Signed William Draper Painting - Haitian Market, 1967

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Fauna, Flora, Stones & Bones

By Artemis Gallery

Jul 13, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-07-13 12:00:00 2021-07-13 12:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Fauna, Flora, Stones & Bones https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/fauna-flora-stones-bones-7214
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• Lot Description
  William Draper (American, 1912-2003). Oil on canvas, ca. 1967. Hand-signed "Wm. F. Draper" on lower left. A lively depiction of a bustling Haitian market by American artist William Draper delineated with Draper's signature loose brushwork and exceptional command of the palette knife. The artist and his wife frequently visited Port au Prince - the capital and largest city of Haiti - during the wintertime. In this vibrant scene, vendors are catering to the crowd, selling their fresh produce and hand-made wares, amidst a wondrous Caribbean landscape with palm trees lining the coast and mountain ranges in the distance. Size: 20" L x 24" W (50.8 cm x 61 cm)
  
  Handwritten on the verso is "Market, Pelionciello, Haiti" - "pelionciello" perhaps referring to piloncillo, a form of whole cane brown sugar known for its molasses flavor, despite the fact that the name stems from the relatively unrefined nature of this sugar rather than the addition of molasses. The name piloncillo literally means "little loaf,"as that is the usual shape that this earthy form of sugar is produced. Perhaps the Drapers purchased some piloncillo at this market.
  
  William Draper's career spanned seven decades and his subjects included a portrait of John F. Kennedy that hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. based upon an oil sketch for which the president sat in 1962. Draper was actually the only artist who painted JFK from life. Draper showed at Knoedler, the Graham Gallery, Portraits, Inc., the Far Gallery, The Findlay Galleries (New York, NY) and the Robert C. Vose Galleries (Boston, MA). His work has been included in shows at the National Portrait Gallery and the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.), The National Academy of Design (New York, NY), The Boston Museum of Fine Arts, (Boston, MA) the Fogg Art Museum, (one of the Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA), the National Gallery, (London), Salon de la Marine (Paris) and in museums in Australia. He also taught at the Art Students League of New York, and received a lifetime achievement award from the Portrait Society of America in 1999.
  
  More on the artist's background: William Franklin Draper was born in Hopedale, Massachusetts on December 24, 1912. A child prodigy, he studied classical piano at Harvard University. He later changed his focus to fine art and studied with Charles Webster Hawthorne and Henry Hensche in Provincetown, Rhode Island. Draper also attended the National Academy of Design in New York and the Cape Cod School of Art in Massachusetts. Then he traveled to Spain and studied with Harry Zimmerman, moved on to France and attended the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere. In 1937, he moved to Boston to study sculpture with George Demetrius and also studied with Jon Corbino in beautiful Rockport, Massachusetts. In 1942, Draper joined the Navy and served as a combat artist when stationed on the Aleutian Islands and in the South Pacific. He observed and painted battle scenes on Bougainville, Guam, Saipan, and other locations, as well as genre scenes of soldiers who were not engaged in combat but rather at work and at play. National Geographic magazine reproduced 25 of his war images in four issues in 1944. In 1945, the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. organized a group exhibition of works by five official war artists, including Draper. That same year the Metropolitan Museum of Art included Draper in an exhibition entitled, ''The War Against Japan.'' Draper was also featured in a PBS television show about combat artists entitled, "They Drew Fire" in May of 2000. After the war, Draper opened a studio on Park Avenue in New York City and continued to not only paint, but also play classical and jazz piano.
  
  Provenance: The William F. Draper Collection, New York City, USA, acquired via descent from the late William Franklin Draper (1912-2003)
  
  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.
  
  PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.
  
  #152312

  Condition

  Painting is in overall excellent condition. It is hand-signed "Wm. F. Draper" on the lower left, and there is a Draper Estate stamp on the verso. "Market, Pelionciello, Haiti" is also handwritten on the verso.
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