Tea in the Orchard, oil on canvas landscape painting by American impressionist artist Joseph Raphael was created around 1961, the artist’s best  Impressionistic period. Image Bonhams

AUCTION

Tea in the Orchard by American Impressionist Joseph Raphael is the major highlight at Bonhams exceptional auction of California and Western Paintings and Sculpture.

BY KAZEEM ADELEKE

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – One hundred and seventy-four exceptional artworks by celebrated artists such as August Gay, Selden Connor Gile, Armin Hansen, Edgar Payne, Eanger Irving Couse, Nicolai Fechin, among many others will be part of Bonhams auction of California and Western Paintings & Sculpture on August 6, 2019, in Los Angeles.  A major highlight of the auction is Tea in the Orchard by Joseph Raphael. From the John H. Garzoli Collection, the painting has an estimate of $400,000-600,000. With a distinguished provenance, the painting is expected to surpass all estimates.

Tea in the Orchard: Raphael’s best Impressionistic period

Tea in the Orchard is a landscape painting with two girls– perhaps the artist daughters– having tea on the foreground on a hot summer day.  Done in a style borrowed from French Impressionism, the artist used broad, free, and Post-impressionist brushstrokes to create a sunny day. Using white, blues, greens, grays, he invites the viewer into this vivid landscape to join in the tea party.

The avant-garde collector Albert M. Bender gifted Tea in the Orchard to the San Francisco Museum of Art. Bender, an avid collector, championed Joseph Raphael’s work in San Francisco. In addition to buying works by the artist, Bender also encouraged his friends to buy works by the artist. In 1910, Bender facilitated Raphael’s first solo exhibition, and subsequent shows at the San Francisco Institute of Art and the Helgesen Gallery. 

Scot Levitt, Bonhams Director of Fine Arts, explained that Tea in the Orchard is an important example of Raphael’s work from his impressionistic period.  “Tea in the Orchard is considered to be from Raphael’s best Impressionistic period of the 1910s. When it was shown in 1933, the work was lauded by a critic as ‘an example of true impressionism carried to its farthest point to be safe,” he noted. 

About Joseph Raphael

Born in the town of Jackson, California, on June 2, 1869, Joseph Raphael was a distinguished American Impressionist painter. Although he spent most of his time around the world, he maintained a close relationship with the artistic community of San Francisco, California.

Raphael studied with Arthur F. Mathews at the California School of Design. In 1902, he entered the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. A restless soul always in search of new thoughts and artistic ideas, Joseph Raphael moved to the Académie Julian and studied under Jean-Paul Laurens.  La Fete du Bourgmestre, a large oil painting by the artist received an honorable mention at the Paris Salon in 1906. The oil on canvas measuring 80.5 x 89 in. has the portraits of several men, a woman, and a boy.  The painting, which follows a Rembrandtnic approach, was subsequently purchased by a group of friends in San Francisco and given to the San Francisco Art Association. His works are in the collection of Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Oakland Museum of California, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Monterey Museum of Art, and Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois.

Other Major Highlights

Fishing Boat Aground byAugust Gay

Another major highlight of the Bonhams California and Western Paintings & Sculpture is Fishing Boat Aground by August Gay. Painted circa 1930, the painting features the image of a fishing boat tilted to the side on the seashore. It has an estimate of $60,000- 80,000. August Gay is a member of the Society of Six artists.  Another member of the group whose works will feature prominently in the auction is Selden Connor Gile. Alameda Slough, a landscape painting with boats painted in 1914 by the artist has an estimate of $15,000-25,000.  

Additional highlights include several works by members of the Society of Six including Armin Hansen’s Sailboats at Monterey Bay. Estimated at   $40,000- 60,000, the painting is from a group of works from a San Francisco private collection. There is great hope that William Wendt’s California Landscape, which is fresh to the market, will bring collectors to the edge of their seats. It has an estimate of $40,000-60,000.  Wilson Hurley’s The Yellowstone off Point Sublime will represent contemporary Western art. Painted in 1999, it has an estimate of $30,000-50,000.

The California and Western Paintings & Sculpture will also feature works by the Taos painters including The Belt Maker by Eanger Irving Couse. The painting has an estimate of $30,000-50,000. There is also hope that a lovely painting titled The Rock House will fetch between $30,000-50,000.

There is great excitement among collectors as Tea in the Orchard by Joseph Raphael goes on sale. The painting has an estimate of $ 400,000-600,000. Do you think it will make an auction record for the artist? Share your thoughts.