Albert York

Albert York (American, 1928–2009) Jar of Wildflowers

Exhibited

"Albert York," Davis & Long Company (now Davis & Langdale Company Inc.), New York, New York, October 12-November 5 , 1977, no. 22 (as Jar of Wild Flowers [sic], per gallery label verso).

Note

The present work will be included in the forthcoming Catalogue Raisonné of the artist's work being compiled by Cecily Langdale, of Davis & Langdale Company, Inc., New York. We wish to thank Cecily Langdale for her kind assistance in cataloguing this lot.

Most of York's paintings are portraits of flowers, usually cut and nonchalantly arranged in various containers (tin cans, coffee pots, glassware), which the artist situated either on indeterminate surfaces, or awkwardly sitting outdoors. Usually painted on a small scale, they can be understood and analyzed within the grand tradition of still life painting, but one can argue York made it a genre of its own, capturing the true nature of each flower by placing it in a special setting. In Jar of Wildflowers, York invests the painting with a presence, a certain mass that reveals his knowledge of the art of masters such as Girogio Morandi. It makes us, the viewer, feel minuscule in comparison, and forces us to contemplate the masterful technique, and wonder for whom, or what occasion these flowers were painted.

Provenance

The Artist.

Davis Galleries (now Davis & Langdale Company Inc.), New York, New York.

Acquired directly from the above.

Private Collection, Reading, Pennsylvania.

Private Estate, Reading, Pennsylvania.