New Acquisitions

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.
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Armin C. Hansen, N.A.
"Empire Builders"
1936

Pedro J. de Lemos - "Tall Trees" - Aquatint - 10.75" x 7.4" - Titled lower left <br>Signed lower right
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Pedro J. de Lemos
"Tall Trees"

Pedro J. de Lemos - "The Old Adobes" - Wood Engraving - 7.5" x 9.5" - Titled lower left <br>Signed lower right
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Pedro J. de Lemos
"The Old Adobes"

Maurice Logan, N.A. - "Early Morning - Point Lobos" - Oil on canvas - 36" x 40" - Signed lower left <br> <br>The original paper label for this exhibition is on reverse: <br> <br>Exhibited: M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco <br>22nd Annual Exhibition of the Society of Western Artists/1962. Maxwell Galleries,(SF). Labels on reverse. <br> <br>In 1957 Maurice Logan had a solo show in the former Saint Mary's College Art Gallery. The Hearst Art Gallery presents this rediscovery of the entire career of this very important artist: <br> <br>Maurice Logan/Artist and Designer - A Retrospective of Paintings from the "Society of Six" years to the 1960s: Hearst Art Gallery-Saint Mary's College of California/1991. Number 81. in Exhibition Checklist, page 14.
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Maurice Logan, N.A.
"Early Morning - Point Lobos"
c. 1939

Gunnar Widforss - "Bright Angel Trail" - Watercolor - 16" x 20" - Notarized estate provenance on reverse <br>With title plaque <br> <br>This work is recorded and illustrated in the online catalogue raisonné of Gunnar Widforss’ work by Alan Petersen as catalogue entry #420. The online catalogue raisonné is available at www.gunnarwidforss.com. <br> <br>"Although it isn't one of his "classic" Canyon paintings it is a great document of his practice of hiking in the Canyon to paint in remote locations." (excerpted from email from Alan Petersen/05/04/2022). <br> <br>"Gunnar painted it near the mouth of Bright Angel Canyon, about a mile from Phantom Ranch, near the Colorado River, looking downstream. He probably would have been near the trail, but not really on it. In the painting, the river is hidden by the diagonal slope that cuts across the view from the right (north). The Bright Angel Trail itself is just out of the view to the right, further downstream." <br> <br>"Since the painting has been known by that title (Bright Angel Trail) for some time, I think I'd stick with it. It maybe isn't the most accurate, geographically, but it's also not inaccurate. I'm going to change the title in the catalogue. (Grand Canyon: Inner Canyon). <br> <br>(excerpted from email from Alan Petersen/06/03/2022).
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Gunnar Widforss
"Bright Angel Trail"
c. 1930