Questroyal 2009

Luigi Lucioni ( 1900 – 1988 ) Plate 26 Bread and Fruit , 1940 Oil on canvas 14 x 18 1 / 4 inches Signed and dated lower left: L. Lucioni 1940 provenance Dr. Harry Blutman, NewYork (the artist’s doctor) Private collection, NewYork Barbara Mathes Gallery, NewYork Richard York Gallery, NewYork The Estate of Richard T. York Sale, Christie’s, NewYork, May 18, 2004 , lot 112 Private collection exhibited Associated American Artists, NewYork, Luigi Lucioni, 1943 RichardYork Gallery, NewYork, Luigi Lucioni: Still Lifes, March–April 1991 RichardYork Gallery, NewYork, American Still Lifes: 1815 – 1955 , 1991 – 1992 Southern Vermont Art Center, Manchester, Luigi Lucioni ( 1900 – 1988 ): A Twentieth-century Renaissance Realist, 1993 Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Maine, Realism in Twentieth- century American Painting, August–September 1997 Southern Vermont Art Center, Manchester, Luigi Lucioni, 2000 literature E. A. Jewell, “Lucioni Paintings on Exhibition Here,” The NewYork Times, April 16, 1943 . “Attractions in the Galleries,” The NewYork Sun, April 16, 1943. E. A. Jewell, “Approach: A Critic’s Attitude toward His Task,” The New York Times, April 18, 1943 . Richard York Gallery, An American Gallery:Volume IV (NewYork: Richard York Gallery, 1988 ), no. 25 . Hilde Gabriel Lee, Taste of the States: A Food History of America (Charlottesville, Va.: Howell Press, 1992 ), p. 13 and back cover. Stuart P. Embury, M.D., The Art and Life of Luigi Lucioni: A Contribution towards a Catalogue Raisonné (Holdrege, Neb.: Stuart Embury, 2006 ), pp. 159, 276 , no. 40.2 . note In 1987 the artist wrote that Bread and Fruit was “one of [his] best paintings” (L. Lucioni to Richard T. York, March 3, 1987 ). Purely from the standpoint of craftsmanship, I do not think that he is surpassed by any artist of our time; and, as exemplifying in his work the hyper-naturalistic treatment of a theme, he can hold his own anywhere. edward alden jewell, art critic of The NewYork Times, 1943 1 But how he can see things and record them! Perhaps his still-life subjects are the most appealing and the most triumphantly accomplished in presentation; such, for instance, as “Blue and Ivory,” “Flower Patterns,” “Bread and Fruit.” The NewYork Sun, 1943 2 MyWay, or I Can’t Do It As reported by Adeline L. Atwater, a writer for The Atlanta Constitution, a young Luigi Lucioni recognized early the importance of individuality. When approached by a drawing instructor and sternly told to repeat a pre- vious exercise until it was perfected, the thirteen-year-old Lucioni gathered up his paints and brushes and said, “I have to do it my way, or I can’t do it at all.” The precocious youth then added, “I guess I’ve finished here anyway.” 3 Lucioni was soon rewarded for the very individualism deplored by his instructor. The artist became a public darling by the 1930 s, winning first prizes at the Carnegie International Exhibition ( 1939 ) and Corcoran Biennials ( 1939, 1941, 1947, and 1949 ) by popular vote. 4 Beloved for such works as Bread and Fruit, Lucioni earned recognition and success by holding true to his internal artistic compass. — jlw Lucioni’s works may be viewed at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art, High Museum of Art, and Victoria & Albert Museum, London. 1 Edward Alden Jewell, “Approach, A Critic’s Attitude toward His Task,” The NewYork Times , April 18, 1943 . 2 “Attractions in the Galleries,” The NewYork Sun , April 16, 1943 . 3 Adeline L. Atwater, “A New Beauty,” The Atlanta Constitution , January 22, 1928 . 4 “Luigi Lucioni, Realist Painter, Is Dead at 87 ,” The NewYork Times , July 25, 1988 .