WING HOWARD 1921-1998 watercolor painting Marseilles Raoul Dufy style
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Directory: Fine Art: Paintings: Watercolor: Pre 1960: Item # 1419977
Directory: Fine Art: Paintings: Watercolor: Pre 1960: Item # 1419977
Please refer to our stock # JB03107 when inquiring.
Jon Berg Fine Art and More
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2311 Schader Dr. #310
Santa Monica, CA 90404
310-453-5620
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View Seller Profile
2311 Schader Dr. #310
Santa Monica, CA 90404
310-453-5620
Guest Book
$1,500.00
This remarkable and rare work, 25 3/4" by 34" (30 1/2" by 39" in contemporary blue framing behind glass), is titled at lower right "Marseille Le Vieux Port" and is signed there "W. Howard". At first glance one thinks this a print of a Raoul Dufy painting, perhaps an exhibition poster, but upon closer inspection it is seen to be in fact an original watercolor by an obviously highly talented artist. The artist is WING HOWARD (1921-1998), associated with Pennsylvania. He painted in a variety of styles and a variety of subject matter; this piece is clearly reminiscent of the famous French artist Raoul Dufy (1877-1953), an artist with whom Howard would have been familiar. Dufy's paintings of race tracks and scenes in France are executed in this style, and Howard likely saw them directly or in reproductions, including posters. The bridge over the harbor was called the Marseilles Transporter Bridge; it was built in 1905 and destroyed in 1945. Unless this was executed from memory or from a photo, then I think it possible that the drawing dates to before the war. There are a few brown foxing marks in the sky, mostly in the right half, but they are not sufficiently noticeable to be of any concern. This is a highly unusual work; I think, a true decorator piece. Your friends will think you went to Sotheby's or Christie's and sprung for hundreds of thousands of dollars to acquire a Raoul Dufy, unless they read the signature. Due to the weight and sheer size of the glass sheet, this will have to be shipped without the glass, for safety. The artist's bio, from askart listing: "Primarily painting in watercolor, he began his artistic career at age 18 in New York City. Born Willing Howard in 1921, he later went by the first name of Wing. Offering his works through several New York galleries, he began selling his work primarily on his own during the 1960's. He occasionally had gallery shows in the years to come, generally with considerable success, until his death on New Year's Day 1998. His patrons included Mr. & Mrs. O. DeGray Vanderbilt, Mr. & Mrs. Pierre DuPont, Mr. & Mrs. Godfrey Rockefeller, Mrs. Henry Luce, Vogue Magazine, Lady Elsie de Wolfe Mendl, Mr. Henry Fonda, Mr. & Mrs. Vincent Price, Mrs. Roger Firestone, Mr. & Mrs. Frank Goodyear, Mrs. Charles Scribner, Mr. Jack Warner, and many other well known persons.
