David Bates (b. 1952), Crab Legs (1984)

David Bates (American, b. 1952) Crab Legs, 1984 Oil on canvas 72 x 60 inches (182.9 x 152.4 cm) Signed and dated in lower corners: Bates 84 Signed, dated, and titled on the reverse: David Bates Crab Legs 84 PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED DALLAS COLLECTION PROVENANCE: Texas Gallery, Houston, Texas; Acquired by the present owner from the above. David Bates became a noted realistic figure and narrative painter at a time when Abstract Expressionism was all-prevailing. His work is heavily influenced by modernism including the painting of Vincent Van Gogh, German Expressionism and Marsden Hartley, American Expressionist. He later added abstract sculpture to his pursuits, working in painted wood and painted bronze. "A natural storyteller influenced by his Texas upbringing and affection for family and longtime friends, Bates uses dark outlines, simplified forms, and heavy impastos in compositions that appear at once almost naive and highly sophisticated" (Dreisbach 9). Born in nearby Dallas, he spent his childhood in Garland where his mother encouraged his art talent. His father took him hunting and fishing, and he often incorporated outdoor sporting themes into his subject matter. He earned degrees from Southern Methodist University and did a year of independent study at the Whitney Museum in New York City. There he was most unique because he did figurative work among abstractionists, but he was encouraged by Red Grooms, who made it seem okay to paint figures and realism. He married a fellow student from SMU in 1980 and taught art at Eastfield College in Dallas. In 1983, he turned to full-time painting and became known as a Neo- Expressionist, who interjected both vision and a sense of humor into his painting. While still based in Texas, Bates has attained national and international acclaim for his paintings of Texas and the Gulf Coast. From his school days at SMU is Barn Door Crappies, a large multi-dimensional sculpture that reveals his clear artistic vision to Crab Legs is a monumental canvas (8 x 5 ft) that highlights Bates sense of humor and love of thick impasto – showing his full artistic maturity, Heritage Auctions is pleased to be offering seven works by David Bates this season ranging throughout the artist’s oeuvre.

HID09710052018

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Condition Report: Unlined canvas; there appears to be no inpaint. Framed Dimensions 74 X 62 Inches