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Art Fix Daily
Sept 3 2014
Four important oil paintings are added to Ahlers & Ogletree's Oct. 4-5 auction
Atlanta , Georgia
ATLANTA, Ga. - Four original oil paintings from the renowned James
Cowan Collection of fine artwork, gathered in the early part of the
last century and mostly housed at a museum in Nashville, have been
added to Ahlers & Ogletree's already loaded two-day Fall Estates
Auction event slated for Oct. 4-5, in the firm's gallery located at
715 Miami Circle (Suite 210) in Atlanta.
The artworks are by the Armenian-American artist Hovsep Pushman
(1877-1966); American artist Lillian Mathilde Genth (1876-1953); the
Dutch-American artist Willem Van Den Berg (1886-1970); and the
British-Italian painter Henry King Taylor (1799-1869). The works will
blend nicely with the high-end furniture pieces and decorative
accessories already in the sale.
The signed oil on wood panel by Hovsep Pushman is seen as the
strongest piece of the group, with a pre-sale estimate of
$30,000-$50,000. Titled Sacred Lotus of the Nile, the 28 inch by 20
inch work (minus the original gilt and ebonized frame) depicts a woman
at bust length with dark hair and wearing a jeweled tiara, necklace
and emerald green camisole, with Asian sculptural objects. The back of
the work is inscribed with the title, and has a stamp from a
photography studio in Aurora, Ill., where Cowan lived. The back also
has a possible inventory number ("3A").
Pushman was born in Asia Minor (Armenia). When he was still in his
teens his family emigrated to Chicago, where he studied Chinese
culture, immersing himself in Asian art (a subject that was to become
his forte). Pushman studied in Paris and toured the Orient, and was
best known for his contemplative still lifes and sensitive portraits
of women (such as the painting in this auction).
The oil on canvas painting by Henry King Taylor, titled Marine
Painting with Promontory, is an apparently unsigned attribution, but
with a pencil inscription signed "H. K. Taylor." The work depicts
sailboats (or schooners) on a tumultuous and choppy sea, with two
standing male figures. Measuring 16 inches by 24 inches (minus frame)
the painting is expected to hit $8,000-$12,000.
Henry King Taylor was a master at the tricky genre of maritime
paintings. He lived and was active in both Italy and the United
Kingdom, which made him something of an anomaly in the art world, and
his paintings today are highly sought after. In Feb. 2007, one of his
ships-at-sea works, titled Mount Orgueil Castle, Jersey, was sold
through Bonhams in London for $27,774.
Lillian Mathilde Genth's signed oil on board, titled Oldest Water
Fountain, Tangier (est. $2,000-$4,000), depicts an Orientalist
Tangier, Morocco cityscape, loosely and expressively rendered with
Moorish architecture and figures in turbans and other traditional
dress. The frame holding the 9 3/4 inch by 13 3/4 inch painting displays
the artist's name and the title plaque on the bottom.
Genth was born in New York and died in Philadelphia, but she traveled
the world in between. She was known early on for her paintings of
female nudes in landscapes, but later in her career - around 1928 -
she started painting scenes of her many travels, which took her to
Spain, North Africa, Japan, China, Fiji, Bali, New Guinea and
Thailand, where she did a portrait of the King.
The 16 1/2 inch by 13 1/4 inch (minus the frame) oil on canvas painting by
Willem Van Den Berg, titled Child with Fishbowl, carries a modest
pre-sale estimate of $1,500-$3,000. The painting, signed lower right,
is a figural work, depicting a boy or girl child wearing a large white
collar over a black top holding a glass fish bowl with bright orange
goldfish swimming inside the bowl.
Van Den Berg was Dutch-born, but he split his time between Holland and
the United States, where his work was exhibited at the Art Institute
of Chicago in 1935. He also studied in Paris, at the Barbizon School.
His oeuvres included still lifes and figural paintings, as well as
portraits and landscapes, but he's probably best known for his images
of peasants, farmers and fishermen.
Eager bidders will find the paintings' provenance nearly as
tantalizing as the desirable artworks themselves. In 1927, the city of
Nashville received an anonymous donation of fine art - dozens of
paintings that became the signature collection of the city's new art
museum at the Parthenon, a copy of the Greek temple built for an
exposition in a Centennial Park in downtown Nashville.
It was revealed that the paintings had been given to the city by James
M. Cowan, a wealthy insurance executive from Illinois with deep family
ties to Tennessee. Cowan donated a total of 63 paintings to the
museum, but that was less than one-tenth of the estimated 700 works of
art that he'd collected. Cowan had no children and the collection was
broken up following his death.
Various nieces and nephews inherited the bulk of the estate. Dr.
Kirven Weekley, a lineal descendant of Cowan, is the consignor of the
paintings in the Ahlers & Ogletree auction (his maternal grandfather
was Cowan's nephew, and he acquired them through inheritance). His
decision to part with the paintings presents a rare opportunity for
serious collectors of fine art.
The auction was already packed with fine American and French
furniture, a collection of antique Persian rugs, watches and other
estate jewelry, landscape paintings by noted Austrian artists,
scientific objects in excellent condition, sterling silver, Flora
Danica china, decorative objects and a great selection of items from
private collections out of Florida, Atlanta and St. Louis, Mo.
More than 1,000 quality, mostly fresh-to-the-market lots will cross
the auction block, in a wide array of categories. Doors will open at
10 a.m. on both days, and start times both days will be 11 a.m.
Eastern time. Previews will be held at the Ahlers & Ogletree gallery
from Wednesday thru Friday (Oct. 1-3), from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The
Thursday preview will extend until 9 o'clock p.m.
Internet bidding will be facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com and
Invaluable.com. Bidders wishing to participate online should register
with their platform of choice up to 24 hours prior to auction. Phone
and absentee bids will be taken up to 24 hours prior to sale.
Inquiries regarding bidding or the auction may be made via e-mail
([email protected]) or by phone, at (404) 869-2478.
Ahlers & Ogletree is a multi-faceted, family-owned business that spans
the antiques, estate sale, wholesale, liquidation, auction and related
industries. Ahlers & Ogletree is always seeking quality consignments
for future auctions. To consign an item, an estate or a collection,
you may call them at (404) 869-2478; or, you can e-mail them at
[email protected].
To learn more about Ahlers & Ogletree and the Oct. 4th-5th Fall
Estates Auction, please log on to www.AandOAuctions.com. All items for
sale in the auction may be viewed in a virtual catalog on the website,
at the address given above. Light refreshments will be served on both
auction days.
30 -
Press Contact:
Robert Ahlers
Ahlers & Ogletree
P: (404) 869-2478
[email protected]
http://www.artfixdaily.com/artwire/release/4044-four-important-oil-paintings-are-added-to-ahlers-and-ogletrees-oc
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Sept 3 2014
Four important oil paintings are added to Ahlers & Ogletree's Oct. 4-5 auction
Atlanta , Georgia
ATLANTA, Ga. - Four original oil paintings from the renowned James
Cowan Collection of fine artwork, gathered in the early part of the
last century and mostly housed at a museum in Nashville, have been
added to Ahlers & Ogletree's already loaded two-day Fall Estates
Auction event slated for Oct. 4-5, in the firm's gallery located at
715 Miami Circle (Suite 210) in Atlanta.
The artworks are by the Armenian-American artist Hovsep Pushman
(1877-1966); American artist Lillian Mathilde Genth (1876-1953); the
Dutch-American artist Willem Van Den Berg (1886-1970); and the
British-Italian painter Henry King Taylor (1799-1869). The works will
blend nicely with the high-end furniture pieces and decorative
accessories already in the sale.
The signed oil on wood panel by Hovsep Pushman is seen as the
strongest piece of the group, with a pre-sale estimate of
$30,000-$50,000. Titled Sacred Lotus of the Nile, the 28 inch by 20
inch work (minus the original gilt and ebonized frame) depicts a woman
at bust length with dark hair and wearing a jeweled tiara, necklace
and emerald green camisole, with Asian sculptural objects. The back of
the work is inscribed with the title, and has a stamp from a
photography studio in Aurora, Ill., where Cowan lived. The back also
has a possible inventory number ("3A").
Pushman was born in Asia Minor (Armenia). When he was still in his
teens his family emigrated to Chicago, where he studied Chinese
culture, immersing himself in Asian art (a subject that was to become
his forte). Pushman studied in Paris and toured the Orient, and was
best known for his contemplative still lifes and sensitive portraits
of women (such as the painting in this auction).
The oil on canvas painting by Henry King Taylor, titled Marine
Painting with Promontory, is an apparently unsigned attribution, but
with a pencil inscription signed "H. K. Taylor." The work depicts
sailboats (or schooners) on a tumultuous and choppy sea, with two
standing male figures. Measuring 16 inches by 24 inches (minus frame)
the painting is expected to hit $8,000-$12,000.
Henry King Taylor was a master at the tricky genre of maritime
paintings. He lived and was active in both Italy and the United
Kingdom, which made him something of an anomaly in the art world, and
his paintings today are highly sought after. In Feb. 2007, one of his
ships-at-sea works, titled Mount Orgueil Castle, Jersey, was sold
through Bonhams in London for $27,774.
Lillian Mathilde Genth's signed oil on board, titled Oldest Water
Fountain, Tangier (est. $2,000-$4,000), depicts an Orientalist
Tangier, Morocco cityscape, loosely and expressively rendered with
Moorish architecture and figures in turbans and other traditional
dress. The frame holding the 9 3/4 inch by 13 3/4 inch painting displays
the artist's name and the title plaque on the bottom.
Genth was born in New York and died in Philadelphia, but she traveled
the world in between. She was known early on for her paintings of
female nudes in landscapes, but later in her career - around 1928 -
she started painting scenes of her many travels, which took her to
Spain, North Africa, Japan, China, Fiji, Bali, New Guinea and
Thailand, where she did a portrait of the King.
The 16 1/2 inch by 13 1/4 inch (minus the frame) oil on canvas painting by
Willem Van Den Berg, titled Child with Fishbowl, carries a modest
pre-sale estimate of $1,500-$3,000. The painting, signed lower right,
is a figural work, depicting a boy or girl child wearing a large white
collar over a black top holding a glass fish bowl with bright orange
goldfish swimming inside the bowl.
Van Den Berg was Dutch-born, but he split his time between Holland and
the United States, where his work was exhibited at the Art Institute
of Chicago in 1935. He also studied in Paris, at the Barbizon School.
His oeuvres included still lifes and figural paintings, as well as
portraits and landscapes, but he's probably best known for his images
of peasants, farmers and fishermen.
Eager bidders will find the paintings' provenance nearly as
tantalizing as the desirable artworks themselves. In 1927, the city of
Nashville received an anonymous donation of fine art - dozens of
paintings that became the signature collection of the city's new art
museum at the Parthenon, a copy of the Greek temple built for an
exposition in a Centennial Park in downtown Nashville.
It was revealed that the paintings had been given to the city by James
M. Cowan, a wealthy insurance executive from Illinois with deep family
ties to Tennessee. Cowan donated a total of 63 paintings to the
museum, but that was less than one-tenth of the estimated 700 works of
art that he'd collected. Cowan had no children and the collection was
broken up following his death.
Various nieces and nephews inherited the bulk of the estate. Dr.
Kirven Weekley, a lineal descendant of Cowan, is the consignor of the
paintings in the Ahlers & Ogletree auction (his maternal grandfather
was Cowan's nephew, and he acquired them through inheritance). His
decision to part with the paintings presents a rare opportunity for
serious collectors of fine art.
The auction was already packed with fine American and French
furniture, a collection of antique Persian rugs, watches and other
estate jewelry, landscape paintings by noted Austrian artists,
scientific objects in excellent condition, sterling silver, Flora
Danica china, decorative objects and a great selection of items from
private collections out of Florida, Atlanta and St. Louis, Mo.
More than 1,000 quality, mostly fresh-to-the-market lots will cross
the auction block, in a wide array of categories. Doors will open at
10 a.m. on both days, and start times both days will be 11 a.m.
Eastern time. Previews will be held at the Ahlers & Ogletree gallery
from Wednesday thru Friday (Oct. 1-3), from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The
Thursday preview will extend until 9 o'clock p.m.
Internet bidding will be facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com and
Invaluable.com. Bidders wishing to participate online should register
with their platform of choice up to 24 hours prior to auction. Phone
and absentee bids will be taken up to 24 hours prior to sale.
Inquiries regarding bidding or the auction may be made via e-mail
([email protected]) or by phone, at (404) 869-2478.
Ahlers & Ogletree is a multi-faceted, family-owned business that spans
the antiques, estate sale, wholesale, liquidation, auction and related
industries. Ahlers & Ogletree is always seeking quality consignments
for future auctions. To consign an item, an estate or a collection,
you may call them at (404) 869-2478; or, you can e-mail them at
[email protected].
To learn more about Ahlers & Ogletree and the Oct. 4th-5th Fall
Estates Auction, please log on to www.AandOAuctions.com. All items for
sale in the auction may be viewed in a virtual catalog on the website,
at the address given above. Light refreshments will be served on both
auction days.
30 -
Press Contact:
Robert Ahlers
Ahlers & Ogletree
P: (404) 869-2478
[email protected]
http://www.artfixdaily.com/artwire/release/4044-four-important-oil-paintings-are-added-to-ahlers-and-ogletrees-oc
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress