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    Sale 2068

    California, Western And American Paintings, Drawings And Sculpture

    Beverly Hills

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    30 April 2008

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    • Maynard Dixon (1875-1946)
    Lot 54

    Maynard Dixon (1875-1946)

    The Prisoners

    Price realised

    USD 301,000

    Estimate

    USD 20,000 - USD 30,000

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    Maynard Dixon (1875-1946)
    The Prisoners
    signed and dated 'Maynard.Dixon/1916' (lower left)
    oil on board
    21¾ x 19 in. (55.2 x 48.3 cm.)

    Provenance

    Gift of the artist to Harold von Schmidt.
    By descent to the present owner.

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    Literature and exhibited

    Literature

    Sunset Magazine, September, 1916, cover illustration.


    Lot Essay

    The present painting was illustrated on the cover of the September 1916 issue of Sunset Magazine as part of a short story about the Mexican Revolution by Herman Whittaker entitled "Over the Border."


    The Prisoners was a gift from Maynard Dixon to his friend and fellow artist, Harold von Schmidt. In his biography by Walt Reed, von Schmidt recollects his early encounters with Dixon: "Maynard Dixon was one of the best painters in California at the time, and I heard he kept open house at his studio on Saturdays. I finally got up the courage to call on him...I asked if I could see his pictures and because I knew I had a lot to learn, I offered to do posing in exchange for pointers about my work. Dixon was working on a set of murals at the time, so he took me on. This gave me a wonderful opportunity to see how he painted and study his originals." The two would remain close friends for many years and exchanged many letters during Dixon's travels throughout the Southwest.



    This painting will be included in Donald J. Hagerty's forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist's works.

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