Description:

Arthur Kern (American/Louisiana, b. 1931), "Celebration", 1949/1950, oil on canvas, signed, titled and inscribed en verso, dated, "Custom Framed by Carl J. Durel, New Orleans, LA" label and a copy of an authentication letter written by artist with title and date on stretcher, 27 in. x 21 1/4 in., framed, overall 31 1/4 in. x 25 1/4 in. x 1 3/4 in. Note: Famously elusive and private, Arthur Kern is a native of New Orleans who received his BA and MFA from Tulane University. After a brief stint teaching at the University of Southwest Louisiana (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette) from 1967 to 1969, Kern taught at Tulane from 1969 until his retirement in 1996. Little information can be found on Kern’s early work, as he destroyed most of his paintings and drawings for a fresh start in sculpture some four decades ago. In 2016, Kern consented to an exhibition of his sculpture at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, curated by the novelist John Berendt, author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Arresting and surrealist, Kern’s sculpture is a clear transformation from his early painting, from which only a few canvases have survived such as the piece on offer here. In a letter to the owner, Kern expresses his elated surprise to see the piece again: “The painting depicted, entitled “Celebration” was certainly done by me… It was done while I was attending John McCrady’s Art School. During my grammer [sic] school days I took lessons from John’s wife Mary. Shortly after I began high school John invited me to attend classes at this school on Bourbon St. I continued studying with him during my high school years but had to reluctantly give that up to concentrate on my studies at Tulane. John did not teach children’s classes so I was the only kid enrolled in his adult painting and life drawing classes… As for the content of the painting, there is not much I can say. I have never tried to understand my own work. Images appear from I know not where—the subconscious perhaps— and I go with it. I hold the view that a work of art is not to be understood. It is to be experienced. I’m content to let the viewer do the interpretation if he is so inclined.” Ref.: Mazur, Jacqueline. “Strange, Beautiful and Surreal, the Work of New Orleans Sculptor Arthur Kern is Revealed Decades Later.” WGNO. June 29, 2016. www.wgno.com. Accessed Aug. 26, 2024. Norwood, Nicondra. “New Ogden Exhibit Features Artist Some Presumed Dead.” Fox 8. Mar. 30, 2016. www.fox8live.com. Accessed Aug. 26, 2024. Robertson, Campbell. “At 84, an Artist Tries Something New: Displaying His Work.” The New York Times. Mar. 28, 2016. www.nytimes.com. Accessed Aug. 26, 2024.

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September 20, 2024 11:00 AM CDT
New Orleans, LA, US

Neal Auction Company

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $2,999 $100
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $29,999 $1,000
$30,000 $49,999 $5,000
$50,000 $99,999 $10,000
$100,000 + $20,000