Lee Gatch (American, 1902-1968)

Haunted Garden
Signed and dated "GATCH-55" l.r., titled on labels from Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York, World House Galleries, New York, and the Saint Louis Art Museum affixed to the back of the frame, with the artist's ink stamp applied in three places on the back of the frame, inscribed "126:1974" on the stretcher, on the back of the frame, and on a tag affixed to the hanging ring.
Oil on canvas, 42 x 45 in. (106.7 x 114.3 cm), framed.
Condition: Small canvas dent u.l., possible small losses to impasto c.l.

Provenance: Property of the Saint Louis Art Museum, sold to benefit the Acquisition Fund.

Literature: Leslie Judd Portner, "Art in Washington: Kress Loan Makes National 'Tops'," The Washington Post and Times Herald (February 19, 1956): E7; Charles E. Buckley, "A Painting by Lee Gatch," Saint Louis Art Museum Bulletin 11, no. 4 (1975): 67-68 (illustrated).

Exhibitions: Paintings from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Morton D. May, Pius XII Memorial Library, St. Louis University, February 14-July 4, 1960 (catalog no. 111); Lee Gatch: 1902-1968, Washington University Gallery of Art, St. Louis, December 1, 1971-January 15, 1972.

N.B. After studying art in Paris, Lee Gatch returned to the United States and settled in Lambertville, New Jersey, where he combined elements of Post-Impressionism, Cubism, and Expressionism into an abstract painting style with mystical evocations of nature. He experimented with a variety of textures in his work, including thick paint, collaged pieces of canvas, and even thin slabs of stone in the 1960s. His work achieved national acclaim in the 1950s when his paintings were exhibited in the American Pavilion at the 1950 and 1956 Venice Biennales, and in retrospective exhibitions that visited American institutions including the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, and the Whitney Museum in New York. Gatch's work also attracted the attention of a devoted group of American collectors including Duncan Phillips and Joseph H. Hirshhorn.

Condition: A label from Allied Van Lines General Van and Storage is affixed to the back of the frame.

Framed dimensions: 50 x 53 1/2 in.

Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Skinner Inc. shall have no responsibility for any error or omission. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging.