Name: Cherry Lane Theater
Brand: Everett Shinn
SKU: 418023

Lot 33

Lot 33

Status:

Closed

Estimate: $50,000 - $70,000

Estimate$50,000 – $70,000

Status

Closed

Everett Shinn

(American, 1876-1953)

Cherry Lane Theater

, 1948

oil on canvas

signed Everett Shinn and dated (lower left)

19 x 22 inches.

Property from the Collection of Noel and Kathryn Dickinson Wadsworth, Atlanta, Georgia

Provenance:

Kraushaar Galleries, New York

Private Collection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1961

By descent through the family

Sold: Christie's, New York, May 21, 2003, Lot 69

David Findlay Jr., Inc, New York

Acquired directly from the above by the present owners

Lot essay:

Cherry Lane Theater, with its welcoming glow and crowd of people, documents a slice of New York theater life in the late 1940s. Still in existence in Greenwich Village, the Cherry Lane Theatre has long been a home for nontraditional and experimental works. Originally the site of a silo on the Gomez farm in 1817, the building that now stands at 38 Commerce Street was first erected as a brewery in 1836 and later served as a tobacco warehouse and box factory. In 1923, theater artists Evelyn Vaughn, William S. Rainey, Reginald Travers, and Edna St. Vincent Millay converted the structure into a theater they named the Cherry Lane Playhouse. The famed scenic designer and architect Cleon Throckmorton was commissioned to do the alterations. The theater fueled some of the most ground-breaking experiments of the American stage, including the Downtown Theater movement, The Living Theatre, and Theatre of the Absurd, which all took root at the Playhouse.

Interest and involvement in theatrical activities permeated the life of Everett Shinn from his youth when his obsession with the circus led him to learn acrobatics and he later honed his illustration skills by creating poster for the local opera house. As a maturing artist, Shinn became a member of “The Eight,” with Robert Henri as mentor and proponent of the true representation of gritty, urban life. A trip to Europe in 1900 exposed the young artist to the dynamic and vibrant work of Édouard Manet and Edgar Degas, which further fueled his interest in the depiction of the theater. Shinn’s devotion to performance was not limited to his painting practice. He wrote plays that he produced in his New York home on Irving Place; served as an art director in Hollywood; produced public murals; and worked as an illustrator and interior designer.

The present artwork reveals Shinn’s facility as both an illustrator and creator of tightly composed scenes. Viewed from across the street, the milling crowd outside the theater is sketchily but deftly described. A solitary woman sits and smokes next to a couple on a bench; a man in tuxedo and woman wearing an evening gown converse; a crowd of curious onlookers wait outside the shadows. The warm lights from the building spill out onto the sidewalk and envelopes the figures nearest in a convivial glow. The scene perhaps depicts intermission, capturing both the anticipation and tedium of the break in action. Unnoticed by the theatergoers, the dark shadow of a cat darts to the right but appears to look at the crowd as it runs by. Here, Shinn portrays the audience in the painting as actors themselves in an unknown play, for which the outside viewer can imagine the dramas and comedies within.

To request further details about this lot, please email conditionreports@freemansauction.com

Please contact the Auction Specialist for details.

Joseph Stanfield

Senior Vice President, Director, Fine Art

josephstanfield@hindmanauctions.com 312.280.1212

As the head of Hindman’s Fine Art Department, Mr. Stanfield is instrumental in bringing in major consignments from private collectors, estates, dealers and institutions. He has led the department to dozens of auction records, with a particular focus on Chicago Modernism. Mr. Stanfield has played an integral role in the development of the American & European and Post War & Contemporary Art categories, with the most successful year for the department in company history coming in 2021. He also oversaw a house record for total sales for a week of Fine Art auctions in May 2022. Mr. Stanfield is also the lead auctioneer for the Fine Art sales at Hindman. Prior to returning to Hindman in 2019, he was at Toomey & Co. for eight years, where he oversaw important collections including the estate of Candice B. Groot, the collection of Governor Jim Thompson, and the estate of Robert E. Beck. Mr. Stanfield earned a BA from the University of Kansas where he studied Art History.

Zack Wirsum

SVP, Head of Department, Post War and Contemporary Art

zacharywirsum@freemansauction.com 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.

Monica Brown

Managing Director, Vice President, Fine Art, Head of Department, Prints and Multiples

monicabrown@freemansauction.com 303.825.1855

Ms. Brown rejoined the firm in 2019 as a senior specialist in the Fine Art department, where she has been the resident expert and Head of Sale for Prints and Multiples. She has over 17 years of art-market experience, most recently as founder of Monica Brown Fine Art. In addition to working for renowned auction houses, she has extensive knowledge in over five centuries of works on paper from her tenure at the Newberry Library in Chicago, and eight years of experience with one of London’s leading dealers of Pop Art editions.

We are open for pick-up Monday-Friday: 9am-4:30pm.

For questions about shipping or packing, please contact shipping@hindmanauctions.com or see our Shipping/Packing page.