Christopher A. D. Murphy (1902 - 1973) has long been a favorite of Savannah and Low Country collectors. He attended the Art Students League and studied in Savannah with Hilda Belcher, Elliot Clark and William Chadwick. We have always particularly like his drawings. Here is a graphite on paper that we recently acquired.
Here is a beautiful painting by a Low Country artist that we don’t often find. William Whitcomb Thompson (1882 - 1948) was a native of South Carolina who exhibited at the Telfair Academy and was director of the Beaufort, SC art colony. He exhibited at the Telfair and was a member of the Savannah Art Club and the Association of Georgia Artists.
Dogwoods in Spring
We’ve been busy a number of fine Savannah and Low Country works, from fine Southern collections. I’ll highlight some of them over the next few posts. Here’s an example that we especially like, a still life by Myrtle Jones, probably painted in the early 1950s.
Here’s another painting that’s driving us crazy! We love Toronto’s Group of Seven painters, the 12 (?) painters who took Canada by storm in the 1920’s. This looks like something by a member, but it isn’t signed…
We want to welcome back an artist who was part of our gallery family for many years. You may remember the wonderful still lives of apples, pears and lemons by Melinda Mellor. Well, Melinda Borysevicz is back with really terrific still paintings that will take you by surprise. Here is just one example (we have more and I promise to get them up on the website soon).
Ha! Not quite, but here is a wonderful Monet snow scene called “Snow Covered Road at Honfieur” that I’ve always liked (well, I like all of Monet’s snow scenes).
There has been a lot of discussion in the media, and especially in art and antiques magazines and newspapers, about art as an “investment.” Of course, with stock and bond and real estate markets in turmoil, this is a natural topic for dealers and collectors. This past month we have received lots of PR material from auctioneers and dealers stressing the investment value of art. This came in an email last week:
Sort of implies that art would have been a better investment than Wall Street…
At the gallery, our opinion has been and is that art is an aesthetic investment. What we surround ourselves with is an investment in making our lives and homes more satisfying and uplifting. Art as “investment” requires a time machine or a crystal ball. It’s better to buy what you love. And besides, who wants to hang stock certificates on the living room walls?
Parade Fantasy
Several years ago we bought a wonderful watercolor portrait of a woman. It has haunted us…
We thought it might be an example of a work by a Boston School artist. The Boston School was a group of artists from the turn of the century (19th to 20th), trained in Europe by traditional teachers, but American impressionists with an academic flavor. The reveled in light and color but were more conservative than the French. Some artists in this tradition were Frank Benson, Joseph DeCamp, William Paxton, Marguerite Pearson and Edmund Tarbell. Have a look:
(for a larger version click on the image)
So we’re asking you, our readers, for help. Have you seen a painting or drawing that is similar to this one in style? Or is the sitter/model familiar? Please let us know if you have a lead in the comments. And thanks!