PIERCE RICE (American, 1916-2003). STUDY FOR THE FIGURE OF DIANA WITH A BOW, Oil on canvas. Signed on reverse. - Unframed: 44 in. x 39 in. Estimate $300-400
The following eleven lots,
Lots 939 through 949, are from
the estate of the Washington area
artist, educator and writer
Pierce Rice (1916-2003).
Sloans & Kenyon is pleased to offer
in our upcoming auctions numerous
additional works of art from the
studio of Mr. Rice. Rice left a
varied body of work from a long
artistic career. His subject matter
was diverse – from grand scale
paintings of Washington buildings,
to sketches for comic books, to
historical genre pieces, to still lifes
of everyday objects. Rice's art
seems to embody his artistic ideals
as outlined in his writings. Pierce
Rice published his seminal book
Man as Hero: The Human Figure in
Western Art in 1987. In this work
Rice championed classical
representative art, idealization of
the human form, and 'the heroic
possibilities of mankind.' Following
his education at the National
Academy of Design, Rice supported
himself as one of the great
'pencilers' for major comic book
lines, including Marvel and Fox.
He was one of the founders of the
Classical America movement, and
taught classes in perspective
rendering and composition at the
National Academy and the
University of Pennsylvania. In the
1950s he moved from New York
to Washington D.C., continuing to
teach at both institutions,
composing essays for Classical
America, and executing
commissions for portraits and
architectural design elements.
