Seller Story
A Josef Albers Painting from the Paul Chidlaw Estate
EBTH Art Cataloguer Sarah Miller was sorting through a pile of artwork from artist Paul Chidlaw’s estate when one piece caught her eye. The collection was a vast one — left to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital by Chidlaw’s wife, Madge Smith, in honor of the doctors who treated him for macular degeneration. Through a partnership with EBTH the estate, which includes thousands of works on paper, marker sketches, and oil paintings, is gradually being auctioned off to benefit the hospital. Miller was sorting through one such pile when she noticed a small oil painting composition of concentric squares. “I recognized that it looked like an iconic Albers piece,” she recalls, “But it was only signed with a little “A.”
A consult with the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation revealed that the work was a part of one of Albers’ most famous series: “Study for Homage to the Square.” Thanks to Miller’s eye, the work — previously unknown to the estate — has been added to the the artist’s catalogue raisonné.
The composition — one Albers painted over and over — was for him an exercise in the interaction of color. “He would try to make shapes and color recede and come forward and vibrate against each other,” explains Miller, of the square series. “Because he wanted that pure color — he didn’t mix them – he’d use paint straight from the tube. And he wouldn’t layer. He started with a center square, and then painted a square around it, so that the colors never overlapped. He did the same composition but changed the colors to study how they could interact.”
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KitchenAid Artisan Series Yellow 5 Quart Stand Mixer With Accessories
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14K Enameled Champagne Bottle Charm
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14K Rectangular Drop Link Earrings
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Elizabeth Lincoln for Rookwood Pottery Floral Design Ceramic Vase, 1930
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Walter Stomps Abstract Geometric Acrylic Painting "Galactic Border No. 1"
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Grey Iron Casting Co. "Queen" Cast Iron Miniature Reproduction Toy Stove
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18K White Sapphire Cluster Earrings
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English Cut Glass Decanters with Sterling Silver Rims and Decanter Tags, 1930s
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Dee Sudbury Impressionist Landscape Oil Painting Of Flower Field, Late 20th C.
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Mahogany-Stained X-Back Armchair, Manner of Barbara Barry
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1950s Rhinestone Miriam Haskell Brooch
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Watson Sterling Baby Utensils with Floral Motif and Dog Portrait
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18K Lattice Pendant Necklace
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Henredon Houndstooth-Upholstered English Roll-Arm Easy Chair
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N. Ming Stylized Oil Portrait, 21st Century
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Jack Meanwell Abstract Oil Pastel Drawing, Late 20th Century
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Fred Aris Serigraph After Paul Klee "Figure in the Garden"
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Large Louis XV Style Painted Trumeau Mirror
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French Miniature Tea Service and Dinnerware with Presentation Case
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Swedish Vicke Lindstrand for Kosta Glass "Feathers" Etched Glass Bowl
An influential modernist painter, German-born Albers taught at the Bauhaus, where he developed extensive theories on color theory. When the Nazis closed the institution, he emigrated to the United States and toured the country teaching, including posts at Yale and the Black Mountain Folk School. “He spent a semester teaching at the Art Academy of Cincinnati in 1949, which is where he met Chidlaw,” explains Miller, “He was kind of a catalyst between the old ways of working in art and the new Modernism of the mid-20th century. Chidlaw, the Cincinnati native who was then known for romantic, realist paintings, was interested in Modernism, which hadn’t yet taken hold in the region. “He was excited to meet Albers,” notes Miller, “It was right around the time the Cincinnati Art Museum acquired one of his works.” Albers brought with him new teaching methods. “He was interested in more expressionistic study: breaking down the elements of art individually instead of trying to recreate landscapes,” says Miller. “He influenced many notable artists after him, including Jim Dine, whose work is also in this sale.”“
Other pieces in this sale that are part of Chidlaw’s collection include Cincinnati artists T.C. Lindsey, Edward Pothast, Anni Albers (Josef’s wife), and Martin Rettig.