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Cordray Simmons"Ringling Brothers Barns" Cordray Simmons, Wisconsin Circus Scene, Red Barn
$7,000
£5,352.32
€6,131.13
CA$9,872.84
A$10,745.43
CHF 5,741.97
MX$129,763.79
NOK 72,162.55
SEK 67,119.57
DKK 45,802.39
About the Item
Cordray Simmons
Ringling Brothers Barns, circa 1930
Signed lower right
Oil on Masonite
24 x 30 inches
Cordray Simmons was born July 10, 1888 in Jersey City, New Jersey. Christened William Cordray Simmons, he was known to his friends and family as Bill. Before 1930, he signed his works Bill Simmons, Will Simmons , William Simmons, or W. C. Simmons; but, after 1930, he signed only Cordray Simmons. Cordray was the son of professional dancer Alice Martin and mural and scenic painter Edward Simmons. (Edward Simmons is most noted for a mural in the Library of Congress.) Cordray probably learned to paint from his father, but his formal artistic training did not begin until he enrolled in classes at the Evening Technical High School, Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1903. There, he studied sculpture under the sculptor Daniel H. Webster. Cordray must have been an exceptional student, for, when Webster left in 1905, Cordray was asked to replace him as an instructor in clay modelling at the school.
Simmons attended the summer school of the Art Students League in New York, where he studied under William Merritt Chase, F. Luis Mora, George Bellows and Robert Henri. League, Cordray won the general school scholarship and
was monitor of the first Bellows class. At the League, Cordray perfected his skill as a painter and demonstrated a remarkable sense of realism. Sometime in either 1924 or 1925, Cordray moved to New York, supporting himself through the art supply store in Greenwich Village. His earliest known exhibition took place in 1925 at the Macy Galleries in New York. He left in 1926 to study and paint in Europe, returning for his first one-man show, entitled, "Drawings from Cornwall by William Simmons," in 1927 at Ferargil Galleries in New York. His second one-man show was also in 1927 at the Utica Art Society, New York.
Displaying versatile artistic talent, Cordray exhibited etchings in a show at Kennedy and Co., New York. He probably learned the printing technique during his students
days at the Art Students League. At any rate, he was proficient enough to be invited back in 1929 to the Kennedy exhibition "A Comprehensive Exhibition of the Work of Living American Print Makers," which included works by Arthur Fuller, Childe Hassam, Edward Hopper and John Sloan. Cordray married Lue and, upon their return from Europe was hired as a "Repairer" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Conservation was an up-and-coming field and Simmons became one of the museum's first restorers. Notes from the estate collection indicate he was a highly respected member of the staff. Cordray continued painting and printing in addition
to his museum job. He also advertised his services as a carver of frames. It seems that he was never without something to do. He exhibited in 1930 at the Brooklyn Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago, and, in 1931, had his third one-man show at Morton Galleries, New York. Grant Galleries, New York, hosted Cordray's fourth one-man show in 1934. Here, he exhibited several paintings of historical landmarks in New York- one of which was " The Smoking-Bean Tree." The Metropolitan Museum, recognizing Cordray's talent, wanted to acquire a Cordray Simmons painting for its American Art collection and finally decided on purchasing "The Smoking-Bean Tree" in 1935. Cordray's reputation was increasing. Though he was not working in the style of most of his contemporaries, he was invited to exhibit with them. The year 1935 was memorable as he exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery of Art; the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia Pa.; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Art Insitute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; and with the Chicago Society of Etchers at Roullier Art Gallery, Chicago, Illinois. The following year he was included in Who' s Who in American Art and was mentioned every year thereafter until 1962. In some cases, Cordray was as much an historian as a painter. Several of his works recorded places and landmarks that either had: some historical significance or no longer exist today.
He also captured such historically important scenes as that of the Cloisters, the docks of Cornwall, England, and Sunny-side, Washington Irving's home.
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