10 African American Artists

10 AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTISTS

MODERN/POST-WAR

G LO U C E S T E R C A L I M A N COX E AMERICAN, 1907-1999

E B O N Y P L AY S , 1 9 7 2 COVER

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TEN AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTISTS Our catalogue focuses on American Black artists that we’ve been dealing in for the past two decades. Their work has always fascinated us as their undertone evokes a voice unheard in an uninhibited style free from class.

African American art in the 20th century encompasses diverse subjects in a variety of genres, from representational to modern abstraction constantly reflecting the American experience through their eyes.

This monumental 1972 work by Gloucester Caliman Coxe titled “Ebony Plays” not only evokes the “Hard-Edge” movement of the 1960’s & 1970’s but takes it further into a cubist form using color and geometry as his vision. Coxe was the dean of Black painters in Louisville, Kentucky in the 1950’s & 1960’s mentoring such future luminaries as Bob Thompson and Sam Gilliam. This example is a true statement and portrayal of the athletic adeptness of African American’s.

Our selection includes a 1966 Ernie Barnes evoking a future scene Kapernick displayed in 2016 against police brutality and racial inequality, an early 1964 oil by Benny Andrews along with a portrait of the infamous Black boxer Jack Johnson, a 1949 Charles Henry Alston deaccessioned from the Brooklyn Museum, and a 1948 figural cubist oil by Walter Sanford.

As a Black woman Alma Thomas encountered many barriers, however, she did not turn to racist or feminist issues believing that the creative spirit was independent of race or gender. Thomas became fascinated with abstraction while at Howard University and her work reflects a long study in color theory, watercolor and abstraction. After her teaching career of 38 years as an art teacher she emerged in 1960 becoming one of the most important African American female artists of the 20th century. She is included in the collections of every major museum in the United States and her works are incredibly rare.

Continuing is “Detour” a 1965 oil by Frank Wimberly, two sculptures by Elizabeth Catlett, the foremost 20th century Black sculptor, a figural William Sylvester Carter, Hale Woodruff’s figural 1960’s work on paper and a rare large Barbara Johnson Zuber titled “Processional Women”.

These works speak to the dignity and resilience of people who struggle for economic and civil rights along with recognizing individuals and their communities reflecting the American experience.

Vincent Vallarino,

February, 2021

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G LO U C E S T E R C A L I M A N COX E AMERICAN, 1907-1999

E B O N Y P L AY S , 1 9 7 2 O I L O N C A N VA S 72 X 52 INCHES S I G N E D LO W E R R I G H T P R O V E N A N C E : P R I VAT E C O L L E C T I O N , M I C H I G A N

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ALMA THOMAS AMERICAN, 1891-1978

U N T I T L E D, C . 1 9 6 0 WAT E R C O LO R O N PA P E R 22 X 30 INCHES S I G N E D LO W E R R I G H T PROVENANCE:

THE ARTIST P R I VAT E C O L L E C T I O N , G E O R G I A A R T 7 0 T H G A L L E R Y, N E W YO R K , N Y J A S O N H . W R I G H T, N E W YO R K

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U N T I T L E D, C . 1 9 6 0 WAT E R C O LO R O N PA P E R 22 X 30 INCHES S I G N E D LO W E R R I G H T PROVENANCE:

THE ARTIST P R I VAT E C O L L E C T I O N , G E O R G I A A R T 7 0 T H G A L L E R Y, N E W YO R K , N Y J A S O N H . W R I G H T, N E W YO R K

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HALE WOODRUFF AMERICAN, 1900-1980

U N T I T L E D, 1 9 6 0 S WAT E R C O LO R A N D B L A C K C R AYO N O N PA P E R 30 X 22 INCHES S I G N E D LO W E R R I G H T PROVENANCE:

COLLEC TION OF PHILLIP AND SUZANNE SCHILLER

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ELIZABETH C AT L E T T AMERICAN, 1915–2012

S T E P P I N G O U T, C . 2 0 0 0 BRONZE SCULPTURE 30 X 9 ½ X 7 INCHES INSCRIBED “EC” P R O V E N A N C E : P R I VAT E C O L L E C T I O N ,

M E X I C O C I T Y, M E X I C O

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ERNIE BARNES AMERICAN, 1938-2009

F O O T B A L L P L AY E R S , 1 9 6 6 O I L O N C A N VA S 32 X 38 INCHES S I G N E D LO W E R R I G H T PROVENANCE:

P R I VAT E C O L L E C T I O N , LO S A N G E L E S

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FRANK WIMBERLEY AMERICAN, B. 1926

DE TOUR, 1965 O I L O N C A N VA S 30 X 40 INCHES S I G N E D LO W E R R I G H T PROVENANCE:

P R I VAT E C O L L E C T I O N , C O N N E C T I C U T

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BENNY ANDREWS AMERICAN, 1930-2006

THE OFFERING, 1964 O I L O N C A N VA S 24 1/2 X 38 1/2 INCHES S I G N E D, D AT E D 1 9 6 4 & T I T L E D V E R S O P R O V E N A N C E : P R I VAT E C O L L E C T I O N , C H I C A G O, I L

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WA LT E R SANFORD AMERICAN, 1912-1987

S U S A N A N D F R I E N D, 1 9 4 8 OIL ON BOARD 30 X 24 INCHES S I G N E D A N D D AT E D U P P E R R I G H T PROVENANCE:

PROPERT Y FROM THE COLLEC TION OF KENNE TH AND SHIRLEY B U T L E R , C H I C A G O, I L L I N O I S ( A C Q U I R E D D I R E C T LY F R O M T H E A R T I S T )

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CHARLES HENRY A L S TO N AMERICAN, 1907-1977

N E W YO R K C I T Y S C A P E , C . 1 9 4 8 O I L O N C A N VA S 20 X 24 INCHES S I G N E D LO W E R R I G H T PROVENANCE:

P R I VAT E C O L L E C T I O N , N E W YO R K , N Y B R O O K LY N M U S E U M ( D E A C C E S S I O N E D I N 2 0 0 7 )

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ELIZABETH C AT L E T T AMERICAN, 1915-2012

NAIMA, 1998 BRONZE 9 3/4 X 6 X 9 INCHES SIGNED WITH EC MONOGRAM PROVENANCE:

E L I Z A B E T H C AT L E T T, P R I VAT E COLLEC TION, MEXICO CIT Y P R I VAT E C O L L E C T I O N , B E R K E L E Y, CALIFORNIA

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WILLIAM S Y LV E S T E R C A R T E R AMERICAN, 1909-1996

WOMEN IN INTERIOR, 1981 OIL ON MASONITE 30 X 23 ¾ INCHES S I G N E D A N D D AT E D LO W E R C E N T E R PROVENANCE:

PROPERT Y FROM THE COLLEC TION OF K E N N E T H A N D S H I R L E Y B U T L E R , C H I C A G O, ILLINOIS

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BARBARA JOHNSON ZUBER AMERICAN, 1926-2019

PROCESSIONAL WOMEN, C.1972-74 O I L O N C O T T O N C A N VA S 28 X 60 INCHES S I G N E D LO W E R R I G H T PROVENANCE:

T H E E S TAT E O F T H E A R T I S T; T H E N C E B Y D E S C E N T, P R I VAT E C O L L E C T I O N , N E W YO R K

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BENNY ANDREWS AMERICAN, 1930-2006

JACK J (JACK JOHNSON), 1970 O I L A N D C O L L A G E O N C A N VA S B O A R D 12 X 9 INCHES S I G N E D, T I T L E D & D AT E D V E R S O PROVENANCE:

P R I VAT E C O L L E C T I O N , PA L M B E A C H , F L

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INDEX

Alston, Charles Henry

18 -19

Andrews, Benny

14- 15

Andrews, Benny

24

Barnes, Ernie

11

Carter, William Sylester

21

Catlett, Elizabeth

10

Catlett, Elizabeth

20

Coxe, Gloucester Caliman

4- 5

Sanford, Walter

17

Thomas, Alma

6

Thomas, Alma

7

Wimberley, Frank

13

Woodruff, Hale

9

Zuber, Barbara Johnson

22- 23

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VALLARINO FINE ART 222 EAST 49TH STREET NEW YORK, NY 10017 VALLARINOFINEART.COM

BARBARA JOHNSON ZUBER AMERICAN, 1926-2019

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