Offered here is a beautiful modernist portrait of a young women by well listed California watercolorist and modernist figure painter John Porter Leeper. Leeper is listed in Hughes, McClelland, Who Was Who in American Art among many others. This painting is a wonderful example of work by a group of artists that I believe will be the next wave in collecting interest, the California post war modernists. Most of these artists were involved in the California style watercolor painting that happened in the 30's, 40's and 50's and then transitioned to abstract expressionism and /or figure painting (the bay area figurative movement is the best known of this genre). Leeper is no exception and I consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to offer some fine figurative paintings at reasonable prices ahead of the big wave to come. There is currently only one public record of a sale of works by Johm Leeper. That was a pair of figure paintins that was sold by John Moran in November of last year. The pair was sold for 1,955.00 and consisted of smaller works that (in my opinion) were not a snice as this piece.
This painting is an acrylic on canvas measuring 36" x 24" plus the original frame. The painting was originally sold by the Adele Bednarz Galleries in Los Angeles at a price of $600.00. The original gallery tag is still on the reverse. The painitng is in excellent original condition with no damage or repairs. The frame has some nicks and dings but is still quite presentable. Don't miss this wonderful example of what should turn out to be the next hot California collecting market.
BIOGRAPHY:
Born in Dandridge, Tennessee, John Leeper was known in Arizona for his mural painting and in California for watercolor abstractions, city genre, and female figural works.
He was raised in Phoenix and studied art there for several years and then took further instruction at the Otis Art Institute. In the 1930s, he returned to Arizona and worked on murals for the Federal Relief Administration project until 1942. He taught art classes at The Phoenix Federal Art Center, a WPA project and forerunner of the Phoenix Art Museum.
His Phoenix murals were in the Tuberculosis Sanitarium in Papago Park and in some of them, he depicted nude figures, which artist David Swing later painted over because they were thought to be offensive to tubercular patients.
From 1942, Leeper resided in Southern California and there became a noted watercolorist of aspects of everyday life. Some paintings were of specific people, and others were more general views of city life. He painted both in his studio from on-site sketches and directly on location, en plein air.
From the late 1950s to the 1970s, he painted in abstract style, using opaque paints and depicting landscapes with no recognizable subjects. Later he produced a series of "highly colorful translucent paintings of women posed for life drawing classes" (McClelland & Last). He also worked as a sketch artist in the motion picture industry.
Source:
Peter Birmingham, The New Deal in the Southwest
Gordon McClelland and Jay Last, The California Style
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A note from K. van Valkenburg, Eve Leeper's cousin:
John Leeper was divorced from Evanda Morell Leeper prior to 1960. She was head of costuming for different studios in Hollywood. She designed headdresses for the Ice Capades and some Las Vegas shows and did the costumes for a Sid and Marty Krofft tv show in the 70s called Sigmund the Sea Monster. She died in Pasadena Jun, 2005.
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This biography from the Archives of AskART:
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| Born in Dandridge, TN on April 23, 1909. Leeper was raised in Phoenix and studied art there for several years. During the 1930s he further studied in Los Angeles at Otis Art Institute and then returned to Arizona where he lived and taught at the Phoenix Art Center until 1942. Returning to southern California, he worked as a sketch artist for movie studios. In 1951 he was director of the Pasadena Art Institute. During the 1930s to 1950s he painted American Scene subjects of life in American homes; after the 1950s he painted abstracts. Leeper died in Los Angeles on Nov. 7, 1985. Exh: LACMA, 1944, 1958; Calif. WC Society, 1944-55; Biltmore Salon (LA), 1949; Calif. State Fair, 1954 (prize); San Jose State College, 1957; Laguna Beach Art Festival, 1958, 1960. In: Arizona State College (mural); IBM; Long Beach Music College. |
Source:
Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940"
Who's Who in American Art 1940-70. |
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