Annex Auctions
Timed Auction

3RD THURSDAY DISCOVERY AUCTION

Thu, Aug 1, 2024 12:00PM EDT - Thu, Aug 15, 2024 12:00PM EDT
Lot 34

Herman Van Kessel (Dutch, 1878-1967) Lewis Stone Hollywood Portrait

Estimate: $100 - $250

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$50 $10
$200 $25
$1,000 $50
$3,000 $100
A framed airbrushed Hollywood Portrait drawing of Lewis Stone by Herman Van Kessel. Signed in the lower right corner.Dimensions: Drawing - 12.5H x 9.25W inches, Frame - 17H x 13.75W inchesExhibited Columbia College, CA 2010Van Kessel was born in 1878 Ravenstein, Holland to a long lineage of artists going back to the 17th-century. From an early age he was trained in freehand drawing and oil painting until at 16, his family moved to the United States and settled in Minnesota. Working as a lumberjack, he saved enough money at 20-years old to move to Chicago and study art and air brush technique. In 1920, he moved and settled in Los Angeles, California to open his own studio downtown on 7th street working in conjunction with a photography studio featuring clients such as Loew’s Statem, Graumann’s Chinese, Hollywood Pantages, and RKO Theaters. In the mid to late 1930s, Van Kessel did not agree to join the union and as a result lost many of his employed artists and movie work, forcing him into working alone by 1940. He built his own studio behind his home in Glendale, California supporting himself off retouching photos for theater lobby display with great enhancement, earning the note as the best airbrush artist on the West Coast. The Herman Van Kessel collection of air brush portraits were painted during the last years of his career (1930-‘45).Processing and shipping within the continental U.S. $50.00 plus 1.5% replacement cost insurance. Discounts given on combined lot shipping.

Condition

Great. Some wear visible on the frame but no wear visible to the portrait. It was not examined out of frame. Please see photos.