PBS KVIE + Clars Asian Art

Asian Art
Event

Harry Huang, Associate Director of Asian Art at Clars, spoke to Rob Stewart, PBS TV Host & Executive Producer, on the beauty and intricacies of a Mughal style jade vase for 2023’s Antique Valuation Day.

Clars Asian Art Director, Harry Huang, and PBS KVIE — Harry and Rob beside a Mughal style jade vase with linked cover.

The very well-hollowed vessel is finely carved in low relief with bamboo, plum blossom, and chrysanthemum, along with a pair of magpies. The shoulders display a pair of openwork peony handles and the cover is decorated with a floral form finial.

This vase is carved out of a single piece of nephrite jade stone — executed in the Mughal style — with a thin body and cover linked by finely carved chains. The plants and the pair of magpies signify the arrival of spring, which grants well wishes for the New Year.

Artist Spotlight: Tom Wesselmann

Artist Spotlight
Modern + Contemporary

American artist Tom Wesselmann began his career in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, later moving to New York City to teach art, where his creativity blossomed, and he began his Great American Nude series.

For over a decade, Wesselmann added to the series, which consisted of works both small and large depicting the nude female form in a variety of poses, and always surrounded by objects familiar to his American audience, including ice cream sundaes, radiators, and Camel cigarettes, to name a few. These elements in Wesselmann’s work, which were sometimes collaged from photographs or painted by the artist himself, led many to include him in the burgeoning Pop Art movement of the 1960s.

The Great American Nude #13. — Tom Wesselmann (American, 1931–2004), *The Great American Nude #13*, 1962, oil, fabric, and collage cut-outs on tin, 7″ x 7″.
**Sold: $162,500**

Wesselmann himself rejected this label, saying he utilized the objects in his compositions not to make a statement on consumerism, but because of his interest in the aesthetics of the everyday. Indeed, the works in Wesselmann’s Great American Nude series show Coca-Cola bottles, presidential portraits, and rotary telephones decorating the background of each room; objects of American mundanity, juxtaposed with the playful and dynamic nude figures for which the artist is known.

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).

Born on February 13, 1938, she was a San Francisco native. Brown studied at the California School of Fine Art and was a prominent member of the second generation Bay Area Figurative movement. In 1960, at the age of 22, Brown had her first museum show occur at the Whitney Biennial in New York, showcasing her abstract expressionist paintings. After divorcing her first husband, Bill Brown, she was married to Bay Area Figurative sculptor, Manuel Neri, from 1962 to 1966.

Joan Brown (American, 1938–1990), *Cucumber and Lemon*, 1965, oil on plywood board, 16.25″ x 15″.
Sold: $31,250

Brown taught introductory painting and drawing classes at the California School of Fine Arts and University of California, Berkeley. Later in her career, Brown became increasingly interested in public sculpture. On October 26, 1990, Brown travelled to India to help with the installation of one of her obelisks. Brown died along with others, when a concrete turret from the floor above collapsed while they were installing the mosaic obelisk.

Dragon Vases Soar Above Estimates

Asian Art
Stories & News

Clars Auction Gallery had an excellent August sale with many highlights and strong prices in our Asian Art Department.

Dozens of telephone bidders were vying for two Chinese imperial bronze ‘dragon’ vases. These vases soared well above estimate to realize a price of $245,000.

Asian Art Dragon Vases — **Left:** Chinese imperial bronze ‘dragon’ vase, mark and period of Qianlong. **Right:** Chinese imperial bronze ‘dragon’ vase, mark and period of Jiaqing.
**Sold: $245,000**

Each features five-clawed dragons in pursuit of flaming pearls amid scrolling clouds in low relief. The precision and intricacy of the molding indicates the imperial origin, while the patina on the surface demonstrates the age. One statue has the inscription “Qianlong Nianzao of the Great Qing Dynasty” and the other has the book “Great Qing Jiaqing Nianzao,” both of which were purchased in Tokyo, Japan around 1949.

PBS KVIE + Clars Asian Art

Harry Huang, Associate Director of Asian Art at Clars, spoke to Rob Stewart, PBS TV Host & Executive Producer, on the beauty and intricacies of a Mughal style jade vase for 2023’s Antique Valuation Day.

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American artist Tom Wesselmann began his career in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, later moving to New York City to teach art, where his creativity blossomed, and he began his Great American Nude series.

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“How do I know when I’ve finished a painting? It’s when that element of surprise is there” (Joan Brown).

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