66

MARVIN D. CONE (American 1891-1965)

Plant with Woman, circa 1933

Oil on canvas

17 inches by 13 inches

Estimate $18,000-$25,000

Provenance:

Marvin Cone

To Gordon Fennell

To a private Midwest collector

Plant with Woman is a good example of Cones penchant for still life paintings, which he clearly mastered. His attention to detail particularly in composition and balance are clearly illustrated in the offered lot. The tall and slender slightly curving plant form is echoed in the female nude painting in the background, which rests against the wall of Cones cramped studio. In an interview given in the early 1930’s Cone said of still lifes, “There are many advantages in the study of still life…The charm of still life lies in the greater chance of expression. Still life offers to the painter a greater choice in color, background, perspective, and light…The life blood of art lies in the fact that no two people react to their surroundings in the same way…Art is not didactic, moral or religious; its chief mission is to give enjoyment and to enhance the value and appreciation of life.”

A copy of a letter from the artist’s wife discussing this work and other works accompanies the lot.

67

MARVIN D. CONE (American 1891-1965)

Plant and Apples, circa 1932

Oil on composition board

Signed lower right

18” x 15”

Estimate $18,000-$25,000

Provenance: Private Collection, Arizona

Exhibited:

It would seem likely that the offered lot is indeed the painting exhibited under the title “Plant and Apples” at the Chicago Galleries Association, Chicago Illinois, December 8-31, 1933.

Literature:

Joseph S. Czestochowski, “Marvin D. Cone Art as Self Portrait” Cedar Rapids, Iowa 1889, cat. No. 257, page 185.

The offered lot is related to a number of still life’s executed by Cone in the years 1932-33. It is also very similar in composition and subject to Cones painting entitled, Plant and Fruit, which depicts the same tabletop, chair, tablecloth, and plant (see Joseph S. Czestochwski, Marvin D. Cone and Grant Wood: An American Tradition, page 62, cat. #61).