A few weeks ago I went to see Dennis Calabi for several reasons. Dennis has a beautiful art gallery in Petaluma, CA. He has a really nice selection of mostly California Abstract Expressionists and some great contemporary artists. He is also a top painting conservator. I brought my Inman with me. He thought that by the look of it, the painting was the age it should be. It was covered in dirt- or better soot. Dennis thought it was from long years in a room with a coal fire. He thought that it would clean up well. He called me yesterday with good news. Not only would the cost of conservation be at the lower end, but he thought that everything about the piece confirmed for him that it was authentic. He sent me an in process photo that gives a good idea of the process- or at least how it looked before and somewhat what it will look like when cleaned. I hope you enjoy the photo. I did.

Music Focus

I just finished a nice large (24" X 36") painting. I am at work now. I will post it soon. I have plans to load new pieces on Etsy. My basement is transitioning between my show and a show for my uncle's work. My wife just left for three weeks in Bulgaria- studying and singing. I am looking to make some new recordings for Reverb Nation. I am looking around for an inexpensive $200 to $500 microphone to spice up my recordings. I would appreciate any suggestions. Hovering around 9.5 million dollars in Zinga Poker. No photos this time. I just wanted to keep in touch.

Henry Inman, artist

Last year when I visited the Philadelphia Art Museum I asked about the Inman's that they might have. Unfortunately they were both in storage- not the most popular artist in the collection. I found that there were several on exhibition at the Brooklyn Art Museum.

I have started to research this post- colonial artist in earnest. I must admit that the reason is monitory gain. I inherited a small painting from my uncle by Henry Inman (1801- 1845). I brought it to Dennis Calabi, a conservator, about a week ago, and he thinks that every thing about it seems to bode that it is authentic. I gave it to him to clean up. He thought that it would really clean up nicely. There are layers of soot probably from a wood stove and discoloration and darkening from a layer of shellac.

Inman made friends with artist, John Wesley Jarvis, who was a bit of a lush. They made yearly trips to New Orleans, no doubt to enjoy all the joys that great city could offer. Jarvis was known as affable to distraction. In his later years they called him irascible, rather an unkind cut, I thought. Both were classic bohemians of the era. Inman had ups and downs as a painter, but over the years suffered from his indulgences. Yet, Jarvis had a worse time dying in destitute poverty.

Jarvis did the faces and Inman did the details of clothing. Both were extremely quick in execution. While researching I also stumbled into the life of William Dunlap, a painter and playwright. He also happen to keep a diary for almost his entire life. Apparently he had some colorful stories about Jarvis. I am presently sifting through the diary. Unfortunately most entries deal with I took $2 from the bank and sent a certain amount of money here and there. The weather continues to be cold. I have read his documentation of the beginnings of a cholera epidemic in New York City.

Although Inman lived mostly in New York City, for several years he lived near Philadelphia. He had many friends who paid for him to travel to London at the end of his life and create several notable paintings, notably one of Wordsworth. This poet though Inman to be the most consummate American gentleman that he had ever met.

He is known for his subject of children- or children with adults. The painting I have is an older man showing a boy how to graft a tree- a charming piece. A before conservation photo is below.

MARIN IN PAINTING (1956)

Three page spread in the Independent Journal with illustrative examples from nine artists: MARIN FIELDS by Ray Strong, PANORAMA by Barbara Carpenter, THE TREE by Jerome Klapka, MARIN WATERFRONT by Virginia Merrill, CORTE MADERA CREEK by Mae Ralston, SHADY LANE by Jose Moya del Pino, TOWN ON THE HILL by Ted Christensen, AT OLEMA by Edwin Cadogan, McNEAR’S BACKYARD by Eva Diamond. (scans available)

Marin Independent Journal

Saturday, January 28, 1956
Marin in Paintings

Marin County, it can be pointed out with little fear of contradiction, has as much natural beauty per square mile as any other area of its size—and the same thing can be said of the ratio of artists in the county. Marin’s beauty, from Sausalito’s salty waterfront to China Camp and back through the hills of Mt. Tamalpias, all parts of the county seem printable, judging from the work artists have done. Out in the rolling slopes and towering redwoods, above the bays and below the cliffs, through the villages and along the harbors, everything here seems created for the artist’s delight.

Art classes abound for adults and youngsters, and amateurs and professionals alike have one whale of a time painting and sketching.

The fact that they all have one subject, Marin County, doesn’t in any way limit the variety of their work. The area’s many facets reflected in the artists’ many styles and media, take care of that.

Among the prominent artists of Marin County, the work of several is pictured here.

TED CHRISTIANSEN of Mill Valley, renowned for his prolific painting of Marin subjects, and at the top in the respect of other artists, is best known for his vibrant landscapes in oil. He teaches a class in “Life Drawing” at the College of Marin, and “loves to paint all over the county, up on the hills and down on the coast.” His studio is in Mill Valley.

EDWIN CADOGAN, chairman of the art department at the College of Marin, and past president of the Marin Society of Artists, works in all media. He is equally at home with a brush in oil or watercolor, or with clay in ceramics or sculpture. He likes to paint old buildings or any phase of water: does lots of seascapes and boats.

MAE RALSTON paints in watercolor with a charming free style, lives in Fairfax, is corresponding secretary for the Marin Society of Artists, and director of the Richard Yip Marin classes. Yip is a College of Pacific instructor who teaches art here in the summer.

JOSE MOYA DEL PINO, versatile painter came to America in 1925, has had one man shows here and abroad, recently at the city of Paris, where most of his paintings were sold. He teaches intermediate and advanced painting at the College of Marin and lives in Ross.

EVA DIAMOND studied art at the University of California, later taught art in high schools and arts and crafts for the American Red Cross. She paints mostly in watercolor, some oil, likes sculpture, using her children as models, and lives in Sleepy Hallow.

JEROME KLAPKA formerly did commercial art in Chicago, now has his studio in San Francisco, and lives on Strawberry Point in Mill Valley. Most of his work is in foods and illustration. He enjoys marine and landscape painting and also does etchings.

BARBARA CARPENTER studied art at the School of Fine and Industrial Arts at Newark, New Jersey, and with various local instructors. She paints watercolor and lives in Strawberry.

VIRGINIA MERRILL studied interior decorating at the University of Washington and has been a student of Richard Yip for several summers. She paints in watercolor only, likes it because it is quick and conveys her mood, and lives in Sausalito.

RAY STRONG, known for the strength and variety of his Marin landscapes in oil, will demonstrate at the Feb. 17 opening of the Recreational Show by the Marin Society of Artists. Several of his paintings are now hanging at the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce.