Peregrine Heathcote, Painter of intoxicating glamour and intrigue

Peregrine Heathcote (British, b. 1973) Glory Days, 2016 oil on canvas, 63 x 94 3/8 in. Peregrine Heathcote’s exquisite paintings conjure up a world of intoxicating glamour and intrigue. His scenes of beautiful women and debonair men set within an idealized historical context rich with art deco remind us of a time when travel was at the pinnacle of luxury. We are immediately drawn in to the scene of Glory Days, a monumental-sized painting, with a sense of adventure greeting us with the powerful Union Pacific passenger locomotives, a dirigible overhead, and luggage being unloaded from the classic gull-winged Mercedes-Benz 300 SL. Heathcote’s paintings inspire viewers to narrate their own stories, and are the result of the many unique influences on the artist throughout his life. Born in London in 1973, Heathcote spent his childhood living in both Britain and Dubai, which exposed him to the lifestyle of international jetsetters. In London, he was the youngest student ever to study art at the prestigious Heatherly School of Fine Art.  As the son of an antique dealer specializing in militaria, the young artist’s imagination flourished in his own home, surrounded by a constant influx of relics and antiques from various points in history. His maternal grandfather was a test pilot for the Royal Air Force and Peregrine would often stay with him in Wales listening to tales of adventures and secret missions flown over Europe. As a result of many years spent flying, his grandfather’s log-books are filled with detailed information including the plane types and flight destinations. Heathcote has often used these for inspiration to produce compositions with the same planes and romantically-linked couples embarking on or returning from various journeys, echoing the ones that filled his imagination from his grandfather’s stories. In 1995, Peregrine graduated from the Florence Academy of Art, and since that time his artistic career has flourished. Members of the English nobility have commissioned portraits by Heathcote, and his works are collected by the screenplay writer and Oscar winner, Jillian Fellows. The BBC spotlighted Heathcote painting a portrait at the famous London Palladium and finished the program with him unveiling the piece at the Royal Academy. He has exhibited at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, the Royal Academy, and Hampton Court, as well as at international exhibitions and art fairs.   Contact the gallery for additional information about this work: art@cavaliergalleries.com or 203.869.3664

The New York School: Abstract Expressionism [Greenwich, CT]

Larry Poons (American, b.1937) Over the Hills, 2014 acrylic on canvas, 66 1/4 x 70 3/4 in.

Cavalier Galleries is pleased to announce an exciting new exhibition of Abstract Expressionist works, creating a show that highlights the birth of mainstream abstract art in America. The New York School:Abstract Expressionism opens on June 14th and will be on view through July 10th at Cavalier Galleries—located at 405 Greenwich Ave, Greenwich, CT. Following on the success of The Boston Expressionists show, Cavalier Galleries explores the wider world of Abstract Expressionism itself. Considered the first internationally-recognised American art form, Abstract Expressionism—sometimes called the “New York School”—was a turning point in American art. In the 1950s, it thrust New York into the spotlight as the new center of Western art—unseating Paris —and brought abstract art into the mainstream. Featuring both foundational and contemporary works, Cavalier Galleries’ amazing collection of truly moving paintings and sculptures, shows the important influence of Abstract Expressionism on American art. Initially a product of the Great Depression and the Second World War, Abstract Expressionism combinedthe attitudes reflecting the chaos of the times with European styles such as surrealism, fauvism, cubism, and German Expressionism. These styles were brought to the United States by artists fleeing Old World fascism, such as Dalí, Léger, and Mondrian. They came into contact with American artists who had become dissatisfied with the art of the past decades. The movement quickly spread from New York to the rest of the country and beyond. By the 1950s, Abstract Expressionism was the dominant artistic style, and from it, many other styles were born. Abstract expressionism is marked by a near-total abandonment of traditional representational painting. The works tend to be highly personal, reflecting the artist’s own mind rather than any specific subject, and are often large in scale. Abstract expressionists focus on direct and immediate expression—some of this conveyed through techniques such as dripping, pouring, spattering, and even throwing paint on canvas, in addition to bold expressions of colour. The concept of automatism, where the artist creates without consciously thinking about what is being created—originally a surrealist method— was adopted by many Abstract Expressionists to accomplish great spontaneity. Cavalier Galleries' exhibition will showcase paintings by masters such as Cleve Gray, Esteban Vicente, Paul Jenkins, Dan Christensen, Stanley Boxer, and Larry Poons, as well as sculptures by Reuben Nakian and Joel Perlman.   Contact the gallery for additional information about works by these artists: art@cavaliergalleries.com or 203.869.3664

Jamie Wyeth: 3rd Generation American Master

Jamie Wyeth (American, b. 1946)
Gulls of Monhegan #1, 1992
combined mediums on paper, 22 x 22 1/4 in. 

Celebrated contemporary realist painter, Jamie Wyeth, is a third-generation artist; son of legendary painter Andrew Wyeth and the grandson of the illustrious painter and illustrator, N.C. Wyeth.  His natural artistic talent became clear at a young age, and—with deep focus—Jamie began to shape his artistic vision in his teenage years. Like his father, Jamie was raised in Chadds Ford, PA with many summers spent on the coast of Maine.  Much of Jamie Wyeth’s work is inspired by the Maine coast, where the landscape and local inhabitants—animal and human—serve as subjects for his work.  This painting depicts two seagulls in the living room of the artist’s house on Monhegan Island in 1992. Known for his humanistic representations of animals, this work is no exception, as he represents the physical attributes of one of his favorite subjects with remarkable accuracy, while also capturing their idiosyncratic behavior.

Following his early success and recognition, Wyeth has completed several notable works depicting political and entertainment figures and historic events, including portraits of President John F. Kennedy, Rudolf Nureyev, Andy Warhol, and Arnold Schwarzenegger; charcoal drawings that documented the unfolding drama of the SenateWatergate hearings; pictorial reporting of NASA space launches and splashdowns; and imaginative pictures for contemporary novelist Stephen King's ABC-TV miniseries Kingdom Hospital, to name a few. Jamie Wyeth's works are included in many public collections, including those of the Museum of Modern Art,  National Gallery of Art, National Portrait Gallery, John F. Kennedy Library, Joslyn Art Museum, Farnsworth Art Museum, Terra Museum of American Art, Delaware Art Museum, and the Brandywine River Museum.
 

Contact the gallery for additional information about this work:
art@cavaliergalleries.com or 203.869.3664