JOHN GANNAM

Broadway - New York

Broadway - New York

Price Upon Request

Main Attributes:

Artist:John Gannam Title:Broadway - New York Work:Drawing / Work on Paper Medium:Mixed Media Substrate:Paper Date:c. 1945 Signed: Lower Right Size:13.00" x 18.75" Pricing:Price Upon Request Details:

New York City - Broadway Nocturne by the master watercolorist - John Gannam - one of America’s most talented artists working almost exclusively in watercolor - during its rise to a high-art form in the middle of the 20th century. Gannam’s confident, yet precise brushstrokes belie the hand of the master. His work has an almost impressionist quality to it -  one that would be masterful (and truly is) in any medium, but he fact that “they were done in watercolor” -  a brutally unforgiving medium “with its attendant traps and difficulties” make them even more amazing. The quality of his work in watercolor has been compared to “Sargent” – no doubt for his tremendous proficiency in the medium.

 

He was widely admired and respected by his peers and was a top American illustrator for decades. Gannam was an associate of the National Academy of Design, a member of the American Artists' Professional League, the American Watercolor Society, the Society of Illustrators and others.

 

This work was likely used as an Illustration for publication (currently undetermined), as are most of the Gannam's we have available. This work is in fine condition - having been stored away in a drawer in Gannams' personal collection, thereafter, passed down to his estate - since its creation in c. 1945.

 

While I unfortunately never met the artist John Gannam, I knew his late son, John Gannam Jr., who over two decades ago, generously allowed me to acquire some brilliant examples of father’s work. I have been a fan ever since. Blake Benton

 

Provenance:

The Artist

The Artists Estate

BENTON GALLERY, acquired from above; 2019

 

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