Hank Pitcher, "Life Guard Tower", Oil on canvas c. 2002
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Hank Pitcher, “Life Guard Tower”, Oil on canvas c. 2002
HANK PITCHER (b. 1949) U.S.A.
“Life Guard Tower” c. 2002
Oil on canvas
Signed (on back)
For more information see: Hank Pitcher Surf, exhibit. cat. (Santa Barbara: Sullivan Goss Gallery, 2003); Surfboard Wax – A History, Jefferson “Zuma Jay” Wagner (Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2005).
Canvas H: 15 7/8” x W: 19 7/8”
Framed: H: 21 3/8” x W: 25 3/8”
Pitcher’s surfboard paintings are the symbol of California beach culture…strong, definite, positive and euphoric statements about life in California. The surfboard’s power as totem is seen in its power to convey identity: surfer, Californian, Hank Pitcher. All are identifiable from this symbolic representation. Hank Pitcher is the voice of California culture. At the beach, in the surf, approaching the foothills, in the mountains, on the spit of Point Conception, in the crags of Big Sur, at a beach campfire in Santa Barbara, Pitcher paints the icons of California’s culture.
Hank Pitcher’s paintings are grounded in a particular sense of place. He was born in Pasadena, California on July 20, 1949, but his family moved to Isla Vista, near Santa Barbara, when he was two years old. When they came to Isla Vista it was an outpost on the beach, and Goleta was a farm town where kids rode their horses down the avenue to buy candy at the store. He was a football star at San Marcos High School and was recruited by big-name universities. Instead of football, he chose to attend the College of Creative Studies, an alternative program within the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) where he now teaches painting. He splits his time between painting and surfing, pursuing each with the commitment and energy of a linebacker.
Jan de Swart, Handcarved “Peach” Sculpture, c.1970
JAN DE SWART (1908-1987) Netherlands / USA
Peach sculpture c. 1970
Hand carved and formed jelutong wood in a symbolic / erotic form of a peach
For more information see: Jan de Swart: A Day That Becomes a Lifetime, exhibition catalogue (California: Fine Arts Gallery at the San Fernando Valley State College, February 1972); Jan de Swart, Mike McGee and William G. Otton (Laguna Beach, California: Laguna Art Museum, 1986).
H: 7 ½” x D: 4”
Price: $7,500
Constantly seeking and inventing new materials Jan de Swart was a true modernist. He was influenced by artists such as Isamu Noguchi, Harry Bertoia, Charles Eames, and later Sam Maloof and Wendell Castle. Although he had been creating small sculptures since his arrival in California from Holland in 1929, he had not been widely recognized until being introduced to John Entenza, publisher of Arts & Architecture magazine in 1947. Soon thereafter, he was able to create larger works and began collaborating with architects such as Whitney Smith and Victor Gruen on special commissions. His work is in the permanent collection of Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Smithsonian, and the Ford Foundation. He was honored with the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal for Sculpture in 1965.
S O G A T A New York, NY “Harlem: Five Aces” Watercolor and pencil on paper 1931
S O G A T A New York, NY
“Harlem: Five Aces” 1931
Watercolor and pencil on paper
Signed: SOGATA, HARLEM 1931 (painted, lower right corner of image); HARLEM: FIVE ACES. (in pencil beneath image on left)
For contextual history and similar art see: Rhapsodies in black : art of the Harlem Renaissance, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997); Harlem Renaissance Artists. Jordan, Denise (Chicago: Heinemann Library, 2003).
Paper H: 14 7/8″ x W: 10 7/8 ”
Image H: 11″ x W: 7 1/2″
Frame H: 19” x W: 15 1/4”
*This SOGATA New York Watercolor and pencil on paper has been gifted to The Wolfsonian – FIU, Miami Beach, FL.
S O G A T A New York, NY, “Costume for a String Quartette” Watercolor and pencil on paper 1930
S O G A T A New York, NY
“Costume for a String Quartette” 1930
Watercolor and pencil on paper
Signed: COSTUME FOR A STRING QUARTETTE. SOGATA. LONDON: 1930. ESPECIALLY FOR CARL VAN V. with script signature (in pencil on lower left and beneath image)
For contextual history and similar art see: Rhapsodies in Black : Art of the Harlem Renaissance,(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997); Harlem Renaissance Artists. Jordan, Denise (Chicago: Heinemann Library, 2003).
Paper H: 14 7/8″ x W: 10 7/8 ”
Image H: 14″ x W: 10 1/2″
Frame H: 20 1/2” x W: 17 1/4”
*This SOGATA New York Watercolor and pencil on paper has been gifted to The Wolfsonian – FIU, Miami Beach, FL.
Carl van Vechten (1880-1964), to whom this artwork is dedicated, was an influential novelist, critic, and photographer in New York during the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. His role in the Harlem Renaissance is well-documented. Van Vechten also introduced Miguel Covarrubias, a caricaturist and contemporary of Sogata, to prominent Manhattan artistic and society circles.
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