Lest we forget




"Studio View, 9/11"
Oil on Canvas c. 9/11/2001 by David FeBland

Prices soar for Washington Color School artists

From Jean Efron Art Consultants:

A group of loosely affiliated artists working in Washington, DC in the 1960s and 1970s, known as The Washington Color School primarily because of their use of pure color as the subject matter of their paintings, has received heightened attention in the art market, both nationally and internationally.

A major characteristic of Color School paintings is the use of unprimed canvas on which diluted pigment was applied, sometimes by pouring, permitting the pigment to do strange and wonderful things as it soaked into the canvas and spread into adjoining colors or the bare canvas. Perhaps one of the most creative applications of this technique was adopted by Sam Gilliam in his early paintings by folding the canvas after pigment had been applied and while it was still wet. By folding and unfolding the pigment stained canvas Gilliam created a group of stunningly beautiful paintings having unexpected forms of deep and shimmering colors.

Recently, one of these stained and folded paintings sold at Sotheby's in London for over $1.2 million, setting a world-wide auction record for the artist. Washington, DC art consultant, Jean Efron, who consigned the painting to Sotheby's on behalf of the sellers, said, “We are seeing very strong demand for Sam Gilliam's early work. The stained and folded canvases, in particular, have attracted a lot of attention because they are recognized as representing a singular original development in the history of American art. I think it is very appropriate that a Sam Gilliam painting that achieved a record auction price was owned by a Washington, DC collector.” Jean Efron Art Consultants recently facilitated the private sale of another important early Sam Gilliam artwork that had been in an owner’s collection for more than four decades.

Gilliam’s early work (1967 through 1973) is the subject of a major exhibition at the Kunstmuseum in Basel, Switzerland. According to Efron, "Sam has always been recognized as a major creative force in American Art. I have always considered him one of the most creative artists I have known. The Basel exhibition is the most recent demonstration of that recognition. However, only recently, has that recognition migrated into the art market pushing up prices for his work, in some cases dramatically.                           

Efron's firm, Jean Efron Art Consultants, has recently represented a number of clients selling paintings by Sam Gilliam. However, she says, "Sam Gilliam is not the only artist identified with the Washington Color School whose paintings are attracting a lot of attention in the art market. We are seeing strong demand for paintings by Alma Thomas, whose work has dramatically increased in value in the past two or three years as has some of the work of Anne Truitt. And, of course, the work of Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland always have enthusiastic buyers.” Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, Thomas Downing and Gene Davis are perhaps most closely associated with the Color School. Sam Gilliam’s early work, and some of the work of Alma Thomas and Paul Reed, as well as the work of Leon Berkowitz, Thomas Mehring and Anne Truitt are also considered by some to be included with The Washington Color School designation. According to Efron, “It is not unusual to see exceptional examples of works by Gilliam, Alma Thomas, Louis, and Noland being offered and sold for seven figure prices.”

About Jean Efron Art Consultants LLC: Jean Efron Art Consultants LLC is a Washington, DC, based art advisory firm that provides comprehensive fine art services. Since 1973, the firm has provided collection development and management services to both private and public clients including many of Washington, DC’s most discerning law firms, developers, associations and corporations.

Soon at an art fair near you... somewhere

"Suddenly, She Wasn't Afraid Any Longer"
(The Lilith)
18x12, Charcoal and Watercolor, c. 2018

Liberty Call

"Two American Sailors on Liberty Call, Plage de la Bocca, Cannes."
9x12 inches, charcoal and conte on paper, circa 2018.

Ahead of its reopening, the Glenstone Museum is being sued

The Glenstone Museum in Potomac, Maryland—a private institution near Washington, D.C. housing the collection of Mitchell and Emily Wei Rales—is being sued for $24 million by the contracting firm that oversaw its recently completed $200 million expansion.

Read the whole story here. 

Trawick Prize Winners Announced - $10,000 Best in Show Prize Awarded

Artist Caroline Hatfield Awarded $10,000; Exhibit Open Through Sept. 29

The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards, a juried art competition produced by the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, announced the 2018 prize winners during last night’s exhibit opening reception. Caroline Hatfield from Baltimore, MD was awarded “Best in Show” and received the $10,000 top prize; Nicole Salimbene from Takoma Park, MD was named second place and given $2,000; and Timothy Makepeace from Washington, D.C. was bestowed third place and received $1,000.

Caroline Hatfield explores concepts of utopia and science fiction through her interdisciplinary practice. Her studio practice utilizes methods of sculpture, installation, photography and drawing to investigate landscape. Hatfield’s sculptural landscapes are composed of industrial relics, geological formations and mutable material which obscure boundaries and accumulate into form. She has had solo exhibits at Towson University in Towson, MD, Mount Saint Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, MD, La Bodega Gallery in Baltimore, MD and Small Hall Gallery, Knoxville, TN. Most recently she had a solo exhibit at The Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, VA. Now based in Baltimore, Hatfield earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture from the University of Tennessee and her Master of Fine Arts in interdisciplinary studio art from Towson University. 

2018 Trawick Prize Finalists

Lori Anne Boocks, Germantown, MD

Clay Dunklin, Laurel, MD

Mary Early, Washington, D.C.

Jay Gould, Baltimore, MD

Caroline Hatfield, Baltimore, MD

Phaan Howng, Baltimore, MD

Timothy Makepeace, Washington, D.C.

Nicole Salimbene, Takoma Park, MD

The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards, established by Carol Trawick in 2003, is one of the first regional competitions and largest prizes to annually honor visual artists. A longtime community activist in downtown Bethesda, Ms. Trawick has served as the Chair of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, Bethesda Urban Partnership, Strathmore and the Maryland State Arts Council. The Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation was established in 2007 after the Trawicks sold their successful information technology company. A former teacher and entrepreneur, Ms. Trawick remains engaged in a range of philanthropic causes through the Foundation, which was established to assist health and human services and arts non-profits in Montgomery County. The Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation has awarded grants to more than 90 nonprofits.

The work of the finalists will be on exhibit at Gallery B, 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E, until September 29. The public opening reception will be Friday, September 14 from 6-8pm. Gallery hours for the duration of the exhibit are Wednesday through Saturday, 12 – 6pm.

Entries were juried by Christopher Bedford, Director of The Baltimore Museum of Art; Sukjin Choi, Head of Ceramics and Associate Professor of Art at James Madison University; and Valerie Fletcher, Independent Art Historian and Senior Curator Emerita at the Hirshhorn Museum.

To date, The Trawick Prize has awarded $220,000 in prize monies and has exhibited the work of more than 135 regional artists. Previous Best in Show recipients include Richard Cleaver, 2003; David Page, 2004; Jiha Moon, 2005; James Rieck, 2006; Jo Smail, 2007; Maggie Michael, 2008; Rene Trevino, 2009; Sara Pomerance, 2010; Mia Feuer, 2011; Lillian Bayley Hoover, 2012; Gary Kachadourian, 2013; Neil Feather, 2014; Jonathan Monaghan, 2015; Lauren Adams, 2016 and Larry Cook, 2017.

Call for Maryland Artists!

Seeking Artwork for Upcoming Fall Exhibition

Deadline Friday, September 21, 2018

Maryland has a rich and diverse tradition of capturing and expressing the physical and cultural fabric of our state and its people. The range of expression from plein air painting, to urban photography, to writing and poetry, reveals and communicates the environments of the present influenced by the past.

The Maryland State Arts Council is especially looking for work from plein air festivals throughout the state as well as photography and other mixed media work. Two-dimensional work of any media, representational or abstract, that is framed and ready to hang and no larger than 8’ w x 5’ h.  

The exhibition is part of the Art on the Fly exhibition space at the Maryland State Arts Council office, 175 W. Ostend Street, Baltimore, MD 21230. Deadline for submissions is Friday, September 21, 2018.

Artists submit an application on Submittable and may include up to four (4) slides of documentation of the artwork proposed to be included in the exhibition. If work is accepted into the exhibition, the artwork must be framed (including writing and/or poetry works) with the artist’s contact information printed on the back, and if the artwork is for sale (via the artist).

Artwork must be dropped-off or delivered to the Maryland State Arts Council office between October 15-19, 2018.

The Exhibition Opening Reception is scheduled October 25, 6:00-8:00 PM.

Work will be de-installed the week of January 14, 2019, and must be picked up by January 18, 2019.

 If you have any question regarding the art submission, please email Rosa Chang at Rosa.Chang@Maryland.gov