RARE PENCIL DRAWING BY AMERICAN MASTER JOSEPH STELLA SELF PORTRAIT SIGNED - FROM IMPORTANT/STRONG PROVENANCE Start Price USD 850.00 Current Price USD 850.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Thursday, May 15, 2008 End Time Thursday, May 22, 2008 Location New York, New York See more about 'RARE PENCIL DRAWING BY AMERICAN MASTER JOSEPH STELLA' Description You are bidding on a fantastic AND RARE Beautiful Framed Original Signed Pencil Drawing on Paper by Italian / American Master Painter JOSEPH STELLA (1877-1946)   This is a very unique drawing on a printed paper (looks like an old french menu).   His works are collected by several museums, art galleries, private and public collections worldwide. There are several links, notes and articles on the web about this amazing artist. Feel free to do your own search and learn more about his amazing life and art and search the web for the price on his art.   I have enclosed below an excellet biography about his life and art history.   This Image has a very reasonable price in comparisson to recent sales for the artist.   I bought this image together with several other fantastic works of art from a beautiful and important Collection. The provenance of this piece is strong and secure. This is an authentic painting. (Please see information below).   Here are the details about this fantastic image:   Joseph Stella (Italian / American, 1877-1946)   Pencil Drawing on Printed Paper   "Portrait of the artist"   Signed "Stella" on bottom right (see photo)   Also incribed on Mat "Self Portrait by Joseph Stella from Bernie Rabin" (see photo)   Label on verso of Rabin and Krueger Gallery (see photo)   Image Size:                 7 1/2" High x 4 3/4" Wide – 19.1cm High x 12.1 cm Wide Frame:                         12"High x 8"Wide -  30.1 cm High x 20.3 cm Wide   OFFERED FRAMED   PROVENANCE:   The Estate of Abram Lerner Rabin and Krueger Gallery   CONDITION REPORT:   Please note that I will try my best to give accurate information about condition. There is very minor wear to the edges of the sheet. The paper is old and has yellowed slightly. Light paper soiling. The basic wood frame looks old but is in good shape. I think that this one should be replaced by a nice new frame.   (See pictures and feel free to ask me for any additional images).   PLEASE DON'T BID IF YOU ARE NOT SURE ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE BUYING.   PLEASE READ THIS: I am an extremely honest person and have excellent reputation and feedback on ebay (feel free to check it). I will make everything possible to make any ebay transaction a smooth and positive experience. I will also try to describe the item as accurate as possible. Feel free to ask me any questions and for additional photos.   I’ll be offering other important images, paintings, photographs and antiques on ebay.   I only offer unique high quality items bought from very diverse sources, collections and estates.   Bid with confidence.   Good Luck     Biography: Joseph Stella (June 13, 1877 - November 5, 1946) was an Italian-born American Futurist painter best-known for his depictions of industrial America. He was born in Muro Lucano,Italy but came to New York City in 1896. He studied at the Art Students League of New York under William Merritt Chase. His first paintings are Rembrandtesque depictions of city slum life. In 1908 he was commissioned for a series on industrial Pittsburgh, later published in The Pittsburgh Survey. It was his return to Europe in 1909, and his first contact with modernism, that would truly mold his distinctive personal style. Returning to New York in 1913, he painted Battle of Lights, Mardi Gras, Coney Island, which is one of the earliest American Futurist works. He is most famous for New York Interpreted, a five-paneled work patterned after a religious altarpiece, but depicting bridges and skyscrapers instead of saints. This piece reflects the belief, common at the time, that industry was displacing religion as the center of modern life. It is currently owned by the Newark Museum. His most famous quote is: "I have seen the future and it is good. We will wipe away the religions of old and start anew." 1877   Born June 13 in Muro Lucano, Italy 1896 - 1897   Emigrates to New York in 1896; studies at The Art Students League, New York, 1897 1898 - 1900   Studies under William Merritt Chase at the New York School of Art 1901   Attends Chase’s summer school in Shinnecock, Long Island 1900 - 1905   Lives in Lower East Side, Manhattan 1905 - 1908   Works as illustrator to earn money 1909 - 1910   Travels to Europe, primarily Italy 1910   Solo show of drawings at Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh; exhibition travels to Chicago and New York 1911   Lives in Paris; meets avant-garde artists, including: Modigliani, Matisse, Carra, and most likely Severini and Boccioni 1913   Participates in Armory Show, New York 1914   Painting Battle of Lights, Coney Island is exhibited in group show at Montross Gallery, New York; travels to Europe for summer 1915   Meets Francis Picabia and Marcel Duchamp at Walter and Louise Arensberg’s New York apartment (Arensberg’s collection becomes the core of the permanent collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art) 1919 - 1920   Shows at Bourgeois Gallery, New York, including retrospective exhibition in 1920; Katherine Dreier appoints Stella to exhibition committee of Société Anonyme, along with Duchamp and Man Ray 1922 - 1923   Serves as one of forty directors of the Salons of America; exhibits New York Interpreted, a large painting at the Société Anonyme 1925   Solo show at Dudensing Galleries, New York; exhibits there through 1935 1926   Travels to Europe and remains in Naples for most of next eight years, with occasional trips to France and New York; exhibits work at Valentine Gallery, New York; Galerie Sloden, Paris; and Galerie Jeune Peinture, Paris 1928, 1931   Solo shows at Valentine Gallery, New York 1930   Visits North Africa 1934   Returns to New York to live with his wife in the Bronx across from the New York Botanical Garden 1935   Employed for next two years in easel division of Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project 1936   Solo exhibition at the Cooperative Gallery, Newark (later to become known as Rabin & Krueger where Stella’s work is exhibited through 1975) 1937 - 1939   Travels to Barbados, 1938; retrospective at The Newark Museum, New Jersey, 1939 1940   Elected member of American Federation of Painters and Sculptors 1941   Solo exhibition at Associated American Artists, New York 1942   Solo show at Knoedler Galleries, New York 1946   Dies of heart attack on November 5th; buried in Woodlawn Cemetry, Bronx, New York   Place a Bid!