A Walk In The Woods

It is said that art builds bridges, and that's exactly what is happening here with this astonishingly lifelike work by noted 19th century artist Narcisse Virgil Diaz de la Pena. This painter is best known for his forest and storm scenes and it's easy to see why - the view here is so authentic it is as if one were looking out on it in person! This painting is another breathtaking example from the Pantages Portfolio, which will will be available for viewing and purchase starting on September 28, 2018.

Frenchman Narcisse Virgil Diaz de la Pena (1808-1876) had a rough start in life; he became an orphan and lost a leg to infection before he was a teenager. He began formally studying art at 15, focusing on painting after first working in porcelains. Over time, he met fellow artist Théodore Rousseau and really admired Rousseau's style and ability to capture forests on canvas so well. They eventually became good friends. Diaz de la Pena worked his entire adult life as a successful and highly sought-after artist. His paintings are part of the permanent collection of the Louvre, The Wallace Collection in London, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the Isabella Stewart Museum in Boston, among many others.

Catch the Spirit

What do you see here? A landscape, certainly. But don't the mountains in the back of the the work also hint of a majestic bird in flight or even a sacred figure? Only the artist, Elliott Daingerfield, knows for sure. This wonderful painting, from the Pantages Portfolio, truly soars to new heights.

Elliott Daingerfield (1859–1932) was an American painter best known for his religious, as well as landscape works. This example in some ways is a hybrid of these two areas. He was born in West Virginia and but grew up and spent much of his life in North Carolina. He completed his art training in New York and studied at the Art Students’ League. Daingerfield traveled to Europe in the late 1890’s where he became very interested in religious themes. He painted the mural in the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin in New York City. Later in his life he began writing about art, authoring several magazine articles as well as artist biographies. He was a full member of the National Academy of Design from 1906 onward. As a favorite son of North Carolina, Daingerfield’s work has been exhibited at the North Carolina Museum of Art and his childhood home in Fayetteville has been made into a local museum.

Rocking Your World

Doesn't this glorious abstract landscape painting from the Pantages Portfolio just rock your world? This breathtaking piece, titled "Path Through the Mesas" was painted by Navajo contemporary artist Tony Abeyta in 2001.

Abeyta is known for his mixed media works that highlight the beauty of the American Southwest. According to the painter, "There exists a rhythm in the land where I was born. I spend a lot of time deciphering the light, the cascades of mesas into canyons, the marriage between earth and sky and the light as it constantly changes at whim, the intensity of rock formations, and the sage and chamisa that accent this poetic experience, unlike any where else I have seen. I am beckoned to remember it and then to paint it." Abeyta received the New Mexico Governor’s Excellence in the Arts award in 2012 and has been recognized as a Native treasure by the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture. His work has been shown at Blue Rain Gallery in Santa Fe, NM, and is included in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ, New Mexico Fine Arts Museum, the Autry Museum in Los Angeles, CA, and the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis, as well as many other public and private collections.

Fight Night

This oil on canvas scene by George Biddle is one heavy hitter. It pictures several boxers leaving the ring. You can just make out the silhouettes of the observers to the match in the forefront of the work. This powerful painting from 1956 is another highlight from the remarkable Pantages Portfolio being offered by The Plymouth Exchange in late September, 2018.

George Biddle (1885-1973) started out his career as a lawyer, but left the USA to study art in 1911 in Paris. He spent the next few years studying art across Europe and the USA. He enlisted as a soldier in WWI. Post war, he again traveled and painted extensively, including a 1928 sketching adventure with Diego Rivera in Mexico. In the 1930's he was instrumental in establishing the Federal Art Project - part of the WPA - through his longtime friendship with Franklin Roosevelt. He was appointed the chairman of the US Department of War's Art Advisory Committee during WWII. Biddle is best known for his thoughtful murals and combat related paintings.  These were featured at the 1939 New York World's Fair as well as pictured in Life Magazine. His most famous mural, a five panel fresco, appears in the 5th floor stairway the RFK Department of Justice Building in Washington, DC and is called Society Freed Through Justice. 

Eye Catching - To The Max!

Here's another fantastic example from the Pantages Portfolio that really caught our eye. For like an hour! What's going on here, and what is the artist trying to tell us with this mixed media on paper piece? This work is from Max Weber, one of America's earliest Cubist style painters.

Max Weber (1881-1961) was born in Russia but came to the United States with his parents when he was 10 years old. He attended art school in New York, taught for a few years after graduating, and then went to Europe to continue his studies. There he befriended French artist Henri Rousseau; he would go on to responsible for Rousseau's first exhibition in the United States. Weber returned to America in 1909 and started to produce Cubist style paintings, which were met with mixed reviews initially. Over time, his work gained more acceptance and he was featured at exhibits including New York's Museum of Modern Art. Later in life, many of his works featured religious Jewish themes.

 

Good Things Come In Threes

Work on cataloging the Pantages Portfolio continues swimmingly along, with new discoveries happening on a daily basis! Judy is researching this delightful painting, a work by artist Roger San Miguel (b. 1940.) It features a lovely young woman holding a large fish, with two others to her right and left. You can't help but notice her dark and hip-length hair, beautiful face, and feminine form. 

It is possible that San Miguel chose to reference to the holy trinity in this work by including three prominent and oversized fish in the design.  

San Miguel is a popular and well known artist from the Philippines.  He skillfully and authentically captures Filipinos in happy, family, and/or "everyday" situations. Many of his paintings include children. Examples of his work are on display at the Philippines International Convention Center and have also been included in national and international exhibitions over the years.

What's On Your Mind?

Face it, there are just so many great portraits in the Pantages Portfolio! Judy has just come across this fantastic and incredibly intense portrait by Belgium expressionist painter Pierre Paulus (1881—1959). Whatever the old man is looking at has his full attention, but it is difficult not to look at him.

Paulus was both a creative force and a politically active citizen. His work was featured at several art exhibitions in the US and Europe. He is perhaps most famous for designing the "bold rooster" mascot of the Belgian Walloon movement in 1913. Wallonia is a region in southern Belgium and this campaign advocated for the French language and culture within this geographic area. Today this rooster is the central visual in the region's red and yellow national flag.

Two For One, or, Frustrating and Fabulous

"You have already heard me say this a few times already, but our collector James Pantages has an incredible eye for art. He also has a kind of innate sort of brilliance art lovers can only dream about. Mr. Pantages always bought the art and not the artist. He could not care less who created the work; if the image did not speak to him he simply moved along.

So here we go again with another anonymous collection highlight. This early midcentury two-sided oil on board painting is a prime example of a "yet to be figured out" unknown talent. Who paints something this amazing and doesn’t sign it? Personally, this makes me crazy, mostly because I love it so much and want to fill in the blanks. So often just knowing who created the work helps to explain subtleties about the picture that may not be so obvious. My friend and art expert Colleen Fesko and I agree it is so far one of our favorites. If anybody has thoughts on who painted this superb abstract please let us know." - Peter Smith

Hide And Seek

"This large, unsigned piece is another favorite of mine from the Pantages Porfolio.  It measures about 3'6" by 5'.  I actually like it so much I'm showing it to you twice here - as it can be hung vertically or horizontally.  This is not  because it is an abstract rendering...  but because it shows two different images. 

Hung horizontally,  it is a single goat with horns.

Hung vertically, the body of the goat is made up of images of other animals. I found a dog, a raccoon, a cougar, a bear, and duck or goose.  I am sure there are more. What do you see?" - Peter Smith 

We Can't Look Away, Part 1

Eye, eye, eye we can't look away! As we work our way through organizing and cataloging the Pantages Portfolio collection, we often come across works that are simply mesmerizing and hold our gaze - sometimes for good reasons, and sometimes for bad ones.

This charcoal and ink on fabric is a perfect example of that. At first, I really did not like this piece, but Judy did. So what exactly is going on here in the piece? Only the artist knew for sure. But, the more we studied it, the more it grew on us, and both of us just can't get enough of it.

Judy sums it up best when she describes this piece as "subtle and strong at the same time." It is by American painter, printmaker, and architect Benton Spruance (1904–1967) who is best known for portraits as well as works with religious or mythological themes. In March, 2018 Swann Auction Galleries sold Spruance's Riders of the Apocalypse for $27,500; it was estimated at $20,000-30,000.

What's A Few Million Amongst Friends?

Good things come in threes with this amazing Pantages Portfolio painting discovered  in the depths of the consignor's basement. It was tucked up against an appliance with laundry soap, and covered in spiders and basement debris. No wonder the clown in the pink hat looks so sad!

This work caught Peter's eye and Judy started to investigate it immediately. The painting is by the German artist Karl Hofer (1878 - 1955) and is marked with this paper label on the back. The piece appears to be named "Masquerade."

The highest price ever paid for one Hofer's works is EIGHTEEN MILLION US DOLLARS. The value of this picture is TBD (but hopefully close to that!) On May 16, 2017, Christies sold a Hofer painting of a bathing Hindi girl; it was estimated at $150,000-200,000 and realized $391,500.