Sunday, July 31, 2011

The Art for the Perfect Provincetown House

A peek through the front gate of 593 Commercial Street with the bay in the distance

The dream continues. 593 Commercial Street remains the perfect Provincetown house. More than ever I long to call it home. I've biked by it and snapped a couple of photos. And will view it from the beach side this afternoon. 

In my last entry I presented to you the art that I would bring from the South to serve as a reminder of the artists I love and to give them proper inclusion in what would be a phenomenal collection were I able to  assemble it. 

This post is about the pieces I would want that are by artists represented by galleries in Provincetown, Wellfleet, Orleans, and Chatham, my favorite Cape Cod towns that make up the "Outer Cape". Being the oldest continuous art colony in America, Provincetown has many incredible artists that live and work here so it is tough to select a short list of favorites. Lue Svendson and I spent a few hours together yesterday seeing our individual favorites. We each came up with our top 15. 

Selections here represent 12 of my top 15 with a couple of extras thrown in. Every collection needs a starting point, a springboard. Mallory Page's "Morning-Summertime Blues" is the starting point painting for the first floor of the main house of the dream property. Mallory's piece sets the tone and colors that will radiate from the living/dining area, continue through the first floor and upstairs to the master bedroom/study/bath.



Mallory Page
Morning-Summertime Blues
Mixed Media on Panel
42" x 42"
$ 3,200.00
from Tracery Interiors, Mountain Brook (Birmingham), AL


For the first floor, the perfect pieces to complement Morning-Summertime Blues are:

A beauty by Anne Packard, the premier Provincetown artist. Anne Packard's paintings are mesmerizing. Each one commands a long view. Details emerge in a subtle, yet dynamic way that causes the viewer to gasp. I will do a full post on Anne Packard's work in the coming weeks. 


Anne Packard
Red Dory
36" x 36"
Oil on Canvas
$ 18,500.00
from Packard Gallery, Provincetown 


Pieces by artists that I became aware of for the first time in the last two weeks, Megan Hinton and Karen Cappotto:



Megan Hinton
Orange Sail
Oil on Panel
8" x 10"
$ 800.00
from William Scott Gallery, Provincetown



Karen Cappotto
Pond, Summer
Oil on Panel
12" x 12"
$ 1,750.00
from Schoolhouse Gallery, Provincetown



One of my favorite artists that I discovered last summer (and was able to place two of her pieces in client homes) is Hannah Bureau, a rising star of the American art world:


Hannah Bureau
Dockside
Oil on Canvas
20" x 24"
$ 2,400.00
from Julie Heller Gallery, Provincetown



a new discovery this year is Joan Cobb Marsh, represented by one of my favorite Provincetown galleries, Kiley Court:



Joan Cobb Marsh
Provincetown Pier Series, Late Afternoon
Oil on Canvas
30" x 30"
$ 3,500.00
from Kiley Court Gallery, Provincetown


And to finish off the first floor, I would assemble a grouping of wonderful small pieces. These are all by artists that are new to me but certainly not new to the art world:



Mary Moquin
Sienna Dream
Collagraph, Oil, Pastel, Wax on Panel
6" x 6.25"
$ 375.00
from Addison Art Gallery, Orleans



Mona Dukess
#8, 2008
Egg Tempera on Wood Panel
8" x 8"
$ 400.00
from Gallery Ehva, Provincetown



Pat Ross Marx
Spring Grasses
Pastel on Paper
8" x 8"
$ 275.00
from Nickerson Art Gallery, Chatham



Larry Horowitz
Tranquil Beach
Pastel on Paper
4.25" x 13"
$ 300.00
from Cove Gallery, Wellfleet

My most exciting discovery of all is this special treat that Lue, Tim, and I found on a side street that none of us had ever walked on before. This wonderfully talented artist, Alyssa Schmidt, has built a little "kiosk" and sells her small paintings for $ 60 each, on the honor system! There is a cash box bolted to the lower shelf and you put your cash in, take the jewel that you want and leave. Can you believe it? 

I would purchase all six of these paintings and sprinkle them throughout the house on side tables, a couple hung together in the bathroom, one on the ledge of the kitchen window, etc, etc.  


Alyssa Schmidt
app. 4" x 6" landscapes on panels
$ 60.00 each


For the 2nd Floor:

Ahhh, this bedroom! Look at that view. Incredible really. Of course, the curtains would go immediately and be replaced by a simple blackout roller shade only to be closed at night. I love the rawness of this. But it does need softening a bit and proper art selections will do that.



The starting point for this floor is Lue Svendson's "Alone for Awhile". I believe this piece would go in the study and be paired with a Hannah Bureau painting.


Lue Svendson
Alone for Awhile
Oil on Canvas
11" x 14"
$ 500.00
from Gallery at City Club, Lafayette, Louisiana


One of my all-time favorite artists is New York/Provincetown artist Arthur Cohen. I have probably seen forty pieces by Cohen now and haven't met one I didn't like. I will be doing a special post on this brilliant artists work in the coming weeks.


For the master bedroom:


Arthur Cohen
Provincetown Harbor
Oil on Canvas
30" x 40"
$ 8,000.00
from Cortile Gallery, Provincetown

Cape Light is a phenomenon that any visitor to the Cape never forgets once they experience it. It is what happens in the sky at sunset that takes over the viewers universe for as far as the eye can see. Photographer Joel Meyerowitz documented it best in his book, Cape Light, that I purchased in our first week of this trip.
There will be a blog post on Meyerowitz about all of his work but particularly the Cape Light pieces and pieces that Jackson Fine Art in Atlanta has.
I have studied the book several times and the piece that just feels right for 593 Commercial is this one:



Joel Meyerowitz
Laundry, Cape Cod, 1982
HP Archival Print
20" x 24"
from Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta, GA


Lue Svendson and I fell in love with Laurence Young's paintings at Alden Gallery last summer. Since then, Lue's Rue du Pont Galerie in Breaux Bridge, LA, became one of Laurence's representatives. Over the last three weeks I was able to spend some time with Laurence and my next blog post once I finish my love affair with this house will be about the oil and wax creations of Young. 

I am very rarely drawn to figurative work but when I saw this piece during a studio visit with Laurence, I was immediately attracted. The details are incredible and the colors so warm and inviting.


Laurence Young
Back Stitch
Oil and Wax on Canvas
24" x 18"
$ 2,000.00
from Laurence Young


and finally, another Hannah Bureau painting. This is the one to be paired with Lue Svendson's painting:



Hannah Bureau
Drying Net
Oil on Canvas
12" x 9"
$ 650.00
from Julie Heller Gallery, Provincetown


So who is ready to spring for this special house? If you do, please purchase all of the art I am selecting since I have spent so much time building this dream collection!

Again, I must point out that since all of this is just a dream for me, your reality-based life can have any of the above paintings. They are all available from the great galleries that represent these talents.

Enjoy the next few days as I prepare the guest house art selections and may you see Cape Light wherever you are.

RESOURCES:

Mallory Page     www.mallorypage.com
Tracery Interiors   www.traceryinteriors.com
Anne Packard, Packard Gallery  www.packardgallery.com
Megan Hinton      www.meganhinton.com
William Scott Gallery   www.williamscottgallery.com
Karen Cappotto     www.karencappotto.com
Hannah Bureau      www.hannahbureau.com
Julie Heller Gallery   www.juliehellergallery.com
Joan Cobb Marsh, Kiley Court Gallery   www.kileycourtgallery.com
Mary Moquin, Addison Art Gallery   www.addisonart.com
Mona Dukess   www.monadukess.com
Gallery Ehva     www.galleryehva.com
Pat Ross Marx   www.patrossmarx.com
Nickerson Art Gallery    www.nickersonartgallery.com
Larry Horowitz, Cove Gallery  www.covegallery.com
Lue Svendson   www.luesvendson.com
Arthur Cohen   www.arthurcohen.org
Cortile Gallery   www.cortilegallery.com
Joel Meyerowitz  www.joelmeyerowitz.com
Jackson Fine Art  www.jacksonfineart.com
Laurence Young  www.laurenceyoung.com
Alden Gallery   www.aldengallery.com






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