Jessie Arms Botke (1883-1971), "The Challenge," 1928
Jessie Arms Botke
(1883-1971)
"The Challenge," 1928
Oil on canvas laid to canvas
Signed and dated lower right: Jesse Arms Botke / 1928
52 1/4 x 54 1/8 in.
Provenance:
Grand Central Galleries, New York, NY
Private collection, Connecticut
Sold: Bonhams, Los Angeles, CA, "California and Western Paintings and Sculpture," April 11, 2017, Lot 56
Private collection, Beverly Hills, CA
Exhibited:
Paris, France, Paris Salon, 1934
Other notes:
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: Craquelure throughout. Along the center of the right edge there is an area measuring about 5 x 1 inches that contains a cluster of losses and an unstable surface, the largest loss measures about 1 x 1 1/2 inches. There are additional smaller losses above this area, on the right edge. There is a 1/4 x 1/8 inch loss in the upper rightmost tree's edge. There are other scattered, rice and pea-sized (and smaller) losses in the sky and elsewhere. The edge of the original canvas is visible along the left side, particularly in the upper left corner. The canvas is glue-lined.Blacklight: There is a 2 1/2 x 6 inch repair with touch-up in the center of the upper left quadrant with smaller spots to the right of it. The areas on the right edge with paint loss (mentioned above) also have dots and dashes of touch-up, generally 1/2 x 3/4 inches (and smaller). The extreme upper edge and upper left and right corners are touched-up. The center of the left side has several pea-sized (and smaller) spots of touch-up, and an irregular 2-inch repair (approx.) along the center of the left edge. Other smaller scattered spots of touch-up. It is possible that part of the signature has been enhanced. Frame: 54 1/4 x 56 1/8 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.
Jessie Arms Botke
(1883-1971)
"The Challenge," 1928
Oil on canvas laid to canvas
Signed and dated lower right: Jesse Arms Botke / 1928
52 1/4 x 54 1/8 in.
Provenance:
Grand Central Galleries, New York, NY
Private collection, Connecticut
Sold: Bonhams, Los Angeles, CA, "California and Western Paintings and Sculpture," April 11, 2017, Lot 56
Private collection, Beverly Hills, CA
Exhibited:
Paris, France, Paris Salon, 1934
Other notes:
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: Craquelure throughout. Along the center of the right edge there is an area measuring about 5 x 1 inches that contains a cluster of losses and an unstable surface, the largest loss measures about 1 x 1 1/2 inches. There are additional smaller losses above this area, on the right edge. There is a 1/4 x 1/8 inch loss in the upper rightmost tree's edge. There are other scattered, rice and pea-sized (and smaller) losses in the sky and elsewhere. The edge of the original canvas is visible along the left side, particularly in the upper left corner. The canvas is glue-lined.Blacklight: There is a 2 1/2 x 6 inch repair with touch-up in the center of the upper left quadrant with smaller spots to the right of it. The areas on the right edge with paint loss (mentioned above) also have dots and dashes of touch-up, generally 1/2 x 3/4 inches (and smaller). The extreme upper edge and upper left and right corners are touched-up. The center of the left side has several pea-sized (and smaller) spots of touch-up, and an irregular 2-inch repair (approx.) along the center of the left edge. Other smaller scattered spots of touch-up. It is possible that part of the signature has been enhanced. Frame: 54 1/4 x 56 1/8 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.
