For more than fifty years, Spanierman Gallery cultivated a reputation as one of the country’s preeminent galleries dedicated to American Art. Founded by Ira Spanierman in 1961, the gallery initially offered a wide selection of material, including silver, arms and armor, Old Master, European and American art. Over time, Spanierman chose to focus exclusively on American art, a move that would establish the gallery as a tour-de-force in the field. Well-known for his outstanding ‘eye’ and dedication to connoisseurship, Spanierman was trusted by institutions and private collectors alike. The gallery was known to have sold to hundreds of museums across the United States and abroad while fostering the development of some of the country’s most prestigious private collections.
In addition to its reputation as a dealer, Spanierman Gallery was esteemed in the industry for its dedication and support of art scholarship. As a young man starting off in the business, Ira Spanierman recalled researching and identifying paintings through tedious research at the Frick Art Reference Library. These hours of study left an indelible mark on Spanierman who would go on to publish catalogue raisonnés for artists such as Theodore Robinson, John Henry Twachtman, Willard Metcalf, and co-sponsor the catalogue on the work of Winslow Homer.
When Spanierman Gallery closed in 2014 an impressive inventory remained. We are pleased to offer a selection of these works from the estates acquired by the gallery including those of Dora Maar, Solomon Ethe, Vaclav Vytlacil, John F. Carlson, Joseph Amar, James and Myron Lechay, Martha Walter, Mercedes Matter, Lamar Briggs, Sumiye Okoshi and Robert Emmett Owen.
John Fabian Carlson 1875–1947
Swedish-American Impressionist painter John Fabian Carlson was born in 1875 and immigrated to Buffalo with his family in 1884. He studied at the Art Students League of Buffalo and later moved to New York City to train at the Art Students League there under influential artists like John Henry Twachtman and Frank Vincent DuMond.
After garnering various accolades, Carlson's career took off and he became the director of the Woodstock School of Landscape Painting. He gained recognition with awards from the National Academy of Design and the Salmagundi Club. Best known for his evocative landscapes, Carlson's work is characterized by bold brushwork and vibrant colors, often depicting scenes of America's Northeast and West. Aside from painting, Carlson was a respected teacher, sharing his knowledge at various institutions. His book, Elementary Principles of Landscape Painting, published in 1928, became a classic in the field.
While Carlson died in 1947 at age seventy-two in New York City, his impact on American landscape painting was profound and his influence endures through the artists he taught and his many works. Paintings by Carlson are held within the collections of institutions such as the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC, the Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art in Denver, and the Asheville Art Museum in North Carolina.
Auction Results John Fabian Carlson
