Arthur Beecher Carles

Arthur Beecher Carles (American, 1882–1952) Angèle

Exhibited

(Probably) "Carles: 22 Paintings," Philadelphia Art Alliance, March 2-April 2, 1944, no. 7.

"A Great American Colorist: Arthur B. Carles," Nierendorf Gallery, New York, April 18-May 15, 1944, no. 7

"One Hundred Forty-First Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture," Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 26-March 3, 1946, no. 265.

"Arthur B. Carles," Washburn Gallery, New York, New York, September 13-October 27, 1984, no. 4.

"The Orchestration of Color: The Paintings of Arthur B. Carles," Hollis Taggart Galleries, New York, New York, February 10-March 18, 2000; and Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 16-June 25, 2000, no. 47.

Literature

Hollis Taggart, The Orchestration of Color: The Paintings of Arthur B. Carles, Hollis Taggart Galleries, New York, 2000, p. 55, fig. 37 (illustrated).

Note

Arthur B. Carles travelled extensively to France early in his career. In June 1921, while planning his third sojourn, he relayed the joy he felt to his long-time friend Alfred Stieglitz: "I am going to France this summer. I'm as excited as a honeymooner." While in France, Carles would spend most of his time in Edward Steichen's house in Voulangis, east of Paris. But Carles often went to the capital city, where he visited several museums. One day, while on a train ride to Paris, the artist's first wife, Mercedes de Cordoba, met Angèle, and struck by her fiery beauty, persuaded her to pose for her husband. The French model rapidly accepted the offer and eventually started an affair with the artist.

Angèle had long and thick, dark red hair. She had the kind of pale skin which boosted Carles' interest in color play, as he could see countless reflections on her diaphanous skin. Angèle proved to be a true inspiration: Carles executed many paintings of her in 1921-1922 (see Freeman's sale of June 3, 2018 Lots 89, Portrait of Angèle, and Lot 90, Green Nude), all capturing the model in a different style or mood. Contrary to the other elegant and relatively naturalistic representations of Angèle, the present lot reveals another side of her personality. According to Barbara Wolanin, the artist "made his subject appear wicked and modernistic." Seated in profile in a large brown chair, the model looks at us with devilish eyes, a pouting mouth and a seductive air that may be taken as an invitation to come closer - should one dare. She stands for the complete embodiment of the femme fatale. The palette is bold, the contours are exaggerated and Angèle herself appears rather flat, like a paper silhouette (unless it is an apparition). The portrait echoes Carles' interest in modernism at the time, and even channels some of Henri Matisse's fauvism that Carles long admired. His love of strong contrasts is revealed by the mauve contours of Angèle's body, the blue background she stands against, and the green shadows enveloping the scene.

We wish to thank Barbara A. Wolanin for her kind assistance in cataloguing this lot.

Provenance

The Artist.

The Estate of the Artist.

Collection of Caroline Mantovi, the Artist's Daughter.

Hollis Taggart Galleries, New York, New York.

Acquired directly from the above.

Collection of Fredrica Wagman, New York, New York.

By descent in the family.

Private Collection, New York, New York.