In the City and in the mood for a little art? Summertime is the perfect time to check out the new and exciting exhibits offered around San Francisco. Here are a few that will scratch that artistic itch.

Courtesy of the California Historical Society

Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco – Legion of Honor 

Man Ray | Lee Miller: Partners in Surrealism

July 14, 2012 - October 14, 2012

Marcel Duchamp: The Book and the Box

July 14, 2012 - November 11, 2012

René Bouché (1905–1963): Letters from Post-War Paris

July 14, 2012 - October 14, 2012

Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco – deYoung Museum

The Art of the Anatolian Kilim: Highlights from the McCoy Jones Collection

September 10, 2011 - July 29, 2012

Sacred Images and Chiefly Works from Central Polynesia

November 30, 2011 - August 30, 2012

The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk

March 24, 2012 - August 19, 2012

SF Museum of Modern Art

ContemporaryPaintings, 1960 to the Present

Selections from the SFMOMA Collection

May 18 – August 12, 2012

Stage Presence:Theatricality in Art and Media

July 14 - October 08, 2012

Cindy Sherman

July 14 - October 08, 2012

Paul Klee andJosef Albers: Parallel Construction

June 07 - October 08, 2012

Asian Art Museum

Phantoms of Asia, Contemporary Awakens the Past

May 18 – September 2, 20102

Contemporary Jewish Museum

Do Not Destroy:Trees, Art, and Jewish Thought

An Exhibition and The Dorothy Saxe Invitational

Through September 9, 2012

California Dreaming

Jewish Life in the Bay Area from the Gold Rush to the Present

Through October 16, 2012

California Historical Society

A Wild Flight ofthe Imagination

February - October 14, 2012

Image courtesy of The Huntington Library

And for those of you in Southern California, may we recommend…

The J. Paul Getty Museum – Los Angeles

Gustav Klimt:The Magic of Line

July 3 – September 23, 2012

Drama and Devotion:Heemskerck;s “Ecce Homo” Altarpiece from Warsaw

June 5 – January 13, 2013

Heaven, Hell,and Dying Well: Images of Death in the Middle Ages

May 29 – August 2012

The Huntington –  San Marino

Roger Medearis:His Regionalism

June 16 – September 17, 2012

Royals,Courtiers, & Confidants

July 28 – October 29, 2012

Timkin Museum of Art – San Diego

Object Lessons:Goya’s Self- Portrait with Dr. Arrieta

May 10 – September 9, 2012

John A. Noble, American painter and mariner

"Anywhere men work or build on the water is of interest to me...My life's work is to make a rounded picture of American maritime endeavor of modern times."

John A. Noble (1913-1983)

Dying in the English Kills, Man & Mast #2 (Brooklyn)

1967

Lithograph, edition of 300

Signed and titled in pencil

23" x 26 3/4" framed

  

Born in Paris in 1913, John A. Noble was the son of the noted American painter, John “Wichita Bill” Noble. He spent his early years in the studios of his father and his father’s contemporaries, innovative artists and writers of the early 20^th century. A graduate of the Friends Seminary in New York City, Noble continued his studies in France at the University of Grenoble. There he met his wife and lifetime companion, Susan Ames. When he returned to New York, he attended the National Academy of Design.

Beginning at the age of 15 and continuing for almost two decades, Noble worked aboard schooners and in marine salvage. It was during this time that the artistic bug caught hold and Noble began drawing and painting. In 1928, while on a schooner that was towing out down the Kill van Kull- the tidal strait that separates Staten Island from New Jersey- he saw the old Port Johnston coal docks, “the largest graveyard of wooden sailing vessels in the world”, for the first time. He would later comment that this sight changed his life forever. In 1941, Noble began to build his floating studio out of parts from the vessels he salvaged. Noble would use a rowboat to explore the harbor, taking detailed records of the boats, workmen, and industries that came and went.

Despite his artistic provenance and critical praise of his work, Noble always remained intimate with the people of the coal docks. “I’m with factory people, industrial people, the immigrants, the sons of immigrants. It gives life to it,” he stated. Late in his life, Noble recalled his first compelling views of New York Harbor. “I was crossing the 134th Street Bridge on the Harlem River on a spring day in 1928, and I was so shocked--it changed my life. I was frozen on that bridge, because both east and west of the bridge were sailing vessels. And I thought sailing vessels, you know, were gone... There it was, and I couldn’t eat, or anything; I was so excited.” By the time of his death in the Spring of 1983 - shortly after the passing of his beloved Susan - the sailing vessels he loved were all gone, and the maritime industry in the area had diminished significantly.

Arader Galleries is proud to present John A. Noble’s Dying in the English Kills, Man & Mast #2 (Brooklyn). This exquisite lithograph portrays a mariner atop the mast on a sailing vessel navigating the English Kills, a tributary along the Newport Creek separating Brooklyn and Queens.

Edward Lear- artist, illustrator, author, poet

Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was born in Halloway, England to a middle class family. As the second-to-last of twenty-one children, he was raised by his oldest sister, Ann, due to poor family finances. Lear also suffered from epilepsy and asthma from an early age - illnesses that would plague him his entire life. Lear became a paid artist at the age of 16 when he took a job with the Zoological Society as a “ornithological draughtsman.” He continued his work drawing the private menagerie of the Earl of Derby. His publication, Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidea, or Parrots, came about in 1830, when the artist was 18. His work was favorably received and compared to contemporary artists such as John James Audubon. At the age of 25, failing eyesight caused Lear to give up his detailed ornithological work. He moved to Rome in 1837 in an attempt to bolster his poor health.

For the next 50 years, Lear would travel all over the world exploring; supporting himself through his drawings, watercolors, and writings. His travels included forays in Greece, Palestine, Egypt, India and Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka). While traveling he produced numerous colored wash drawings that he would later build up with watercolor and oil. To share his experiences, Lear kept detailed journals documenting his day–to-day experiences and sketched the local topography. He later annotated his journals, letters, and sketches often purposely misspelling words and adding nonsensical phrases for publication.

Courtesy of 

The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Book of Nonsense, by Edward Lear

Lear passed away at his Italian villa in 1887 from heart disease. Sadly, none of his friends were able to attend the funeral.


Great Britain marked the centennial of his death with a set of Royal Stamps in 1988 and an exhibition at the Royal Academy. To mark the bicentennial of his birth, a range of events have been planned throughout the world on May 18 – International Owl and Pussycat Day – including a Google Doodle depicting the titular Owl and the Pussycat.

Arader Galleries is please to present a rare first edition of Lear’s Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidea, or Parrots. This publication marked the transition from engraving to lithography in natural history works. This work contains 42 lithographs with original hand-painted color. A run of only 175 books were produced, of which only 100 survive today. The quality of this work established Lear’s reputation as one of the best natural history artists of his time.

   

Edward Lear (1812-1888)

Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots

London: Edward Lear, 1830-1832

Hardcover

Book Condition: Near Fine

Folio (21 x 14 inches)

Letterpress title-page, dedication leaf, list of subscribers, list of plates,

42 fine hand-colored lithographic plates by and after Lear.

Fine modern half diced calf marbled boards antique,

Please contact Arader Galleries for further details.

The Age of Discovery at Arader Galleries

Arader Galleries in San Francisco was thrilled to host Mrs. Deborah Krikorian’s 7th grade class from San Francisco's Waldorf School last Friday, January 16th. For the second consecutive year, Gallery Director Nicole Lopez presented an insightful lecture focused on the history of cartography and map making during the Age of Discovery (16th through 19th centuries) coinciding with the students’ in-class curriculum.

Students were shown maps and discussed the changing shape of the world as cartographers continued to explore and record their findings throughout the 16th to 19th centuries. Viewing these maps brought to life previous history lessons and stories of explorers traveling the unknown for the students.

Season's Greetings from Arader Galleries

As the holiday season draws near, the quest to find the perfect gift begins!

Please stop by Arader Galleries throughout the holiday season to view our
impressive collection of original maps, engravings,
lithographs, and watercolors.

Hours:

Monday - Friday 10am - 6pm

Saturday 11am - 5pm

Holiday Hours:

December 24th (Christmas Eve) - 11am - 3pm

December 25th - Merry Christmas!

December 26th - Closed

December 31 - Closed

January 1st - Happy New Year!

January 2 - Closed

An interview with Graham Arader

Photograph by Ben Hoffmann

ForbesLife Magazine conducted an insightful interview with Graham Arader about his 40-plus years of experience in the map and rare book world. Beginning with a tour of the Rare Books Vault located in the New York Gallery, Mr. Arader presents an inside view into his world of collecting and dealing rare maps, books and prints and discusses those in his profession who have taken their love for rare maps too far.

"Maps combine art, power, psychology, history, commerce, and fantasy" states Mr. Arader from his gallery at 29th East 72nd Street in New York City. Mr. Arader began his business while in college at Yale. He was captain of the squash team and all–Ivy League for three years--but his life changed when he met Alexander Orr Vietor, the curator of Yale's map collection. "I am the only guy in history who used Yale as a trade school," Arader says. "Mr. Vietor let me use his personal reference library and taught me the standards of collecting. I sold $100,000 in maps my senior year in college.”

With an extensive collection of maps, globes, natural history and botanical prints and great love of history, Mr. Arader has amassed an inventory of over $600 million, spread throughout his five galleries nation-wide. He has also seen first hand the underside of the dealing world and has worked with the FBI and government agencies to capture and convict map and rare book thieves.

With no plans of stopping anytime soon, Mr. Arader continues to collect, deal and make charitable contributions to schools and organizations, hoping to entice and educate the public about these rare and fascinating pieces of history. As he dutifully states, “They tell history in a way you can't get in any other art form.”

To read the full interview, please visit: ForbesLife Magazine

Building Blocks for Education

Arader Galleries is proud to announce that its founder and namesake, W. Graham Arader has gifted Northeastern University a number of historically significant maps, engravings, woodcuts and botanical watercolors. The Arader Galleries Collection is on display at Snell Library, and the pieces have been incorporated into a new course, “Picturing the World,” introduced by Georges Van Den Abbeele, founding dean of the College of Social Studies and Humanities and is co-instructed by English professor Beryl Schlossman.

“The Arader Galleries Collection has enhanced our course in a tremendous way,” said Dean Van Den Abbeele. “By giving students access to these works, we have quite literally brought history into the classroom. The pieces we’ve acquired from the nation’s leading expert on historically significant maps underscore Mr. Arader’s support of cultural institutions and his commitment to making these bits of history available to a greater audience.

“Dean Van Den Abbeele and Professor Schlossman have created an innovative curriculum that delves deeply into the historic relationships between early exploration and trade, and the beauty and science of nature, technology and art,” Arader said. “Arader Galleries and I are thrilled to provide Northeastern University with these important works so students can see firsthand their beauty and understand their historic importance.”