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Dean Cornwell
Spanish Tavern

1922

$496,000
£376,113.07
€439,425.42
CA$709,251.78
A$720,132.60
CHF 408,227.86
MX$8,772,723.12
NOK 4,828,242.97
SEK 4,829,646.39
DKK 3,284,629.95

About the Item

There is no one alive who can paint and draw like Dean Cornwell. How can that be? They do not train artists the way they did. He was Norman Rockwell's favorite illustrator. The present work exemplifies Cornwell's masterful design sense anchored in formal structure. To direct the viewer's eye, he employs complex compositional devices rooted in traditional academic painting of the Old Masters. In this group portrait depicting 14 subjects, his complex composition has an alternating distribution of positive and negative space. Reds and blacks are reprised as the viewer pans the scene from left to right. Vertical and horizontal elements, such as the blue door post, the blue chair, and the red tapestry, form a pictorial architecture that contains the free-flowing figures. Squint your eyes, and the nature of the work comes alive, being as abstract as it is representational. For this assignment, Cornwell was hired to illustrate a magazine story about a Spanish bar. He brilliantly captures a high moment of festive drama, but the real narrative is about the connection and disconnection of glances. The barmaids are all young and attractive. Their off-the-shoulder, vivid vermillion costumes add to their flirty eroticism in contrast to the brooding, half-drunk men. Historically, festive bar/restaurant scenes depicted only happy moments, with everyone smiling. Cornwell breaks with tradition and goes deeper into the human condition. Signed and dated lower left The uploaded video on 1stDibs is coming up a bit light. Refer to the still images for more accurate color
  • Creator:
    Dean Cornwell (1892 - 1960, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1922
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 28 in (71.12 cm)Width: 45 in (114.3 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    Very good / to Excellent for its age.
  • Gallery Location:
    Miami, FL
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU38538483122

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Spanish Tavern

Spanish Tavern

By Dean Cornwell

Located in Miami, FL

There is no one alive that can paint and draw like Dean Cornwell. How can that be? They do not train artist the way they did. Dean Cornwell in his day was as famous as Normal Rockwell...

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1920s Post-Impressionist Figurative Paintings

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Kindred of the Dust, Frontier Town Cosmopolitan Magazine

Kindred of the Dust, Frontier Town Cosmopolitan Magazine

By Dean Cornwell

Located in Miami, FL

A somewhat similar Cornwell featuring a strong woman at the center of a the composition just sold at Christie's for $164,000. In this work we also see a strong woman at the center of the composition. Here she surrounded by men. More than 20 beautifully rendered post-impressionist portraits in character, define Dean Cornwell as one of America's great artists. In his time, he was a famous as Norman Rockwell and was Norman Rockwell's favorite illustrator. "One thing puzzled Dirty Dan extremely. That was the perfectly frank, friendly manner in which his employer and this outcast woman greeted each other, the earnestness with which they conversed, and the effect of the woman's low-spoken words upon the color of Hector McKaye's face." Morris Weiss collection...

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1920s Post-Impressionist Figurative Paintings

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Oil

Stoic and Soulfully Strong Women - All Women Composition Euphorbia -

Stoic and Soulfully Strong Women - All Women Composition Euphorbia -

By Dean Cornwell

Located in Miami, FL

One of Cornwell's hallmarks is that he paints stoically soulful faces that express the subject's trials and hardships. In this only-woman composition, he depicts a scene of two women who are strong, unafraid, and self-confident and can weather the storm despite the challenges. In this regard, it is similar to "A Strange Sound Drifted Down to Kit from the Top of the Range—A Man’s Voice, Singing" by Cornwell, which sold at Christie's USD $163,800 on 18 Apr 2024. Caption: "Are you making little things?" questioned Lucy. 'No ,' said Marge. 'If this one happens to live, there will be many long years ahead of us for that." Morris Weiss collection...

Category

1920s Post-Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

American Indian - Androscoggin River Falls, Manufacturers National Bank Study

American Indian - Androscoggin River Falls, Manufacturers National Bank Study

By Dean Cornwell

Located in Miami, FL

If there ever were a perfect work in the canon of art history, this masterpiece study by Dean Cornwell would be it. Every line has meaning and not a line out of place, as Cornwell d...

Category

1960s American Realist Figurative Paintings

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Pastel, Pencil

Ernest Hemingway. The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber  He Lay Face Down

Ernest Hemingway. The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber He Lay Face Down

By Dean Cornwell

Located in Miami, FL

A complex composition of interlocking pyramids defines Cornwell not only as a great storyteller but a master of painting fundamentals and design. There is no living artist today who can paint and draw at a level comparable to Dean Cornwell. Published in Cosmopolitan magazine: "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" by Ernest Hemingway Reproduced in Dean Cornwell, Dean of Illustrators (Broder) The work is rendered in the painterly style of a school of impressionism. Dean Cornwell was Normam Rockwell's favorite Illustrator. He was a student of Harvey Dunn, he in turn taught artists and developed talents for a generation. Oils for Cosmopolitan, Redbook, True, American Weekly, Life, Good Housekeeping. Book art for Man from Galilee and others. Ad contracts for GM, Eastern, Pennsylvania Railroad, Paul Jones Whiskey, Aunt...

Category

1930s Post-Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

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Story illustration for “The Enchanted Hill” by Peter B. Kyne for Cosmopolitan, published November 1924, pages 32-33. The full caption reads: “‘I was low enough to ask a favor of y...

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Date: 1923 Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 35.50" x 30.00" Signature: Signed Lower Left Never the Twain Shall Meet, Cosmopolitan illustration, 1923 This illustration appeared in Peter B. Kyne's story, Never the Twain Shall Meet. "'Ah!' said Tamea. 'You do not believe, then, that I am the Queen of Riva?' 'No,' retorted the health officer, 'I do not. You're the Queen of Hearts.''" It was also reproduced on page 76 of Dean Cornwell: Dean of Illustrators by Patricia Janis Broder, Collector's Press, 2000. Exhibited: Masters of the Golden Age: Harvey Dunn and His Students South Dakota...

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“How beautiful it is!”

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Story illustration for “The Torrent: A Romance of the Orange Groves of Valencia” by Vicente Blasco Ibanez for Hearst’s International, published June 1921, page 6. The full caption reads: “‘How beautiful it is!…How I have longed to see it again!’ the lovely stranger mused half aloud to herself - quietly ignoring Rafael’s advances.” Masters of the Golden Age: Harvey Dunn and His StudentsSouth Dakota Art...

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