Case Study: Carroll Cloar (January 18, 1913 – April 10, 1993)

Carroll Cloar (American, 1913-1993) acrylic on board pointillist painting titled, “The Landlady,” depicting a smiling lady in vivid yellow dress and brown hat, center foreground, with thirteen other well-dressed women, men and children clustered around the porch of a two-story wood farmhouse in the background. Rose bushes and other green foliage and trees under a sunny sky, and the porch on the fan, suggest the setting is a warm summer day. Signed lower right; additionally signed, titled, and dated 1980 en verso. Weathered wood frame with linen liner and gilt rabbet edge. Sight: 28″ H x 39″ W. Framed: 34″ H x 45″ W. Provenance: Private Nashville collection, ex-Dr. Benjamin Caldwell, ex-Forum Gallery, New York. Note: Video footage of Carroll Cloar at work on this painting is featured near the end of a documentary on his life and work, “Friendly Panthers, Hostile Butterflies,” produced by WKNO-TV and currently available to view on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-CMx3NbF3w . Biography: Carroll Cloar was known for incorporating nostalgic images from his Southern childhood, often merged with dreamlike motifs, into powerful magic realist scenes. The artist often noted that literature, particularly by Southern Gothic writers such as William Faulkner or Eudora Welty, influenced his artistic approach. Cloar graduated from Southwestern College (now Rhodes College) in Memphis, Tennessee, and went on to study at the Memphis Academy of Arts under the artist George Oberteuffer. In 1936, he moved to New York to attend the Art Students League. There, Cloar’s achievements earned him a McDowell fellowship which he used to travel across the American Southwest, West Coast and Mexico. Cloar served with the Army Air Corps during World War II and upon his return, he was awarded a Guggenheim traveling scholarship to fund an extended sojourn to Central and South America. Two years later, several of his images were featured in a Life Magazine article titled Backwoods Boyhood, and Cloar’s career went on to receive additional national acclaim. By the mid 1950s, Cloar had settled permanently in Memphis, where he produced paintings, often executed in casein tempera and acrylic paints. His works are in the collections of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Brooks Museum of Art, and Library of Congress. In 1993, Cloar’s painting, Faculty and Honor Students, Lewis Schoolhouse, was one of six paintings by American artists selected to commemorate the inauguration of President Clinton. (Courtesy of The Johnson Collection/Memphis Brooks Museum of Art). PRE-APPROVAL IS REQUIRED TO BID ON THIS LOT. PLEASE CONTACT CASE ANTIQUES, INC. AT THE KNOXVILLE GALLERY FOR DETAILS. 865-558-3033 or BID@CASEANTIQUES.COM. CONDITION: Overall excellent condition; a couple of insignificant flyspecks to sky area. [See more photos →]

Carroll Cloar (American/Tennessee, 1913-1994) framed acrylic on board titled “Weeping Willow,” depicting a solitary older man sitting on the porch of a white Victorian house, under a bright sky, with verdant and immaculately clipped lawn in the foreground. An expansive weeping willow encroaches on the left side of the house, creating shadows across the porch. Signed lower left “Carroll Cloar” and additionally signed, titled, and dated July 1967 en verso. Housed in the original painted wooden frame with gilt liner. Sight – 22 1/2″ H x 33 1/2″ W. Framed – 29″ H x 39 1/2″ W. Biography (Courtesy of The Johnson Collection): Arkansas-born Carroll Cloar was known for incorporating nostalgic images from his Southern childhood, often merged with dreamlike motifs, into powerful “magic realist” scenes. Cloar graduated from Southwestern College (now Rhodes College) in Memphis, Tennessee, and went on to study at the Memphis Academy of Arts under the artist George Oberteuffer. In 1936, he moved to New York to attend the Art Students League. There, Cloar’s achievements earned him a McDowell fellowship which he used to travel across the American Southwest, West Coast and Mexico. Cloar served with the Army Air Corps during World War II and was deployed to Saipan and Iwo Jima. Upon his return from the war, he was awarded a Guggenheim traveling scholarship to fund an extended sojourn to Central and South America in 1946. Two years later, several of his images were featured in a Life Magazine article titled “Backwoods Boyhood,” and Cloar’s career went on to receive additional national acclaim. By the mid 1950s, Cloar had settled permanently in Memphis, where he produced paintings, often executed in casein tempera and acrylic paints. His works are in the collections of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Brooks Museum of Art, and Library of Congress. In 1993, Cloar’s painting “Faculty and Honor Students, Lewis Schoolhouse” was one of six paintings by American artists selected to commemorate the inauguration of President Clinton. CONDITION: Painting overall excellent condition. Frame with some chips to corner. [See more photos →]

(3 items) – Carroll Cloar (Tennessee, 1913-1993) acrylic on board painting titled, The Waiting, depicting figures standing in an open field, a brick building in the background covered with FS Chapell The Rabbit’s Foot Minstrel show advertising posters and a solitary seated figure in the foreground, wearing a bee keeper’s head gear/suit and eating an apple. Signed lower right Carroll Cloar. Titled, signed and dated 1-83 en verso, label for New York Forum Gallery. Housed in a silver-gilt molded frame. Sight – 22″ H x 33 1/8″ W. Framed – 29″ H x 40 1/2″ W. Also included with this painting is the original pencil study for the painting, signed and dated by the artist, 23″ H x 33″ W. Note: This painting was featured in the exhibit and used as the catalog cover for CARROLL CLOAR: TIMELESS TALES OF THE SOUTH at Belmont University in Nashvillle, May 22-July 13, 2003. A poster for the exhibit accompanies this lot, 24″ H x 33″ W. Provenance: The estate of Dr. Benjamin H. Caldwell, Nashville, Tennessee. Biography (Courtesy of The Johnson Collection): Arkansas-born Carroll Cloar was known for incorporating nostalgic images from his Southern childhood, often merged with dreamlike motifs, into powerful magic realist scenes. Cloar graduated from Southwestern College (now Rhodes College) in Memphis, Tennessee, and went on to study at the Memphis Academy of Arts under the artist George Oberteuffer. In 1936, he moved to New York to attend the Art Students League. There, Cloar’s achievements earned him a McDowell fellowship which he used to travel across the American Southwest, West Coast and Mexico. Cloar served with the Army Air Corps during World War II and was deployed to Saipan and Iwo Jima. Upon his return from the war, he was awarded a Guggenheim traveling scholarship to fund an extended sojourn to Central and South America in 1946. Two years later, several of his images were featured in a Life Magazine article titled Backwoods Boyhood, and Cloar’s career went on to receive additional national acclaim. By the mid 1950s, Cloar had settled permanently in Memphis, where he produced paintings, often executed in casein tempera and acrylic paints. His works are in the collections of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Brooks Museum of Art, and Library of Congress. In 1993, Cloar’s painting, Faculty and Honor Students, Lewis Schoolhouse, was one of six paintings by American artists selected to commemorate the inauguration of President Clinton. CONDITION: Painting: Very good condition. Darker areas of varnish indicate that the varnish layer may not have been applied evenly. Frame with minor scattered abrasions, primarily lower left corner. Study: Pin-pricks to upper corners. Poster: Some bending top and bottom margins, 1/2 tear lower margin, pin-pricks to corners. [See more photos →]

Carroll Cloar (Tennessee, 1913-1993) acrylic on board painting titled “Black Angus”, depicting six black cows in an orange/brown grassy field with barn and barren trees in the background, all under a bright blue sky. Signed, dated and titled en verso “Black Angus/Carroll Cloar/May 1967/Acrylic”. Housed in an ebonized and parcel gilt wood frame. Sight – 11 3/8″ H x 15 1/2″ W. Framed – 16 1/2″ H x 20 5/8″ W. Circa 1967. Provenance: Painting was given by the artist to a friend who lived in Memphis, and has descended in her family. Biography (Courtesy of The Johnson Collection): Arkansas-born Carroll Cloar was known for incorporating nostalgic images from his Southern childhood, often merged with dreamlike motifs, into powerful magic realist scenes. Cloar graduated from Southwestern College (now Rhodes College) in Memphis, Tennessee, and went on to study at the Memphis Academy of Arts under the artist George Oberteuffer. In 1936, he moved to New York to attend the Art Students League. There, Cloar’s achievements earned him a McDowell fellowship which he used to travel across the American Southwest, West Coast and Mexico. Cloar served with the Army Air Corps during World War II and was deployed to Saipan and Iwo Jima. Upon his return from the war, he was awarded a Guggenheim traveling scholarship to fund an extended sojourn to Central and South America in 1946. Two years later, several of his images were featured in a Life Magazine article titled Backwoods Boyhood, and Cloar’s career went on to receive additional national acclaim. By the mid 1950s, Cloar had settled permanently in Memphis, where he produced paintings, often executed in casein tempera and acrylic paints. His works are in the collections of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Brooks Museum of Art, and Library of Congress. In 1993, Cloar’s painting, Faculty and Honor Students, Lewis Schoolhouse, was one of six paintings by American artists selected to commemorate the inauguration of President Clinton. CONDITION: Overall excellent condition. [See more photos →]

Carroll Cloar (Tennessee, 1913-1993) acrylic on board landscape painting titled “The Watering Detail” en verso, depicting two little girls in pink dresses holding a watering can and a little boy in a yellow romper, standing in front of a screen door to a house; an older woman watches from an adjacent window. The white clapboard siding of the house is adorned by pink hollyhocks. Signed “Carroll Cloar” lower left; titled and dated 4-88 en verso. Silver-gilt molded frame. 23″ x 34″; framed 31″ x 42″. Accompanying the painting is a Cloar promotional postcard, on which the artist has written a note regarding the painting: “Mr. Massie: I have used the word “detail” in the old Army sense. In our army you were detailed to do a certain job, or were on a detail. My show opens at Schmidt Bingham Gallery in New York May 24. – Carroll Cloar “. Biography (Courtesy of The Johnson Collection): Arkansas-born Carroll Cloar was known for incorporating nostalgic images from his Southern childhood, often merged with dreamlike motifs, into powerful “magic realist” scenes. Cloar graduated from Southwestern College (now Rhodes College) in Memphis, Tennessee, and went on to study at the Memphis Academy of Arts under the artist George Oberteuffer. In 1936, he moved to New York to attend the Art Students League. There, Cloar’s achievements earned him a McDowell fellowship which he used to travel across the American Southwest, West Coast and Mexico. Cloar served with the Army Air Corps during World War II and was deployed to Saipan and Iwo Jima. Upon his return from the war, he was awarded a Guggenheim traveling scholarship to fund an extended sojourn to Central and South America in 1946. Two years later, several of his images were featured in a Life Magazine article titled “Backwoods Boyhood,” and Cloar’s career went on to receive additional national acclaim. By the mid 1950s, Cloar had settled permanently in Memphis, where he produced paintings, often executed in casein tempera and acrylic paints. His works are in the collections of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Brooks Museum of Art, and Library of Congress. In 1993, Cloar’s painting “Faculty and Honor Students, Lewis Schoolhouse” was one of six paintings by American artists selected to commemorate the inauguration of President Clinton. Provenance: Private Middle Tennessee collection. CONDITION: Fingerprint smudge upper right edge. Overall very good condition. Frame has some small edge abrasions. [See more photos →]

Large Carroll Cloar (American/Tennessee, 1913-1993) drawing, "The Mower We Found," pencil, colored pencil, and crayon on paper. The drawing, likely a study for a painting, features bust-length pencil depictions of a young white boy, likely Cloar himself, and a young black playmate, surrounded by elements of a tractor (seat, wheel), amid circles and other images, rendered in crayon and colored pencil. Signed and dated lower right in pencil, "Carroll Cloar '77". Inscribed en verso: Carroll Cloar / Title – "The Mower We Found" / 1977/ Collection of Dr. and Mrs. H.N. Faulkner. Framed under glass in a later giltwood frame. Sight: 22" H x 31" W. Framed: 25 1/2" H x 34 1/2" W.

PROVENANCE: Private West Tennessee Collection.

CONDITION: Overall excellent condition with some handling creases. Not examined out of frame. [See more photos →]

Carroll Cloar (Tennessee, 1913-1993) signed lithograph on paper titled “Group of Myselves,” depicting a self-portrait of the artist at various stages of life, set against the background of a rural town. Signed in pencil lower right and titled lower left. Housed under glass in an ebonized and molded giltwood frame with black mat. Sight – 16″ H x 12″ W. Framed – 22″ H x 18″ W. Circa 1939. Note: This is considered one of Cloar’s most important, and scarce, lithographs. One is in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and another was exhibited in the 2014 exhibit of Cloar Lithographs at the Georgia Museum of Art. It is the first work (and one of the few lithographs) set to poetry in the book “Second Sight: Poems for Paintings by Carroll Cloar” by Dabney Stuart (University Of Missouri Press, 1996, ref. p.3). Biography: Carroll Cloar was known for incorporating nostalgic images from his Southern childhood, often merged with dreamlike motifs, into powerful magic realist scene, and noted that literature, particularly by Southern Gothic writers such as William Faulkner or Eudora Welty, influenced his artistic approach. Cloar graduated from Southwestern College (now Rhodes College) in Memphis, Tennessee, and went on to study at the Memphis Academy of Arts under the artist George Oberteuffer. In 1936, he moved to New York to attend the Art Students League. There, Cloar’s achievements earned him a McDowell fellowship which he used to travel across the American Southwest, West Coast and Mexico. Cloar served with the Army Air Corps during World War II and upon his return, he was awarded a Guggenheim traveling scholarship to fund an extended sojourn to Central and South America. Two years later, several of his images were featured in a Life Magazine article titled Backwoods Boyhood, and Cloar’s career went on to receive additional national acclaim. By the mid 1950s, Cloar had settled permanently in Memphis, where he produced paintings, often executed in casein tempera and acrylic paints. His works are in the collections of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Brooks Museum of Art, and Library of Congress. In 1993, Cloar’s painting, Faculty and Honor Students, Lewis Schoolhouse, was one of six paintings by American artists selected to commemorate the inauguration of President Clinton. (Source: The Johnson Collection/Memphis Brooks Museum of Art). Provenance: Private West Tennessee Collection. CONDITION: Small line of discoloration lower left margin, very light toning, a few light thumbdings, overall excellent condition. Not examined out of frame. [See more photos →]

Carroll Cloar (Tennessee, 1913-1993) signed lithograph, “The Ingredients,” also known as “Making of a Drawing,” depicting ghostly black and white figures holding books about art and drawing, surrounding a young artist at work (presumably Cloar). A rural farm scene is visible in the background. Pencil signed in lower right corner, titled in lower left corner. Framed under glass in narrow black frame. Image – 14 7/8″ H x 10 1/8″ W. Sight – 15 1/2″ H x 11 5/8″ W. Framed – 20 3/4″ H x 14 3/4″ W. Provenance: The estate of Dr. Benjamin H. Caldwell, Nashville, Tennessee. CONDITION: Overall very good condition with light even toning. [See more photos →]

Carroll Cloar (Tennessee, 1913-1993) pencil on paper landscape drawing titled “The Draught of Fishes,” circa 1965, depicting a group of fish along with a turtle and other aquatic life forms laying on the bank of a pond or lake; just beyond, a young man in overalls holds a large and partially submerged net. Titled lower left and signed “Carroll Cloar” at right. 23″ x 34″, unframed. Provenance: Private Middle Tennessee collection. Note: this is a study for one of Cloar’s most significant oil paintings, profiled in a 2013 article in Memphis: The City Magazine by Kenneth Neill. The whereabouts of the original painting are currently unknown. CONDITION: 1 1/4″ loss to upper right corner, scattered pin holes at corners, 1 1/2″ smudge lower center, crease at left edge and right upper corner, several light creases and handling dings. [See more photos →]

Carroll Cloar (Tennessee, 1913-1993) pencil and marker on paper landscape drawing depicting a long haired female figure wearing a checkered apron left foreground with hands in her pockets, standing in an open field rendered in colored marker. Signed, Carroll Cloar, lower left. 23″ H x 36″ W. Provenance: The Estate of Dr. Benjamin H. Caldwell, Nashville, Tennessee. CONDITION: Scattered pin holes to all corners. Some light creases to paper. [See more photos →]

Carroll Cloar (Tennessee, 1913-1993) large signed graphite drawing on paper, doublesided, the first side depicting a smiling man wearing a hat and seated on a wooden crate, with three figures in the background. Titled lower left "Stevedore in Guayaquil, Ecuador" and signed "Carroll Cloar" lower right. Sketches en verso of a young girl. Float mounted and housed in a textured giltwood frame. Sheet: 40 1/2" H x 26 1/2" W. Framed: 50 3/8" H x 36 1/4" W. Likely one of Cloar's drawings from his travels in South America, circa late 1940s. Provenance: the Collection of Sylvia Roberts, Nashville, TN, formerly in the collection of Dr. Benjamin Caldwell of Nashville; acquired Brunk Auctions, May 20, 2006, lot 508. Biography: Carroll Cloar was known for incorporating nostalgic images from his Southern childhood, often merged with dreamlike motifs, into powerful magic realist scenes, and noted that literature, particularly by Southern Gothic writers such as William Faulkner or Eudora Welty, influenced his artistic approach. Cloar graduated from Southwestern College (now Rhodes College) in Memphis, Tennessee, and went on to study at the Memphis Academy of Arts under the artist George Oberteuffer. In 1936, he moved to New York to attend the Art Students League. There, CloarÕs achievements earned him a McDowell fellowship which he used to travel across the American Southwest, West Coast and Mexico. Cloar served with the Army Air Corps during World War II and upon his return, he was awarded a Guggenheim traveling scholarship to fund an extended sojourn to Central and South America. Two years later, several of his images were featured in a Life Magazine article titled 'Backwoods Boyhood', and Cloar's career went on to receive additional national acclaim. By the mid-1950s, Cloar had settled permanently in Memphis, where he produced paintings, often executed in casein tempera and acrylic paints. His works are in the collections of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Brooks Museum of Art, and Library of Congress. In 1993, Cloar's painting, Faculty and Honor Students, Lewis Schoolhouse, was one of six paintings by American artists selected to commemorate the inauguration of President Clinton. (Source: The Johnson Collection/Memphis Brooks Museum of Art). Condition: Overall good condition. Perimeter of paper with creasing, minor scattered losses and very slight tears visible lower edge and left margin. Losses to paper upper left corner. Some minor brown specks, left mid section. [See more photos →]

Carroll Cloar (Tennessee, 1913-1994) lithograph titled “Sunday Group”, signed in pencil lower right. Contemporary black wood frame. Sight: 8 1/4″ x 12 3/8″. Framed – 17″ H x 21 3/8″ W. Provenance: Estate of A. Welling LaGrone Jr., Nashville, Tenn., ex-Dr. Benjamin H. Caldwell. Condition: Corner crease upper right and lower left, light toning. [See more photos →]

Carroll Cloar (Tennessee, 1913-1993) signed graphite drawing on vellum, likely a sketch or study for a larger painting, depicting a swarm of butterflies surrounding a figure with a slightly tilted head and one closed eye. Signed “Carrol Cloar” lower left. Unframed. 12″ H x 16″ W. Biography: Carroll Cloar was known for incorporating nostalgic images from his Southern childhood, often merged with dreamlike motifs, into powerful magic realist scene, and noted that literature, particularly by Southern Gothic writers such as William Faulkner or Eudora Welty, influenced his artistic approach. Cloar graduated from Southwestern College (now Rhodes College) in Memphis, Tennessee, and went on to study at the Memphis Academy of Arts under the artist George Oberteuffer. In 1936, he moved to New York to attend the Art Students League. There, Cloar’s achievements earned him a McDowell fellowship which he used to travel across the American Southwest, West Coast and Mexico. Cloar served with the Army Air Corps during World War II and upon his return, he was awarded a Guggenheim traveling scholarship to fund an extended sojourn to Central and South America. Two years later, several of his images were featured in a Life Magazine article titled Backwoods Boyhood, and Cloar’s career went on to receive additional national acclaim. By the mid-1950’s, Cloar had settled permanently in Memphis, where he produced paintings, often executed in casein tempera and acrylic paints. His works are in the collections of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Brooks Museum of Art, and Library of Congress. In 1993, Cloar’s painting, Faculty and Honor Students, Lewis Schoolhouse, was one of six paintings by American artists selected to commemorate the inauguration of President Clinton. (Source: The Johnson Collection/Memphis Brooks Museum of Art). Provenance: Private Knoxville, TN collection, acquired directly from the artist. The artist and his wife were close longtime friends to the consignor’s parents. CONDITION: Overall very good condition, slight creasing to paper noted to upper left corner. [See more photos →]

Carroll Cloar (Tennessee, 1913-1994) pencil on paper drawing titled “The Flowers We Gathered”, depicting a man holding flowers in the foreground and a homestead with figures on the porch in the background. Titled lower middle and signed lower right. Housed in a painted grey wooden frame. Sight – 22″ H x 33″ W. Framed – 27 7/8″ H x 38 3/4″ W. Provenance: Private Nashville, TN collection. CONDITION: Some light creasing noted to lower section of paper, otherwise overall very good condition. [See more photos →]

Carroll Cloar (Tennessee, 1913-1993) pencil on paper figural studies on a single sheet titled “Pals” depicting two women standing and embracing named “Luella” and “Rhoda”; the artist as a young boy holding a puppy and “Mama” in the center; and solitary male sitting in a rope swing. Titled lower left and signed “Carroll Cloar” lower right. 23″ H x 34″ W. Provenance: The estate of Dr. Benjamin H. Caldwell, Nashville, Tennessee. CONDITION: Good condition overall with minimal staining to lower left bottom corner and 1″L spot to right lower margin. Pin holes to top corners. Small hole lower left corner. [See more photos →]

Pencil on paper drawing by Carroll Cloar (Tennessee, 1913-1994), sketches of figures, all identified, including “Margie and Mother,” “Brother Tom”, etc. Signed lower left in pencil and dated ’65 lower right. Unframed. 24″ x 35-1/2″. Provenance: Estate of Salli LaGrone, Franklin, Tennessee, ex-Dr. Benjamin Caldwell collection. Condition: Minor tears at edges, creases, light handling grime. [See more photos →]

Carroll Cloar, pencil on paper study drawing of four children (two boys and two girls), each holding a stick or ball. Signed lower right “Carroll Cloar”. Pencil inscription en verso of sketch, “Alice B” (likely a reference to Memphis gallery owner Alice Bingham, who represented Cloar). Unframed. 11″ x 23″. Provenance: The estate of Dr. Benjamin H. Caldwell, Nashville, Tennessee. CONDITION: Toning and creasing, including a full length crease across one figure at far left and another 8″ crease at left side; handling dings, 1/2″ tear left edge, couple minor spots of foxing. [See more photos →]