Neal Auction Important Estates September 2015

64 372. George Rodrigue (American/ Louisiana, 1944‑2013) , “Through the Lavender Woods”, 1992, oil and acrylic on canvas, signed lower left, 20 in. x 30 in., framed. $20000/40000 Provenance: Galerie Blue Dog, Carmel, CA. Note: In the early Blue Dog painting offered here, George Rodrigue can be seen experimenting with the Louisiana landscape. In “Through the Lavender Woods”, the sky and ground are composed of expressionistic, vibrant and dynamic swirls of magenta, purple and blue, highlighting Rodrigue’s interest in color. The movement of these colors gives emphasis to the shapes of the Blue Dog and crescent moon and are broken only by the dark shapes of the trees. The moon serves to not only add a luminescent quality to the work, but it also is a symbol of a city that was increasingly important to the artist. From 1990 to 1992, Rodrigue’s newly-opened New Orleans gallery led to his growing fame nationwide, as the loup-garou of the mid-1980s and early 1990s transitioned on the canvas to the iconic Blue Dog seen in the work offered here. 373. Jean Seidenberg (American/New Orleans, b. 1930) , “Portrait of a Woman within a Red and Black Interior”, 1959, oil on canvas, signed and dated “1/17/59” mid‑left, 29 in. x 35 in., framed. $3000/5000 375. Hunt Slonem (American/ Louisiana, b. 1951) , “Blue Pearl”, 2013, oil on canvas, signed, dated, titled and inscribed “Hunt Slonem Studio” en verso, 39 3/4 in. x 60 in., unframed. $6000/8000 374. Francis X. Pavy (American/Louisiana, b. 1954) , “Carencro, Louisiana”, 1989, oil on canvas, signed, titled, dated, inscribed and “Simms Fine Art, New Orleans” label with title and date en verso, 48 in. x 36 1/4 in., framed. $2000/3000 Exh.: “Peinture de Francis Pavy, Artiste de Louisiane”, in association with Rennes Music Festival, Salon Jaunes, Rennes, France, November 1 ‑ December 14, 1990. Note: In this painting, Louisiana native and highly acclaimed artist Francis X. Pavy draws inspiration from the small city of Carencro situated near Lafayette. Derived from the Cajun French word for buzzard Carencro refers to the large flocks of buzzards that once roosted in local cypress trees. Pavy incorporated the stylized image of the buzzard flying across the evening sky.