Julia Thecla

(American, 1896-1973)

Practicing a Bow, c. 1941-42

gouache, charcoal and pastel on board

signed Julia Thecla and dated (lower right)

20 x 17 inches.

Property from the Private Collection of Barton Faist, Chicago, Illinois

Provenance:

Albert Roullier Galleries, Chicago

Mrs. Dora B. Goodrich, Chicago

Acquired from the above by the present owner

Exhibited:

Chicago, Illinois, Albert Roullier Art Galleries, An Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings by Julia Thecla, November 28 - December 13, 1941, no. 15

Chicago, Illinois, Findlay Galleries, The Sixth Annual Women Artists' Salon of Chicago, June, 1943

Springfield, Illinois, Illinois State Museum, Julia Thecla 1886-1973, November 11, 1984 - February 17, 1985; Chicago, Illinois, the State of Illinois Art Gallery, June 2 - July 25, 1986, no. 29

Chicago, Illinois, DePaul University Art Museum, Julia Thecla: Undiscovered Worlds, September 14, 2006 - November 22, 2007, no. 14

Literature:

Eleanor Jewett, Chicago Sunday Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, June 13, 1943, part 7, pp. 3

Maureen A. McKenna, Julia Thecla 1886 - 1973, Illinois State Museum, Springfield, Illinois, 1984, pp. 10, fig. 10, illus. (as Practising a Bow)

Joanna Gardner-Hugget and Louise Lincoln, Julia Thecla: Undiscovered Worlds, DePaul Art Museum Publications, Chicago, Illinois, 2006, pp. 32

Lot Essay:

A Final Bow?

When you first come upon seeing this unusually formal and austere painting Practicing a Bow by Julia Thecla your first inclination is to think it is not a surrealist piece, only a seemingly nice beautiful gem-like work of a ballerina with a dreamy looking pink tutu on, posing in a port de bras, in front of a mirror, maybe also how nice the technique is. As you look closer, something seems a little off and unsettling, and then you realize this work is not totally enigmatic. On the left wall there can be seen a photo of Robert Edelmann in naval uniform, a good friend of Thecla's who was an Industrialist and a philanthropist of the arts. It was early 1942: the United States had just entered World War II on Dec. 7, 1941, and Thecla was afraid for not only her friend's life, who was then serving overseas, but what threat and impact this major war would have on her and the world.

Thecla was very much into ballet, so much so that she was commissioned to design both sets and the costumes for at least three performances. This painting's ballerina could be one of her many dancer friends (like Bernice Holmes or Mary Guggenheim), who we see standing on a checkered rug. The pattern intentionally looks like a chess/checkerboard with symbols of clubs from playing cards on the dark squares, and an orange ball sits on top of the rug. Thecla seems to be saying, like games we play, there is always a loser, which heightens her expression of fear of what happens if we lose at the game of a worldwide war, or we bet on it. Again, her pose here is a port de bras which means "movement of the arms" in the up position, which could symbolically say "our call to arms" to get in position to push back evil (the enemy Hitler). If our side loses, that could be the destruction of the world, humanity, arts and culture, including her big love, the ballet!

The painting seems to take more of a defeatist turn when you notice the ballerina's "bare feet" which could convey the message of possible humility and even surrender. Most all other works of Thecla's with a subject of ballerinas all have their dance shoes or toe shoes on. Thecla seems to bring her warning message of doom home with her Ballerina literally taking a bow, "there may not be another performance"...so, the curtain not only isn't closing, "the curtain has been brought down" and laying over on the large gold ornate mirror, where the point of the curtain is hanging down from the top of the mirror's frame, deliberately pointing to her back side (or her bottom) seen in the mirror, as her final message of fear to the world..."the END is near!"

- Barton Faist

Framed: 24 x 21 inches.

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Zack Wirsum

SVP, Head of Department, Post War and Contemporary Art

[email protected]312.600.6069

Mr. Wirsum joined the firm in 2007 as a Fine Art registrar and became a department specialist in 2013, with a focus on Post War and Contemporary art. Through his vision, the department has achieved record breaking prices. Mr. Wirsum evaluates and appraises well over 5,000 works of art each year, collaborating with leading international committees and experts on authentication. Prior to joining Freeman's, Mr. Wirsum served as an assistant director and conservator at the Chicago Conservation Center. He received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is a practicing painter with gallery representation.

Aaron Cator

Senior Specialist, Post War & Contemporary Art

[email protected]646.864.1746

Mr. Cator brings years of deep and wide-ranging art industry experience to his role. Prior to joining Freeman's, he operated his own art advisory firm where he worked with new and seasoned collectors to build customized art collections. He previously worked for David Zwirner for nearly seven years, where he spearheaded a robust annual rollout of key client development and marketing initiatives in the United States and internationally in London, Paris, and Hong Kong. Cator was an early member of the gallery’s marketing department, supporting the needs of both the gallery’s distinguished stable of artists and global client base.
Before his role at Zwirner, Cator held a number of curatorial research positions, including at the Whitney Museum of American Art where he worked under Senior Curator of Painting and Sculpture Barbara Haskell, as well as at the Museum of Modern Art under Roxana Marcoci, the David Dechman Senior Curator of Photography.
Cator holds a bachelor’s degree in Art History and Political Science from Santa Clara University. He also pursued graduate studies in Art History at Hunter College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York, with a concentration on social documentary and contemporary photography.

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