum Mid 17th century Provenance: Otto F. Ege (1888-1951) Phillip Duechnes Bookseller, New York, c. 1948 References And Exhibitions: Otto F. Ege Box Folio 27 Ege describes these folios as: Epistolary (Epistolarium), Italy, Middle 15th century Latin Text: Rotunda or Round Gothic Script, square rhetorical neumes Sister folio are in the following rare book libraries: Case Western Reserve University Cincinnati Public Library Cleveland Institute of Art Cleveland Public Library Denison University Kent State University Kenyon College...

Black and White Cat Ink and watercolor on paper, c. 1970 Unsigned Provenance: Estate of the artist (Estate No. 737) Condition: Excellent Image/Sheet size: 4 3/4 x 6 1/4 inches Sam Spanier (1925-2008) Born in Brooklyn New York, Sam Spanier studied painting with Hans Hofmann (1949–50) and also at the Taos Valley Art School (1951). His formative years as a working artist were spent in Paris (1951–52), where he also became involved with the work of G. I. Gurdjieff, through his disciple, Mme. Jeanne de Salzmann. By 1953, Spanier’s work had already begun to meet with critical acclaim. That year, he had his first solo gallery show, and was selected by Milton Avery and Hans Hofmann to receive the prestigious Lorian Fund Award. His second solo exhibition, in 1955, was curated by renowned museum director, Gordon Washburn. Spanier’s early work was reviewed by Dore Ashton, Donald Judd, Fairfield Porter, Stuart Preston, and Irving Sandler, among other significant critics of the period. Spanier’s spiritual path increasingly became the central focus of both his life and his art. In 1960, he was introduced to the teachings of Sri Aurobindo, which led to visits to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, India, in 1962 and 1964, during which he was inspired to leave New York City and found Matagiri (in 1968)—a spiritual center in Woodstock, New York—with his lifelong partner, Eric Hughes. The work he embarked upon there bifurcates his life as an artist, separating him from New York’s art world, and radically altering the trajectory of his career. From that point forward, it would be difficult, perhaps impossible, to consider his artistic endeavor apart from the life of dedication he had undertaken, and to which he remained committed. As early as 1954, Dore Ashton had recognized in Sam Spanier a “haptic visionary;” in 1960, Irving Sandler wrote that the people in Spanier’s paintings “seem to have witnessed some transfiguring event.” In his later paintings—usually worked in oil pastel on panel or paper—made during intermittent creative periods, from the mid-1970s to the final years of his life, the artist’s inner life remains always apparent in his subject matter; and from the portraits and abstract Buddha-like figures and heads, to the fantasy landscapes, the paintings are redolent with a rich intensity of color and light that can only be described as inspired. Sam Spanier’s works are in the collections of the Historical Society of Woodstock Museum, and the Woodstock Artists Association & Museum. He received the Woodstock Artists Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. Selected Solo Exhibitions: Urban Gallery, New York (1954, 1955, 1956); Wittenborn Gallery, New York (1958); Gallery Mayer, New York (1958, 1959, 1960); Unison Gallery, New Paltz (1986, 1995, 2009); Limner Gallery, New York (1988); Fletcher Gallery, Woodstock, New York (1999). Selected Group Exhibitions: Salon des Comparaisons, Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris, France (1952); October Exhibition of Oil Paintings, New York City Center Gallery, New York (1954); Salon de Mai, Musée d’Art moderne de la ville de Paris, Centre Culturel de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Paris, France (1954); Carnegie International, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1955); Les Plus Mauvais Tableaux, Galerie Prismes, Paris (1955); Première Exposition Internationale de l’Art Plastique Contemporain, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris (1956); Recent Paintings USA: The Figure, The Museum of Modern Art (1960); Winter’s Work, Woodstock Artists Association, Woodstock, New York (1985); Juried Group Show, Woodstock Artists Association, Woodstock, New York (1986); Woodstock Artists, Self-Portraits, Historical Society of Woodstock Museum, Woodstock, New York (1988); Portraits, Albert Shahinian Fine Art, Poughkeepsie, New York (2003); The World We Live In, Upstate Art, Phoenicia, New York (2003); Show of Heads, Limner Gallery, Phoenicia, New York (2004). Selected Writings on the Artist: Dore Ashton, “Sam Spanier,” Art Digest (May 1, 1954) and “Sam Spanier,” The New York Times (March 16, 1960); Cassia Berman, “Sam Spanier: A Divine Calling,” Woodstock Times (February 7, 2008); Lawrence Campbell, “Sam Spanier: Exhibition of Paintings at Urban Gallery,” Art News...

Chorus Line Oil pastel on paper, c. 1960's Signed (see photo) Provenance: Estate of the Artist Estate of the artist (Estate No. 745) Condition: Excellent Image/Sheet size: 5 3/4 x 4 inches Sam Spanier (1925-2008) Born in Brooklyn New York, Sam Spanier studied painting with Hans Hofmann (1949–50) and also at the Taos Valley Art School (1951). His formative years as a working artist were spent in Paris (1951–52), where he also became involved with the work of G. I. Gurdjieff, through his disciple, Mme. Jeanne de Salzmann. By 1953, Spanier’s work had already begun to meet with critical acclaim. That year, he had his first solo gallery show, and was selected by Milton Avery and Hans Hofmann to receive the prestigious Lorian Fund Award. His second solo exhibition, in 1955, was curated by renowned museum director, Gordon Washburn. Spanier’s early work was reviewed by Dore Ashton, Donald Judd, Fairfield Porter, Stuart Preston, and Irving Sandler, among other significant critics of the period. Spanier’s spiritual path increasingly became the central focus of both his life and his art. In 1960, he was introduced to the teachings of Sri Aurobindo, which led to visits to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, India, in 1962 and 1964, during which he was inspired to leave New York City and found Matagiri (in 1968)—a spiritual center in Woodstock, New York—with his lifelong partner, Eric Hughes. The work he embarked upon there bifurcates his life as an artist, separating him from New York’s art world, and radically altering the trajectory of his career. From that point forward, it would be difficult, perhaps impossible, to consider his artistic endeavor apart from the life of dedication he had undertaken, and to which he remained committed. As early as 1954, Dore Ashton had recognized in Sam Spanier a “haptic visionary;” in 1960, Irving Sandler wrote that the people in Spanier’s paintings “seem to have witnessed some transfiguring event.” In his later paintings—usually worked in oil pastel on panel or paper—made during intermittent creative periods, from the mid-1970s to the final years of his life, the artist’s inner life remains always apparent in his subject matter; and from the portraits and abstract Buddha-like figures and heads, to the fantasy landscapes, the paintings are redolent with a rich intensity of color and light that can only be described as inspired. Sam Spanier’s works are in the collections of the Historical Society of Woodstock Museum, and the Woodstock Artists Association & Museum. He received the Woodstock Artists Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. Selected Solo Exhibitions: Urban Gallery, New York (1954, 1955, 1956); Wittenborn Gallery, New York (1958); Gallery Mayer, New York (1958, 1959, 1960); Unison Gallery, New Paltz (1986, 1995, 2009); Limner Gallery, New York (1988); Fletcher Gallery, Woodstock, New York (1999). Selected Group Exhibitions: Salon des Comparaisons, Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris, France (1952); October Exhibition of Oil Paintings, New York City Center Gallery, New York (1954); Salon de Mai, Musée d’Art moderne de la ville de Paris, Centre Culturel de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Paris, France (1954); Carnegie International, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1955); Les Plus Mauvais Tableaux, Galerie Prismes, Paris (1955); Première Exposition Internationale de l’Art Plastique Contemporain, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris (1956); Recent Paintings USA: The Figure, The Museum of Modern Art (1960); Winter’s Work, Woodstock Artists Association, Woodstock, New York (1985); Juried Group Show, Woodstock Artists Association, Woodstock, New York (1986); Woodstock Artists, Self-Portraits, Historical Society of Woodstock Museum, Woodstock, New York (1988); Portraits, Albert Shahinian Fine Art, Poughkeepsie, New York (2003); The World We Live In, Upstate Art, Phoenicia, New York (2003); Show of Heads, Limner Gallery, Phoenicia, New York (2004). Selected Writings on the Artist: Dore Ashton, “Sam Spanier,” Art Digest (May 1, 1954) and “Sam Spanier,” The New York Times (March 16, 1960); Cassia Berman, “Sam Spanier: A Divine Calling,” Woodstock Times (February 7, 2008); Lawrence Campbell, “Sam Spanier: Exhibition of Paintings at Urban Gallery,” Art News (April 1, 1954); Sam Feinstein...

The Dead Tiger Ink and watercolor on paper, 1955 Signed and dated in ink (see photo) Condition: Aging to the entire sheet (it's 78 years old) Image/Sheet size: 18 1/4 x 23 inches On...

Untitled Fabric Design Gouache on paper, 1920-1930 Signed with the Atelier Stamp verso (see photo) Numbered with the Atelier Litt Archive number verso (see photo) Condition: E...

Untitled (Purple and Yellow) Pastel on paper, 1981 Signed and dated lower right Provenance: Collection of Jan Cowles Jan Cowles was married to Gardner Cowles owner of Cowles Media Company (1935–1998) which owned newspapers, magazines and information publishing company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States. The company operated Cowles Business Media, Cowles Creative Publishing, and Cowles Enthusiast Media units. Owners of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune from 1935 to 1998, other newspapers owned at one time by Cowles Media and its affiliates included the Des Moines Register, the Buffalo Courier...

Untitled Acrylic on paper, c. 1975 Signed by the artist in ink lower right (see photo) An early Modernist Abstraction, created shortly after the death of her husband, Adolf Dehn in 1968. Condition: Excellent Archival framing Image size: 18 x 24 Provenance: Estate of the artist Dehn Heirs Virginia Dehn From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Virginia Dehn Virginia Dehn in her studio in Santa Fe Virginia Dehn (née Engleman) (October 26, 1922 – July 28, 2005) was an American painter and printmaker. Her work was known for its interpretation of natural themes in almost abstract forms. She exhibited in shows and galleries throughout the U.S. Her paintings are included in many public collections. Life Dehn was born in Nevada, Missouri on October 26, 1922.] Raised in Hamden, Connecticut, she studied at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri before moving to New York City. She met the artist Adolf Dehn while working at the Art Students League. They married in November 1947. The two artists worked side by side for many years, part of a group of artists who influenced the history of 20th century American art. Their Chelsea brownstone was a place where artists, writers, and intellectuals often gathered. Early career Virginia Dehn studied art at Stephens College in Missouri before continuing her art education at the Traphagen School of Design, and, later, the Art Students League, both located in New York City. In the mid-1940s while working at the Associated American Artists gallery, she met lithographer and watercolorist Adolf Dehn. Adolf was older than Virginia, and he already enjoyed a successful career as an artist. The two were married in 1947 in a private ceremony at Virginia's parents house in Wallingford, Connecticut. Virginia and Adolf Dehn The Dehns lived in a Chelsea brownstone on West 21st Street where they worked side by side. They often hosted gatherings of other influential artists and intellectuals of the 20th century. Among their closest friends were sculptor Federico Castellón and his wife Hilda; writer Sidney Alexander and his wife Frances; artists Sally and Milton Avery; Ferol and Bill Smith, also an artist; and Lily and Georges Schreiber, an artist and writer. Bob Steed and his wife Gittel, an anthropologist, were also good friends of the Dehns. According to friend Gretchen Marple Pracht, "Virginia was a glamorous and sophisticated hostess who welcomed visitors to their home and always invited a diverse crowd of guests..." Despite their active social life, the two were disciplined artists, working at their easels nearly daily and taking Saturdays to visit galleries and view new work. The Dehns made annual trips to France to work on lithographs at the Atelier Desjobert in Paris. Virginia used a bamboo pen to draw directly on the stone for her lithographs, which often depicted trees or still lifes. The Dehns' other travels included visits to Key West, Colorado, Mexico, and countries such as Greece, Haiti, Afghanistan, and India. Dehn's style of art differend greatly from that of her husband, though the two sometimes exhibited together. A friend of the couple remarked, "Adolf paints landscapes; Virginia paints inscapes." Virginia Dehn generally painted an interior vision based on her feelings for a subject, rather than a literal rendition of it.] Many of her paintings consist of several layers, with earlier layers showing through. She found inspiration in the Abstract Expressionism movement that dominated the New York and Paris art scenes in the 1950s. Some of her favorite artists included Adolf Gottileb, Rothko, William Baziotes, Pomodoro, and Antonio Tapies. Dehn most often worked with bold, vibrant colors in large formats. Her subjects were not literal, but intuitive. She learned new techniques of lithography from her husband Adolf, and did her own prints. Texture was very important to her in her work. Her art was influenced by a variety of sources. In the late 1960s she came across a book that included photographs of organic patterns of life as revealed under a microscope. These images inspired her to change the direction of some of her paintings. Other influences on Dehn's art came from ancient and traditional arts of various cultures throughout the world, including Persian miniatures, illuminated manuscripts, Dutch still life painting, Asian art, ancient Egyptian artifacts...

Carl-Henning Pedersen (Denmark, 1913 - 2007) The Blue Earth II, 1971 Watercolor on paper Signed and dated lower right, signed, dated and titled verso 30.5 x 21.5 inches Carl-Henning Pedersen was born in Copenhagen in 1913. At an early age he began taking part in politics, first in the youth association of social democrats and later in the youth association of communists, which better suited his revolutionary activist nature against fascism. In 1933, he attended the public high school of Humblebaek where he met the painter Else Alfelt, who he would marry in 1934 and with whom he would have two daughters. For many years the family divided its time between Copenhagen and the city of Bovbjerg, located on the North Sea, where Carl and Else had a studio. Between 1935 and 1940, Pedersen started to sketch and paint. He exhibited for the first time, together with his wife, in “Kunstnernes Efterårsudstilling” (The Artists' Fall Exhibition) in Copenhagen in 1936. Pedersen associated with the young painters close to abstract movements, and like them, worked under difficult conditions. He went to Paris in 1939, where he encountered the work of Picasso, Matisse and Chagall. Between 1940 and 1945, he contributed to the journal Helhesten. In the same journal, Pedersen published the text "Arte astratta o arte immaginaria," that supplied the most complete and precise definition, up to that point, of the work principles of the young generation of painters, of which he was a part. This definition, in many ways, was close to that which would be the program of the group Cobra. Between 1945 and 1960, the Danish artists went abroad and, along with Dutch and Belgian artists, founded the group Cobra, which was active between 1948 and 1951. During this period in 1948, Pedersen participated in the Biennial of Venice. He exhibited extensively with Cobra in shows such as its first important show which was held at the Stedelijk Museum of Amsterdam in 1949, “International Experimental Art.” Afterwords, Pedersen distanced himself from the group and began to travel frequently. His destinations included Greece, Italy, France, Switzerland, Norway, Lapland, Iceland, Turkey, Nepal, and Jerusalem. He received the Eckersberg Award in 1950 from the Royal Danish Academy of Art. In 1952, he participated in “Contemporary Drawings from 12 Countries, 1945/1952,” an exhibition held at the Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, Ohio, the exhibition also traveled to other museums in the United States, while in 1955, he took part in the group exhibition “Expressionism 1900/1955,” at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis (also a traveling exhibition throughout the United States). He participated in the 1952, 1955, 1958, 1961, 1964, and 1967 editions of “The Pittsburgh International Exhibition of Contemporary Painting and Sculpture” at the Museum of Art of the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh. The same museum also honored him with solo exhibitions in 1961 and 1968. In 1966, he exhibited at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum of New York in the show “European Drawings” that also traveled to Hawaii, Canada, Argentina, and Germany. In 1967, he showed at the “2. Internationale der Zeichnung” in Darmstadt, and then in 1968, he participated in the Premio Marzotto and the “Exhibition of Expressionist Art after 1950” at the Kunstmuseum of Lucerne, which then toured in Romania, Australia, Belgium, and Finland. Pedersen received the medal of Prince Eugen in 1980, and he participated in the exhibition “Danish Artists, Carl-Henning Pedersen, Else Alfelt, Egil Jacobsen...

Untitled (Yellow, Gray and Pink) Pastel on paper, 1981 Signed and dated lower right Condition: Excellent Sheet size: 12 x 18 inches Frame size: 15 x 21 inches Provenance: Jan Cowles ...

The Dead Tiger Ink and watercolor on paper, 1955 Signed and dated in ink (see photo) Condition: Aging to the entire sheet (it's 78 years old) Image/Sheet size: 18 1/4 x 23 inches On...

Untitled (Abstraction) Ink on textured paper, c. 1958 Signed lower right "Scarlett" (see photo) Condition: Excellent Archival framing with OP3 Acrylic Sheet size: 21 3/4 x 30 inches Frame size: 28 1/2 x 36 1/2 inches Note: A rare mid to late 1950s example of the artist's abstract expressionist style. Provenance: estate of the artist Private Collection, Hudson River Valley, New York Rolph Scarlett B. 1889, GUELPH, ONTARIO; D. 1984, WOODSTOCK, NEW YORK Born on June 13, 1889 in Guelph, Canada, and into an artistic family, Rolph Scarlett spent his teenage years as an apprentice in his uncle’s jewelry firm and briefly studied at the Art Students League, New York. While working in the jewelry industry, Scarlett found time to paint and design theatrical sets in his free time, including one for the 1928 world premiere of Eugene O’Neill’s drama Lazarus Laughed (1926). In 1923, while on a business trip to Switzerland, Scarlett had met the artist Paul Klee and soon after abandoned his figurative painting style in favor of an abstract language that suggested more universal, cosmic truths. In 1937, after permanently settling in New York, Scarlett became acquainted with the artist and curator Hilla Rebay, the first director of the Museum of Non-Objective Painting (renamed the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in 1952). Rebay provided Scarlett with a Guggenheim Foundation scholarship to paint full-time and obtained several of his paintings for the museum’s collection. From 1940 to 1946, Scarlett served as the museum’s chief lecturer, giving Sunday afternoon talks on art. Through Rebay, Scarlett became acquainted with the nonobjective works of Rudolf Bauer and Vasily Kandinsky and further refined his abstract style. Works from this era such as Yellow Bar (1942) are defined by overlapping geometric planes of bright, primary colors set against mute backgrounds. Scarlett avoided any reference to the outside world and believed that nonobjective painting was an act, in his words, of “pure creation.” During his lifetime, solo shows of his work were held at the Jacques Seligmann Gallery, New York (1949); Sioux City Art Center, Iowa (1951); and Washburn Gallery...

Prelude to Transition Pastel on paper, 1953 Signed and dated lower left (See photo) Image size: 10 1/2 x 13 3/4 inches Frame size: 24-5/8 x 1-1/2 inches Exhibited and Illustrated: Zimmerli Museum, 1988, "Benjamin Benno: A Retrospective Exhibition, Sept. 11-Nov. 20, 1988 (A copy of the catalog accompanies the work) Catalog 82, reproduced page 25 Housed in a silk matting with a 22K gold leaf frame Benjamin BENNO (1901-1980) Birth place: London, England Addresses: NYC, 1912 Profession: Painter, sculptor Studied: Ferrer School, NYC, 1912-15, with Robert Henri and George Bellows; Beaux-Arts Inst., NYC, 1914-17, with Solon Borglum...

Untitled Fabric Design Gouache on paper, 1920-1935 Signed with the Atelier Stamp verso (see photo) Numbered with the Atelier Litt Archive number verso (see photo) Condition: E...

Untitled Collage and crayon drawing, 1967 Signed and dated lower center (see photo) Condition: Small imperfections from the creative process Small tear on the left sheet edge (repai...

Signed and dated in ink lower center Provenance: Charlotte Bergman, noted collector and patron of Walkowitz. See photo for additional information.

Non-Objective Drawing (Double sided composition) Graphite on paper, 1938 Initialed "B" by the artist lower right corner Created while the artist was imprisoned in a Gestapo Prison fo...

The Pinks and the Blues Watercolor, pen and ink on paper, 1954 Signed and dated in ink lower left, titled in pencil verso. Provenance: Gift of the Artist Privat...

11 color screen print Signed, dated, titled and numberedin pencil Edition: 150 (9/150) Provenance: Estate of the Artist By Decent

Unsigned Authenticated verso by the artist's nephew, Andrew Lowe Provenance: Estate of the Artist

Chorus Line Oil pastel on paper, c. 1960's Signed (see photo) Provenance: Estate of the Artist Estate of the artist (Estate No. 745) Condition: Excellent Image/Sheet size: 5 3/4 x 4 inches Sam Spanier (1925-2008) Born in Brooklyn New York, Sam Spanier studied painting with Hans Hofmann (1949–50) and also at the Taos Valley Art School (1951). His formative years as a working artist were spent in Paris (1951–52), where he also became involved with the work of G. I. Gurdjieff, through his disciple, Mme. Jeanne de Salzmann. By 1953, Spanier’s work had already begun to meet with critical acclaim. That year, he had his first solo gallery show, and was selected by Milton Avery and Hans Hofmann to receive the prestigious Lorian Fund Award. His second solo exhibition, in 1955, was curated by renowned museum director, Gordon Washburn. Spanier’s early work was reviewed by Dore Ashton, Donald Judd, Fairfield Porter, Stuart Preston, and Irving Sandler, among other significant critics of the period. Spanier’s spiritual path increasingly became the central focus of both his life and his art. In 1960, he was introduced to the teachings of Sri Aurobindo, which led to visits to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, India, in 1962 and 1964, during which he was inspired to leave New York City and found Matagiri (in 1968)—a spiritual center in Woodstock, New York—with his lifelong partner, Eric Hughes. The work he embarked upon there bifurcates his life as an artist, separating him from New York’s art world, and radically altering the trajectory of his career. From that point forward, it would be difficult, perhaps impossible, to consider his artistic endeavor apart from the life of dedication he had undertaken, and to which he remained committed. As early as 1954, Dore Ashton had recognized in Sam Spanier a “haptic visionary;” in 1960, Irving Sandler wrote that the people in Spanier’s paintings “seem to have witnessed some transfiguring event.” In his later paintings—usually worked in oil pastel on panel or paper—made during intermittent creative periods, from the mid-1970s to the final years of his life, the artist’s inner life remains always apparent in his subject matter; and from the portraits and abstract Buddha-like figures and heads, to the fantasy landscapes, the paintings are redolent with a rich intensity of color and light that can only be described as inspired. Sam Spanier’s works are in the collections of the Historical Society of Woodstock Museum, and the Woodstock Artists Association & Museum. He received the Woodstock Artists Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. Selected Solo Exhibitions: Urban Gallery, New York (1954, 1955, 1956); Wittenborn Gallery, New York (1958); Gallery Mayer, New York (1958, 1959, 1960); Unison Gallery, New Paltz (1986, 1995, 2009); Limner Gallery, New York (1988); Fletcher Gallery, Woodstock, New York (1999). Selected Group Exhibitions: Salon des Comparaisons, Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris, France (1952); October Exhibition of Oil Paintings, New York City Center Gallery, New York (1954); Salon de Mai, Musée d’Art moderne de la ville de Paris, Centre Culturel de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Paris, France (1954); Carnegie International, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1955); Les Plus Mauvais Tableaux, Galerie Prismes, Paris (1955); Première Exposition Internationale de l’Art Plastique Contemporain, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris (1956); Recent Paintings USA: The Figure, The Museum of Modern Art (1960); Winter’s Work, Woodstock Artists Association, Woodstock, New York (1985); Juried Group Show, Woodstock Artists Association, Woodstock, New York (1986); Woodstock Artists, Self-Portraits, Historical Society of Woodstock Museum, Woodstock, New York (1988); Portraits, Albert Shahinian Fine Art, Poughkeepsie, New York (2003); The World We Live In, Upstate Art, Phoenicia, New York (2003); Show of Heads, Limner Gallery, Phoenicia, New York (2004). Selected Writings on the Artist: Dore Ashton, “Sam Spanier,” Art Digest (May 1, 1954) and “Sam Spanier,” The New York Times (March 16, 1960); Cassia Berman, “Sam Spanier: A Divine Calling,” Woodstock Times (February 7, 2008); Lawrence Campbell, “Sam Spanier: Exhibition of Paintings at Urban Gallery,” Art News (April 1, 1954); Sam Feinstein, “Sam Spanier: Exhibition of Paintings at Urban Gallery,” Art Digest (March 1, 1955); Pat Horner, “Big Heart, Timeless Art —Sam Spanier Retrospective at Fletcher Gallery, Woodstock Times (July 1, 1999); Donald Judd, “In the Galleries: Sam Spanier,” Arts Magazine (April 1960); Liam Nelson, “Human Force...

Untitled Watercolor on paper, 1990 Signed lower left corner Provenance: Gift of the Artist to one of hr patrons Distinguished Midwest Private Collection Conditi...

Untitled (Inspired by a Chinese scroll painting) Collage with ink on 6 paper elements Unsigned Provenance: Estate of the Artist Condition: Excellent Image size: 4 x 12 inches Support...

Untitled Watercolor on paper, c. 1971 Unsigned From the collection of Ileana Sonnabend (1914-2007) Laddie John Dill, a Los Angeles artist, had his first solo exhibition in New York C...

Untitled Fabric Design Gouache on paper, 1920-1935 Signed with the Atelier Stamp verso (see photo) Numbered with the Atelier Litt Archive number verso (see photo) No. 37365 ...

Signed and dated by the artist vertically lower left edge. Part of an experimental series of works using motor oil, India Ink, adhesives, sand, and various other mediums.

Untitled Fabric Design Gouache on paper, 1920-1935 Signed with the Atelier Stamp verso (see photo) Numbered with the Atelier Litt Archive number verso (see photo) No. 24680 Co...

Untitled Fabric Design Gouache on paper, 1920-1935 Signed with the Atelier Stamp verso (see photo) Numbered with the Atelier Litt Archive number verso (see photo)No. 26190 Con...

Untitled Fabric Design Gouache on paper, 1920-1935 Signed with the Atelier Stamp verso (see photo) Numbered with the Atelier Litt Archive number verso (see photo) No. 05535 ...

Untitled molded mud-dried paper with collage elements, 1996 Signed and dated lower edge (see photo) Annotated and titled verso Sheet size: 24 x 7 inches Provenance: Ralph Drake, fir...

Unknown Artist, France, late 19th century Anonymous c. 1900 Rondelle on antique laid paper Ink, Watercolor and or Gouache Unsigned An Art Nouveau preliminary design for a decorative ...

Hai (Abba) (Hebrew translation: Hey Father) Signed in ink lower left by the artist’s widow “AL” (Adele Lozowick) Original label from early exhibition verso at The Art Corner Graphit...

Mlle. Jeanne at the Window, No. II Charcoal on paper, 1933 Signed and dated lower right (see photo) Illustrated: Gustafson, Zimmerli Museum, 1988, "Benjamin Benno: A Retrospective Ex...

Untitled Graphite on paper, 1930 Signed and dated upper right (see photo) Exhibited: Francis Nauman, Leon Kelly: Draftsman Extraordinaire, New York, April 4 - May 23, 2014. (label) C...

Untitled Pastel on paper, 1922 Initialed lower right (see photo) Exhibited: Francis Nauman, Leon Kelly: Draftsman Extraordinaire, New York, April 4 - May 23, 2014. Condition: Excell...

Untitled Pastel on paper, 1922 Initialed lower right (see photo) Exhibited: Francis Nauman, Leon Kelly: Draftsman Extraordinaire, New York, April 4 - May 23, 2014. Condition: excellent Image size: 11 8 7/8 inches Frame size: 18 1/4 x 16 1/4 inches Provenance: Estate of the artist The Orange Chicken...

Untitled Watercolor on paper, c. 1971 Unsigned Provenance: From the collection of Ileana Sonnabend (1914-2007) Laddie John Dill, a Los Angeles artist, had his first solo exhibition i...

Untitled Pastel on paper, 1922 Signed with the artist's initials in pencil Provenance: Estate of the artist Francis M. Nauman (label) Private collection, NY A very early abstract/cubist work by Kelly. Created while the artist was studying with Arthur Carles in Philadelphia. Leon Kelly (October 21, 1901 – June 28, 1982) was an American artist born in Philadelphia, PA. He is most well known for his contributions to American Surrealism, but his work also encompassed styles such as Cubism, Social Realism, and Abstraction. Reclusive by nature, a character trait that became more exaggerated in the 1940s and later, Kelly's work reflects his determination not to be limited by the trends of his time. His large output of paintings is complemented by a prolific number of drawings that span his career of 50 years. Some of the collections where his work is represented are: The Metropolitan Museum in New York, The Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Boston Public Library. Biography Kelly was born in 1901 at home at 1533 Newkirk Street, Philadelphia, PA. He was the only child of Elizabeth (née Stevenson) and Pantaleon L. Kelly. The family resided in Philadelphia where Pantaleon and two of his cousins owned Kelly Brothers, a successful tailoring business. The prosperity of the firm enabled his father to purchase a 144-acre farm in Bucks County PA in 1902, which he named "Rural Retreat" It was here that Pantaleon took Leon to spend every weekend away from the pressures of business and from the disappointments in his failing marriage. Idyllic and peaceful memories of the farm stayed with Leon and embued his work with a love of nature that emerged later in the Lunar Series, in Return and Departure, and in the insect imagery of his Surrealist work. "If anything," he once said,"I am a Pantheist and see a spirit in everything, the grass, the rocks, everything." At thirteen, Leon left school and began private painting lessons with Albert Jean Adolphe, a teacher at the School of Industrial Art (now the University of the Arts) in Philadelphia. He learned technique by copying the works of the old masters and visiting the Philadelphia Zoo, where he would draw animals. Drawings done in 1916 and 1917 of elephants, snakes and antelope, as well as copies of old master paintings by Holbein and Michelangelo, heralded an impressive emerging talent. In 1917, he studied sculpture with Alexander Portnoff but his studies came to an abrupt halt with the start of World War I. Being too young to enlist, he joined the Quartermaster Corp at the Army Depot in Philadelphia, where he served for more than a year loading ships with supplies and, along with other artists, working on drawings for camouflage. By 1920, the family's fortunes drastically changed. His father's business had failed due to the introduction of ready made clothing and his marriage, unhappy from the beginning, dissolved. Broken by circumstance Pantaleon left Philadelphia to begin a wandering existence looking for work leaving Leon to support his mother and grandmother. He found a job in 1920 at the Freihofer Baking Company where he worked nights for the next four years. Under these circumstances Leon continued to develop his skills in drawing and painting and learned of the revolutionary developments in art that were taking place in Paris. During the day he was granted permission to study anatomy at the Philadelphia School of Osteopathy where he dissected a cadaver and perfected his knowledge of the human figure. He also met and studied etching with Earl Horter, a well known illustrator, who had amassed a significant collection of modern art which included work by Brancusi, Matisse, and Cubist works by Picasso and Braque. Among the artists around Horter was Arthur Carles, a charismatic and controversial painter who taught at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Leon enrolled in the Academy in 1922, becoming what Carles described as, "his best student". In the next three years Leon work ranged from academic studies of plaster casts, to pointillism, to landscapes of Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, as well as a series of pastels showing influences from Matisse to Picasso. Clearly influenced by Earl Horter's collection and Arthur Carles he mastered analytical cubism in works such as The Three Pears, 1923 and 1925 experimented with Purism in Moon Behind the Italian House. In 1925 Kelly was awarded a Cresson Scholarship and on June 14 he left for Europe. Paris The first trip to Europe lasted for approximately three and a half months and introduced Kelly to a culture and place where he felt he belonged. Though he returned to the Academy in the Fall, he left for Europe again a few months later to begin a four-year stay in Paris. He moved into an apartment at 19 rue Daguerre in Paris and began an existence intellectually rich but in creature comforts, very poor. "I kept a cinderblock over the drain in the kitchen sink to keep the rats out of the apartment" he once explained. He frequented the cafes making acquaintances with Henry Miller, James Joyce and the critic Félix Fénéon as well as others. His days were split between copying old master paintings in the Louvre and pursuing modernist ideas that were swirling through the work of all the artists around him. The Lake, 1926 and Interior of the Studio, 1927, now in the Newark Museum. Patrons during this time were the police official Leon Zamaran, a collector of Courbets, Lautrecs and others, who began collecting Kelly's work. Another was Alfred Barnes of the Barnes Collection in Philadelphia. In 1929 Kelly married a young French woman, Henriette D'Erfurth. She appears frequently in paintings and drawings done between 1928 and the early 1930s. Philadelphia The stock market crash of 1929 made it impossible to continue living in Paris and Kelly and Henriette returned to Philadelphia in 1930. He rented a studio on Thompson Street and began working and participating in shows in the city's galleries. Work from 1930 to 1940 showed continuing influences and experimentation with the themes and techniques acquired in Paris as well as a brief foray into Social Realism. The Little Gallery of Contemporary Art purchased the Absinthe Drinker...

Untitled Pastel on paper, 1922 Initialed and dated lower right (see photo) Exhibited: Francis Nauman, Leon Kelly: Draftsman Extraordinaire, New York, April 4 - May 23, 2014. Provenance: Estate of the Artist The Orange Chicken...