March 2018

We are pleased to present four rare WPA mural studies created by Otis Oldfield, one of the leaders of the Bay Area Modernist movement. These mural studies were submitted in competition for the position of muralist in three different Federal buildings: the Stockton Post Office, the Modesto Post Office and the Rincon Annex Post Office in San Francisco.

There has been a resurgence of interest in the Depression-era murals in Federal buildings. Many that were in storage or in disrepair are being conserved and brought back to their former grandeur for a new generation to appreciate. Similarly, the mural studies submitted by artists have become highly prized among collectors, and we are excited to be able to offer these detailed artworks to our clients.

 

May 2018

We have been busy discovering new artworks for our clients and are pleased to share them with you.

We have begun the representation of Betty F. Helfen (1929-2019), your Gallery Director’s Mother, who was highly skilled in the medium of cloisonné enamel, as exemplified in Wild Poppies, which was exhibited at the Laguna Beach Museum of Art, and Irises. Helfen’s Rivalry is an ode to Japanese kabuki theater and won Honorable Mention in a competition in Japan. Over the years Helfen’s artworks were awarded First Prize at numerous LA County Fairs. Each of her artworks has a timeless elegance and beauty.

As you know, our Gallery’s focus is on both California and American Modernism. Recently, we discovered the work of Pennsylvania Modernist Thomas Flavell, whose renderings of buildings in White Barn are reminiscent of the work of the Precisionists, who depicted with exactitude the world around them. Little Blue Bell has a Regionalist feel in the depiction of the buildings in the foreground and background of a Pennsylvania backyard. Flavell was a well-exhibited artist whose work is held in major museum collections including The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

We also discovered the Modernist renderings of Harvey Prusheck, an Ohio Modernist whose works, while rare, all evoke a sensuality only seen in Modernist paintings of the 1930s. In Village in Utah, Prusheck’s blue-green palette lends a dreamlike quality to the depiction of a small town. His Still Life is an education in the Modernist rendition of everyday objects. It is both beautiful and serene with an intense Art Deco aesthetic.

 

June 2018

We are pleased to present several artworks by Victor Arnautoff just released by the Artist’s Estate. These artworks exemplify the breadth of talent of this versatile artist. They include lithographs, watercolors, a charcoal drawing and oil paintings.

Clothesline is an amazing watercolor with a high degree of detail and color. It is a beautiful depiction of a San Francisco neighborhood scene with clothing hanging out to dry in front of a fence with various Victorian and other houses in the background. Arnautoff creates great depth in this otherwise common scene.

Arnautoff’s circa 1940 Golden Gate lithograph is a celebration of the newly built iconic Bay Area bridge. It is quite rare as it is one of an edition of only 10. Arnautoff’s depiction of a large rock in the foreground helps to give depth and perspective to the image of the Golden Gate Bridge.