Armin C. Hansen, N.A. (1886-1957)

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Armin C. Hansen, N.A. - "Anchorage" - Etching - 5" x 6 3/8" - Plate: Signed and dated, lower left: Armin Hansen '21 <br>Titled in pencil lower left <br>Signed in pencil lower right <br> <br>Illustrated: 'The Graphic Art of Armin C. Hansen, A Catalogue Raisonne' by Anthony R. White/1986. Plate 37, page 49.
Armin C. Hansen, N.A.
"Anchorage"
1921

Armin C. Hansen, N.A. - "Cowboy Sport" - Rodeo scenes were not new for Hansen. He began painting them in 1913, after a friend took him to see the Salinas rodeo. However, it was not until 1930 that Hansen began producing and exhibiting more paintings of the Salinas rodeo in an effort to diversify his offerings. <br> <br> <br>1. This is the original partial preliminary pencil sketch for the drypoint, 4" x 7". Initialed A.H. lower right. <br>Acquired directly from the estate of Armin C. Hansen <br>Estate Stamp on reverse <br> <br>2. Original finished graphite drawing for the drypoint, 5" x 7". <br>Signed, located and dated lower right: Armin Hansen, Salinas - 1930 <br>Acquired directly from the estate of Armin C. Hansen <br> <br>3. Original drypoint, 5" x7" <br>Plate: Initialed, dated, located lower right: A.H. '30. Salinas. <br>Titled lower left in pencil; signed lower right in pencil. <br>Illustrated in 'The Graphic Art of Armin C. Hansen, A Catalogue Raisonne' by Anthony R. White/1986. Plate 111, page 121. <br> <br>The original partial preliminary pencil sketch, the original finished graphite drawing and the finished drypoint for Cowboy Sport will be sold as a complete suite – an ultimate rarity for any serious collector of Armin Hansen.
Armin C. Hansen, N.A.
"Cowboy Sport"

Armin C. Hansen, N.A. - "Empire Builders" - Oil on board - 15 3/4" 19 3/4" - Signed lower left <br>Titled and signed on reverse <br>One of two paintings that Hansen exhibited <br>at the CAA's 1936 Christmas Show. <br> <br>A symbolic creation inspired by California’s Gold Rush era in the days of the Forty Niners <br> <br>The "Empire Builders" is one of three significant paintings that Thelma B. Miller, art critic for the Carmel Pine Cone, singles out as a “new” method of painting which Armin Hansen briefly and very successfully ventured into in 1936. <br> <br>The following is excerpted from: Jennie V. Cannon: The Untold History of the Carmel and Berkeley Art Colonies, Volume 1, East Bay Heritage Project, by Robert W. Edwards/2012, page 429: <br> <br>In the summer of 1936, Hansen completed for the new library at Carmel's Sunset School his WPA Federal Art Project mural entitled 'The Span of Life', a symbolical creation in light, bright colors…'. That fall at the Carmel Art Association's Exhibition of Oils, Miller observed: The Hansen painting, 'With the Wind', seems to mark further the emergence of a new method by this outstanding artist. He has never made finer use of color than in some of his recent paintings. Of his two entries at the Carmel Art Association's Christmas Show in 1936 Miller found that one was a "blue-water" canvas in his "old method," but the other was executed in the new "symbolism which he is currently practicing" with "a whole new palette full of colors…his 'Empire Builders' inspired by the covered wagon period, but not historic or genre in style." <br> <br> <br>The following is excerpted from: Armin Hansen: The Artful Voyage by Scott A. Shields, PhD. / 2015: <br> <br>"For decades, the American frontier symbolized the youth and potential of the new nation, but with development bridging the coasts and the country connected by iron rails and roads, the need to civilize the American wilds was waning, and the idea of the frontier was quickly becoming self-conscious, a sure sign that the era had passed. And yet the frontier did linger symbolically, making images and stories of humanity's interactions with nature appealing." Page 29. <br> <br>CHRONOLOGY: December/1936: Exhibits two paintings (a blue marine and Empire Builders) in a show of small paintings at the Carmel Art Association. Page 251. <br> <br>NOTE: Hansen painted a larger version of 'Empire Builders' in 1949, oil on canvas, 24” x 36”, commemorating the year of the Gold Rush. It is in the permanent collection of the Monterey Museum of Art.
Armin C. Hansen, N.A.
"Empire Builders"
1936

Armin C. Hansen, N.A. - "Fishermen on the Dock" - Drybrush painting on paper - 8" x 10 1/2" - Signed with initials lower right <br> <br> <br>From The Estate Collection of early California art historian, Betty Hoag McGlynn, the late daughter-in-law of early California artist, Thomas A. McGlynn.
Armin C. Hansen, N.A.
"Fishermen on the Dock"

Hansen creates a quiet early morning on the ocean with one fishing boat and one rowboat along side. In the distant background are the docks and piers.
Armin C. Hansen, N.A.
"Morning"
1926

Armin C. Hansen, N.A. - "Pine Trees" - Monterey - Conte Crayon on paper - 19 1/2" x 19 1/2" - Signed lower right <br> <br>"Before Hansen, when artists painted Monterey scenes with workers, they most often depicted them in connection with the historic Carmel Mission or quietly performing agricultural chores in peaceful harmony with the land, evincing the lingering influence of the French Barbizon style that Tavernier introduced in the mid-1870s. Such paintings were popular because they were soothing and restful, offering an oasis of tranquility and escape. These evolved into pure landscapes focusing on the beautiful coast, with attention accorded to the wind-sculpted Monterey cypress trees clinging to rocky shores. <br> <br>Hansen, who saw himself as part of a new generation, painted pure landscapes infrequently and believed the indigenous and emblematic cypress to be overused. When he did depict the cypress or pine, he tended to organize the trees into abstractly patterned groups rather than depict them as single, arboreal curiosities, which by then had become ubiquitous on postcards and paintings made for tourists.” <br> <br>Source: Armin Hansen: The Artful Voyage/2015, Scott A. Shields, PhD. Page 24.
Armin C. Hansen, N.A.
"Pine Trees" - Monterey
c. 1935

Armin C. Hansen, N.A. - "Sardine Barge" - Etching - 12 7/8" x 14 5/8" - Plate: Signed & dated, lower left: Armin Hansen '22. <br>Titled in pencil lower left; signed in pencil lower right. <br> <br>In: 'The Graphic Art of Armin C. Hansen-A Catalogue Raisonne by Anthony R. White/1986; plate #43, pages 54, 55. <br> <br>THIS IS HANSEN'S SIGNATURE ETCHING - AND ICONIC COMPOSITION. <br>HIS GOLD MEDAL WINNER IN 1923 AT THE LA INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION BY THE LOS ANGELES CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOR BEST PRINT IN EXHIBIT. <br> <br>From the sales that Hansen received from this one print, he was able to build a home for his new bride and their expected son.
Armin C. Hansen, N.A.
"Sardine Barge"
1922