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HUGHIE LEE-SMITH (1915 - 1999)
Desert Forms.
Oil on masonite, 1957. 457x601mm; 18x24 inches. Incised signature and date, upper right.
Provenance: private collection, Detroit; thence by descent to the current owner, private Connecticut
collection.The painting was acquired shortly after it was painted, as it was purchased at the Detroit
Artists Market on January 24, 1957.The original owner’s purchase of the painting is described in a
January 25, 1957 article of
The Detroit News
, marking the gallery’s silver anniversary.
Desert Forms
is an excellent example of the height of Hughie Lee-Smith’s mid-career painting. It
epitomizes his 1950s exploration of a modern, existential landscape inhabited by isolated figures. In
this fascinating scene, Lee-Smith displays his refined form of Surrealism with a mysterious cloaked
woman and a de Chirico-like tower. 1957 was an important year in both the development of the
artist’s oeuvre and his career. Later that year, after winning the prestigious Emily Lowe award, Lee-
Smith left Detroit for New York City. He signed on with Petitte Gallery and later Janet Nassler
Gallery. Other well known works from this key year are
Stranger
in the collection of the National
Museum of American Art,Washington, DC,
Woman by the Seashore
in the Grant Hill Collection of
African-American Art, and
Untitled (Rooftop View)
, purchased from Swann Galleries on February
17, 2008 by the Cleveland Museum of Art.
[50,000/75,000]