The
following description has been prepared entirely by the current owner, Roberts
S. Fastov, Esq., and, at the collector’s request, has not been edited by Sloans
& Kenyon
Note 1) The following biographical
materials are based, in part, on information on the Askart.com website:
This is a relatively early abstract
work created by Keene when he was about 20 years old, c. 1940. Born in
Philadelphia, Paul Keene was an African American artist who earned an eminent
reputation at a time when that was difficult for artists of his race. Abstract
painting was rarely adopted and practiced by African American artists at that
time. However, Keene was an African American art pioneer, as he was attracted
to, adopted and embraced abstract painting as a very young man. This lot is in
excellent condition, manifests great visual appeal stylistically and in its the
vivid coloring. He earned three degrees and taught at Temple University's Tyler
School of Art and the Philadelphia College of Art. In the 1960's, he settled in
Bucks County, New Hope, Pennsylvania. His subject matter reflects his personal
responses to experiences of African Americans, and his work includes voodoo
symbolism, ancient Haitian deities, and depictions of jazz musicians. Per
Askart.com, Keene's works are held by the LaSalle University Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA and the James A. Michener
Art Museum, Doylestown, PA.
The "Philadelphia
Inquirer" printed the following obituary for Keene on December 13, 2009 by
Bonnie L. Cook Inquirer Staff
Writer:
"PAUL FARWELL KEENE JR.,
1920-2009 Acclaimed Artist's Works Raised Racial Awareness
Paul Farwell Keene Jr., 89, a
Philadelphia-area artist and teacher whose 70 years of work helped raise the
visibility of black American artists, died of natural causes Nov. 26 at home in
Warrington.
Mr. Keene created paintings,
drawings, and prints; his works, mixing realism and abstraction, drew on his
knowledge of and feelings about the black experience, including slavery.
He was born in Philadelphia and
raised in North Philadelphia. As a teen in the late 1930's, he was determined
to be an artist.
While attending Central High School,
Mr. Keene was mentored by artists at the Wharton Settlement, a North
Philadelphia community center where he would later teach children's art
classes.
He graduated in 1938, and shifted
from student to exhibiting artist, at venues such as the Pyramid Club and the
Carlin Gallery.
During World War II, Mr. Keene
enlisted in the Army Air Force. He attained the rank of lieutenant and served
with the Tuskegee Airmen in the 332d Fighter Group, but never flew because
white pilots were given preference, his family said.
After the war, Mr. Keene received
his bachelor's degree, and then his master of fine arts degree from Temple
University's Tyler School of Art in 1948.
He used the GI Bill to study at the
Academie Julian in Paris. While there, he helped found Gallerie 8, a collective
gallery for American artists working in Paris.
Art critic Edward J. Sozanski wrote
in The Inquirer in 2005 that Mr. Keene "belonged to the generation of
American artists who studied in Paris after World War II and absorbed the style
of late European modernism."
"Keene also helped raise the
visibility of African American artists by drawing on the black cultural
experience, still a theme in his most recent work," Sozanski wrote.
After his time in France, Mr.
Keene spent two years teaching at the Centre D'Art in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on
a John Hay Whitney Fellowship.
From 1954 through 1968, Mr. Keene
taught at the Philadelphia College of Art. In 1968, he left to become a
professor of art at Bucks County Community College and served for a short time
as its art department chairman.
He retired in 1985.
Mr. Keene created a mural for
Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C., in 1966; a large relief
installation at Philadelphia's 59th Street Baptist Church in 1971; and a
ceramic installation at the Guild House West in North Philadelphia in 1980 (Emphasis added)."
Note
2) The foregoing Keene biographical information; the fact that this painting is
an interesting and well-executed abstract composition; has multi-hued, vibrant,
high key coloring; is esthetically appealing; is in good condition; and
attractively framed in a simple gold frame and the following auction records
regarding Keene sales warrant the conclusion that the presale estimate of
$4,000-$8,000 is reasonable and justifiable. The highest auction price ever
paid for a Keene abstract painting, like this auction painting, was $8,365 on
11/4/2007. However, none of the Keene works that were auctioned, as set forth
below date from c. 1940, when this Keene auction work was created when Keene
was approximately age 20 and created this seminal abstract work. Thus, this
auction painting is additionally an historic experimental work in Keene’s
oeuvre, which was a seed that spawned Keene’s life-long pursuit of abstract
painting. Any knowledgeable, sophisticated art collector recognizes that this
factor may well enhance the value of this kind of painting.
Moreover,
the collector of African American art should also recognize that Keene was an
African American trailblazer in pursuing abstract art when he did and should be
prepared to pay a premium amount for this Keene painting for this and other
reasons set forth herein.
It
appears from Keene’s auction records that he is apparently only known by
Philadelphia area auction houses and primarily their local collectors. This
will change, and it is likely that in the not too distant future that Keene
will become a nationally known first rate African American abstract artist. As
a consequence, the value of Keene’s paintings will increase exponentially, as
more African American and Caucasian collectors of 20th century
abstract painting, as well as such collectors of other races, become more aware
of and respond positively to Keene’s marvelous vibrant and variegated coloring,
combined with semi-realistic and totally abstract forms and patterns, that have
their roots in various aspects of African American culture. In short, anyone
considering bidding on this Keene auction painting should be prepared to bid on
and pay a price for this painting that exceeds the $8,000 high estimate.
Title/Subject:
Untitled Signed. Acrylic on paper. 15 in. x 21.88 in. sold for $3,625 on 11/17/2012
at Rago Arts and Auction Center,
Lambertville, NJ
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