Armin Hansen (1886-1957), Cowboys and bucking horse at the California Rodeo, Salinas, California
Armin Hansen
(1886-1957)
Cowboys and bucking horse at the California Rodeo, Salinas, California
Oil on canvasboard
Signed lower center: Armin Hansen N.A.
16 x 20 in.
Provenance:
Private collection, San Francisco, CA
By two-generational family descent
Other Notes:
Armin Hansen was an American artist renowned for his powerful depictions of the sea and the lives of fishermen working in Northern Europe and along California's Monterey coast. Compositions featuring the California Rodeo in Salinas are an important sub-genre for the artist. Born in San Francisco, Hansen was formally trained in San Francisco at the California School of Design. Following the 1906 earthquake and fire that destroyed the school, Hansen went on to study at the Stuttgart Academy in Germany from 1906 to 1908 under Carlos Grethe. After leaving Germany, Hansen spent time in Paris and West Flanders, Belgium. During this early training in Europe, he absorbed influences from Impressionism and Expressionism.
Following his artistic education, Hansen spent time working as a crew member on North Sea trawlers while painting fishing scenes, maritime seascapes, and picturesque coastal villages. His interactions with the resilient and hardworking seafaring community, and the in-depth personal knowledge of sea vessels and the working life of a sailor gleaned from these experiences, became the central and career-long theme of his paintings and prints, deeply informing his art.
Upon his return to San Francisco in the autumn of 1912, Hansen quickly re-immersed himself in the local artistic community, joining the California Society of Etchers where he served on their Executive Board, and participating in exhibitions, including San Francisco Art Association shows. Hansen relocated his studio from San Francisco to the Monterey Peninsula in 1916, where he was in closer proximity to the vibrant artist colonies of Monterey and Carmel.
Though rooted in realism, Hansen's work embraces modernist elements, blending structure and expression to elevate everyday moments. He also played a key role in California's art scene, co-founding the Carmel Art Association and mentoring many younger artists, helping to establish the region as a major center for American art in the early 20th century.
Hansen first painted the rodeo in Salinas in 1913 and showed rodeo subjects in a show at the Schussler Brothers Galleries that same year. "It was subject matter that Hansen knew well, as he had joined his father at such events and had fond memories of watching him make drawings for his own rodeo paintings" (Scott Shields, "Armin Hansen: The Artful Voyage," 2015, p. 77). By 1930, Hansen had actively returned to rodeo subjects and included them in 1930 exhibitions at Stendahl Galleries and the Hotel Del Monte Art Gallery. In writing about another rodeo subject Scott Shields says, "For Hansen, it was the action that appealed, and he communicated it through every tense muscle of the horse and through the post of the rider with his flying neckerchief and tan chaps" (Shields, p. 191).
Condition
Visual: No condition issues to report. The signature is partially covered by the frame.Blacklight: No evidence of touch-up.Frame: 22 1/4 x 26 1/4 x 2 1/4 in.Condition reports are offered as a courtesy and are typically published in Moran's catalogue or can be made available upon request. The absence of a condition report does not imply that an item is free from defects or restoration, nor does a reference to particular defects imply the absence of others. Buyers are responsible for determining to their own satisfaction the true nature and condition of any lot prior to bidding. Though buyers are not legally required to inspect lots prior to purchase, failure to do so may constitute a waiver of complaint that an item was not delivered in a condition equal to the existent condition at the auction.
Armin Hansen
(1886-1957)
Cowboys and bucking horse at the California Rodeo, Salinas, California
Oil on canvasboard
Signed lower center: Armin Hansen N.A.
16 x 20 in.
Provenance:
Private collection, San Francisco, CA
By two-generational family descent
Other Notes:
Armin Hansen was an American artist renowned for his powerful depictions of the sea and the lives of fishermen working in Northern Europe and along California's Monterey coast. Compositions featuring the California Rodeo in Salinas are an important sub-genre for the artist. Born in San Francisco, Hansen was formally trained in San Francisco at the California School of Design. Following the 1906 earthquake and fire that destroyed the school, Hansen went on to study at the Stuttgart Academy in Germany from 1906 to 1908 under Carlos Grethe. After leaving Germany, Hansen spent time in Paris and West Flanders, Belgium. During this early training in Europe, he absorbed influences from Impressionism and Expressionism.
Following his artistic education, Hansen spent time working as a crew member on North Sea trawlers while painting fishing scenes, maritime seascapes, and picturesque coastal villages. His interactions with the resilient and hardworking seafaring community, and the in-depth personal knowledge of sea vessels and the working life of a sailor gleaned from these experiences, became the central and career-long theme of his paintings and prints, deeply informing his art.
Upon his return to San Francisco in the autumn of 1912, Hansen quickly re-immersed himself in the local artistic community, joining the California Society of Etchers where he served on their Executive Board, and participating in exhibitions, including San Francisco Art Association shows. Hansen relocated his studio from San Francisco to the Monterey Peninsula in 1916, where he was in closer proximity to the vibrant artist colonies of Monterey and Carmel.
Though rooted in realism, Hansen's work embraces modernist elements, blending structure and expression to elevate everyday moments. He also played a key role in California's art scene, co-founding the Carmel Art Association and mentoring many younger artists, helping to establish the region as a major center for American art in the early 20th century.
Hansen first painted the rodeo in Salinas in 1913 and showed rodeo subjects in a show at the Schussler Brothers Galleries that same year. "It was subject matter that Hansen knew well, as he had joined his father at such events and had fond memories of watching him make drawings for his own rodeo paintings" (Scott Shields, "Armin Hansen: The Artful Voyage," 2015, p. 77). By 1930, Hansen had actively returned to rodeo subjects and included them in 1930 exhibitions at Stendahl Galleries and the Hotel Del Monte Art Gallery. In writing about another rodeo subject Scott Shields says, "For Hansen, it was the action that appealed, and he communicated it through every tense muscle of the horse and through the post of the rider with his flying neckerchief and tan chaps" (Shields, p. 191).
Condition
Visual: No condition issues to report. The signature is partially covered by the frame.Blacklight: No evidence of touch-up.Frame: 22 1/4 x 26 1/4 x 2 1/4 in.Condition reports are offered as a courtesy and are typically published in Moran's catalogue or can be made available upon request. The absence of a condition report does not imply that an item is free from defects or restoration, nor does a reference to particular defects imply the absence of others. Buyers are responsible for determining to their own satisfaction the true nature and condition of any lot prior to bidding. Though buyers are not legally required to inspect lots prior to purchase, failure to do so may constitute a waiver of complaint that an item was not delivered in a condition equal to the existent condition at the auction.
