Curatorial expertise, a tradition with American art dealer, Debra Force
by leslierankowfinearts
Debra Force at the Art Show at the Park Avenue Armory
with modernist works by Stuart Davis and Charles Burchfield
MENTION ART AUCTION AND IMAGES Of FAST-PACED AUCTIONEERS, ADRENALIN-FUELED BIDDING AND ELEVENTH HOUR DRAMA COME TO MIND. WHILE WE THINK THAT’S THE FUN PART, IT CAN ALSO FEEL INTIMIDATING TO A FIRST TIME COLLECTOR. ** THIS IS AN AREA OF COLLECTING IN WHICH EVEN THE MOST SOPHISTICATED COLLECTOR CAN BENEFIT FROM THE KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE OF AN ART ADVISOR. DETERMINING THE VALUE OF THE WORK, GUIDING THE CLIENT IN THE BIDDING PROCESS AND ESTABLISHING A JUDICIOUS PRICE CEILING, EXAMINING THE WORK’S CONDITION AND COMPARING THIS ARTWORK TO OTHERS IN THE MARKET, BOTH CURRENTLY AND HISTORICALLY, AND ABOVE ALL, AS A COOL SAVVY AND SENSE OF TIMING IN THE AUCTION ROOM ARE ALL SKILLS THAT ARE DEVELOPED OVER THE YEARS. ONE OF THE MOST ACTIVE AND SEASONED BUYERS IN THE AMERICAN ART MARKET IN DEBRA FORCE. I HAVE WITNESSED HER ACQUIRE SUPERB WORKS OF AMERICAN ART ON BEHALF OF PRIVATE COLLECTORS AND MUSEUMS FROM MANY AN AUCTION SALE.
TODAY, DEBRA FORCE RETURNS TO THE LRFA BLOG TO TELL US HOW SHE DOES IT.
**https://www.christies.com/buying-services/buying-guide/
http://www.debraforce.com/artists
Winslow Homer
The Red Canoe
THE CONSULTING SERVICES THE GALLERY PROVIDE A WIDE AREA OF EXPERTISE TO AN EVEN WIDER RANGE OF BOTH INDIVIDUAL AND INSTITUTIONAL ENTITIES.
DEBRA, PLEASE DESCRIBE SOME OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT TRANSACTIONS AND WHY THEY STAND OUT.
I have several clients for whom I buy at auction. Over the years, I have gotten to know them very well to the point that they may rely on my judgment to buy such works sight unseen. I was able to buy Winslow Homer’s “The Red Canoe” for a private collector in 1999 at Sotheby’s; it is the record price for the artist at auction. It was truly an exciting moment as was the time I bought Thomas Hart Benton’s “Ozark Autumn” for a museum at Christie’s in 2015; it too holds the record price for the artist at auction. The museum had been wanting a Benton for decades, and it was fulfilling to find the right work for their collection.
Thomas Hart Benton
Ozark Autumn
There have been surprises also. I was bidding on an important Norman Rockwell, “Framed,” at Sotheby’s in 2002 that sold for the reserve price under its estimate of $ 800,000-1,200,000; this is unheard of with Rockwell’s work. The reason was that the person who would have been the underbidder never made it to the auction, as they were stuck in traffic and their cell phone died. This is the beauty of chance at auction and what can happen.
Walt Kuhn
Chico in a Silk Hat
For another private collector, I bought a terrific, very tough Walt Kuhn, “Chico in Silk Hat,” at Sotheby’s in 2005; it also holds record price for the artist at auction. When I took the painting to install it in the client’s apartment, their miniature white dog barked and barked and hopped around the room, taking the sitter, who is an evil-looking clown, for a person. This was my first and only experience of seeing an animal reacting to art.
And, on occasion, I work on bigger projects, such as helping a collector furnish their beach house in the Hamptons with a whole collection of works from the 1960s-1980s. It was great fun.
IN WHAT WAYS DO YOU ADVICE TRUSTS, LAW FIRMS AND BANKS? ARE THEY SEEKING YOUR CONSULTING SERVICES ON BEHALF OF CLIENTS AND, IF SO, WHAT ARE THE CIRCUMSTANCES?
I have not worked with trusts, law firms or banks in locating works of art per se, except for offering works that we have in inventory to Citibank’s Art Advisory Service. However, I have helped law firms and trusts obtain proposals for selling at auction and assisting them in making a choice for the sale and in determining the best venue for the sale.
Lockwood de Forest
YOUR CURATORIAL HISTORY IS OUTSTANDING, AND EXHIBITIONS ARE OFTEN ACCOMPANIED BY SCHOLARLY CATALOGUES. ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND INFORMATIVE WAS “AN EXOTIC JOURNEY: THE FURNITURE AND PAINTINGS OF LOCKWOOD DE FOREST”. THIS IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF SCHOLARSHIP AND RESEARCH, TRACING THE TRADITION OF OUR CONTINUING INTEREST IN THE ART OF THE EAST IN GENERAL AND IN THE WORK OF LOCKWOOD DE FOREST IN PARTICULAR.
There is an ongoing tradition of westerners commissioning decorative objects from the Far East. The classic example of this trend was the China trade in the early 19th century when America was flooded with porcelains, paintings, and furniture made in China after western models.
A generation later, Lockwood de Forest (1850 – 1932) followed this pattern by commissioning decorative arts in India for American interiors. De Forest developed his interest in Indian design in the 1880s when he visited the country during his honeymoon. He eventually established a studio in the city of Ahmedabad where he had teak and brass panels fabricated for import to America for use in his furniture designs. Friend and decorator Louis Comfort Tiffany also employed de Forest’s panels in his furniture.
De Forest designed with a western lens, not striving to create facsimiles of Indian designs, but incorporating those elements into contemporary designs, as seen in this bench. The intricate panels were carved in India and then assembled with pieces manufactured in New York.
Cahoon Museum of American Art
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE EXHIBITIONS WE CAN LOOK FORWARD THIS YEAR?
We currently have an exhibition of Herman Maril’s Provincetown works to coincide with an exhibition at the Cahoon Museum on Cape Cod. It will be followed by a special exhibition of newly found watercolors of the landscape and points of interest in Pennsylvania and Virginia by George Luks. We are also in the process of working on shows that feature more traditional art alongside photography and contemporary works of similar subjects. And, given my interest in expatriate painting, we are planning an exhibition of works from France, Italy, and England from the late 19th-mid-20thCenturies.
Herman Meril: The Provincetown Paintings September 5 – October 19, 2018
IN OUR FINAL BLOG WITH DEBRA, SHE WILL SHARE HER PERSPECTIVE ON THE CURRENT MARKET FOR AMERICAN ART AND ITS FUTURE. HER INSIGHTS ARE NOT ONLY ACCURATE BUT INVALUABLE.
PLEASE JOIN US!
Leslie Rankow Fine Arts 