Lot 3A
Raimondo J. "Ray" Vinella (American, born in Italy, 1933 - 2019). "In the Valley of Monuments" oil on canvas, 1971. Signed with location at lower right. Artist's stamp with title and date on verso. An impressive painting by Ray Vinella depicting a sweeping sunset view of Monument Valley, a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of towering sandstone buttes. A pair of cowboys on horseback meander through a grassy valley surrounded by soaring red rock formations, all beneath a wispy, blue-green sky. Light from the setting sun radiates through the landscape, illuminating the giant stone structures in brilliant hues of persimmon, coral, and apricot that dramatically contrast the long, dark shadows they cast below. A hallmark of the Utah desert, the spellbinding terrain of Monument Valley has played a prominent role in many forms of media since the 1930s, film critic Keith Phipps even writing that these "five square miles have defined what decades of moviegoers think of when they imagine the American West." Here, Vinella has skillfully captures the awe-inspiring beauty and vastness that characterizes this quintessential American vista. Size of painting: 27.75" W x 21.5" H (70.5 cm x 54.6 cm); of frame 33.5" W x 27.75" H (85.1 cm x 70.5 cm)
About the artist: "One of the renowned 'Taos Six,' Vinella was widely known as both a fine artist and teacher. Born in Bari, Italy, Vinella came to the U.S. at age 2 in 1935. He was raised in New York's Lower East Side and joined the Air Force at age 17 during the Korean War. He attended the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, majoring in illustration. He later got a job in Pittsburgh as an industrial illustrator and then in California for Lockheed and Disney Productions (working on the classic film 'Mary Poppins'). Inspired by a Fechin exhibit, he quit illustration and moved to Taos in 1969. Vinella's first home/studio in Taos was the historic Martinez Hacienda on Lower Ranchitos Road. A gallery managed by Tommy Lewis carried his work, and he helped form the Taos Six with Walt Gonske, Ron Barsano, Julian Robles, Robert Daughters and Rod Goebel. This group helped to revitalize the Taos market and bring it to an entirely new generation of art collectors. 'What can you say about a raucous kid from Little Italy who escaped from the ghetto and wound up painting fall aspen trees and rabbit brush blooming on the outskirts of Taos, New Mexico,' wrote Milagro Beanfield War, author John Nichols in the foreword to Vinella's 2006 book, 'Vinella.' 'Me, I'm not an art critic, I look at paintings I don't describe them. But I've spent my life looking at a great many paintings wherever I could find them, and sometimes those paintings have touched a nerve and become a permanent part of my relationship to the places and people of this planet that I venerate. Ray's work does that to me.'" (from the artist's obituary by Rick Romancito in "Santa Fe New Mexican" newspaper on February 6th, 2019)
Provenance: private Broomfield, Colorado, USA collection
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#190724
- Condition: Signed with location at lower right. Artist's stamp with title and date on verso. Set in custom frame with suspension wire on verso for display. A few scuffs and chips to varnish on frame, but otherwise painting is in excellent overall condition.
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