314
George Elbert Burr (1859-1939), Drawing, "Untitled (Exterior with Tree)"
Currency:USD
Category:Art / Medium - Watercolors
Start Price:10.00 USD
Estimated At:1,400.00 - 2,400.00 USD
SOLD
220.00USD+ (26.40) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2010 Nov 13 @ 15:14UTC-7 : PDT/MST
Did you win this lot?
A full invoice should be emailed to the winner by the auctioneer within a day or two.
Condition Report available upon request
George Elbert Burr (1859-1939), Untitled (Exterior with Tree), George Elbert Burr Logo lower left, pastel on paper, c. 1915, 7 1/2 x 5 3/4 inches. Ex Collection: Dick Bowman
Ten years after his birth in Monroe Falls, Ohio, George Elbert Burr moved with his parents to Cameron, Missouri, where his father opened a hardware store. Burr was interested in art from an early age and his first etchings were created with the use of zinc scraps found in the spark pan under the kitchen stove. He then printed the plates on a press located in the tin shop of his father’s store.
In December of 1878, Burr left for Illinois to attend the Art Institute of Chicago (then called the Chicago Academy of Design). By April of the following year, Burr had moved back to Cameron. The few months of study in Chicago constituted the only formal training the artist was to have.
Back in Missouri, Burr heeded his family’s wishes by working in his father’s store. However, he did not abandon his art, often using his father’s railway pass to travel around the countryside on sketching trips. In 1894, Burr married Elizabeth Rogers and the following year he became an instructor for a local drawing class.
By 1888, the artist was employed as an illustrator for Scribner’s, Harper’s, and The Observer. During that time, his illustrations were also published in Volume II of John Muir’s Picturesque California. In December of the same year, Burr relocated to New York City for several months to work on assignment for The Observer. Over the next several years, Burr worked and traveled extensively as an illustrator contributing to additional periodicals including The Cosmopolitan and Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper.
In 1892, Burr began a four-year project to illustrate a catalog for the Metropolitan Museum of Art of Heber R. Bishop’s jade collection. After completing approximately 1,000 etchings of the collection, Burr used the money he earned on the project to fund a trip abroad. The artist and his wife spent the years between 1896 and 1901 sketching and traveling on a tour of Europe that spanned from Sicily to North Wales. After their return from Europe, the Burr’s settled in New Jersey where Burr sustained a living through the sale of his etchings and watercolors. During the next few years, Burr’s watercolors were displayed in galleries and exhibitions along the east coast and as far west as Kansas City, Missouri.
In 1906 the couple moved to Denver, Colorado, in an effort to improve George’s poor health. While in Colorado, Burr completed Mountain Moods, a series of 16 etchings.
His years in Denver were highly productive despite his poor health. He gained membership to art organizations including the New York Society of Etchers and the Brooklyn Society of Etchers (later renamed Society of American Etchers). Burr’s winters were spent traveling through the deserts of Southern California, Arizona, and New Mexico. In 1921, Burr obtained copyrights on the last of 35 etchings included in his well-known Desert Set.
Burr’s failing health prompted a move to a more moderate climate and the couple settled in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1924. In Phoenix, Burr served as president of the Phoenix Fine Arts Association and participated in the city’s first major art exhibition. Burr remained in Phoenix until his death in 1939.
Throughout his lifetime Burr worked in a variety of mediums creating approximately fifty oil paintings, over a thousand watercolors, two-thousand pen-and-ink drawings and over twenty-five thousand etchings all pulled from his own presses.
“I first etch the plate in line as for an ordinary black-and-white etching, and after taking a proof, I apply ground to the plate with resin powder and then etch in aquatint for the different colors and tones; or I first start the plate with soft-ground etching and afterward finish with aquatint. After the plate is properly etched, I then paint the picture on the copper with ordinary oil colors, removing carefully all color that does not adhere to the granulated surface, and then print on moistened sheet of Japan paper in ordinary etching press. By this method each print is a distinct picture, each proof requiring a separate painting on the copper, no two being alike, the pictures varying according to the mood and will of the artist. The process is a slow one and I make a very limited number of proofs and then destroy the plate, by that means giving added value to the few prints that I place before the public.” –George Elbert Burr on the printmaking process
Exhibitions: Boston Art Club, 1902, 1906; Art Institute of Chicago, 1910, 1913; National Museum of American Art, 1986 (retrospective); Mitchell Brown Gallery, Tucson, Arizona, 1990 (retrospective).
Works held: Art Institute of Chicago; Boston Museum of Fine Arts; Brooklyn Museum; Carnegie Institute; City Museum, St. Louis; Cleveland Museum of Art; Colorado State University; Denver Art Museum; Detroit Institute; Fine Arts Gallery, San Diego, California; Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Library of Congress; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Metropolitan Museum of Art; New York Public Library; Newark Museum; Phoenix Fine Arts Association; Prints of the Year, 1931; Public Library, Santa Barbara; Toledo Museum of Art; Berlin; Luxembourg, Paris; Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris; Victoria and Albert Museum, British Museum, London.
Further Reading: American Etchers, Vol. 7, George Elbert Burr with a foreward by Arthur Millier, the Crafton Collection, New York, 1930.; George Elbert Burr 1859-1939: Catalogue Raisonne and Guide to the Etched Works with Biographical and Critical Notes, Louise Combes Seeber, Northland Press, Flagstaff, Arizona,1971.; The Illustrated Biographical Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West, Peggy and Harold Samuels, Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York, 1976.; Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975: 400 Years of Artists in America, Vol. 1. Peter Hastings Falk, Georgia Kuchen and Veronica Roessler, eds., Sound View Press, Madison, Connecticut, 1999. 3 Vols.
©David Cook Galleries, LLC
Auction Location:
1637 Wazee Street, Denver, Colorado, 80202, United States
Previewing Details:
We are not offering set preview hours, however, you are welcome to make an appointment to view any lot(s) prior to the auction.
Taxes:
Tax | Rate | Desc. |
DEN |
7.62% |
Denver |
CO |
4.1% |
Colorado |
Buyer's Premiums:
From (Incl.) | To (Excl.) | Premium |
0.00 |
Infinite |
12% |
Additional Fees:
Shipping Details:
Buyers are required to pay for all packing, shipping and insurance expenses; our preferred carrier is Federal Express. We will gladly provide shipping estimates prior to the auction; please keep in mind that larger/heavy items can result in substantial shipping charges. International duty fees are the sole responsibility of the successful bidder. We will make every effort to minimize the shipping expenses.
You may also arrange to pick up your purchase(s) at the gallery. Please call or email to set an appointment so that we may ensure your purchase(s) are ready.
Payment Details:
1) Personal Checks: We reserve the right to hold shipment until the check clears our bank.
2) Credit Card Payments: We will accept credit card payments via telephone only. Please call 303-623-8181 during the hours of 11am and 5:30pm MST; Monday through Saturday.
Accepted Payment Methods:
- VISA
- Master Card
- AMEX
- Discover
- Check/Cheque
- PayPal
- See Payment Details
- Wire Transfer
Previews and Inspections:
Condition reports are available upon request for all lots. We would also be happy to send additional images. All objects are on display at the gallery and available for preview between the hours of 10:30am and 6:00pm
Sales Tax:
Buyers are required to pay any applicable state and local sales tax. If shipped outside of the city and county of Denver and/or the state of Colorado, all applicable state and local use taxes due are the sole responsibility of the buyer.
Shipping:
Buyers are required to pay for all packing, shipping and insurance expenses; our preferred carrier is Federal Express. We will gladly provide shipping estimates prior to the auction; please keep in mind that larger/heavy items can result in substantial shipping charges. International duty fees are the sole responsibility of the successful bidder. We will make every effort to minimize the shipping expenses.
Payment:
Payment in full is due in full within 20 days following conclusion of the auction.
Under no circumstances does the title ever transfer before the seller receives payment in full.
Returns:
We have made every effort to properly represent all lots. We will provide a limited warranty for a period of 7 days following receipt of the purchase by the bidder. If the buyer is not satisfied that the lot purchased is genuine or the condition is found to be not as stated, David Cook Galleries will offer a full refund (hammer price and buyer’s premium.) After the initial warranty period expires, the seller may request that the buyer obtain the opinion of up to two mutually agreed upon recognized experts in the field of the disputed item; any applicable fees will be at the expense of the buyer. All refunds will be made following return receipt of the item(s) in the same condition as of the time of sale. There shall be no other means of recourse by the buyer other than what is listed above.
General Conditions:
The auctioneer reserves the right to withdraw any lot at any time before its final sale.