Thank you for visiting the Cedar Bar Art website.
My parents are art collectors and I grew up in a house filled with color. Specifically, they collected painters from the New York School...the Abstract Expressionists of the 1950's. Being raised in a home where colors were abundant, and action and movement on the canvas did not necessarily transform to a recognizable object, influenced my interest in the history and application of art. While my grandfather was a sculptor and my great-grandmother was a painter, they were more traditionalists in their work.
While attending Hillsdale College, I studied art and graduated with a BA in Business Administration with a focus on Marketing. My first show was in Rockford, IL. It was a show of 10 Unknown Artists. I disliked seeing prices on my paintings and left the opening rather early...as in, right after I walked in. I have matured since then and have participated at the invitation of Tom Littrell in the 2013 Spring and Fall Art Scene in Rockford, IL. Throughout the years, David Boccignone, of Ameriprise (on Rote Road) in Rockford, IL. has invited me to show at Art Scene at his location and I have continued to show at 317 Studio & Gallery (at the invitation of Theresa and Tabatha) during Art Scene.
I grew up in Rockford, IL, and after 20 years of living in Chicago, returned to Rockford in 2015. I enjoy painting...I enjoy learning about art and various artists. I was fortunate to meet a few of the artists of the New York School.
When visiting New York, I visited Yvonne Thomas (1913-2009 - pictured above) in her condo/studio in Chelsea frequently. Yvonne studied at the Subject of the Artist school, with Robert Motherwell, Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman, William Baziotes and David Hare. She was a member of the Artist's Club, and exhibited in the 9th Street Art Exhibition in 1951. One visit she allowed me to climb the ladder and venture into her upper storage area, warning me to be careful not to fall. I started pulling out some wonderful, long lost paintings....her face lit up as she recognized them! One I pulled out was "Harem". She enthusiastically said, "Harem! I did not know it was up there. I have not seen her in so many years." It was clearly a special painting. A friend purchased "Harem". On a return visit, Yvonne presented my friend, who purchased "Harem", a newspaper clipping which had a photo of the treasured painting. The painting was done in 1960...and I imagine the clipping was not too far beyond the completion date. I thoroughly enjoyed our friendship, visits and written communication. Despite being in her 90's, her mind was still very sharp and her memory was vibrant. I miss our visits.
I am also fortunate to have met Mary Abbott (1921- ) a few times at Thomas McCormick Gallery in Chicago and on a visit to New York. At one opening @ the McCormick Gallery, Mary shared her experiences of visiting the White House on family day (her family lineage goes back to John Adams) and her views on the President's of more recent years. Mary was a model in her younger years and she was selected to collect the money for the group when they would meet at the Cedar Tavern. Her stories are very entertaining and she is a fabulous artist.
In a very random happening, a friend's cousin phoned her and said mentioned a gentleman who paints 'that abstract stuff' who was living in a very small town in Ohio. My friend and I scheduled a visit and were given warning he is incredibly grumpy and doesn't like anyone. We drove to Ohio to visit Al Newbill (1921 - 2011) and had an incredible afternoon. It took a little while for Al to open up but we heard some eye opening stories about the Cedar Bar in New York. Al became a professor/teacher after leaving New York. He could not afford to continue to store his paintings so he burned most of his paintings from the 50's. After lunch, Al and my friend started drinking Budweiser's, the tall Buds. And the stories continued to roll. Al was not embracing of the social scene in New York and told a story which reflected his feelings. He was at a party (I do not think it was at Peggy Guggenheim...but it was at a wealthy individual's home) where the hostess begged him to attend. He went despite his apprehension. He was sitting on a couch and a gentleman walks up to him and says, "I hear you are one of those Abstract Expressionists?" Well, Al did not like the label Abstract Expressionist and he certainly did not like speaking about art if people did not really appreciate it. He took a lamp shade and placed it on his head and asked, "What do you see a lamp shade or art?" The gentleman answered, "A lamp shade." Al replied, "Never speak to me about art again." Honestly, when we arrived for our visit the apartment was so filled with cigarette smoke I thought I can take this for maybe 30 minutes....I think we were there for 6 hours. We maintained a written correspondence for a while. Al passed away in 2011.
