Fox Tales: Beth Carlson's Art

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Art

By Norman Fine

Fox Tales: Beth Carlson’s Art, Dog & Horse Fine Art, LLC, 2015, hard bound, color, 32 pages, $39.00, available from the publisher

Book Review by Martha Woodham

It’s not often that art lovers get to spend time with an artist to learn about the background of a painting, to discover insights into the thinking behind the work. But a lovely new book by artist Beth Carlson is like a walk through a gallery of her paintings with the Maine artist as your guide.

In Fox Tales: Beth Carlson’s Art, the artist has used her paintbrush to capture her encounters with foxes over the years. Each full-page painting—many in private collections and reproduced in full color on substantial, coated paper stock—is accompanied by a short essay by the artist explaining the history of each artwork.

Beth Carlson's Fox Paintings

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Art

By Norman Fine

Look no further than Foxhunting Life’s Bookstore for a collection of Beth Carlson’s fox paintings in coffee-table book format. Each full-page painting—many in private collections and reproduced in full color on substantial, coated paper stock—is accompanied by a short essay by the artist explaining its history.

Reviewing Fox Tales for us last February, Martha Woodham wrote, "It’s not often that art lovers get to spend time with an artist to learn about the background of a painting, to discover insights into the thinking behind the work. But a lovely new book by Beth Carlson is like a walk through a gallery of her paintings with the Maine artist as your guide.”

Munnings Portrait Expected to Fetch a Half-Million

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Art

By Norman Fine

Portrait of Harry La Montagne on a Grey, by Sir Alfred James Munnings

A 1920s work by famed equestrian artist Sir Alfred Munnings is estimated to fetch between $300,000 and $500,000 when it goes under the hammer at Christie’s in New York later this month. Titled, Portrait of Harry La Montagne on a Grey, the painting will be auctioned on October 26 during Christie’s sale of 19th Century European Art.

Munnings stayed with Harry and Beatrice La Montagne at their house, the Villa Regina in Pau, southern France, during the autumn of 1923 to paint Mrs. La Montagne’s portrait on horseback. This followed a recommendation to Munnings from Baron Robert Rothschild who described her as “a good-looking, smart, American woman. The well-turned-out lady was supplied by her devoted husband with superb horses.” (Sir A.J. Munnings, The Second Burst, Bungay, 1951, p. 100).

Fourth Annual Sporting Art Auction at Keeneland

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Art

By Norman Fine

Michael Lyne (British 1912-1989), DRAWN BLANK, Watercolor, gouache, 17 x 23-3/4, $7,000 to $10,000

For American art lovers, the upcoming Sporting Art Auction on Monday, November 21, 2016, 4:00 pm, at the Keeneland Sales Pavilion should be of special interest. Several lots by contemporary American and European artists feature North American hunts. Two in particular of the Old Dominion Hounds (VA) were painted by the late Peter Biegel (British) in the latter part of the twentieth century. Click to view the catalog.

This annual auction combines the expertise of two renowned institutions: Keeneland, the world’s largest Thoroughbred auction house and Gregg Ladd's premier Gross Gate Gallery, both located in Lexington, Kentucky. The 2016 collection features 175 high-quality lots of paintings and sculpture from renowned masters as well as talented new artists. In the foxhunting genre alone, there are works by Peter Biegel, Julie Chapman, Richard DuPont, John Emms, Dede Gold, Harry Hall, Juli Kirk, J.B. Lalanne, Michael Lyne, LeRoy Nieman, Andre Pater, Belinda Sillars, Susie Whitcombe, and George Wright.