Harold McCauley

The Gods of Voodoo

1953

“St. Michael’s in Brooklyn, c. 1944” by Ernest Fiene (1894-1965) New York City served as an endless source of inspiration for Fiene, who often captured street scenes like this one i...

Gustavo Montoya (Mexican, 1905-2003) Seated Figure in Blue Oil on canvas Canvas: 22 X 18 inches (56 x 45.5 cm) Frame: 33 X29 X 2 inches Signed lower right: Gustavo Montoya Provenance: The artist; Private collection, New York, acquired from the above, circa 1952; By descent to the present owner, Stamford, Connecticut. Gustavo Montoya was born in Mexico City on July 9, 1905. At the age of 13 he studied painting at the Academia de San Carlos. Some of his teachers were: German Gedovius, Roberto Montenegro, Leandro Izaguirre, Francisco de la Torre, Mateo Herrera and Juan de Mata Pacheco, among others. He stated that the school had only taught him the technique of art, but not the spirit of it and therefore he considered himself a self-taught artist. He married his first wife, Luz Saavedra. In 1929 he traveled to Los Angeles, California, where he worked illustrating posters at the West Coast Theaters Co. The couple had a daughter, Rosa Elena Montoya Saavedra. The marriage did not last long, and Gustavo Montoya returned to Mexico in 1933. In 1936 he entered the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas (National School of Visual Arts) as teacher of the color class. He married a second time to the painter Cordelia Urueta, with whom he moved to Paris in 1938 to study European avant-garde art. He visited museums, galleries, and painters' studios. He toured Switzerland, Italy and England. In 1939, due to the Second World War, Montoya and his wife were forced to leave for New York where they remained for several years. Exhibited at the Alma Reed Gallery. When they returned to Mexico in 1942, Gustavo Montoya joined the Mexican neo-realist school movement. In 1953 he entered again as a teacher at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas. In 1965 Gustavo Montoya and Cordelia Urueta divorced after 26 years of marriage. He was lonely and did not engage in artistic circles. He was a founding member of the League of Revolutionary Writers and Artists along with Cordelia Urueta and others. Also, he was a founding member of the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana. He spent most of his professional career depicting the streets of Mexico and its inhabitants. He painted still lifes, street scenes, churches, children, women, and markets in Mexico. Montoya preferred to paint the poor and working class, considering them the most authentic class in Mexico City. He liked to do his work in series around one main idea. Some of his series were: The streets of Mexico, Mexican still lifes...

JOHN HAYMSON – "BROOKLYN BRIDGE" ⚜ Oil on Canvas ⚜ Hand Signed ⚜ Conservation Frame NEW YORK ICON IN VIVID DETAIL This atmospheric oil painting by John Haymson captures the enduring...

PHILIPPE NOYER – "ALDO" ⚜ Oil on Canvas ⚜ Hand Signed and Dated Lower Right; Titled on Verso ⚜ Original Period Frame PORTRAIT OF A BOY BY THE SEA Painted in 1961, this rare early wo...

CHARLES LEVIER – [SOLITUDE DE PIERROT ⚜ Oil on Canvas ⚜ Hand Signed Lower Right ⚜ Original Period Frame A THEATRICAL PORTRAIT OF MELANCHOLY “Solitude de Pierrot” captures Charles Levier’s fascination with the archetypal Pierrot from commedia dell’arte. With angular black outlines and muted pastel tones, Levier reduces the figure to its essential gestures, creating a poignant symbol of isolation and quiet reflection. The vertical format emphasizes Pierrot’s elongated stance, while his downcast eyes and red-tipped nose heighten the painting’s emotive impact. This work was acquired directly from the artist by noted Beverly Hills designer Dean Richard Kukuk and retains its original Martin Lowitz Gallery label, underscoring both provenance and historical context. WHY COLLECT THIS WORK? ✓ An early and expressive Charles Levier oil from circa 1950 ✓ Features the Pierrot subject, connecting to the theatrical tradition of commedia dell’arte ✓ Strong provenance: Martin Lowitz Gallery, Los Angeles, and the collection of Dean Richard Kukuk, Beverly Hills ✓ Retains its original period frame in excellent condition with gallery label affixed verso ARTWORK DETAILS: ▸ Title: [Solitude de Pierrot] ▸ Artist: Levier, Charles ▸ Medium: Oil on Canvas ▸ Creation Date: circa 1950 ▸ Country of Creation: US ▸ Signed: Hand Signed Lower Right ▸ Current Condition: Excellent commensurate with age. Original period frame in great condition consistent with age. ▸ Documentation: Martin Lowitz Gallery label affixed to verso ▸ Provenance: Martin Lowitz Gallery, Los Angeles; Dean Richard Kukuk, Los Angeles ▸ Dimensions: — ◼︎ Canvas Size: 44.25 inches x 15 inches — ◻︎ Frame Size: 59 inches x 30 inches x 2.625 inches INCLUDED DOCUMENTATION ✓ Certificate of Authenticity ✓ Artist Biography Document THE ARTIST: Charles Levier (1920–2003) was a French-American painter known for expressive oils, gouaches, and watercolors that bridge Modernism and postwar design sensibilities. His subjects include harbor towns, still lifes, café society, and commedia dell’arte figures such as Pierrot and Harlequin. Levier’s linear bite and stylized elongations have invited comparison to Bernard Buffet, while collectors of Modigliani, Rouault, and mid-century École de Paris painting...

ÀLVAR SUÑOL – "LA PRIÈRE DU TORERO" (THE BULLFIGHTER'S PRAYER) ⚜ Oil on Canvas ⚜ Hand Signed Lower Left and on Verso; Dated 1963 ⚜ Original Carved Wood Frame A MASTERWORK OF FAITH A...

Chicago Modernist, William Schwartz, painted this intimate painting of a woman reading titled On the Beach. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago shortly after emigrating to th...

"War Brides, Wash Sq NYC" American Scene WWII Modernism WPA Mid-Century Oil. 30 x 40 inches. Oil on canvas, c. 1942. Signed lower right. Titled on the stretcher. Housed in a sensational Heydenryk frame. Our gallery, Helicline Fine Art...

"Shattered" WPA Mid 20th Century Modernism American Scene Surrealism Figurative Estate stamp on the stretcher, verso. Provenance: Estate of the artist. 20 x 24 inches. Look at the last two photos in the listing. A new book about Leon Bibel was just published and there's a photo of the artist taken in front of the painting. Amazingness. BIO Leon Bibel continued painting through 1941 and resumed work in both painting and especially wood sculpture by 1960. He worked until his very last day in 1995. His last series of large wood sculptures were modeled on spice boxes, which were miniature buildings...

"Drama Teacher" 1938 WPA Mid 20th Century American Theatre Surrealism Modernism. 30 x 24 inches. Oil on Canvas. Signed land dated ’38 lower left. The photograph in the listing depicts the artist's friend who taught drama and about whom the painting is based Painter, printmaker and sculptor, Leon Bibel was born in San Francisco in 1913. He trained at the California School of Fine Arts and received a scholarship to study under the German Impressionist Maria Riedelstein. He worked in collaboration with Bernard Zackheim, a student of Diego Rivera, to create frescoes for the San Francisco Jewish Community Center and the University of California Medical School. In 1936 Bibel moved from California to join the Federal Art Project at Harlem Art...