L.A. Insurer to Sell Black Art Collection Over Local Protests
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- Published 08/17/2007
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View all articles by Harlequin .L.A. Insurer to Sell Black Art Collection Over Local Protests
By Lindsay Pollock
Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) -- A collection of black art owned by Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Co. in Los Angeles has been carted off to be auctioned in New York, infuriating local art historians who want it to remain in California.
Golden State plans to sell 94 artworks on Oct. 4 at Swann Galleries. The paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings are expected to sell for as much as $1.5 million.
The company's 1948 Moderne office building in gritty south central Los Angeles, design by famed black architect Paul Williams, had been hung with a dazzling array of some of the greatest names in African-American art, from Romare Bearden to Jacob Lawrence. It was a bright spot for a mostly black community beleaguered by crime and poverty.
``It's one of the finest collections in the West in terms of African-American culture and art. It's like a museum,'' said Samella Lewis, 81, an art historian and founder of the Museum of African American Art in Los Angeles. ``It's going be a great loss to California if it leaves because we need that information.''
Golden State, founded in 1925 to sell insurance to blacks in response to discriminatory practices in the industry, has served for decades as a cultural beacon to schoolchildren, black art scholars and even the occasional gang member.
Paul von Blum, a senior lecturer in African-American studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, has led tours of the collection for decades.
``For the multicultural community in Los Angeles, it's a cultural loss to the city,'' von Blum said. ``I would like to see these works go into a museum in Southern California.''
Rising Prices
Golden State is taking advantage of rising prices in a long- overlooked field. Swann Galleries held the first-ever auction dedicated solely to black artworks in February. The sale brought in $2.3 million, setting 17 artist records and attracting collectors from New Orleans to Paris.
``Prices are rising for very high-quality works by historic and significant figures,'' said Manhattan dealer Michael Rosenfeld, who sells high-end black art.
``Obviously it's a financial decision,'' said Nigel Freeman, head of Swann's African-American art department. ``There are people who will be disappointed it's being broken up and leaving California. But the decision to sell it has been made, and Swann will make the most of the opportunity.''
Golden State began collecting black art in 1965 at the suggestion of artist William Pajaud, an art director at the company who retired in 1987.
$5,000 Annual Budget
Pajaud bought and eventually filled the hallways, private offices, lobby and cubicles with artworks on a $5,000 annual budget. Harlem Renaissance stars Charles Alston and Hale Woodruff were commissioned to create murals in the lobby, which are not part of the auction. When Pajaud started buying, opportunities for black artists were few.
``We literally had no place to show our work,'' Pajaud, 81, said. ``I though about everything that went into that collection as a legacy for the black people.''
The sale reflects Pajaud's taste and also his desire to help California artists. There are major works by some of the most celebrated black artists, including a large ink drawing of a stern, barefoot Harriet Tubman by Charles White, expected to sell for as much as $250,000.
A set of screen prints by Lawrence from his 1977 series ``A Legend of John Brown,'' depicting the life of the abolitionist, is estimated at up to $160,000. A sensuous angular carved mahogany couple by Elizabeth Catlett from 1978 is expected to fetch as much as $250,000. There are lesser-known names as well, including Beulah Woodward, Varnette Honeywood and John Riddle, who have no previous auction history.
Museum Interested
At least one museum might have been interested in keeping the artworks together.
``If we had had an opportunity to talk with Golden State, we might very well have been able to find some donors and been able to purchase the collection,'' said Charmaine Jefferson, executive director of the California African American Museum in Los Angeles. Selling the collection ``is not the same thing as passing a Monet around.''
Golden State is ``excited'' about the auction, spokesman Andreas Essex Flinck said in an e-mail, adding that ``a portion of the proceeds will be used to purchase art from upcoming artists.'' The company has more than $1 billion of policies, according to its Web site, which still publicizes the collection.
While von Blum and others hope the collection remains together, they say Golden State was not an ideal home for the fragile and rare artworks.
``Golden State is not a museum. There is no temperature control,'' said von Blum, who recalled finding a Betye Saar artwork lying face down in a closet.
``I got the sense they didn't care about it,'' said Bruce Picano, who cataloged and organized the collection in 2004, when he was an art history student at UCLA. He found art hanging in awkward locations and behind filing cabinets. Some of the most important work was locked in a vault, away from public view.
The building itself was in disrepair, with peeling paint, a broken drinking fountain in the lobby and stained carpets, Picano said. ``The collection had been ignored for a long time.''
Bounce Back
Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) -- A collection of black art owned by Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Co. in Los Angeles has been carted off to be auctioned in New York, infuriating local art historians who want it to remain in California.
Golden State plans to sell 94 artworks on Oct. 4 at Swann Galleries. The paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings are expected to sell for as much as $1.5 million.
The company's 1948 Moderne office building in gritty south central Los Angeles, design by famed black architect Paul Williams, had been hung with a dazzling array of some of the greatest names in African-American art, from Romare Bearden to Jacob Lawrence. It was a bright spot for a mostly black community beleaguered by crime and poverty.
``It's one of the finest collections in the West in terms of African-American culture and art. It's like a museum,'' said Samella Lewis, 81, an art historian and founder of the Museum of African American Art in Los Angeles. ``It's going be a great loss to California if it leaves because we need that information.''
Golden State, founded in 1925 to sell insurance to blacks in response to discriminatory practices in the industry, has served for decades as a cultural beacon to schoolchildren, black art scholars and even the occasional gang member.
Paul von Blum, a senior lecturer in African-American studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, has led tours of the collection for decades.
``For the multicultural community in Los Angeles, it's a cultural loss to the city,'' von Blum said. ``I would like to see these works go into a museum in Southern California.''
Rising Prices
Golden State is taking advantage of rising prices in a long- overlooked field. Swann Galleries held the first-ever auction dedicated solely to black artworks in February. The sale brought in $2.3 million, setting 17 artist records and attracting collectors from New Orleans to Paris.
``Prices are rising for very high-quality works by historic and significant figures,'' said Manhattan dealer Michael Rosenfeld, who sells high-end black art.
``Obviously it's a financial decision,'' said Nigel Freeman, head of Swann's African-American art department. ``There are people who will be disappointed it's being broken up and leaving California. But the decision to sell it has been made, and Swann will make the most of the opportunity.''
Golden State began collecting black art in 1965 at the suggestion of artist William Pajaud, an art director at the company who retired in 1987.
$5,000 Annual Budget
Pajaud bought and eventually filled the hallways, private offices, lobby and cubicles with artworks on a $5,000 annual budget. Harlem Renaissance stars Charles Alston and Hale Woodruff were commissioned to create murals in the lobby, which are not part of the auction. When Pajaud started buying, opportunities for black artists were few.
``We literally had no place to show our work,'' Pajaud, 81, said. ``I though about everything that went into that collection as a legacy for the black people.''
The sale reflects Pajaud's taste and also his desire to help California artists. There are major works by some of the most celebrated black artists, including a large ink drawing of a stern, barefoot Harriet Tubman by Charles White, expected to sell for as much as $250,000.
A set of screen prints by Lawrence from his 1977 series ``A Legend of John Brown,'' depicting the life of the abolitionist, is estimated at up to $160,000. A sensuous angular carved mahogany couple by Elizabeth Catlett from 1978 is expected to fetch as much as $250,000. There are lesser-known names as well, including Beulah Woodward, Varnette Honeywood and John Riddle, who have no previous auction history.
Museum Interested
At least one museum might have been interested in keeping the artworks together.
``If we had had an opportunity to talk with Golden State, we might very well have been able to find some donors and been able to purchase the collection,'' said Charmaine Jefferson, executive director of the California African American Museum in Los Angeles. Selling the collection ``is not the same thing as passing a Monet around.''
Golden State is ``excited'' about the auction, spokesman Andreas Essex Flinck said in an e-mail, adding that ``a portion of the proceeds will be used to purchase art from upcoming artists.'' The company has more than $1 billion of policies, according to its Web site, which still publicizes the collection.
While von Blum and others hope the collection remains together, they say Golden State was not an ideal home for the fragile and rare artworks.
``Golden State is not a museum. There is no temperature control,'' said von Blum, who recalled finding a Betye Saar artwork lying face down in a closet.
``I got the sense they didn't care about it,'' said Bruce Picano, who cataloged and organized the collection in 2004, when he was an art history student at UCLA. He found art hanging in awkward locations and behind filing cabinets. Some of the most important work was locked in a vault, away from public view.
The building itself was in disrepair, with peeling paint, a broken drinking fountain in the lobby and stained carpets, Picano said. ``The collection had been ignored for a long time.''
Bounce Back
