Visual Narratives: “Art, Resurrected”

by Leena Prasad

 

 

 

 

An unknown artist, Peter Witwer, is shot and killed near his home in San Francisco's Haight Ashbury neighborhood.  Forty years later, his paintings are resurrected and art patrons and collectors buy most of his pieces. Witwer was part of the figurative art movement occurring in the Bay Area during his lifetime. He wasn’t around to reach the critical acclaim achieved by his contemporary figurative artists like David Parks or Diebenkorn.  But, thanks to a local art gallery, Witwer’s lifetime of work, bought by a friend after his death, is finally hanging on the walls of many art aficionados.

 

The gallery that discovered Witwer is Lost Art Salon, found in July 2005 by Rob Delamater and Gaétan Caron.  It is fashioned after the 1920's Paris salons where the openings of exhibits were social events that took place at the houses of art patrons. In the spirit of those salons, Rob and Gaetan have created a living-room setup inside the salon with coffee table, sofas, and chairs where visitors can relax with a cup of tea during their visit. For the opening of new exhibits, the owners throw parties with food, drink, and festivities that often include live performances ranging from flamenco to vaudeville acts.

 

Gallery Guest                                                                                                                       photo by Leena Prasad

 

During the day, natural light filters in through the large wall-to-wall windows and illuminates the cornucopia of art in this space.  The walls beckon with a diverse style of paintings, sketches, watercolors, and more. The tables and shelves and all available flat surfaces seduce the eyes with an array of objects ranging from delicate glass pieces to ceramic pottery objects to sculptures created from a diverse set of materials.  The pieces share the facts that most of the unknown/slightly known artists are dead, that the works were created between 1900 and 1969 and that they were lovingly selected by Rob and Geatan for this unpretentious gallery.

 

Finding these unique object d’art entails a lot of diligent work. The gallery owners attend private sales, estate sales and various exhibits to find something that entices them and fits their thematic setting.  Sometimes family members of artist contact the salon. 

 

In the case of deceased artist Paul W. McCoy, his daughter contacted the Lost Art Salon. While alive, McCoy, a writer and editor, took off two years from work and spent them painting bucolic scenes of the Spanish countryside. He was too shy to exhibit his pieces during his lifetime so his family never had a chance to bask in the glory of his talent.  Recently, however, his wife and daughters enjoyed an art opening in his honor.  After the opening exhibit at The Lost Art Salon, McCoy's pieces are hanging at the Park Hotel in San Francisco.  Some of his pieces have also been featured in Williams Sonoma advertisements.

 

Not all the artists at the Lost Art Salon are 'discovered,' however. Some of them have achieved acclaim while alive.  Rob and Gaetan stumbled across Wiveca R. Rubinow via a single painting they purchased at a show in Napa.  Placing a photo of the piece on their website resulted in a phone call from a Rubinow collector. The Salon acquired the collection and has been selling them to interested patrons.  Rubinow is one of the few artists featured at the salon who made money from her art while still alive.

 

Rob Delamater                                                                                                                     photo by Leena Prasad

 

The clientele of this gallery ranges from private collectors, independent filmmakers, and interior designers to commercial clients like Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, and Tommy Hilfiger.  Priced at under one thousand dollars, including framing, the pieces are affordable for young aspiring collectors.  The art rental fees are also reasonable for independent filmmakers and attractive to commercial clients who just want to rent the pieces for a particular show. Some clients come here because they are looking for a particular theme or for period pieces.

 

This is not to say that ALL the pieces at the salon cost less than $1000.  Some of the pieces cost more because the artist is well known. For instance, the owners accidentally discovered woodcut pieces by Vernon E. Smith, an artist who has exhibited at the New York Museum of Modern Art and at the Smithsonian.  The pieces would have gone unnoticed if it hadn’t been for the fact that the renter of a storage space defaulted on payment and the owners auctioned off all the items in the space. Luckily for Rob and Gaetan, the Smith pieces were included in this sale.  It’s ironic that the storage space renter could not afford to pay rent on his space because these pieces are now priced in the range of $3000-$4000.

 

There are compelling stories behind many of the pieces at this Mission space. The owners spawned the idea for the gallery by collecting period pieces as a hobby; they have their own stories to tell about the journey that has led to full-time dream jobs for them. Ask them about the various collections and be prepared to hear a story that will your raise your spirits in empathy for the artists whose talents and passion are being resurrected in this cozy and friendly art salon.

 

 

 

 

The next exhibit at The Lost Art Salon (http://www.lostartsalon.com) 245 S. Van Ness #303 (at 13th) San Francisco, CA is scheduled to open on Thursday February 22, 2007. Visit the website for details. 

For a full .pdf version of this column (including gallery photos), go to http://www.missionarts.org/0702/0702.pdf

 

For comments/complaints/kudos/article ideas/etc., please write to Leena Prasad at art@WeAreNotAmused.com.  Please let me know in your letter if it would be okay to publish it as part of this column.