Bert Gallery

New paintings – Providence Waterfront.

1. Louise Marianetti (1916-2009)
Along the Waterfront, Providence 1950s
18″ x 24″, $1,200 Unframed.

About the Image
The Providence waterfront in the 1950′s was anything but attractive. Garbage was floating in the river, broken down pilings hugged the shore and the 19th century warehouses were falling down. South Water Street, South Main Street and Benefit Street were home to fish markets and second hand stores. Artists often rented cheap studio space and tried to capture the gritty reality of urban development. These two waterfront pastels by Marianetti soften the harsh realities of Providence that are so clearly
documented by photographer Carmel Vitullo in her 1953 photograph.

2. Louise Marianetti (1916-2009)
Downcity Providence 1950s
24″ x 18″, $1,200 Unframed.

About the Image
Louise Marianetti embodies the persona often ascribed to artists – the private, dedicated and rather eccentric painter. Frequently photographed in her black trademark beret, Marianetti excelled in the visual arts, earning a degree from RISD in 1936, and then onto the Arts Student League in New York City for further study with William Palmer and Robert Brackman until 1939. Upon her return back to Rhode Island in the early 40s, Marianetti began to build her career, reconnecting with RISD colleagues, joining the Providence Art Club and regularly exhibiting. She had major exhibits at Vose Galley and the Newport Art Museum in 1949 and continued to exhibit throughout her lifetime at the Mystic Art Association. She went onto exhibit throughout her life and is listed in Who’s Who in American Art.

3. Carmel Vitullo
Waterfront (Providence)
11″ x 14″, $350.
Black & White Photograph
Edition of 20

New paintings at Bert Gallery. Stop by to visit!

1. House in Caceres, 1957, Frederick Whitaker (1891-1980), Watercolor 22″ x 18″, $2,200.
A visit to Caceres, Spain by Frederick Whitaker in 1957 must have been a treasure trove of visual images for the artist. This city has layers of history, including the remains from medieval times, signs of Roman and Moorish occupation and finally an incredible testimony to the golden age of Jewish culture in Spain. Whitaker was born in Providence and studied at RISD going onto a national reputation for his watercolors that reside in over 30 museums throughout the world.

2. Nocturnal Ferry NYC, F. Usher DeVoll, Pastel 14″ x 11″, $1,800.
DeVoll had a fascination with taking the ferry at night and painting the New York City skyline. These New York images are the most sought after by collectors outside of the state. DeVoll developed his love for New York City after he finished his RISD training and went on to study at the New York Art Student’s League. Even after he moved back to Rhode Island he took regular sojourns to New York to paint and visit his dealer at the Grand Central Galleries.

3. Clown with Top Hat, James Drummond Herbert (1898 – 1970), Pen & Ink 5″ x 3.5″, $250.
Clowning was developed from a broad tradition of historical performances and it is difficult to point out a singular tradition or even a few different ones as being the primary precursors to clowns. Examples of historical, “clown-like” comedic performers have been the pantomimes in ancient Greece, the Lazzi of Commedia dell’Arte, buffoons, court jesters, as well as the French mime tradition. James Herbert was attracted to clown imagery during his study in Paris in the 1920′s. It may have been the art historical reference to various painters such as Picasso and the range of responses that clowns evoke from viewers that impressed Herbert.

New paintings at Bert Gallery.

1. Beachcombers, Elijah Baxter (1849-1939), Oil on Canvas, 36″ x 36″.

2. Rockport Harbor, Antonio Cirino (1888-1982), Oil on Board, 8″ x 10″.

3. Venice, Italy, Walter Francis Brown (1853-1921), Oil on Canvas, 22″ x 33″.

4. Provincetown Harbor, John Frazier (1889-1964), Oil on Canvas, 20″ x 24″.

Call Bert Gallery to schedule an appointment to view Robert Thornton’s new pieces: Sparrows, 44″ x 54″, $2500. / Child with Rocking Horse & Cat, 28″ x 38″, $2000. / Figure with Wild Flowers & Shawl, 34″ x 54″, $2500. / Harlequin & Faun, 44″ x 54″, $2500. / Jungle, 44″ x 54″, $2500. / Brother & Sister, 34″ x 40″, $2000. / Natures Bounty, 28″ x 48″, $2000. / Marsh, 44″ x 54″, $2500. / Rain Forest, 44″ x 54″, $2500.

About Robert Thornton
Though he’s lived in Providence most of his life, and painted professionally since the mid-1950s, Robert Thornton hasn’t had a gallery show in more than a decade. At the same time, anyone who follows the Rhode Island art scene has probably seen his work. He is the former staff photographer for the RISD Museum (a job he held from 1957 to 1992), about which he says, “I was working as a research assistant when the job opened up. I took it thinking it was a good temporary job. I wound up staying 35 years.” During the day, Thornton took pictures for posters, catalogs and other museum publications. Then, at night, he’d head back to his studio. “I was always painting,” he says.

Visit Bert Gallery to see the new Dana Levin pieces that are now at the gallery.
1. Pink Roses, 12″ x 16″, $3400.
2. The Wedding Painting 2, 24″ x 30″, Price available on request.

About Dana Levin
Dana E. Levin was born in 1969 and grew up in Miami, Florida. Her formal art education began at age 16 while attending the New World School of the Arts in Miami. She graduated early from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and has completed postgraduate studies with the Three Year Certificate Program at the Florence Academy of Art. She has traveled throughout the U.S., Eastern and Western Europe, the Middle East, and South America. Her awards and scholarships include the Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco Merit Scholarship (1996) and The Art Renewal Center International Scholarship (2001 and 2002). Her work has been exhibited in Chicago, San Francisco, New York, and Rhode Island.

Levin says about her work: “Painting from nature is about the discovery of truth. Discovering beauty, discovering humanity. It explores our existence by giving body to ideas, through the undeceiving physicality of its subjects. I search for balance between drawing, light and composition, and the emotional significance of the subject, to create an image that offers an immediate visual impression, which slowly, over time, unfolds on levels deeper than the surface of the canvas.”

Source: Realism Revisited: The Florence Academy of Art. Panorama Museum, Bad Frankenhausen, 2003.