$13,970
What Do You See? The Collection of Sidney Rothberg, Part II
Auction: February 28, 2024 at 12 PM ET
Signed ‘A. Ryan’ bottom right; also signed and titled verso, oil on board
11 ¾ x 15 ½ in. (29.8 x 39.4cm)
Executed in 1943.
Sotheby's Arcade, New York, sale of May 27, 1998, lot 350.
Acquired directly from the above sale.
The Collection of Sidney Rothberg, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts, n.d.
“Vanguard American Paintings of the Thirties and Forties,” Gallery Schlesinger Boissante, New York, New York, March 20-May 1, 1982.
Anne Ryan's paintings from the mid-1940s represent something of a crossroads in her career. While she had previously experimented with etchings and portraits, this period saw an increased emphasis on still life. These works often balance intimate depictions of everyday objects (i.e. fruit or, as in the present lot, household furniture) with a burgeoning interest in abstraction. It is conceivable that Ryan’s shift towards a bolder palette and simplified forms hints at the influence of the emerging Abstract Expressionist movement. Works like Table laid the groundwork for her mature, small-scale collages, which solidified her position within the post-war avant-garde.