Ronnie Cutrone

Bird's Eye View

Marc Chagall "Le Christ a l'Horloge, Paris" (Christ in the Clock) 1957 (M. 196) Color Lithograph on Arches Wove Paper Signed in Pencil "Marc Chagall" Lower Right Initialed "H.C." (Hors Commerce) Lower Left, aside from numbered edition of 90 *Floated in Gold Frame with Linen Matting, UV Plexiglass Sheet Size: 18 3/4 x 14 3/4 inches (47.5 cm x 38 cm) Image Size: 9 3/4 x 8 1/2 inches Framed Size: 28.5 x 24.25 inches Marc Chagall was a man of keen intelligence, a shrewd observer of the contemporary scene, with a great sympathy for human suffering. He was born on July 7, 1887 in Vitebsk, Russia; his original name was Moishe Shagal (Segal), but when he became a foremost member of the Ecole de Paris, he adopted French citizenship and the French spelling of his name. Vitebsk was a good-sized Russian town of over 60,000, not a shtetl. His father supported a wife and eight children as a worker in a herring-pickling plant. Sheltered by the Jewish commandment against graven images, the young Chagall never saw so much as a drawing until, one day, he watched a schoolmate copying a magazine illustration. He was ridiculed for his astonishment, but he began copying and improvising from magazines. Both Chagall's parents reluctantly agreed to let him study with Yehuda Pen, a Jewish artist in Vitebsk. Later, in 1906, they allowed their son to study in St. Petersburg, where he was exposed to Russian Iconography and folk art. At that time, Jews could leave the Pale only for business and employment and were required to carry a permit. Chagall, who was in St. Petersburg without a permit, was imprisoned briefly. His first wife, Bella Rosenfeld, was a product of a rich cultivated and intellectual group of Jews in Vitebsk. Chagall was made commissar for the arts for the area, charged with directing its cultural life and establishing an art school. Russian folklore, peasant life and landscapes persisted in his work all his life. In 1910 a rich patron, a lawyer named Vinaver, staked him to a crucial trip to Paris, where young artists were revolutionizing art. He also sent him a handsome allowance of 125 francs (in those days about $24) each month. Chagall rejected cubism, fauvism and futurism, but remained in Paris. He found a studio near Montparnasse in a famous twelve-sided wooden structure divided into wedge-shaped rooms. Chaim Soutine, a fellow Russian Jew, and Modigliani lived on the same floor. To Chagall's astonishment, he found himself heralded as one of the fathers of surrealism. In 1923, a delegation of Max Ernst, Paul Eluard and Gala (later Salvador Dali's wife) actually knelt before Chagall, begging him to join their ranks. He refused. To understand Chagall's work, it is necessary to know that he was born a Hasidic Jew, heir to mysticism and a world of the spirit, steeped in Jewish lore and reared in the Yiddish language. The Hasidim had a special feeling for animals, which they tried not to overburden. In the mysterious world of Kabbala and fantastic ancient legends of Chagall's youth, the imaginary was as important as the real. His extraordinary use of color also grew out of his dream world; he did not use color realistically, but for emotional effect and to serve the needs of his design. Most of his favorite themes, though superficially light and trivial, mask dark and somber thoughts. The circus he views as a mirror of life; the crucifixion as a tragic theme, used as a parallel to the historic Jewish condition, but he is perhaps best known for the rapturous lovers he painted all his life. His love of music is a theme that runs through his paintings. After a brief period in Berlin, Chagall, Bella and their young daughter, Ida, moved to Paris and in 1937 they assumed French citizenship. When France fell, Chagall accepted an invitation from the Museum of Modern Art to immigrate to the United States. He was arrested and imprisoned in Marseilles for a short time, but was still able to immigrate with his family. The Nazi onslaught caught Chagall in Vichy, France, preoccupied with his work. He was loath to leave; his friend Varian Fry rescued him from a police roundup of Jews in Marseille, and packed him, his family and 3500 lbs. of his art works on board a transatlantic ship. The day before he arrived in New York City, June 23, 1941, the Nazis attacked Russia. The United States provided a wartime haven and a climate of liberty for Chagall. In America he spent the war years designing large backdrops for the Ballet. Bella died suddenly in the United States of a viral infection in September 1944 while summering in upstate New York. He rushed her to a hospital in the Adirondacks, where, hampered by his fragmentary English, they were turned away with the excuse that the hour was too late. The next day she died. He waited for three years after the war before returning to France. With him went a slender married English girl, Virginia Haggard MacNeil; Chagall fell in love with her and they had a son, David. After seven years she ran off with an indigent photographer. It was an immense blow to Chagall's ego, but soon after, he met Valentine Brodsky, a Russian divorcee designing millinery in London (he called her Fava). She cared for him during the days of his immense fame and glory. They returned to France, to a home and studio in rustic Vence. Chagall loved the country and every day walked through the orchards, terraces, etc. before he went to work. Chagall died on March 28, 1985 in the south of France. His heirs negotiated an arrangement with the French state allowing them to pay most of their inheritance taxes in works of art. The heirs owed about $30 million to the French government; roughly $23 million of that amount was deemed payable in artworks. Chagall's daughter, Ida and his widow approved the arrangement. Written and submitted by Jean Ershler Schatz, artist and researcher from Laguna Woods, California. Sources: Hannah Grad Goodman in Homage to Chagall in Hadassah Magazine, June 1985 Jack Kroll in Newsweek, April 8, 1985 Andrea Jolles in National Jewish Monthly Magazine, May 1985 Michael Gibson...

Bareback Act, Old Hippodrome By Gifford Beal (1879-1956) Signed Lower Right Unframed: 6.5" x 9.5" Framed: 17.5" x 20" Gifford Beal, painter, etcher, muralist, and teacher, was born in New York City in 1879. The son of landscape painter William Reynolds Beal, Gifford Beal began studying at William Merritt Chase's Shinnecock School of Art (the first established school of plein air painting in America) at the age of thirteen, when he accompanied his older brother, Reynolds, to summer classes. He remained a pupil of Chase's for ten years also studying with him in New York City at the artist's private studio in the Tenth Street Studio Building. Later at his father's behest, he attended Princeton University from 1896 to 1900 while still continuing his lessons with Chase. Upon graduation from Princeton he took classes at the Art Students' League, studying with impressionist landscape painter Henry Ward Ranger and Boston academic painter Frank Vincent DuMond. He ended up as President of the Art Students League for fourteen years, "a distinction unsurpassed by any other artist." His student days were spent entirely in this country. "Given the opportunity to visit Paris en route to England in 1908, he chose to avoid it" he stated, "I didn't trust myself with the delightful life in ParisIt all sounded so fascinating and easy and loose." His subjects were predominately American, and it has been said stylistically "his art is completely American." Gifford achieved early recognition in the New York Art World. He became an associate member of the National Academy of Design in 1908 and was elected to full status of academician in 1914. He was known for garden parties, circuses, landscapes, streets, coasts, flowers and marines. This diversity in subject matter created "no typical or characteristic style to his work." Beal's style was highly influenced by Chase and Childe Hassam, a long time friend of the Beal family who used to travel "about the countryside with Beal in a car sketching...

Billy Schenck (American, b. 1947) Hurry Sundown, 1985 Edition 19/60 Serigraph 21 x 38 inches Signed, Titled, Dated, and Numbered Lower Margin Billy Schenck is a contemporary artist ...

One of Their Pets (Two Farm Boys and Cow at The Watering Hole) By Joseph Vorst (1897-1947) Signed Lower Right Edition 1/50 Lower Left Unframed: 8.5" x 11" Framed: 16" x 18.5" German-born Joseph Vorst came from Essen (born June 19, 1897). His teacher was the leading German impressionist Max Liebermann (1847-1935), who was the champion of French impressionism in Berlin. He had traveled to Barbizon and Paris to see paintings by Manet first hand, including In the Conservatory, which made its way to Berlin. Later Vorst's home town of Essen would acquire a collection of modern art in 1921, which became the Museum Folkwang, one of the earliest of its kind. Most likely to escape the Nazis, Vorst made his way to Missouri; we know that he was a member of the American Artists Congress and he signed the famous "Call" in 1936 at the group's first congress, the left-wing organization that stood up to combat fascism. Surely he would have known Joe Jones...

Luis Jimenez (American, 1940-2006) "Study for Los Lagartos" 1998 **UNIQUE** *This was originally an etching in black and white, done in 1996 as an edition of 50. This is 20/50. THEN,...

Color Lithograph Image Size: 30 x 19 inches Framed Size: 40.25 x 29.75 inches Edition 392/950 Artist Signed and Numbered Artist and naturalist Roger Tory Peterson...

Keith Haring Hiroshima 1988: Rare 1988 7” Japanese vinyl record featuring original artwork by Keith Haring. Truly vibrant colors that make for stand-out wall art and unique vintage Keith Haring collectible. Rare and not to be passed upon. *1st Pressing 1988 (not a re-issue) Medium: Off-Set Lithograph on vinyl record cover and labels. Dimensions: 7 x 7 inches. Plate signed on lower right & dated 1988 by Haring Light signs of handling; otherwise good to very overall vintage condition. Includes the original record (very good condition). Haring off-set illustrations appearing throughout the exterior and interior covers and record labels. _ Keith Haring Album Art: a brief history:  Whether collaborating with Grace Jones, Andy Warhol, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, regularly frequenting clubs like Paradise Garage alongside close friend Larry Levan, or sketching DJ robots, New York artist and activist Keith Haring’s work was deeply entwined with the music world lending his vision to sounds by everyone from David Bowie to Run DMC. Looking for something cool to complement this work? Please feel free to browse additional items like this from Jean Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Keith Haring & more on our 1stDibs gallery page.  Related Categories Keith Haring prints. Keith Haring figurative. East Village art. Street art. 80s graffiti. Pop Art. Keith Haring animals.

Milton Glaser Temple University Music Festival, 1975: Vintage original 1970s Milton Glaser poster designed by Milton Glaser on the occasion of the T...

Artist: Richard Lindner, German/American (1901 - 1978) Title: How it all Began from the "After Noon" Portfolio Year: 1969 Medium: Lithograph on Arches, signed and numbered in pencil ...

Milton Glaser Saratoga Festival Poster 1980: For this annual summer arts festival held in Saratoga New York, Milton Glaser places a Pan...

Keith Haring Tony Shafrazi/Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, 1985: Rare original 1980s Keith Haring announcement published on the occasion of: Keith Haring at Tony Shafrazi Gallery,...

Milton Glaser Temple University Music Festival, 1975: Vintage original 1970s Milton Glaser poster designed by Milton Glaser on the occasion of the Temple University Music Festival. A classic Milton Glaser poster & design featuring a surreal-like swan, superimposed on an enigmatic profile. Offset lithograph poster in colors. 24 x 35 inches. Very good overall vintage condition with the exception of perhaps some minor signs of handling. Milton Glaser printed signature lower right; from an edition of unknown. Commissioned by Mobil. Literature: Milton Glaser Posters, Glaser, pg. 193. Legendary graphic designer, illustrator, and art director Milton Glaser created some of the most recognizable iconography in America today —including the iconic I ♥ N Y logo —and countless posters and ad campaigns. Glaser changed the face of commercial art in the 1960s and ’70s, breaking with the conventions of modernism and drawing inspiration from a wide variety of art-historical and pop-cultural sources, from Art Nouveau to comic illustration...