The Antiques Roadshow and more with American art dealer and gallerist, Debra Force

by leslierankowfinearts

Debra Force
Antiques Roadshow

FACED WITH AN INCREASINGLY MEDIA-SATURATED, GLOBALIZED CULTURE, ART HISTORIANS HAVE BEGUN TO ASK THEMSELVES CHALLENGING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE NATURE OF THEIR DISCIPLINE ACCORDING TO SYLVAN BARNET IN HIS A SHORT GUIDE TO WRITING ABOUT ART. THIS BOOK PROVIDES A GUIDELINE FOR STUDENTS ON  EVERY ASPECT OF WRITING ABOUT ART: FORMAL ANALYSIS, COMPARISON, RESEARCH AND ALL THE TOOLS NECESSARY TO PRESENT THEIR FINDINGS WITH EFFECTIVE WRITING.

https://www.amazon.com/Short-Guide-Writing-About-11th/dp/020588699X

THE BEST ART DEALERS ARE ART HISTORIANS AS WELL, ENGAGED IN THE HISTORY AND PROVENANCE OF WORKS, THE QUALITY AND THE TECHNIQUE.  THEY PROVIDE THE POTENTIAL COLLECTOR WITH INFORMATION ABOUT A WORK IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ARTIST’S ENTIRE OEUVRE AND IN COMPARISON TO WORKS IN THE SAME PERIOD AND GENRE.  ONE OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF A GALLERIST OR AN ADVISOR IS TO EDUCATE CLIENTS ABOUT THE ARTISTS THEY ARE CONSIDERING OR ARE ADDING TO THEIR COLLECTIONS. THIS IS PARTICULARLY TRUE IN THE AREA OF AMERICAN ART AS IT IS SO RICH IN OUR HISTORY WITH VAST ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE OF THE CULTURE, MORES AND ACTIVITIES OF THE TIME. SCHOLARSHIP IS CRUCIAL IN ENRICHING THE APPRECIATION AND COMMITMENT OF COLLECTORS OF THIS PERIOD.

James Jebusa Shannon
Portrait of Liz Cartwright

THERE IS NO ONE WHO MORE GRACEFULLY COMBINES AN ACADEMIC PASSION FOR THE HISTORY OF AMERICA  AND ITS ART THAN DEBRA FORCE.

ESTABLISHED IN 1999, THE GALLERY SPECIALIZES IN AMERICAN PAINTINGS, DRAWINGS AND SCULPTURE FROM THE 18th, 19th and 20th CENTURIES. DEBRA FORCE FI”NE ART FOCUSES ON QUALITY WHATEVER THE MEDIUM OR PERIOD AND DEBRA HAS AN EXCEPTIONAL TALENT FOR IDENTIFYING ARTISTS WHO HAVE FALLEN FROM VIEW AND RENEWING OUR APPRECIATION OF THEIR WORK AND REVIVING THEIR MARKET.

http://www.debraforce.com

ONE SUCH ARTIST IS JAMES JEBUSA SHANNON, AN AMERICAN PORTRAIT PAINTER BORN IN NEW YORK, WHO TRAVELLED TO ENGLAND TO STUDY PAINTING AND  BECAME ONE OF BRITAIN’S MOST CELEBRATED PORTRAIT ARTISTS AT THE TURN OF THE 19th CENTURY. IN AN ARTICLE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, EVE M. KAHN, A FREQUENT CONTRIBUTOR TO THEIR ANTIQUES SECTION, PUBLISHED ONCE FORGOTTEN PAST, NOW RECALLED IN PAINTING, AN EXCELLENT REVIEW OF THE EXHIBITION AT DEBRA FORCE FINE ART OF TWO DOZEN WORKS BY SHANNON, SEEKING BEAUTY: PAINTINGS BY JAMES JEBUSA SHANNON,  AN ARTIST WHO WAS, IN HIS DAY, COMPARED TO JOHN SINGER SARGENT.

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/13/arts/design/james-jebusa-shannons-portraits-rescued-from-obscurity.html

DEBRA, WHEN YOU FIRST CAME TO NEW YORK, WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB IN THE ART WORLD?

My first job in New York was as Assistant to the Head of the American Paintings Department at Christie’s from 1984-1989, at which point, I became Head of the Department and a Senior Vice President until 1993.

American Art
Christie’s New York

WHAT WAS YOUR PROFESSIONAL HISTORY PRIOR TO OPENING DEBRA FORCE FINE ART?

Curator and Director of the CIGNA (formerly INA) Museum and Art Collection in Philadelphia (1977-1984)

Assistant to the Head of the American Paintings Dept. and later Head of Dept. and a Senior Vice President at Christie’s, New York (1984-1993)

Director of American Art at Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York (1993-1994)

Director of Beacon Hill Fine Art, New York (1994-1999)

President of Debra Force Fine Art, New York (1999-present)

WHAT PROMPTED YOUR DECISION TO OPEN A GALLERY?

When Beacon Hill Fine Art closed, I was given a generous severance package that enabled me to start my own gallery.  I had never intended to do so until then.

 

On the air
Debra Force at the Antiques Roadshow

YOU PARTICIPATE IN THE ANTIQUES ROADSHOW THAT TRAVELS AROUND THE COUNTRY INVITING PEOPLE TO BRING IN THEIR TREASURED ART OBJECTS FOR IDENTIFICATION AND EVALUATION . WHAT WERE SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THAT EXPERIENCE?

I have been on “Antiques Roadshow” for over 18 years and have had lovely experiences, meeting people, and seeing exciting and challenging art. Of course, most of what we see is of minimal value, but we do run across real “finds,” particularly if the owner has no idea of the identity of the artist.  In St. Paul, MN, my guest was an elderly man who had been a farmer (he was wearing bib overalls) and who had gone to a farm auction where he bought a box of stuff, including two paintings, for  $ 4.00.  One painting was worth about $ 500.00 and he liked that one and had it hanging in his living room. He could not read the signature on the other, and since he didn’t care for it, he had it in a closet.  ThIs painting was by Victor Higgins, the Taos artist, and it was a New Mexico scene worth about $ 100,000.00.  It was a true find!

Victor Higgins
Arroyo Landscape
Watercolor on paper

In Jacksonville, I surprisingly saw two paintings by Thomas Hart Benton; both were authentic and belonged to different people….it was quite amazing since guests come to us “first come, first serve.” One was a rare still life given by the artist to the owner’s parents; the other, was a Martha’s Vineyard scene belonging to a descendant of a Missourian involved with the Truman Library in Independence, MO…strange that both ended up in Florida!

Thomas Hart Benton
Martha’s Vineyard
Oil on canvas

One of my more amusing spots was with a man in Washington, DC, who was very colorful in his dress and who had a Jessie Willcox Smith…when he learned that the value was over $ 100,000, he did his “Happy Dance,” as he called it.

I have also received works to sell from people who watch the show, but who have not appeared on it.  These have included an important Maurice Prendergast watercolor of St. Malo and an amazing Herbert “Buck” Dunton of the artist’s daughter on her favorite horse with Taos in the distance and belonging to a descendant of the artist.

Maurice Prendergast
Beach at St. Malo

And, you never know why people give you things to sell…one guest who was on the show with a Willard Metcalf painting ultimately decided to sell it through me purely because we had both “Quakers;” that is, we had both gone to Penn.

IN OUR NEXT LRFA BLOG WITH DEBRA FORCE, AMERICAN ART SPECIALIST, WE WILL LEARN ABOUT THE GALLERY’S PARTICIPATION IN ART FAIRS AND THE APPRAISAL SERVICES THE GALLERY PROVIDES. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ASK ANY RELEVANT QUESTIONS- WE HAVE ACCESS TO A SEASONED EXPERT IN THE FIELD OF AMERICAN ART OF THREE CENTURIES–

FIRE AWAY!