When it opened in 1953, on Grant Street in San Francisco’s Chinatown, Johnny Kan’s Restaurant was groundbreaking. Until that time, though Chinese immigrants had been in the United States for over a hundred years, most Americans knew only a purely American version of Chinese food, bearing little resemblance to the real thing, served in the many modest chop suey places found across the country. Kan’s was one of the first Chinese restaurants in the US to serve authentic Cantonese dishes in an elegant atmosphere. From the sumptuous dining rooms patrons watched the master chefs cooking in an innovative, glass-enclosed kitchen, and received service that was immaculate and refined. The restaurant soon became famous nationwide, boasting a steady clientele of international celebrities.

Happily, Mr. Kan’s entrepreneurial brilliance was united with a strong sense of pride in his heritage and love of his city. At one point in his career he campaigned to restore Chinatown to the way it had appeared before the 1906 earthquake and fire, and bring back the manufacturing shops that had once produced traditional products like lanterns and slippers. Though that effort failed, Mr. Kan did leave at least two enduring legacies behind when he died in 1972: a new American appreciation for fine Chinese food, and a unique series of twelve watercolors commissioned from the Chinese-American artist Jake Lee that chronicled the history of the Chinese people in the United States.

The watercolors were completed in the late 1950s or early 1960s and hung in one of Kan’s private banquet rooms, the Gum Shan (Golden Hills) Room, named after the term Chinese gold miners gave the United States when they first worked the Mother Lode. The large (41 X 31 inches) paintings were striking, boldly composed and brightly colored, packed with elaborate detail and figures in expressive poses engaged in the various cultural and commercial activities of Chinese immigrants of the previous century. In one spectacular scene, diners could see New Year’s Day dragon dancers roaring down a Chinatown street festooned with giant strands of popping firecrackers, while in another, vineyard workers stomped grapes on top of enormous barrels and turn a press by hand in Sonoma County. Another intriguing vignette showed railroad workers perilously suspended in woven baskets as they hack at a cliff in the Sierra Nevada, overhanging a section of track on the transcontinental railroad.

Johnny Kan’s prospered under the management of family members for many years after Mr. Kan’s death in 1972, then was sold to new owners and redecorated sometime in the 1980’s, at which point the paintings disappeared from view and their whereabouts became unknown. But thanks to descriptions of them in books and articles, reproductions like the postcards printed for Kan’s tenth anniversary in 1963, and the strong visual impression they left on those who had seen them in situ, they were not forgotten and were in fact eagerly sought after.

After decades in obscurity, eleven of them resurfaced out of the blue late last winter, when they were brought into one of the walk-in appraisal clinics held at John Moran Auctioneers in Southern California. Though not aware of the details of their background until later, John Moran’s art specialist Katie Halligan realized immediately they were a wonderful artistic achievement and exceptional examples of Jake Lee’s work, and also historical narrative of an impressive scale and depth. And judging by the number of onlookers who stopped to look at them that morning, they have an irresistible appeal.br />
Each painting shows a “significant milestone for the Chinese people in the United States, and together they form a rich story”, says Sue Lee, Executive Director of the Chinese Historical Society of America (CHSA). A bustling dockside scene portrays the first Chinese immigrants arriving on a wooden vessel in 1849, leading to the scenes portrayed in each subsequent painting. Other scenes depict a complicated gold mining operation in the California hills, the China Camp shrimp fishery, slaughtering pigs on a farm, the Chinese Opera House in 1862, and the types of old shops that Mr. Kan had hoped to revive: a cigar factory and a lantern shop in San Francisco, and a shoe factory in Massachusetts in the 1870’s. According to a San Francisco restaurant guide published by Scribner’s in 1963, A Cook’s Tour of San Francisco by Doris Muscatine, a twelfth painting, still lost, depicted a champion Chinese fire hose team in Deadwood, South Dakota in 1888.

Accurate down to the last detail, the paintings reflect the year’s worth of research that the artist invested in them, and the many archival photographs and documents mined to create a single scene. Ms. Lee, who had been seeking out leads on the lost works for years, has traced many of these sources, such as a lithograph that appeared in an 1870’s issue of Harper’s Magazine that may have provided the model for the barrels in the Sonoma wine making scene.

The paintings, unsurprisingly, attracted competitive bidding when they went up for sale at John Moran’s Febrary 16th California Art Auction, each carrying pre-sale estimates of $3000 – 5000. Though calm at first, bidding quickly gathered momentum and became heated as they were offered one by one, and by the end of the evening all but one of the paintings had sold over the high estimate, and six of them had broken, and one tied, the artist’s previous record high price of $7475, established by Moran’s in 2005. Two of them, the railroad scene and the gold mining scene, realized a hefty $16,100 each, while the shoe shop and shrimp camp scenes realized $12,650 and $11,000 respectively. All together the eleven paintings realized $105,800, including a 15% buyer’s premium, a remarkable result.

Seven of the paintings are now back in their city of origin, at a permanent home at the CHSA. Spotting the objects of her search in Moran’s catalogue just three days before they were scheduled to go on the block, Ms. Lee managed in that short time to raise donations to back the CHSA’s bid for them. Describing her first experience of buying at auction as “exhilarating,” Ms. Lee says the acquisitions are “a community treasure,” and plans to display them at the museum in Chinatown are underway, and it is possible that the other paintings, which sold to private collectors, may appear beside them on a loan arrangement.

More information about the CHSA can be found at their website, www.chsa.org

By Annemarie Nollar
John Moran Auctioneers

Pasadena, CA – Impressionist landscapes, Western works, and California School watercolors took center stage on February 16th at John Moran Auctioneers’ first California and American Art Auction of 2010. Well over three hundred bidders from across the country registered for the auction, with a third of them bidding online through Artfact.com.

Moran’s nation-wide reach was nicely demonstrated when a lovely oil, Lot 81, by Hew Hope, PA artist Fern Coppedge (1883 – 1951), attracted a full bank of phone bidders from the East Coast and Midwest. The competition drove the final price of “Summer”, a scene of the Delaware and Raritan Canal near Lumberville, to $86,250 from a pre-sale estimate of $25,000 – 35,000 (all prices include the 15% buyer’s premium.) Also drawing numerous East Coast bidders was a marvelously detailed scene of old New York City, identifiable from the painted street sign as Gold Street in lower Manhattan. The 27” x 44” oil by Henry A. Ferguson (1845 – 1911), Lot 148, achieved the third-highest auction price for the artist, realizing $23,000 (estimate: $7000 – 10,000.) Other East Coast works that performed well were a coastal with crashing waves and a brilliantly lit, cloud-filled sky marine by specialist Frederick Judd Waugh (1861 – 1940), Lot 76, which brought $10,925 (estimate: $3000 – 5000), and a two-piece lot by Robert Swain Gifford (1840 – 1905), a coastal and a scene of an Indian encampment, that realized $9,200 (estimate: 2000 – 3000).

California Impressionists continue to shine at John Moran’s, which has led the market in this collecting area since its resurgence in popularity in the 1980’s. Lot 15, a glorious oil by Jean Mannheim (1863 – 1945) of a woman reclining beside a lily pond titled “Happiness”, is believed to portray the artist’s daughter. Aptly titled, the 34” x 39” work exudes joy in its bright palette, lush brushwork, and the smile and relaxed pose of the sitter. The final selling price of $54,625 far exceeded the pre-sale estimate of $20,000 – 30,000, and set a new second-place record for the artist. A watercolor by Gunnar Widforss (1879 – 1934) of the interior of a redwood grove, Lot 30, displays his supreme ability to describe fine detail in this difficult medium. It also shot past its pre-sale estimate of $10,000 – 15,000, realizing $21,850. A poppy field landscape (Lot 32) by Granville Redmond (1871 – 1935) measuring only 12” x 16” but including all the most desirable elements of his exuberant Impressionist style, performed nicely at $46,000 (estimate: $30,000 – 40,000), while another small gem, Lot 5, a beautifully colored and structured snowy landscape in oil by George Gardner Symons (1863 – 1930) measuring 8” x 10”, realized $5750 (estimate: $2000 – 3000).

A carefully edited group of California Style watercolors was responsible for much of the excitement on Tuesday, due largely to an intriguing and historically important series of eleven 41” x 31” watercolors by Chinese-American artist Jake Lee (1915 – 1991). Chronicling the activities of Chinese people in early California through scenes of commerce, industry, agriculture and cultural events, the colorful paintings are full of lively and witty detail and are not only some of the best examples of the artist’s work known to exist, but had been missing for many years. Originally commissioned by the owner of a restaurant on Grant Street in San Francisco’s Chinatown to decorate his dining room, the series had been placed in storage after the restaurant was sold. Their memory preserved by photographs that had taken in situ, they roused keen interest when they suddenly resurfaced at John Moran’s. Each painting was sold individually, each with an estimate of $3000 – 5000. The first painting to go on the block, a scene of a New Year’s Dragon Dance, sold within the estimate, but was the only one to do so, as bidding for the remaining paintings grew increasingly competitive. By the time the dust settled, six of the paintings had broken the previous record price for the artist. Two of them, Lot 94, a depiction of workers forging the Transcontinental Railroad through the Sierra Nevada, and Lot 118, a scene of workers mining for gold, realized $16,100 each. Lot 116, of shoemakers in a shop, brought $12,650. Lot 117, of a shrimp camp, and 119, of winemaking in Napa Valley, each realized $11,500. A scene of craftsmen making Chinese lanterns, Lot 115, brought $8050.

Another collection of watercolors came to the market directly from a descendant of the artist Lee Blair (1911 – 1993). Three works by Blair, his wife Mary (1911 – 1978) and brother Preston (1908 – 1995) each more than doubled their pre-sale estimates. Moran’s was delighted to establish the first significant auction record for Preston Blair with the sale of his striking night scene of Victorian houses on Los Angeles’s Bunker Hill (Lot 86) for $6,900 (estimate: $1000 – 2000.)

Highlights in the category of Western art included a portrait of an Indian, “John Hunter,” (Lot 45) by Canadian artist Nicolas de Grandmaison (1892 – 1978) that brought $19,550 (estimate: $4000 – 6000), and a gorgeously lit Gilbert Gaul (1855 – 1919) scene of a Sioux camp featuring an Indian on horseback at sunset (Lot 51) that sold for $14,950 (estimate: $4000 – 6000).

John Moran’s next California and American Art Sale is scheduled for June 15th, 2010. Consignments are now invited. John Moran also conducts monthly Estate Auctions of fine antiques, decorative arts and European art. The next Estate Auction will be held on March 16th, 2010 and will feature Tiffany art glass, Native American artifacts, and European paintings. This two-session sale will begin with the no-reserve, un-catalogued Discovery Sale at 3pm. The fully catalogued Evening Session will begin at 6pm. Bidding is available from the floor, by telephone, absentee or online at www.Artfact.com. All auctions are held at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, CA.


For more information, or to view the catalogue, please visit www.johnmoran.com, or call 626-793-1833, or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it www.johnmoran.com

Pasadena, CA –John Moran Auctioneers is delighted to begin the 2010 auction season with a sale of California and American Art distinguished by extraordinary quality throughout. The Tuesday, February 16th event is one of Moran’s signature tri-annual Art Auctions, marquee events attended by private collectors and dealers nationwide. John Moran expects that the exceptional selection of iconic works by top artists, offered at a time when confidence is returning to the market, will make this one of the strongest sales in the family-owned company’s 41-year history.

Of the nearly 200 lots of plein-air landscapes, western works and Regionalist watercolors, a quarter come from a single private collection in Orange County, CA that includes multiple standout works by Frank Tenney Johnson, Edgar Paxson, Olaf Wieghorst and Joseph Kleitsch. One of the four important works by Wieghorst (1899 – 1988), titled “Trouble on the Trail”, depicts a terrifying encounter in between bears, a cowboy and horses on a mountain trail. With a wealth of bravura brushwork and dramatic detail, including a fearsome set of bear’s teeth, the 28.5” x 38” canvas is a supreme example of Wieghorst’s narrative abilities (estimate: $30,000 – 50,000).

Works fresh to the market from other private collections comprise the bulk of the rest of the sale, with the headline lot an effervescent Taos, NM landscape by Russian-born artist Nicolai Fechin (1881 – 1955). Signed and dated 1925, the oil on canvas of a sycamore and figures vibrates with broken light and a rough texture, and exhibits the qualities collectors prize in Fechin’s works: bold use of the palette knife, energetic line underpinned by a controlled composition, and his signature color sense. Having achieved great success in 2008 with the sale of Fechin’s portrait of W.G. Watt, “The Wood Engraver”, for $1,092,500, Moran’s is very pleased to offer “The (Sycamore) Tree” with an estimate of $250,000 – 350,000.

Of the many other sale highlights, collectors will be pleased to a find the New Hope, PA colony represented by the Fauve-influenced “Summer”, an oil depicting a barge on the Delaware and Raritan Canal, near Lumberville by Philadelphia Ten member Fern Coppedge (1885 – 1951) (estimate: $25,000/35,000). An array of California works form a veritable survey of the best of the California Impressionists, including: a fine example of Granville Redmond’s sunny poppy landscapes (estimate: $30,000/40,000); a poetic waterfront nocturne by Charles Rollo Peters (1862-1928), titled “Belvedere”?(estimate: $20,000/30,000); an intensely colored and patterned harbor scene, ''Under the Wharf'', by Monterey artist Armin Hansen (1886-1957)(estimate: $20,000/30,000); and one of Alson S. Clark’s (1876 – 1949) classic Paris scenes, a view of the Ile de la Cité dated 1900 (estimate: $20,000-30,000).

John Moran Auctioneer’s Tuesday, February 16th sale will begin promptly at 6:30pm at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, CA. Previewing will begin at 12 noon. Bidding for this sale is available from the floor, by phone and absentee as well as online via ArtFact.com. A fully illustrated catalog of this sale will be available on Moran’s website prior to the auction. For more information on this important sale, or to order a printed catalogue, or for information about their monthly Antiques and Jewelry Auctions, please call the offices of John Moran Auctioneers at (626) 793-1833 or visit their website at www.johnmoran.com

Pasadena, CA – A large crowd filled the Pasadena Convention Center on Tuesday, June 23rd in anticipation of John Moran Auctioneer’s second California and American Paintings Sale for 2009. In an encouraging sign for the art market, the number of first-time bidders increased significantly over that of previous auctions, while established clients returned in force. Results were strong, with gross sales totaling just shy of $1 million on the 121 lots sold. Several new world auction records were also set.

Pasadena, CA – John Moran Auctioneers is delighted to announce the third of their 2009 California and American Art Auctions, to be held Tuesday, October 13^th. Showcasing a spectacular selection of pre-1945 California plein air landscapes, California Style watercolors, and Western art drawn from private collections across the country, including definitive works by pre-eminent California Impressionists such as William Wendt, Granville Redmond, Maurice Braun and Paul Lauritz, as well as several unusual and historical pieces, this well-rounded sale promises to mark an exciting chapter in the 40-year history of the family-owned company.

Leading the selections from top California plein air painters is one of the most important works by the celebrated Granville Redmond (1871-1935) to arrive on the market in recent years, a magnificent 30" x 40" landscape with oaks, poppies & lupine (PHOTO 1). In this classic, exquisitely composed example of Redmond’s exuberant Impressionist style, the artist’s mastery of color and technique are fully evident, as is the pure joy inspired by nature. This painting has remained in the same family since about 1930, when the original owner, who worked in the film industry and became acquainted with Redmond during visits to Charlie Chaplin’s studio, purchased it directly from the artist. Moran’s is thrilled to offer it on behalf of the family with an estimate of $500,000/700,000.

In a more rugged style, but equally stunning, is a mountain landscape by Paul Lauritz (1889-1975) depicting Nine Lakes Basin, High Sierras (PHOTO 2). Lauritz’s robust technique reflects the rockiness of the snow-capped peaks in this sweeping 28" x 32" view. The oil is offered at $10,000/15,000, and is one of five Lauritz paintings slated for the sale. Moran’s set the current record auction price for Lauritz in October 2008 with a view of Avalon Harbor, Catalina Island that realized $74,750.

Spring by William Wendt (1865-1946) (PHOTO 3) captures a different kind of grandeur. Wendt’s signature combination of rich greens and browns, deep shadows, bold, interlocking shapes, and broad brushstrokes to imbue a gentle landscape of rolling hills with a monumental sense of space and a deep spirituality is displayed in all its glory in this work, which Wendt exhibited several times between 1916 – 1919. Spring is expected to realize between $50,000 and $70,000.

Moran’s is offering no fewer than six paintings by another top name in California Impressionism: Maurice Braun (1877-1941). Holding the current auction high record price for Braun, Moran’s expects to continue their success with these five landscapes and a coastal ranging in estimates from $4000 up to $50,000 at the high end. Two of these highly desirable oils depict that iconic California art subject, the eucalyptus tree, with the larger (34.25" x 30.25") estimated at $30,000/50,000 and the 24" x 20" estimated at $25,000/35,000.

Another important San Diego artist, Charles Reiffel (1862-1942), is known for his highly textured paint surfaces and unusual use of color. Moran’s will offer two impressive works by Reiffel: Huckleberry Hill, estimated at $20,000/30,000, revels in a riot of bright greens and yellows, while 30’’ x 36’’ scene of houses in a winter landscape (PHOTO 4), estimated at $30,000/50,000, captures the delicate tones of snow drifts patterned with the shadows of tree branches.

Pasadena’s landmark Colorado Street Bridge, with its massive arches spanning the Arroyo Seco, has been a favorite subject of artists since it was built in 1913, and is featured in a lovely, expansive view by Austrian-born California artist Henry Richter (1870 – 1960) (PHOTO 5). The twilight depiction of the Beaux Arts structure surrounded by trees and rocks and the backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains carries an estimate of $4,000/6,000.

Among the California Style selections are watercolors by Emil Kosa, Jr., Millard Sheets, and Rex Brandt, as well as a large oil by Lee Everett Blair (1911-1993), titled Griffith Park, c.1937 (PHOTO 6), estimated at $5,000/7,000. Blair, who worked in film production for most of his life, displays a keen dramatic sense in this striking work, with an unusual aerial viewpoint through treetops and a brightly lit foreground sprinkled with highlighted figures set against misty grey hills receding into the distance. Moran’s holds the record for Blair’s work sold at auction, achieved in February 2009, with a watercolor view of the Brooklyn docks.

Peter Ellenshaw (1913-2007), another movie industry artist whose work can be seen in classics such as Mary Poppins, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Spartacus, produced landscapes and coastals that sparkle with clear light and crisp, almost photorealistic detail. Aspen Grove (PHOTO 7), an oil on canvas measuring 24" x 48.25", is a meditative work of harmonized pattern and color. Moran’s has an excellent track record for sales of Ellenshaw’s work, and Aspen Grove is expected to realize between $10,000 and $15,000.

Modernism is well represented in the October sale, by a 24’’ x 20’’ abstract oil by the Synchronist Stanton MacDonald-Wright (1890 – 1973). “Metaphysical Landscape,” offered for $20,000 - $30,000, was painted in 1962.

At the opposite end of the timeline of California’s art history, one of the state’s earliest artists, Norton Bush (1834 – 1894), is famed for his lush South and Central American tropical landscapes inspired by a sea voyage he took around Cape Horn. One such work, a scene of a punt on a lake surrounded by dense foliage, glows with a pristine, clear light, and is offered for $10,000 – 15,000.

East Coast selections include two works depicting their artists’ trademark subjects: a snowy New York street scene by Guy Carleton Wiggins (1883 – 1962) and a scene of cows grazing by Edward Volkert (1871 – 1935). Wiggins’ ‘Mid-Town Storm’ is offered for $15,000 – 20,000 while Volkert’s “New England Pasture” should bring $3,000 – 5,000. Other non-California artists in the sale include William Aiken Walker, Karl Buehr, Bruce Crane, Albert Beck Wenzell, Walter Ufer, Leonard Howard Reedy and Frederick Remington.

Additional sale highlights, from a total of 180 lots, are a nocturne by Charles Rollo Peters, three watercolor florals by Paul de Longpre, an Emil Carlsen still life, two Joseph Raphael oils, five sculptures by Robert Merrell Gage, several Bunker Hill scenes by Ben Abril, multiple works by Jack Wilkinson Smith, Alson Clark, and Joe Duncan Gleason, and Franz Bischoff. An enchanting, highly detailed small work by Jessie Arms Botke, ‘Fairy Tale Reflection,’ offered for $2,500 – 3,500, is also not to be missed.

John Moran Auctioneer’s October 13^th sale will begin promptly at 6:30pm on Tuesday, October 13th at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, CA. Previewing will begin at 12 noon. Bidding for this sale is available from the floor, by phone and absentee as well as online via ArtFact.com. A fully illustrated catalog of this sale will be available on Moran’s website prior to the auction. For more information on this important sale, or to order a printed catalogue, please call the offices of John Moran Auctioneers at (626) 793-1833 or visit their website at www.johnmoran.com

Photo Captions:

PHOTO 1:Moran.Redmond.Oct09: This 30" x 40" landscape with oaks, poppies & lupine, estimated at $500,000/700,000, is one of the best examples of work by Granville Redmond (1871-1935) to appear on the market in recent years.

PHOTO 2:Moran.Lauritz.Oct09: Paul Lauritz’s 28" x 32" view of Nine Lakes Basin, High Sierras will be offered at Moran’s October Art Auction with an estimate of $10,000/15,000

PHOTO 3: Moran.Wendt.Oct09: Spring by William Wendt is expected to realize between $50,000 and $70,000.

PHOTO 4:Moran.Reiffel.Oct09: This 30’’ x 36’’ depiction of houses in a winter landscape by Charles Reiffel will be offered at Moran’s October sale for $30,000/50,000.

PHOTO 5:Moran.Richter.Oct09: The landmark Colorado Street bridge over Pasadena’s Arroyo Seco is captured in this 28’’ x 38’’ oil by Henry Richter (1870 – 1960) estimated at $4,000/6,000.

PHOTO 6: Moran.Blair.Oct09: Griffith Park, c.1937 by Lee Everett Blair carries a pre-sale estimate of $5,000/7000.

PHOTO 7: Moran.Ellenshaw.Oct09: Peter Ellenshaw’s Aspen Grove is expected to realize between $10,000 and $15,000.

Pasadena, CA - While a rare, heavy rainstorm pounded outside, all was sunshine and roses inside the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, CA on the evening of October 13^th, 2009, as John Moran Auctioneers held the third of their 2009 California and American Painting Auctions. With 183 lots, the sale featured an impressive array of landscapes, coastals and floral studies by top California Impressionists and Regionalist painters. Works by Granville Redmond, William Wendt, Maurice Braun, Jack Wilkinson Smith and many others drew a large crowd and demonstrated that the market, though more focused than in previous years, remains strong.

Some of the most hotly contested bidding was generated by Lot 58, a depiction of a view well loved by Pasadena residents and artists since the early 20^th century, that of the landmark Colorado Bridge from the edge of the Arroyo Seco canyon (photo 1). This large (28”x38”), panoramic scene of the Beaux Arts structure set against the San Gabriel mountains, bathed in a gorgeous sunset glow, was painted by Howard R. Butler (1856 – 1934), a member of the National Academy who is primarily associated with New York and New Jersey, but who spent several years in California and is known as a specialist in landscapes and paintings of solar eclipses. With dueling phone bidders opening the bidding, the battle was eventually won by a floor bidder who held out to a final price of $14,950, on a presale estimate of $4,000-6,000.

Another top performer by a Pasadena artist was a lyrical foothill landscape, lush with wildflowers and a misty atmosphere, painted by John Frost (1880 – 1937) in 1929 (photo 2). Displaying the influence of the artist’s sojourn in Giverny and of his friendship with pre-eminent California Impressionist Guy Rose, the 18”x22” work, Lot 51, carried a pre-sale estimate of $30,000-40,000. The winning bid came in over the phone lines, at $54,625.

The Norwegian-born California landscape specialist, Paul Lauritz (1889 – 1975), was well represented in the sale with six works. John Moran holds ten of the top twelve auction records for this individualistic and highly respected artist, including the top two, so it was no surprise that his works performed well on Tuesday. Lot 84, Nine Lake Basin, High Sierras, a grand 28”x32” view of snowy peaks displaying Lauritz’s signature bold textures, solid forms and confident brushwork, brought $19,550 (pre-sale estimate $10,000-15,000), while Lot 48, the exquisitely colored “Old Road” (also known as “Road to Laguna”) (photo 3), a 32”x36” oil estimated at $15,000-20,000 realized $23,000.

Leading artist Franz Bischoff (1864 – 1929) was also featured with multiple works, including a last-minute sale addition, Lot 145A, a signed ceramic vase painted with roses (photo 4). Bischoff, known as the “King of Rose Painters”, began his artistic career as a ceramics painter, eventually founding his own ceramic art school. After settling in Pasadena he included a ceramic workshop in his Arroyo Seco studio. The vase offered at John Moran’s on Tuesday was a prime example of his fine work in this medium, and the buyers seemed to appreciate this, bidding it up to a final price of $16,100, the second highest price on record for a Bischoff ceramic.

Among the many California Regionalist works in the sale, including watercolors by Emil Kosa, Jr., Millard Sheets, Phil Dike, Rex Brandt and Milford Zornes, was a remarkable 1937 oil (photo 5) by Lee Everett Blair (1911 – 1993). With an unusual aerial viewpoint, looking down over the treetops on picnickers in Los Angeles’s Griffith Park, the 30”x34” painting attracted many bids, and in the end realized a new world record for the artist of $9,775, almost double the estimate. Moran’s now holds the top three records for the artist.

Several other new artist records were set during the evening, including those for California artists Darwin Musselman, Wilfrid Mills, Bjorn Rye and Merrell Gage, the sculptor.

John Moran’s next major California and American Paintings Auction is scheduled for February 16, 2010 at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena CA. Consignments for that sale are still open, and early highlights include a fresh-to-the-market Granville Redmond poppies landscape and a landscape with barn by Society of Six member August Gay.

Moran’s next, and final, 2009 auction is their Estates Auction, including fine jewelry, scheduled for December 8 at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena CA. This two-session sale will begin with the no-reserve, un-catalogued Discovery Sale at 3pm. The fully catalogued Evening Session will begin at 6pm. Previewing for both sessions begins at noon. Bidding is available from the floor, by telephone, absentee or online at www.Artfact.com. For more information, to register, or to view the catalogue, please visit John Moran’s website at www.johnmoran.com or call 626-793-1833.

PHOTO CAPTIONS

PHOTO 1:Moran.Butler.October09.jpg: This stunning view of Pasadena’s Colorado Street Bridge by Howard R. Butler, inspired intense bidding at Moran’s October sale, realizing $14,950.

PHOTO 2:Moran.Frost.October09.jpg: John Moran offered this lovely work by John Frost with at the October auction, where it realized $54,625.

PHOTO 3:Moran.Lauritz.October09.jpg: Paul Lauritz’s “Road to Laguna” was fresh to the market at John Moran’s October sale, having descended through the family of the original owner, who purchased it from the artist. It realized $23,000.

PHOTO 4:Moran.Bischoff.October09.jpg: This last-minute addition to John Moran’s sale ended up fetching the second highest auction price ever for a Franz Bischoff ceramic, $16,100.

PHOTO 5:Moran.Blair.October09.jpg: Setting a new record for Regionalist Lee Everett Blair, this oil of Griffith Park, circa 1937, realized $9,775 at John Moran’s.

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John Moran Auctioneers’ California and American Fine Art Sale will begin at 6:30pm on Tuesday, February 17, 2009, at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, CA. Previewing will begin at 12 noon. Bidding for this sale is available from the floor, by phone and absentee as well as online via LiveAuctioneers.com. A fully illustrated catalog of this sale is available on the website at www.johnmoran.com.

For more information on this important sale, please call the offices of John Moran Auctioneers at (626) 793-1833 or visit their website at www.johnmoran.com.

John Moran Auctioneers is pleased to offer 200 works by important California and American artists at their February 17, 2009 Auction. The sale will feature one of the strongest selections of artworks in the company’s 40-year history, including works by pre-eminent California artist Guy Rose and the renowned American painter/illustrator Maxfield Parrish.

The Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966 Cornish, NH) is an exceptional art-buying opportunity. The oil-on-board is one of twenty-six illustrations Parrish created for Louise Sanders’ book “The Knave of Hearts,” published by Scribner’s in 1925, and arguably the artist’s most abundantly and beautifully illustrated book. The painting depicts a youth speaking to a frog and is highly characteristic of Parrish’s popular style, with his trademark use of saturated color and elegant design. Estimated to sell between $125,000 - 175,000, it was for many years in the collection of Susan Lewin, the artist's longtime companion and frequent model.

A gem-like portrait of a seated woman by Guy Rose (1867-1925 Pasadena, CA), simply titled “Nude”, exemplifies Rose's singular ability to contrast a painterly human form against the bold and colorful patterning of a kimono. The exquisite, signed painting comes to auction from a private collection and is expected to sell between $80,000 - 100,000. Moran holds the second-highest auction record for Guy Rose, achieved in 2001 with the sale of his “Early Morning Summertime” for just over $1.2 million.

Among the Western art selections, an important work by Western painter Carl Moon (1879-1948 San Francisco, CA) depicts an Indian Chief on horseback in elaborate headdress and clothing. The oil on canvas is offered with an estimate of $7000 – 9000.

A quintessential snowy New York City scene by Guy Wiggins (1883-1962 New York, NY) is estimated to sell between $30,000 - 50,000. Titled “5th Avenue Storm,” the oil depicts a view of 5th Avenue looking north with the iconic marble lions on the steps of the New York Public Library and the flag of New York City flying above them. 

John Moran Auctioneers’ California and American Fine Art Sale will begin at 6:30pm on Tuesday, February 17, 2009, at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, CA. Previewing will begin at 12 noon. Bidding for this sale is available from the floor, by phone and absentee as well as online via LiveAuctioneers.com. A fully illustrated catalog of this sale is available on the website at www.johnmoran.com.

For more information on this important sale, please call the offices of John Moran Auctioneers at (626) 793-1833 or visit their website at www.johnmoran.com.

John Moran Auctioneers is pleased to offer an original Maxfield Parrish oil painting, "Knave of hearts" at February 17, 2009 Sale.

“Knave of Hearts’ was created by the renowned painter and illustrator in 1924. At this time Parrish was the best-known and most widely disseminated artist in America, his images for magazines, advertisements, calendars, and books, particularly children’s books, having been reproduced by the millions. The prints of his oil paintings that were commissioned specifically for reproduction were displayed in a vast number of American houses, and the demand for Parrish’s visions of a fantastical world, painted in rich colors with enchanting details, remained insatiable well into the 1940’s. The distinctive dream-like quality of his paintings and illustrations is enhanced by his use of high contrast and his technique of applying multiple layers of thin oil paint, alternating with layers of varnish, which created a glowing surface. His use of cobalt blue became such a trademark that it was often referred to as “Parrish Blue.”

Born in 1870 to the Philadelphia etcher and landscape painter Stephen Parrish, Maxfield Parrish originally intended to study architecture and enrolled at Haverford College. Deciding to devote himself to art, he moved on to the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts and the Drexel Institute, where he attended classes taught by the important illustrator Howard Pyle. Pyle influenced Parrish heavily, though the young artist had already developed a style of his own. His early work as an illustrator of magazine covers, particularly Collier’s, established his reputation and earned him a prosperous living. He worked in Philadelphia until 1898, when he moved to a house called “The Oaks” on an estate in Plainfield, New Hampshire. Except for a stretch of time in the first decade of the century spent in Arizona recovering from tuberculosis, he lived at “The Oaks” until his death in 1966. He had four children with his wife, Lydia, from whom he grew estranged, and after 1905 shared his household with Susan Lewin, his muse and the model for most of his important paintings and murals.

Parrish illustrated books for such famous authors as Kenneth Grahame, L. Frank Baum, and Edith Wharton, among others. During the last thirty years of his career he painted only landscapes. Among the large number of murals he created are “Old King Cole”, in the St. Regis Hotel in New York and “The Pied Piper” in the bar at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.

Pasadena, CA – On Tuesday evening, October 21st, John Moran Auctioneers hosted the third of their tri-annual California and American Paintings sales for 2008. Earning over $1.3 million on just 162 lots, the sale set five new world auction records and bidding was competitive and brisk throughout the evening. There were 238 bidders in the saleroom and on the phones, plus 174 registered bidders online. (Prices stated here include buyer’s premium).

Riding a virtual economic roller coaster, the 2008 art season for John Moran realized over $6.2 million on just shy of 600 works offered —one of the strongest seasons in the firm’s history.

World record prices were realized for both California and American artists. Early in the sale lots 40 and 41, both by Paul Lauritz (California, 1889-1951) sold above the existing auction record for the artist.  Avalon Harbor - Sugar Loaf Point, a signed oil on canvas, was estimated to bring $30-$50K. John Moran opened the bidding at $30,000 and a battle between floor and phone ensued, driving the sale price to a record of $66,137. Immediately following was Avalon Harbor - Lover’s Cove and Abalone Point, painted from Sugar Loaf, which sold solidly for $44,000, the second highest price ever realized for this artist. John Moran Auctioneers is the world leader in selling works by Paul Lauritz and holds 8 of the top 10 prices realized for this artist.

World auction records continued to be set when Michigan artist Joseph W. Gies’ (1860-1935) lovely oil on canvas of a young girl reading in the sunshine, sold at $8,812.

California artist Benjamin C. Brown (1865-1942) was represented with his very rich watercolor depicting eucalyptus, poppies and lupine on a hillside. Moran started the bidding on this work at $4,000. It skyrocketed quickly to a new world record for a watercolor by this artist, selling for $31,630 solidly surpassing its high estimate of $9,000.

Toward the end of the evening, the final world record was set on New York artist George Inness Jr. (1854-1926). “The Newborn,” a signed oil on canvas of a shepherdess with her flock, was estimated to sell for $7,000 – 10,000. Brisk bidding on this work escalated the final sale price to $13,800, setting a new world record, which had previously been held by Christie’s since 1990.

John Moran Auctioneers will begin their 2009 California and American art season on Tuesday evening, February 17th. In anticipation of an exceptional sale, they have already secured an important oil painting by Maxfield Parrish (New Hampshire 1870-1953).   “Heading for Knave of Hearts” depicts a young boy talking to a frog and is a painting from the artist’s 1925 children’s book “Knave of Hearts”.  The oil is estimated to bring $125,000 - $175,000.

All John Moran auctions are held at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, CA. Bidding is available from the floor, by phone and absentee, as well as, online via eBay Live Auctions/Live Auctioneers. A fully illustrated catalog of each sale is available on their website prior to the auction. For more information regarding consigning artwork or about the sale, please call the offices of John Moran Auctioneers at (626) 793-1833 or visit their website at www.johnmoran.com
 

California at the beginning of the 20th century was a particularly attractive region for artists, as it was for the hundreds of thousands of other people who began to immigrate to the state from across the country and from Europe. Artists found in California varied and sublime coastal and mountain scenery, of a type unavailable in other regions of the country, including deserts, fields of colorful wildflowers, and romantically crumbling remnants of the California missions. The inspiring landscape, along with excellent climactic conditions for painting outdoors all year around, and a clear, bright light, made the region exceptionally conducive to plein air painting in an Impressionistic style. The final and longest-lasting offshoot of American Impressionism, a school with its own distinctive spirit and style, California Impressionism flourished from the first decade of the 20th century through the 1930’s.

The California Style, also known as the California School, was an important part of the enormously influential American Scene movement, which developed in the mid 1920s and focused on regional subjects. The artists who worked in this style favored watercolor as the ideal medium for spontaneously capturing the movement of people engaged in everyday activities in urban, industrial, agricultural and recreational settings. The boldly stylized, illustration-like depictions often feature calligraphic outlines with little or no under-drawing, broad, transparent washes of bright color and strategic use of the white of the paper as an integral part of the composition.

Tonalism is an aesthetic of landscape painting that began to develop in America in the 1880’s and was strongly influenced by the French Barbizon School and the Aesthetic Movement, particularly James McNeill Whistler. The name was first applied in the 1890’s. Tonalists, in common with the Barbizon School artists, shared a desire to convey the emotional or spiritual response to the landscape, emphasizing this goal over the faithful description of topographical reality, and often working in the studio rather than outdoors. This focus on poetic effect and the meditative qualities evoked by the landscape was conveyed through simplified compositions with elements reduced to essentials, sometimes carrying economy of detail to an extreme, and each element seamlessly contributing to the whole. Achieving atmospheric effects with soft, smoky edges and thin glazes of paint, the Tonalists usually favored a cool, dark palette of harmonized tones, many times emphasizing grays, based on a neutral ground.

John Moran Auctioneers is pleased to offer 200 works by important California and American artists at their October 21, 2008 auction. Among them will be two works by Hovsep Pushman (1877 – 1966): a nocturne titled “In the Moonlight (lighting the lanterns)” and an exemplary still life titled “Immortality No. 422”. Born in Armenia in 1877, Pushman studied art in Constantinople before immigrating to the United States around 1894. After teaching in Chicago for a time he continued his art studies in Paris, studying under Lefebvre and Robert-Fleury. He also toured Asia, where he became fascinated by Oriental mysticism. This influence would dominate his work for the rest of his career. Settling in NYC in 1919, where he lived until the end of his life, he began to focus largely on Oriental-themed still lifes, also painting figures in Oriental costume. His still lifes are allegorical works featuring symbolic objects- typically one or more Oriental idols, ancient ceramic and glass objects such as plates and vases, and delicate sprays of blossoms, all arranged against harmonious backgrounds and bathed in a soft light enhanced with deep shadows. Quietly yet forcefully, these compositions evoke a range of emotion and convey a profound spirituality. Pushman’s impressive ability to create a contemplative mood and an air of mystery through rich color, light and shadow, along with his extremely high technical standards, are on full display in both of the works on offer in October.

Other highlights of the October auction include a still life of oranges wrapped in tissue paper by William J. McCloskey, and works by Paul De Longpre, Granville Redmond, Birger Sandzen, Franz Bischoff, Jessie Arms Botke, Jack Wilkinson Smith, William F. Jackson, Arthur Hill Gilbert, Maurice Braun, Elmer Wachtel, Anna Hills, Ransome Holdredge, Joe Duncan Gleason, and Hanson Puthuff. John Moran holds the current record high price for a work by McCloskey, achieved at their February, 2008 auction.
 

Pasadena, CA — A work by the important East Coast artist Jane Peterson realized $31, 630 on a pre-sale estimate of $10-15,000 at John Moran’s June 24, 2008 California and American Paintings Auction.

The small oil of figures on a beach represents one of her most sought-after subjects, as well as her signature use of bold color and pattern and spontaneous brushwork.

Peterson was an adventurous woman and a prolific artist, producing a great number of works on painting trips in the US, Europe, and Northern Africa. She notably accompanied Louis Comfort Tiffany across the US in his railway car.

A student of Arthur Wesley Dow in New York, Joaquin Sorolla in Madrid and Frank Brangwyn in London and Venice, she was also strongly influenced by her friend Maurice Prendergast. While living in Paris she frequented the salons of Gertrude and Leo Stein, where she was introduced to Picasso and Matisse and other members of the Paris avant-garde. These influences combined in her work to form a fascinating blend of Impressionism, Post Impressionism and Expressionism based on a traditional foundation.

Her beach scenes were painted along the Massachusetts coast, where she had a summer house in Ipswich. She is also known for her scenes of Gloucester Harbor, Venice, Florida palm trees, and floral subjects.

Pasadena, CA – On June 24th John Moran Auctioneers hosted the second of their tri-annual California and American Paintings sales for 2008. The sale set six new world auction records and strong prices were realized across the board –very successful results in light of current economic conditions and the summer season.

The sale started off with “Arcadian Hills” by Hanson Puthuff (1875 – 1972) realizing $10,575 against its high estimate of $7,000. Shortly afterwards a charming small work depicting figures on a beach by Jane Peterson (1876 – 1965) sold for double its high estimate, for $32,312.

“Summertime” by Joe Duncan Gleason (1881-1959) was another appealing work that performed well. The playful, brightly colored scene of two boys swimming sold for $41,125 against a high estimate of $35,000, continuing Moran’s string of impressive prices for the artist. Moran’s holds the current record auction price for Gleason. The following lot, a lovely coastal titled “Low Tide - Point Lobos” by William Posey Silva, also sold nicely over the high estimate, at $10,575.

A typically lush, gold-leaf accented depiction of birds surrounded with exotic foliage by Jessie Arms Botke (1883-1971), “Herons in Flight”, brought $52,875 against its high estimate of $40,000. A more typically Californian landscape with sycamores, painted in oil by William Wendt (1865-1946), sold well for $99,875.

The first record of the evening was set with “San Francisco Impressions,” a watercolor by California artist James March Phillips (1913-1981). It was estimated to bring $3-5k, but a bidding war brought the final price to $13,800, surpassing by several thousand dollars the previous record price for this artist, also set by John Moran.

New records were also set for California artists Lois Green Cohen, Herbert Chester Cressey and Darwin Duncan, and Texas artist Ella K. Mewhinney. A work by Carlos Vierra (1876-1937), who is considered the founder of the Art Colony in Santa Fe, New Mexico, set the final new record of the evening. His “Santa Fe, NM” was expected to earn $10-15K but realized $21,800.

Other impressive results were the $49,937 achieved by Thomas L. Hunt’s oil of houses in a winter landscape, and the $35,250 brought by a still life, “Madonna, No. 34”, by Armenian-American artist Hovsep Pushman (1877-1966).

John Moran Auctioneers also hosts monthly Fine Antiques and Estates Auctions. The next sale is scheduled for July 22, 2008. Highlighting this sale will be an important work by German/American artist Lyonel Feininger (1871-1956) entitled “Die Teufelssonate”, estimated at $20,000 – 30,000.
 

Jeff Moran provides expert analysis on Nicolai Fechin's "The Wood Engraver" and perspective on its record-setting performance at auction in February 2008 in this JMA Video exclusive.

Pasadena, CA — John Moran Auctioneers set a new world auction record for a work by William Joseph McCloskey at their February 19, 2008 California and American Paintings Auction.

A packed sales room looked on as one of the artist’s iconic still lifes of oranges wrapped in tissue paper fetched $546,250 at the highest grossing sale in the firm’s 39-year history. The result topped the previous record price by over $100,000.

A leader in the Los Angeles art world of the late 19th century, McCloskey was also well known in New York City, where he resided from 1886-1891. It was there that he developed the oranges and tissue paper theme for which he is most acclaimed. His exquisitely detailed works exhibit the highest technical standards, acquired during his studies with Thomas Eakins in his native Philadelphia.

Though the depiction of different types of paper is a recurrent theme for East Coast artists, McCloskey is unique among California artists for his choice of tissue paper as subject matter. His orange paintings share similarities in their horizontal format and dark, velvety drapes or glossy tabletops that contrast starkly with the bright tones of the fruit and paper, while varying in the number, arrangement and variety of oranges, and the occasional inclusion of additional objects.

Pasadena, CA – On Tuesday evening, February 19th, 2008, a record hammer price was realized for a work by renowned painter Nicolai Fechin (1881-1955) at John Moran Auctioneers’ Sale of California and American Paintings. The record-breaking masterwork, entitled “The Wood Engraver,” came to Moran’s from a private estate where it had been held for over 60 years. The painting had generated worldwide interest prior to the sale, and as expected drew very competitive bidding from both American and Russian collectors.

While Fechin is today commonly regarded as an American painter, known for his images of the indigenous cultures of the American Southwest, he was actually Russian-born and trained. He had already established himself as one of Europe’s most notable artists when he immigrated to New York from Russia in 1923. His fascination with capturing the personalities of his subjects and his ability to create powerful likenesses earned him a stellar reputation as a portraitist. Upon his arrival in the United States, his works captivated the art world and the demand for his portraits was immediate.

In 1924 “The Wood Engraver” won The Thomas R. Proctor Award for Portraiture in the exhibition at the National Academy of Design in New York. The painting depicts William G. Watt, an engraver and graphic artist, and an Associate of the National Academy of Design, at work in his Stroudsburg, PA studio. A large scale work, measuring 50” x 40”, the portrait has the hallmarks of Fechin’s best works — a complex and detailed composition and an unparalleled refinement in the face and hands of the sitter amidst bold, colorful brushwork employing broad strokes and free use of the palette knife.

John Moran’s February 19th Auction of California and American paintings, the highest-grossing sale in the company’s 39-year history, featured some 230 works by renowned artists.
 

Pasadena, CA – On Tuesday evening, February 19th, 2008, John Moran Auctioneers hosted the first of their tri-annual California and American Paintings Sales for 2008. Great anticipation surrounded the sale, as it was headlined by an important work by Nicolai Fechin. In all, 13 new world auction records were set, and $3.4+ million was earned on some 229 lots resulting in the highest grossing sale in John Moran Auctioneer’s 39-year history.

The caliber of the artists and the quality of the works on offer were consistently high throughout the four-hour sale, their value recognized by a large audience of buyers and collectors who also appreciated the excellent provenance. Over 1,100 international buyers registered for the sale.

The sale started off strongly, with the first world record price of the evening realized within the first 20 minutes. “Yerba Buena,” (PHOTO 1), a nocturne by Charles Rollo Peters (1862-1928) depicting San Francisco Bay, was accompanied by an original note from the artist. Bidding quickly topped the high estimate of $25,000, finally reaching $40,250. The previous high record for this artist was $36,000.

Just 10 lots later, a new price record was set for Nell Walker Warner (1891-1970). The signed oil, of cherry blossoms in a still life set against an unusual gauze-effect background created by cross-hatching into the wet paint, sold for $12,650, more than double the high estimate. John Moran also held the old record price, set with the 2007 sale of “House in a Eucalyptus Foothill Landscape” for $11,500.

The leading lot of the evening was a masterwork by renowned portraitist and painter Nicolai Fechin (1881-1955) entitled “The Wood Engraver.” Fechin painted “The Wood Engraver” shortly after his arrival in America from Russia and it earned him the 1924 Thomas R. Proctor Award for Portraiture at the National Academy of Design. The portrait showcases all the hallmarks of Fechin’s best work, and until coming on the block on February 19th, had been privately held for over 60 years. John Moran Auctioneers had assigned a presale estimate of $400,000 to $600,000 and the bidding opened at $200,000. Quickly escalating to $700,000, bidding paused momentarily before being taken up by two phone bidders who raised the final price to $950,000, a new world record hammer price for Fechin. The previous record hammer price was $900,000.

The evening’s next high point was the record-breaking price brought for a work by William Joseph McCloskey (1859-1941). “Florida Oranges” is a well documented, signed and dated version of his most sought-after subject. It was expected to earn $100-$150,000, but competitive floor and phone bidding brought the final price to $546,250, a new world record by over $100,000.

Moran also offered a magnificent, large work by Society of Six artist Maurice Logan (1886-1977). The signed oil of the San Francisco ferry dock and skyline, estimated to earn $25-$35,000, realized $80,500, easily surpassing the previous record high of $57,500.

Other new world records were set for Helen Hamilton (1899-1970), and California artists Pedro Lemos (1882-1954) and George Spangenberg (1907-1964). Hamilton’s turbulent seascape sold for $9,775 and the Lemos Monterey coastal brought $16,100. The San Diego landscape by Spangenberg more than doubled the artist’s previous record, selling for $9,200.