Robert McCall Painting "Arrival" (1980)

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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
  Robert McCall (American, 1919-2010). "Arrival" oil on panel, 1980. Signed and dated at lower right. A mesmerizing painting by NASA artist Robert McCall, "Arrival" is a futurist composition featuring spacecraft in the air with a celestial body in the dark sky above, figures descending from plumes below, and one harlequin-like figure about to "arrive" on a red and white checkerboard floor in a dance-like manner with both arms extended, on leg bent at the knee, and the other on pointe. With an undeniable air of optimism "Arrival" reflects Robert McCall's inspiring words, "The future is bright and filled with promise for us all. And the human spirit driven as it is, with an insatiable desire to know, to explore, and to understand will continue forever to reach upward and outward." Size (painting): 10.2" L x 12" W (25.9 cm x 30.5 cm) Size (frame): 17.75" L x 20" W (45.1 cm x 50.8 cm)
  
  Ray Bradbury sang McCall's praises in his introduction to "The Art of Robert McCall" (1992): "His body stays on earth, but his arm and hand, holding the brush, wielding the shapes and colors, reach across millions of miles of space to the threshold of our dreams and warm our flesh there a century and then ten centuries from this morning. He paints realities unachieved as yet in order to force us to soar and achieve them. There is no grander purpose."
  
  About the Artist: Born in Ohio, Robert McCall began his career as a sign painter. In time he went on to be an illustrator for popular magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post and Life. By the 1960s he found his calling as an artist for NASA. McCall worked for NASA for 35 years and interpreted some of the most exciting moments in space history. In addition to being an artist for NASA, McCall created futurist imagery for films such as "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey." McCall was also an accomplished muralist, and one of his most beloved works is "The Space Mural - A Cosmic View" at Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. McCall's imagination knew no bounds and he was forever an optimist. In his words, "The future is bright and filled with promise for us all, and the human spirit - driven as it is, with an insatiable desire to know, to explore, and to understand - will continue forever to reach upward and outward."
  
  Artist Statement: "I am living the future that I dreamed about when I was a young boy, and for me it is just as bright and wonderful as I imagined it would be. Many of the paintings in this collection are my current graphic thoughts about tomorrow.
  
  One of the joys of being an artist is the freedom to create one's own world, and through the use of brushes and paints, to explore that world and participate in adventures of the mind that the real world could not possibly provide. Like the real world, these excursions of the imagination are fraught with inaccuracies of perception-it is rare that one glimpses through the veil of time even a hint of tomorrow's reality nor does it seem important to me, whether one’s perceptions are right or wrong-the pleasure is in making the predictions and doing the work.
  
  Today we live a world filled with awesome possibilities, both good and bad. The rush of technology is so rapid, to stay abreast of it has become more and more difficult. Our understanding of the physical universe continues to grow and astonish us with its marvelous complexity.
  
  To be an artist is these times of explosive change is, for me, a privilege and a challenge. My goal is to document in my drawings and paintings a small part of this changing world and to anticipate in my work, the future that lies ahead." (source: McCall Studios website)
  
  Provenance: private Venice, Florida, 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.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
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  Condition

  Painting is overall excellent. Signed and dated at lower right. Slight stains on verso that do not impact the painted image. "ARRIVAL" OIL PAINTING BY ROBERT T. McCALL" handwritten on the verso. McCall Studios Inc stamp on the verso. "Hand carved Frames" label on verso of frame. Frame is also excellent save a few minor scuffs and paint drops. Fit with suspension wire.
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