Sunday, December 13, 2009
Chris Ritter & Friends: A Collection
This collection has been promised and is no longer available. Thank you for your interest.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
CHRIS RITTER & FRIENDS: A COLLECTION
CHRIS RITTER (American, 1908-1976). When Chris Ritter's widow, Jane Ritter, passed away in 2006, her estate included a virtual time capsule of her late-husband's work - paintings and etchings and lithographs not seen since his death thirty years earlier. My collection of over 300 of those works, purchased at the 2006 Jane Ritter estate sale, come directly from Chris Ritter's Ogunquit Maine studio and are being offered for sale as a collection. Until now, this collection has not been offered for sale, and with the exception of the estate sale, has not been seen by the public.
CHRIS RITTER was an important figure in the New York postwar avant-garde art scene. He opened the LAUREL GALLERY in New York City in 1946 and published a series of print portfolios, beginning with one of five etchings by MILTON AVERY. In 1947 he offered a show of paintings to GRACE BORGENICHT. When he decided to close Laurel Gallery in 1951, he urged her to open her own gallery, which she did. Ritter's work and his gallery explored the surrealist sensibility transplanted from Europe and given new life as it came into contact with popular culture in the United States. Chris Ritter's work is represented in the Smithsonian Archives of American Art, the Worcester Art Museum, The Brooklyn Art Museum, The British Museum, The Whitney Museum of American Art, the New York Public Library, and the Library of Congress. He exhibited widely including at the Chicago Art Institute. During his life he was listed in Who's Who in American Art; after his death his is listed in Who Was Who in American Art. For more information on Chris Ritter, please look him up at http://www.askart.com/
Included with this collection are a dozen or so works by artist friends of Ritters who also achieved a high level of importance in the art world. Most if not all of these people became listed artists, and a search for these artists through askart.com will prove infomative and fruitful. I will begin with the 6 PEGGY BACON etchings.
In November 2006 I was in touch with DeWitt Hardy of Maine regarding the Peggy Bacon etchings, and what follows are his replies to me:
"Dear Ms. Gray, ...I just wanted you to know right away what you did have. I wish I could be more help about information. All I can remember is that I printed them, and I will vouch for their authenticity since they are not signed. They aren't signed because Peggy died before I could get them to her. I don't know how many there are, but I think very few. If I were you I would establish their authenticity in some public way because I think Kraushaar Gallery in N.Y. has the plates. Should they decide to restrike them, you want to show yourself to be in possession of the originals. They were printed by Fairgrounds Press {Pat and DeWitt Hardy} in North Berwick, ME. on or about the year of Peggy Bacon's demise. Hope this helps you out. Yours, DeWitt Hardy"
And...
"Dear Barbara, I am not the only one who can vouch for the Bacons. Pat Hardy and George Burk can as well. As it regards the Chris Ritters, George and I curated a retrospective of his work which is the only one he had...By the way, I was just at the Boston Art Fair and saw a Milton Avery printed by Ritter for $8500.00.Yours, DeWitt Hardy"
Included with this collection are a dozen or so works by artist friends of Ritters who also achieved a high level of importance in the art world. Most if not all of these people became listed artists, and a search for these artists through askart.com will prove infomative and fruitful. I will begin with the 6 PEGGY BACON etchings.
In November 2006 I was in touch with DeWitt Hardy of Maine regarding the Peggy Bacon etchings, and what follows are his replies to me:
"Dear Ms. Gray, ...I just wanted you to know right away what you did have. I wish I could be more help about information. All I can remember is that I printed them, and I will vouch for their authenticity since they are not signed. They aren't signed because Peggy died before I could get them to her. I don't know how many there are, but I think very few. If I were you I would establish their authenticity in some public way because I think Kraushaar Gallery in N.Y. has the plates. Should they decide to restrike them, you want to show yourself to be in possession of the originals. They were printed by Fairgrounds Press {Pat and DeWitt Hardy} in North Berwick, ME. on or about the year of Peggy Bacon's demise. Hope this helps you out. Yours, DeWitt Hardy"
And...
"Dear Barbara, I am not the only one who can vouch for the Bacons. Pat Hardy and George Burk can as well. As it regards the Chris Ritters, George and I curated a retrospective of his work which is the only one he had...By the way, I was just at the Boston Art Fair and saw a Milton Avery printed by Ritter for $8500.00.Yours, DeWitt Hardy"
DeWitt Hardy of Maine is not only intimitely familiar with the work of Chris Ritter but will also vouch for the authenticity of the Bacon etchings.
Other artists' work included with this collection are OSCAR CHELINSKY (2 etchings); CARL GUSTAF NELSON (1 abstract dated 1941); HARRY GREAVER (1 signed & numbered print dated 1966); JOHN LOUIS LAURENT (1 abstract pencil drawing dated 1961); JOSEPH PENNELL (1 etching dated 1898); GERHARD MARCKS (1 lithograph dated 1973); GEORGE CONSTANT (1 drawing); DEWITT HARDY (48 etchings); BERNARD KARFIOL (1 watercolor); LEONARD PYTLAK (1 framed lithograph); KYM (1 painting on fabric); MOSHE GAT (1 drawing with ink); and several more very nice mystery (to me) pieces by artists with the same provenance (2006 estate sale, Jane Ritter) whose signatures I cannot make out but perhaps whose work you know. There is also an amazing and rare portfolio of 24 drawings by HENRY STRATER in its original folder and box and in pristine condition.
There are 46 posts, each with pictures of the artwork. Please give the posts time to load. If you encounter a small box with a red X instead of a picture, simply right-click on the X, then left-click on "Show Picture".
The entire collection contains approximately 370 original works. To start a conversation with regard to the purchase of this collection, kindly EMAIL
Thank you,
Barbara
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Roman Emperor Portfolio
There are several pieces in Ritter's original large black portfolio labeled "Roman Emperors". I tend to think of the contents of this portfolio as "The Makings of the Roman Emperors" as many of the pieces show the work of the Roman Emperor series as it was in progress - so unique and exactly the way Ritter left it. Here are a few highlights from the portfolio. Also tucked into the portfolio among the Emperors were other of Ritter's Roman works and the printed piece that is pictured in my first post above. My pictures came out dark.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
China House, Large Watercolor
Large beautiful watercolor with mood. Shrink wrapped. Ritter. Dated 1946. 20x25
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
64 Etchings and Lithographs - Some Milton Avery?
Sixty-four etchings and lithographs. It was believed by the auction house that handled this estate sale that there may be some unsigned Milton Avery etchings or lithographs among this group. Milton Avery was a contemporary and friend of Chris Ritter who sometimes pulled etchings for Avery. Are there in fact Milton Avery etchings in this group? I do not know. I do see a few pieces that definitely seem different from Ritter's style, but beyond that, I have no idea and can make no claims and guarantee nothing with regard to any Averys here. However, an interesting idea to contemplate, and I will leave the mystery to the buyer of this collection to unravel.
64 Abstract Lithographs
Sixty-four abstract lithographs, one framed under glass. Most signed and numbered. 10x17
21 Large Roman Lithographs
Twenty-one large Roman lithographs, three different scenes. Shrink wrapped. 20x28
24 Athena Etchings and Lithographs
Twenty-four Athena etchings and lithographs, dated circa 1950. Some nicely matted; sizes range from small as shown in the black mat to medium+
Large Watercolor, House Portrait
Lovely old cape-type farmhouse on a summer day. Dated 1973. Shrink wrapped. 18x24
Three Woodland Scenes - Watercolor
These three woodland scenes are similar in both size and color. Shrink wrapped. Each approximately 13x16
Land, Dead Tree, Hawk - Watercolor
Streak of glare across bottom of this photo on the shrink wrap. A dramatic and unusual scene. Shrink wrapped. 15x20
Large Watercolor, Farm House
Large somewhat moody depiction of a New England farmhouse. Signed and dated 1946. Shrink wrapped. 20x25
Dramatic Urban Scene, Fire
The building in this painting seems to be on fire - lots of smoke. Large watercolor; shrink wrapped. 16x21
St. Peter's Basilica, Rome - Watercolor
A large watercolor from Ritter's time in Rome in the early 1970s. Shrink wrapped. 22x30
Three Prints and the Working Tile
Three prints and the tile Ritter cut from which the prints were made.
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