$10,000
Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000
Auction: November 17, 2020 12:00:00 PM EDT
Ink initialed and dated 41 bottom right, crayon and ink on paper.
14 1/16 x 16 15/16 in. (35.7 x 43cm)
Provenance: Martha Jackson Gallery, New York, New York.
Dorothy Levitt Beskind, New York, New York.
The Estate of Dorothy Levitt Beskind, New York, New York.
NOTE:
Widely regarded as a leading proponent of Abstract Expressionism, Hans Hofmann was also a renowned art instructor, establishing schools in both New York City and Provincetown, Massachusetts. A central tenet to Hofmann's teaching style was the repeated rendering of a model or scene until it was reduced to its basic forms. Hofmann is widely quoted as having stated, "The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak." Works on paper such as the present example offer a glimpse of this reductive process, in that a sloping hillside descending into dunes are rendered in just a few energetic strokes of ink. Bright burst of color are added in crayon, giving energy and exuberance to what was likely a familiar and beloved vista for the artist. The present work may have been executed along the beach of North Truro, looking north towards Provincetown. Here is where "Hofmann went to feel rejuvenated, hiking the dunes to draw and paint, alive to the rhythms of the seasons and the scent of bayberry."[1]
[1] Rand Brown, Susan. "Cape Museum Honors 'Hans Hofmann Legacy'." Trurowickedlocal.com, Jan 24, 2018, https://truro.wickedlocal.com/entertainment/20180124/cape-museum-honors-hans-hofmann-legacy.