Gordon Coutts Painting - California Desert ca. 1920s

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Exceptional Finds | Ancient, Ethno, Fine Art

By Artemis Fine Arts

Mar 20, 2025

Set Reminder 2025-03-20 10:00:00 2025-03-20 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Finds | Ancient, Ethno, Fine Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-finds-ancient-ethno-fine-art-18151
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• Lot Description
  Gordon Coutts (Scottish-American, 1868-1937). Oil on canvas, ca. 1920s. Artist's signature "Gordon Coutts" at lower right. A stunning landscape painting set in the California desert by Gordon Coutts, a Scottish-American artist who lived in Palm Springs, a haven for artists in the early 20th century. In this composition, Coutts invites the viewer to follow the gentle bend of a narrow stream running through a dried out riverbed in the foreground, its golden land marked by desert plants, toward two clusters of trees, perhaps native palms and mesquite, rising in the middle distance, and a broad patch of sunlight dramatically interrupting billowing rainclouds in the sky above. All is rendered with Coutts' fine brushwork and keen eye for color and light, mounted in an attractive custom frame. Size: 24" L x 28" W (61 cm x 71.1 cm) Size (frame): 31.25" L x 35.5" W (79.4 cm x 90.2 cm)
  
  More About Gordon Coutts in Palm Springs: "Perhaps the most internationally famous artist to call Palm Springs home during that period was Gordon Coutts (1868-1937). Coutts was a Scotsman, born in Aberdeen. He studied art in Glasgow, London and Paris, and became best known for Moroccan figures, desert scenes and nudes.
  
  He lived in Sydney, Australia, for several years, where he was a painting instructor at the Government Art School. He was highly regarded in Australia, where he often painted portraits of celebrities; many of his finest works hang in Melbourne and Sydney museums. Some found their way into important American collections. He was a friend of Winston Churchill, and painted a portrait of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie.
  
  The flamboyant red-headed artist traveled the world, leaving his strict Presbyterian home at an early age, because his parents wouldn't let him paint on Sundays. He'd already been married and divorced when he met and married model Gertrude Russell, 30 years his junior. They traveled together and settled for several years in Tangier, Morocco, where he painted Arab sheiks and other celebrities. Coutts loved Morocco, and would have remained, but they visited Palm Springs, liked it—and returned to live here in 1914. Coutts had bronchial problems he hoped would improve.
  
  In 1924, Gordon and Gertrude Coutts moved to Palm Springs and built their own Moorish castle, 'Dar Marroc,' at 257 S. Patencio Drive. With towers, Moorish arches and domes, keyhole-shaped windows, huge doors, tiled fountains and courtyards dripping with bougainvillea, oleander, palms, olive trees and citrus trees, the Dar Marroc was like a little bit of Tangier dropped onto the Palm Springs landscape. The villagers referred to it as 'Coutts Castle.' At Dar Marroc, the Coutts hosted numerous dignitaries and artists, including Grant Wood (painter of 'American Gothic') and Sir John Lavery, England's great portrait artist.
  
  Gordon Coutts became one of Palm Springs' most revered and well-liked residents before passing away following a lingering illness in 1937. Clatworthy was among his pallbearers.
  
  Today, the Dar Marroc has been transformed into the Korakia Pensione, a 29-room hotel. G. Douglas Smith, who also owned neighboring properties, purchased the land and began developing the Korakia in 1989. The Korakia has continued to attract artists and writers, including noted abstract painter Brice Marden, Pulitzer Prize winner Judith Thurman, and John Irving. Mexico’s famous writer Octavio Paz even reserved a room at the restful inn.
  
  Coutts' daughter Jeane, in talking about her father and the early days of Palm Springs, noted: “Before the movie colony took over, Palm Springs was an art colony, like Taos." (Greg Niemann. "CV History: Before the Movie Stars Arrived, Palm Springs Was a Haven for Artists, Including Renowned Painter Gordon Coutts" Coachella Valley Independent, September 13, 2022)
  
  Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
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  Condition

  Artist's signature "Gordon Coutts" at lower right. Slight wear commensurate with age with visible impressions of stretcher bars. Imagery and hues are still strong. Mounted in an attractive custom frame. Verso of canvas covered by board to protect it. Suspension wire on verso.
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