John Bond Francisco (American, 1863-1931), The Foothills of California, Tejon Ranch, circa 1929. Oil on canvas, 33-1/2 x 45 inches.
A spectacular early 20th Century landscape by Alson Skinner Clark (1876-1949), Shore by the Saint Lawrence (October Bouquet), 1916, is expected to bring $ 175,000+ when it crosses the block as a principal highlight of Heritage Auctions’ inaugural California Art Signature® Auction, March 20, in the company’s Beverly Hills salesroom.
“This work is one of the major artistic achievements of Clark’s career,” said Deborah Solon, West Coast Director of American Art at Heritage, “and it’s a good one indeed to anchor our first auction of early California art. Shore by the Saint Lawrence, painted upon his return to America after being forced from France at the beginning of World War I, literally explodes in a riot of color, divided brushwork and wonderful lighting effect.”
Raised in Chicago, Clark took evening classes at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and went on to study with luminaries such as William Merritt Chase and James Abbott McNeill Whistler. While influenced early by Whistler’s somber palette, Clark became a devotee of French Impressionism, spending time in Giverny, where a large American colony had developed. After settling in California, Clark retained his devotion to the techniques typical of Impressionism.
The auction importantly marks the first time that Heritage will be featuring the art of California exclusively, following the recent additions of Solon and Alissa Ford as Director of California Art.
“The market for the best of California art is full of dedicated, passionate collectors,” said Ford, “and Heritage is in a perfect place to fill that need. This auction will be just the first of many that will, hopefully, show collectors that we’re the go-to venue when it comes to the paintings they love.”
One of the auction’s principal highlight is John Bond Francisco’s The Foothills of California, Tejon Ranch, circa 1929, estimated at $60,000+. Francisco, one of the earliest and most important L.A. artists at the turn-of-the-twentieth century, originally trained as an academic painter, but his style changed as he was lured by the light and lushness of California. By the late 1890s his brushwork loosened, his palette brightened and his paintings became some of the most important produced by any California painter during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
“This work, like so many of Francisco’s, is a celebration of the untamed beauty of the mountain landscapes that covered the region,” said Solon. “One contemporary critic declared that Francisco’s admirers – and they are many who swear by him – declare that he alone paints Southern California as it should be painted.”
You can read the full article via ArtDaily here.
