Tapestry #1 Indian Fantasy (1948)

stillmanlack.org

Oil on canvas 36 x 26 inches Provenance: Bertha Schaefer Gallery, 1949 Private collection, Southhampton, NY, until 1997 „ In his 1972 catalogue essay for the Ary Stillman retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, then director Phillipe de Montebello wrote “The history of art abounds with examples of artists who pursued their calling with excellence, indeed, with inspiration quite above the ordinary. Such an artist is Ary Stillman, whose name is still vividly implanted on the minds of those artists and critics active in the New York art scene of the post-war period.” After radically changing his work in 1945, Stillman in short order achieved a painterly breakthrough, and indeed uniqueness, by creating Abstract Expressionist works inspired by spiritual concerns. The lyricism of these works, many of which incorporated musical themes, resulted in quietly poignant yet undeniably powerful canvases. For the last five years of his life, Stillman lived in Houston, where almost all of his works reside at the Museum of Fine Arts and the University of Houston School of Music. We are pleased to offer this important work which resided in a distinguished Long Island private collection. It is unlikely other Stillman works of this caliber will ever appear in the marketplace.