Jessie Arms Botke (1883-1971), "Cranes"
Jessie Arms Botke
(1883-1971)
"Cranes"
Oil on canvas mounted to Masonite
Signed lower right: Jessie Arms Botke; stamped in black ink on the Masonite's verso: "Copyright Strictly Reserved by / Catalda Fine Arts, Inc. / New York City;" titled and with [Print no.] "6267" both inscribed in ink on a gallery / publisher label affixed to the frame's backing paper; the number 6267 also written once on the Masonite's verso; alternatively titled "Manchurian Cranes" in another hand on two xeroxed newspaper announcements affixed to the Masonite's verso
25 x 30 in.
Provenance:
Catalda Fine Arts, Inc., New York, NY
Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, CA
A.R. Cutter, purchased from the above, 1951
Violet E. Girod, Salem, OR
Other Notes:
Catalda Fine Arts produced and wholesaled color lithographs, offset prints, and decorative reproductions of classical, vintage, and contemporary artworks for the home decor market during the 1940s through the 1960s, but they also offered the original works that they were creating prints from like the present painting.
Born in Chicago, Jessie Arms Botke studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and spent some time in Europe before moving to New York. There she worked for Herter Looms under Albert Herter and became a specialist in tapestry cartoons. She was a lead bird artist on a significant mural commission for Herter Looms at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. Botke returned to Chicago and married Dutch American artist Cornelis Botke. The couple had a successful partnership working on mural commissions for high profile companies and institutions including University of Chicago and the Kellogg Company.
In 1920, the couple moved to California and purchased a ten-acre ranch in Wheeler Canyon near Santa Paula, California. Botke quickly became associated with the vibrant art communities of Carmel and later Los Angeles. Influenced by Asian Art and the Arts and Crafts movement, she began to incorporate gold and silver leaf in intricate backgrounds of her bird and foliage-focused compositions.
Botke is arguably best known for these richly decorative paintings of birds, particularly her famous peacocks and cockatoos, that blend careful observation of nature with a strong sense of pattern and design. Fowl were another common subject for the artist, particularly after settling in rural Santa Paula where she built an aviary for exotic birds while ducks and chickens roamed freely on the ranch property. Whether exotic or domestic, Botke remained dedicated to depicting birds not just as natural subjects but as elegant decorative forms throughout her artistic practice.
Condition
Visual: An occasional small area of very fine craquelure or minor crazing. An unobtrusive pea-sized paint loss in the extreme upper right corner. As mentioned, the canvas is mounted to Masonite (likely by the artist). Blacklight: A pea-sized touch-up in the water to the left of the bending crane's neck. Frame: 32 1/2 x 37 3/4 x 2 3/4 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.
Jessie Arms Botke
(1883-1971)
"Cranes"
Oil on canvas mounted to Masonite
Signed lower right: Jessie Arms Botke; stamped in black ink on the Masonite's verso: "Copyright Strictly Reserved by / Catalda Fine Arts, Inc. / New York City;" titled and with [Print no.] "6267" both inscribed in ink on a gallery / publisher label affixed to the frame's backing paper; the number 6267 also written once on the Masonite's verso; alternatively titled "Manchurian Cranes" in another hand on two xeroxed newspaper announcements affixed to the Masonite's verso
25 x 30 in.
Provenance:
Catalda Fine Arts, Inc., New York, NY
Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, CA
A.R. Cutter, purchased from the above, 1951
Violet E. Girod, Salem, OR
Other Notes:
Catalda Fine Arts produced and wholesaled color lithographs, offset prints, and decorative reproductions of classical, vintage, and contemporary artworks for the home decor market during the 1940s through the 1960s, but they also offered the original works that they were creating prints from like the present painting.
Born in Chicago, Jessie Arms Botke studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and spent some time in Europe before moving to New York. There she worked for Herter Looms under Albert Herter and became a specialist in tapestry cartoons. She was a lead bird artist on a significant mural commission for Herter Looms at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. Botke returned to Chicago and married Dutch American artist Cornelis Botke. The couple had a successful partnership working on mural commissions for high profile companies and institutions including University of Chicago and the Kellogg Company.
In 1920, the couple moved to California and purchased a ten-acre ranch in Wheeler Canyon near Santa Paula, California. Botke quickly became associated with the vibrant art communities of Carmel and later Los Angeles. Influenced by Asian Art and the Arts and Crafts movement, she began to incorporate gold and silver leaf in intricate backgrounds of her bird and foliage-focused compositions.
Botke is arguably best known for these richly decorative paintings of birds, particularly her famous peacocks and cockatoos, that blend careful observation of nature with a strong sense of pattern and design. Fowl were another common subject for the artist, particularly after settling in rural Santa Paula where she built an aviary for exotic birds while ducks and chickens roamed freely on the ranch property. Whether exotic or domestic, Botke remained dedicated to depicting birds not just as natural subjects but as elegant decorative forms throughout her artistic practice.
Condition
Visual: An occasional small area of very fine craquelure or minor crazing. An unobtrusive pea-sized paint loss in the extreme upper right corner. As mentioned, the canvas is mounted to Masonite (likely by the artist). Blacklight: A pea-sized touch-up in the water to the left of the bending crane's neck. Frame: 32 1/2 x 37 3/4 x 2 3/4 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.
