Saturday, June 12, 2010
RANDOM 341 OBJECT- ONLY $14!!!
If you’ve been following along with me here at 341 for any length of time, you already know I consider myself quite the connasewer connosau konnaseur - of never mind. You know I like paintings, and I’m a little picky about what I buy.
A painting must evoke an emotion. “Awe” is a good one to evoke if you’re an artist, especially a landscape artist. “Arousal” is another good one if you paint nekked people a lot. But a few of the lesser appreciated reactions to art can be nonetheless important. “Guffaw,” “chuckle” and “grin” are three that come to mind immediately, even though they are most often left out of most “Art Appreciation” classes, most egregiously absent at the snootier schools such as the Sorebone over there in France.
While “Do Not Feed the Bears” isn’t as large as other masterpieces of this particular genre such as “Dogs Playing Poker” or “Elvis” painted on black velvet, it’s still no small work. It is painted on artist board (20” by 16”, which is 55 cm by 46 cm as noted on the back).
“Geben Sie den Bären Nahrung nicht,” as it is known in Germany, is signed, lower right: “C. Buchanan.” (I think)
And hey! That’s a very nice oak frame.
Condition: If you’d consider this painting “museum/investment” quality, then you may as well go ahead and consider it “museum/investment” condition. There ain’t nothin’ wrong with it, in other words.
Turn up your nose if you must. This painting isn’t for everybody , , , but when you get right down to it, neither is Rothko or Kandinsky. Am I right, or am I right?
As far as the artist is concerned, C. Buchanan was very well known by his close friends.
i like it.
RANDOM 341 OBJECT
BIG Vintage BLENKO Blown Glass FISH – CRYSTAL BASS-$41
As far as I can tell this big, heavy Blenko fish serves no purpose whatsoever except to sit on a table or shelf and be a fish.
Big? Yes. He’s 16” long, and his mouth is large enough to swallow a kitten. As a matter of fact, I’ll bet if you put it on the floor near a kitten the temptation to crawl in would be overwhelming. (Not you. The kitten.)
Heavy? Yes. He weighs 3 ¾ lbs., and that’s a lot of glass.
Condition? Fine. There are no dings, slobbers, scuffs, cracks, chips or anything else except, as is always the case with my stuff, it’s dusty.
It has applied eyes and applied front feet. FEET? Oh dear . . . there went my bass theory.
Friday, June 11, 2010
RANDOM 341 OBJECT
Antique 1875 PRIMITIVE Oil Painting, FISHERMEN by CLIME-$17
135 years ago, a man by the name of Jessie Clime set out to record what was going on around him. Whether he was a member of the tiny fishing community or simply passing through is something we’ll probably never know, but the scene he created is, in all likelihood a real place with real settlers going about their daily business, which, in this case involved fishing and cattle.
The painting, which has some issues as you’ll see, remains in its original gold frame.
Overall = 30” by 24” by 3” deep
Oil Painting of Stretched Canvas = 24” by 18”
I know you haven’t asked for it, but I’m going to give you my opinion anyway. I think the location is one of the freshwater lakes in the mountains of Wales. Whether the pass between the towering rock mountains leads to the sea or is the incoming runoff from higher elevations, I just don’t know. Nonetheless, the sea isn’t far away.
The painting is signed and dated, lower right: “Jessie Clime, 1875.” When it came to painting, Jessie had game. Look at the birds in the paintings – gulls I’m sure. They aren’t simply “Vees” in the sky. They have detail making them readily identifiable.
A deep pencil inscription on the back of the frame (not the stretcher) confirms my interpretation of the signature and date.
There are a lot of Climes in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, but I don’t know of any big rocks like that in those parts.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not putting Jessie Clime in a class with the fine Hudson River School painters or their European counterparts from the Victorian era. The painting is quite obviously filled with the country charm that comes with a modicum of naiveté. And after all, isn’t that what all us country nuts are out to find?
Mending the nets was a job just as important as rowing out into the lake and catching the fish. The net mender is seen, lower left.
Even though the original frame is a festival of dings and scrapes, portions of the original gilt decoration can still be seen, and the frame deserves restoration. And that bring us to the issue involving the canvas itself.
The family cared enough about the painting to have some gouges and tears mended some time ago. It has acquired a couple more since that was done, but don’t let that drive you away. As a matter of fact, I have a friend who has spent a lifetime cleaning and repairing paintings of this sort. I’d guess she charge in the neighborhood of $300, and you’d be totally thrilled with the results. (Or maybe you enjoy doing that kind of thing yourself. I don’t, but I can see how it could get in your blood.)
The worst tear with some paint loss is within the distant mountains seen through the gap. Also note the little settlement of five or six houses seen at the shoreline just inside the mountain gap on the left.
The small group of cattle gathered around a log cabin is a real plus. You don’t often see something like that in a fishing scene or any kind of seascape.
Life was probably very difficult for these hardy souls, but I’ll bet their stress levels were low to nil. I can imagine the night air filled with song – because, show me a boatload of Welsh fisherman and you’re probably looking at a group who sing in four part harmony.
