One of our featured artists this April is German-born American sculptor, Adolph Alexander Weinman. Weinman’s work embraces both the storied past of his influences and predecessors as well as the developing aesthetic of the modern era.
Weinman immigrated to the United States at age 14 and studied art at Cooper Union and the Art Students League of New York — where he was influenced by the work of Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Weinman later assisted several notable sculptors in their studios, including Daniel Chester French, the sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial monument in Washington, D.C. French’s impact on Weinman’s style is apparent in many of his public works, including his own statue of Lincoln at the Kentucky State Capitol, and in Neo-Classical decorative sculptures like Fountain of the Centaurs, located at the Missouri State Capitol.
Weinman is also known for his architectural sculptures, some of which grace the facades of the most prominent buildings in Washington, D.C. Weinman designed and sculpted the pediment scenes on both the National Archives Building and the Jefferson Memorial, with the latter featuring an iconic portrayal of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Weinman is remembered as a celebrated medalist as well. His designs on the Mercury dime and Walking Liberty half dollar circulated in the early 20th century and were later used on commemorative coins. Weinman’s skill in metallurgy can be seen in the bronze sculpture in the April sale, a nude female figure dancing with a hoop. The hoop motif was popular for bronze statuettes during the Art Deco period, but Weinman added his own Neo-Classical touch by making the figure nude — with great concentration on anatomy — as opposed to the flapper-like depictions of the era.
George Morrison was a Native American artist well known for his abstract paintings and landscapes.
Artist Spotlight
Modern + Contemporary
Artist Spotlight: Hernando Ruiz Ocampo
Artist Spotlight
Modern + Contemporary
This March at Clars, we are privileged and honored to present a very important work by 1991 National Artist of the Philippines, Hernando Ruiz Ocampo.
Ocampo stands as an iconic artist in the Philippines, being a leader of modernist painting in the country during the first half of the twentieth century. As a painter who ushered in an era of creative exploration in the country, Ocampo developed a singular style that expressed the Filipino experience through emotive color, form, and abstraction.
Ocampo was born and raised in greater Manila in 1911 and studied both law and writing — becoming an accomplished poet and fiction writer before approaching the visual arts. His early painting career is marked by experimentation with modes of expression, including a series titled Luetica, for which his visceral depictions of human mortality earned him strong reactions upon exhibition.
After the devastation of World War II in the Philippines, progressive artists worked to reflect the hardships and realities of life. Ocampo and his colleagues, including fellow National Artists Vicente S. Manansala and Cesar Legaspi, inaugurated a movement of distinctly Filipino Neo-Realism, combining modernist abstraction with figurative subject matter.
Neo-Realists took their inspiration from the struggles of workers, family life, poverty, and the local landscape. Although one can detect the influence of prior and concurrent movements in Europe and the United States — including Cubism and Vorticism as well as Social Realism — the Neo-Realists’ work was categorically unique in its blend of the Filipino experience with modernist aesthetics. Out of the many talented artists in his circle, Ocampo favored the freedom that abstraction afforded him in his work; and as he gained confidence in his practice, it became more symbolic and less objective in nature.
Ocampo continued to delve further into abstraction as his career progressed. His close peer, Cesar Legaspi, was quoted speaking about Ocampo’s creative evolution, stating, “I think the impact of those paintings was needed then as the controversy between the moderns and the conservatives was going full blast and we had to have some kind of exemplar as to how far and how powerful a new kind of art could be.”
While Ocampo did create paintings that used abstraction while still forming a recognizable scene, such as the landscape Reaching for the Moon and the mother and child figures in Break of Day, his most well-known pieces are those that allow for open interpretation and push viewers to investigate their own subconscious. Here, the painter relies on formal elements to create a sensory experience. The principles of color and shape were fundamental to Ocampo’s work in the later years of his career. One can identify his personal connection to the color orange in many of his works, and he uses amorphous and organic shapes like tiles to form imposing structures — painstakingly faceted with vivid tones to achieve depth and form.
The monumental work by Ocampo in our March sale, one of only two made by the artist in this size, is titled Mga Kiti, which can be taken as a reference to either duck embryos or mosquito larvae. Dating to 1978, the scroll-like painting, done in acrylic paint on Tetoron fabric, showcases a repeating pattern of similar forms that echo human figures, the bodies of birds, lotus pods, and cellular structures. The background — painted a deep red that graduates into lighter crimson — recalls blood, with the small circles sprinkled throughout suggesting blood cells. Yellow linework traces throughout the length of the painting in a style reminiscent of batik, a medium originating in the neighboring country of Indonesia, and further separates the areas of red, black, and orange like cells dividing.
The lines and colors seem to undulate, expand, and contract — like compartments of breathing lungs. Like in much of his previous work, Ocampo utilizes color, specifically in the spectrum of orange, and creates a mosaic-like composition. Although the piece was commissioned by patron, Ginny Jacinto, the idea of regeneration may have been close to Ocampo’s own heart during its creation; the artist was in his late sixties and dealing with multiple health issues. Mga Kiti was Ocampo’s final painting before his death in December of 1978. Its themes of renewal, movement, and creation seem to be a summation of his work — the balance between figuration and abstraction, and a pure expression of life itself. Mga Kiti serves as a grand testament to Ocampo’s talents as a master of his craft both in formal composition, with his uncanny ability to evoke tactility and sensoriality, and as a translator of ideas, emotion, and the creative force from which all art originates.
From 1960 to 2020, Stone had a prominent New York City gallery that was known for showing artists such as: Wayne Thiebaud, Eva Hesse, Jack Whitten, and more.
This March at Clars we are proud to feature a work on paper and a print by one of the most well-loved modern artists of Bay Area origin.
Artist Spotlight
Modern + Contemporary
Artist Spotlight: Matt Gondek
Artist Spotlight
Modern + Contemporary
A standout piece in our March Modern + Contemporary sale is this large acrylic on canvas painting by Los Angeles-based artist, Matt Gondek.
Gondek is known for colorful canvases with thick, bold lines depicting cartoon and comic book characters from the late 20th century, often exploding, melting, or in some way deconstructed through a darkly humorous lens.
The painting at Clars this month will look familiar to millennial collectors; the scene shows the characters from the Nickelodeon cartoon show Rugrats in a state of fragmentation. Followers of Clars will remember the Gondek painting in our November 2023 sale depicting 1990s Warner Brothers characters, Pinky and the Brain, which sold at auction for $12,600.
From 1960 to 2020, Stone had a prominent New York City gallery that was known for showing artists such as: Wayne Thiebaud, Eva Hesse, Jack Whitten, and more.
This March at Clars we are proud to feature a work on paper and a print by one of the most well-loved modern artists of Bay Area origin.
Artist Spotlight
Modern + Contemporary
Artist Spotlight: Joan Brown
Artist Spotlight
Modern + Contemporary
“How do I know when I’ve finished a painting? It’s when that element of surprise is there” (Joan Brown). This March at Clars we are proud to feature a work on paper and a print by one of the most well-loved modern artists of Bay Area origin.
Joan Brown was born in San Francisco in 1938 and continued to work in the area for her entire life, creating paintings, sculptures, and works on paper that celebrated the city of San Francisco and its surroundings. Brown began her art education at the California School of Fine Arts (now the San Francisco Art Institute) where she began working with her mentor — fellow Bay Area icon, Elmer Bischoff — who she credited with encouraging her to focus on her own creative instincts and less on academic rules.
During her prolific career, Brown evolved stylistically from abstract expressionism to folk art-inspired figurative painting and became involved in the highly influential Bay Area Figurative Movement. Brown was married for a period to a fellow member of the movement, Manuel Neri, with whom she had a son who inspired much of her work during the 1960s. Brown also taught at several California universities during the 1960s, including the California School of Fine Arts, Mills College, and UC Berkeley.
As she matured in her practiced, Brown included more symbolism in her paintings, including spiritual and New Age ideas. This interest led her to travel the world and gather inspiration from various religions and cultures — installing mosaic obelisks honoring these new influences. Brown tragically passed away while installing one of these obelisks at Sai Baba’s Eternal Heritage Museum in Puttaparthi, India. The works included in the March auction are a gouache and pencil on paper piece, titled Running at Ocean Beach, which depicts the artist jogging at the famous San Francisco seaside, and a woodcut/lithograph, titled Golden Gate, depicting the renowned bridge at sunset with a swimmer and boater in the blue bay waters.
From 1960 to 2020, Stone had a prominent New York City gallery that was known for showing artists such as: Wayne Thiebaud, Eva Hesse, Jack Whitten, and more.
Estate Spotlight
Modern + Contemporary
Artist Spotlight: Paul Sawyier
Artist Spotlight
Fine Art
This January at Clars we are pleased to offer two paintings by American Impressionist, Paul Sawyier.
Sawyier was born in Ohio in 1865 and raised in Frankfort, Kentucky. He traveled first to The McMicken School of Design (now the Art Academy of Cincinnati) to study under Frank Duveneck, and later to New York to study under William Merritt Chase at the Arts Students League of New York.
Early in his career, Sawyier excelled in portraiture, painting the likenesses of well-known figures in his community. Although he sometimes included figures in his subsequent paintings, they mostly focused on rural landscapes. Known primarily for his watercolor depictions of scenery in Kentucky and New York, Sawyier gained enough recognition in art circles to exhibit work at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893.
After his professional painting career ended, Sawyier retired to a houseboat in the New York Catskills. He was known to paint in the area en plein air, both in oils and watercolor. Sawyier is notable not only for being one of the only painters from Kentucky working in the Impressionist style during the turn of the century, but also for his ability to capture the atmosphere and tranquility of his surroundings. Although distinctly impressionistic, Sawyier’s work does retain aspects of Realism and Romanticism, perhaps preserved from his years studying in arts academies. Sawyier remains one of Kentucky’s most celebrated artists, and his work is collected in several large museums nationwide.
George Morrison was a Native American artist well known for his abstract paintings and landscapes.
Artist Spotlight
Modern + Contemporary
Artist Spotlight: William T. Wiley
Artist Spotlight
Modern + Contemporary
A notable work in our October Collections Auction is a large print by funk artist, William T. Wiley. Wiley began his artistic studies at the California School of Fine Arts (now the San Francisco Art Institute), and later taught at U.C. Davis alongside artists Roy DeForest and Robert Arneson.
As an associate of the Funk Art movement, Wiley was a purveyor of using unconventional materials, eschewing the Minimalist trend and embracing chaos. He often described himself as a sort of spiritual descendent of Marcel Duchamp, building upon the Dadaist tradition of absurdity. One of Wiley’s graduate students was Bruce Nauman, who would go on to become one of the biggest names in American Conceptual art. Nauman remembered Wiley as keeping his studio open at all hours for students. In doing this, young artists could practice their craft and work through creative blocks.
Wiley’s work has been the subject of major exhibitions, including showings at the 1980 Venice Biennial, the de Young Museum, and a retrospective at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. The monumental woodcut print featured this month is titled Mr. Bones, and features hand coloring by the artist.
The piece demonstrates Wiley’s eclectic visual style, including sketchy, movement-heavy lines and text interspersed throughout, with a humorous, surrealist-inspired subject. Wiley was known for wearing blue jeans and cowboy boots around his Marin County home, a look that is replicated on the aforementioned character of Mr. Bones. His peers and neighbors lovingly referred to the artist as a frontiersman for his choices in wardrobe, but within the artistic community of the San Francisco Bay Area he was exactly that — a pioneer of experimentation.
From 1960 to 2020, Stone had a prominent New York City gallery that was known for showing artists such as: Wayne Thiebaud, Eva Hesse, Jack Whitten, and more.
Estate Spotlight
Modern + Contemporary
Artist Spotlight: George Morrison
Artist Spotlight
Modern + Contemporary
“I seek the power of the rock, the magic of the water, the religion of the tree, the color of the wind, and the enigma of the horizon,” George Morrison (American, 1919–2000).
George Morrison was a Native American artist well known for his abstract paintings and landscapes. Morrison captured the American landscape and environment in vibrant multicolored paintings through the lens of the Chippewa tribe’s culture.
Morrison was born Wah Wah Teh Go Nay Ga Bo (Standing in the Northern Lights) in 1919 on the Grand Portage Indian Reservation, MN, a rural fishing village on the north shore of Lake Superior. He began drawing as a child while he was confined to a full-body cast after a surgery. He later attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, graduating in 1938.
After graduation, Morrison associated himself with a group of Abstract Expressionist painters in New York City. He graduated from New York’s Art Students League in 1946. There he would find critical acclaim, and eventually, as a Fulbright scholar, he studied and worked in Paris and Aix-en-Provence.
He began a teaching career at Cape Ann Art School in Massachusetts and continued to teach art and Native American studies at various institutions, such as the Rhode Island School of Design and University of Minnesota, throughout his life. While teaching Morrison also produced art and showed his work — primarily in the Midwestern United States.
Later in life, he would go on to receive several important commissions and continue his work on the Grand Portage Indian Reservation — creating prolifically assembled totemic sculptures and making horizon-line paintings. In 2022, a selection of five of his paintings were commemorated by the United States Postal Service as Forever Stamps.
From 1960 to 2020, Stone had a prominent New York City gallery that was known for showing artists such as: Wayne Thiebaud, Eva Hesse, Jack Whitten, and more.
Estate Spotlight
Modern + Contemporary
Artist Spotlight: Annie Leibovitz
Artist Spotlight
Modern + Contemporary
Annie Leibovitz began her artistic career at the San Francisco Art Institute in the late 1960s, where she originally studied painting but was inspired to change her focus to photography. In 1970, Leibovitz began working as a staff photographer for Rolling Stone magazine, where she continued to photograph musicians such as John Lennon and Fleetwood Mac for 13 years.
In 1970, the then 21-year-old Leibovitz secured an interview with Jann Wenner, the founding editor of Rolling Stone. Impressed by her portfolio, Wenner entrusted her with her inaugural task, capturing photos of John Lennon in New York. The photograph to be offered at Clars’ Fall Modern + Contemporary Art Auction originates from the momentous session and effectively captures a portion of the lighthearted essence shared by the renowned couple. An image of Lennon by Leibovitz from this series graced the cover of Rolling Stone in January 1971, marking a pivotal juncture in the early journey of this significant photographer. She quickly gained recognition for her distinctive style of capturing candid and intimate moments with musicians and celebrities.
Nearly a decade after, on December 8, 1980, Leibovitz captured the iconic photo of a nude Lennon embracing a clothed Yoko. In taking this photo, Leibovitz became the final professional photographer to immortalize Lennon before his tragic shooting and death, which happened just five hours later. Her iconic photograph of John and Yoko is one of her most famous works from that era. Leibovitz’s photographs for Rolling Stone helped redefine the concept of celebrity portraiture and set a new standard for the magazine’s visual identity.
In 1983, Leibovitz started working with Vanity Fair magazine, and in 1991, she was the first woman to stage an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London. In her personal life, Leibovitz was the long-time partner of writer and philosopher Susan Sontag and has three daughters.
From 1960 to 2020, Stone had a prominent New York City gallery that was known for showing artists such as: Wayne Thiebaud, Eva Hesse, Jack Whitten, and more.
Estate Spotlight
Modern + Contemporary
Artist Spotlight: Henrietta Berk
Artist Spotlight
Fine Art
Exploring Intimacy and Connection: Henrietta Berk’s Oil on Canvas Portrait of Phyllis Diebenkorn
In the illustrious realm of the Bay Area Figurative Movement, where artists sought to rekindle a connection with the human form, Henrietta Berk’s artistic prowess stood out as she delved into the intricacies of human emotion and intimacy. One of her most enigmatic works was an oil on canvas portrait of Phyllis Diebenkorn, the wife and muse of acclaimed artist Richard Diebenkorn. This captivating portrait not only immortalizes Phyllis but also offers a glimpse into the personal connections within the artistic community of the mid-20th century Bay Area.
In the 1950’s, the Bay Area Figurative Movement emerged as a reaction against the prevailing abstract expressionism. The movement emphasized figurative and representational art, and it sought to reconnect with the human form, exploring a more tangible and recognizable approach to artistic expression. Fueled by the desire to break away from abstract expressionism, artists like David Park, Wayne Thiebaud, Raimonds Staprans, James Weeks, and Richard Diebenkorn sought to reintroduce representational art — infusing it with an emotive and personal touch.
Henrietta Berk was an American painter known for her significant contributions to the Bay Area Figurative Movement. She was born in the San Francisco Bay Area and pursued her passion for art from an early age. Berk’s artistic journey was deeply intertwined with the movement and the artists who shaped it. She studied under the tutelage of Richard Diebenkorn at the California College of the Arts. She was a part of the “Bridge Generation” of the Bay Area Figurative movement, which included the artists: Nathan Oliveira, Theophilus Brown, Paul Wonner, and Frank Lobdell.
Phyllis Diebenkorn played an essential role in Richard’s life and work. As a muse and a pillar of support, she provided invaluable insight into Richard’s creative process. A frequent model in Richard’s work, she appears in many of his paintings and drawings. Through Berk’s lens, we get a glimpse of Phyllis as more than just a subject — her portrait reveals a woman of depth, grace, and secretive allure.
In Berk’s oil on canvas portrait of Phyllis, she captures an intimate and tender moment. The deft brushstrokes emphasize Phyllis’ ethereal presence. The interplay of light and shadow add a sense of mystery, inviting the viewer to delve deeper into the subject’s thoughts and emotions.
Berk’s portrait of Phyllis Diebenkorn not only serves as a testament to her artistic skill but also as a window into the lives of influential figures within the Bay Area Figurative Movement. The painting stands as a poignant reminder of the connection between art and personal relationships. Through this portrait, we are invited to explore the intimacy and emotions that underpin the relationships between artists and their muses, weaving a captivating tale of people who defined the Bay Area Figurative Movement.
As an associate of the Funk Art movement, Wiley was a purveyor of using unconventional materials.
Artist Spotlight
Modern + Contemporary
Artist Spotlight: Percy Gray
Artist Spotlight
Fine Art
Percy Gray was an American artist known for his landscape and still life paintings. Born 1869 in San Francisco, California, Gray became a prominent figure in the California plein air movement. He studied at the California School of Design and later taught there as well.
Gray’s artwork often depicted the natural beauty of California, particularly its coastal and mountainous landscapes. He had a keen eye for capturing the interplay of light and shadow in his paintings, showcasing a strong sense of atmosphere and mood. Gray’s brushwork was characterized by loose, impressionistic strokes that conveyed a sense of spontaneity and vitality.
Path to the Foothills captures the serene beauty of nature with its delicate brushstrokes and vibrant hues. The way Gray skillfully portrays the winding path leading through the foothills is simply mesmerizing. Gray’s mastery of watercolor shines through in this piece, as he effortlessly captures the essence of the Californian landscape with lush foliage and distant mountains.
Throughout his career, Gray exhibited his works extensively — both locally and nationally. He was a member of various art societies, including the Bohemian Club and the California Art Club. Today, Percy Gray’s paintings can be found in private collections and museums, contributing to the legacy of California Impressionism.