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Lot Essay
Victor Higgins scholar Dr. Dean A. Porter writes, "In each of the floral still lifes from the 1940s, there is a sense of convention in the arrangement of the flowers, the handsome vases and the patterned fabrics. By themselves, these facets of the picture do not proclaim the modernism of Higgins. No, in these pictures, the modernism is the tilted tabletop, the bird's-eye view of the composition, and the abstract configurations of the background. Interior framing devices are created by overlapping planes and sharp angles. Just when it appears that Higgins followed a formula, he rejected it, allowing himself the freedom to be unpredictable." (Victor Higgins: An American Master, exhibition catalogue, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1991, p. 234)
Rug Pattern (Still Life with Zinnias) is the largest canvas ever painted by the artist. Porter explains of the present work, "The composition...encourages a comparison with Higgins's 1929 John C. Shaffer prizewinner Zinnias. Compositionally, the vase of zinnias and gladiolas is placed on a short-legged, circular table, whereas in the earlier still life, the flowers are pictured on a braided carpet on the floor. In both examples an open door serves as a backdrop for the floral arrangements. The door, the same that we see in Adobe Doorway, opens into the room of the spectator while revealing a second room to the right.
"As was his custom by the forties, Higgins played with the angular patterns of braided carpets and Indian blankets, whether positioned on the floor, hanging from a wall, or draped across the seat of a chair. Although Higgins painted a tilted floor in his earlier still lifes and in Adobe Doorway, the angle of the floor increased dramatically over time. The sense of tension is enhanced by angles that fall into discord with circular patterns, horizontal shapes, or right angles. The still life remained his experimental laboratory." (Victor Higgins: An American Master, pp. 236-37)
Rug Pattern (Still Life with Zinnias) is the largest canvas ever painted by the artist. Porter explains of the present work, "The composition...encourages a comparison with Higgins's 1929 John C. Shaffer prizewinner Zinnias. Compositionally, the vase of zinnias and gladiolas is placed on a short-legged, circular table, whereas in the earlier still life, the flowers are pictured on a braided carpet on the floor. In both examples an open door serves as a backdrop for the floral arrangements. The door, the same that we see in Adobe Doorway, opens into the room of the spectator while revealing a second room to the right.
"As was his custom by the forties, Higgins played with the angular patterns of braided carpets and Indian blankets, whether positioned on the floor, hanging from a wall, or draped across the seat of a chair. Although Higgins painted a tilted floor in his earlier still lifes and in Adobe Doorway, the angle of the floor increased dramatically over time. The sense of tension is enhanced by angles that fall into discord with circular patterns, horizontal shapes, or right angles. The still life remained his experimental laboratory." (Victor Higgins: An American Master, pp. 236-37)