Dox Thrash, Pencil Drawing, 12.5” X 9.5”, Hurdles And Tank

Description

Photographed, cataloged and authenticated by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and listed in John Ittmann’s book on Dox Thrash “An African American master Printmaker rediscovered.
Dox Thrash, Pencil Drawing, 12.5” X 9.5”, Hurdles And Tank. Shipped with USPS First Class.
THE NOWAKS BEGAN COLLECTING ART IN 1945. THEY WERE GREATLY INFLUENCED BY THEIR NEIGHBORS, ALBERT BARNES AND HIS WIFE WHO WERE ALSO AVID ART COLLECTORS IN PHILADELPHIA. TODAY, THE BARNES FOUNDATION HOUSES ONE OF THE GREATEST COLLECTIONS OF IMPRESSIONIST ART MASTERPIECES IN THE WORLD. ALBERT BARNES AND SAMUEL NOWAK NOT ONLY WENT OUT SOCIALLY, BUT THEY SPENT COUNTLESS HOURS TOGETHER AT SESSLER'S BOOK STORE IN PHILADELPHIA SEARCHING FOR PRINTS AND ART WORK IN OLD BOOKS. EVENTUALLY, BARNES SHARED WITH NOWAK HIS STRATEGY OF BUYING AN ENTIRE COLLECTION OF AN ARTIST'S WORK. BARNES TRAVELED TO EUROPE AND COLLECTED THE IMPRESSIONISTS WHILE NOWAK COLLECTED AMERICAN ARTISTS SUCH AS SLOAN, LUX, PRENDERGAST, HENRI AND AVERY. THE NOWAK COLLECTION ALSO INCLUDED PICASSO, CASSATT, ROUALT, MATISSE, RIVERA, MAILLOL, RODIN, DUFY, AND BASKIN. FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS PROVIDENT NATIONAL BANK EXHIBITED NOWAK'S JOHN SLOAN COLLECTION WHICH WAS ALSO FEATURED IN MOORSE'S CATALOGUE RAISONE OF THE ARTIST.
BESIDES THE "ASH-CAN SCHOOL", NOWAK COLLECTED MANY OF THE "WPA" ARTISTS. AMONG THOSE ARTISTS WAS DOX THRASH, WHO NOWAK MET IN 1945 AT HIS EXHIBIT AT THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART. NOWAK PURCHASED NUMEROUS WORKS AND BECAME GOOD FRIENDS WITH THRASH AND HIS WIFE. WHEN THRASH DIED IN 1965, MRS. THRASH CONTACTED NOWAK AND HE PURCHASED THE REMAINDER OF DOX THRASH'S ART IN THE ESTATE.
THE NOWAK'S TRAVELED BETWEEN NEW YORK AND EUROPE PURCHASING ART. IN 1964 THE NOWAKS MOVED FROM THEIR HOME ON PHILADELPHIA'S MAIN LINE TO THE PHILADELPHIAN, A HIGH RISE APARTMENT ON THE PARKWAY DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART. SAMUEL AND SALLY NOWAK WERE MEMBERS OF AN ELITE GROUP OF COLLECTORS / DONORS AT THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART CALLED THE "FRIENDS". THEIR NAMES ARE INSCRIBED ON A DISTINGUISHED PLAQUE AT THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART FOR NUMEROUS ACTS OF GENEROSITY AND PHILANTHROPY. THE NOWAK'S SOCIALIZED WITH WALTER AND LENORE ANNENBERG WHO WERE ALSO MEMBERS OF THE "FRIENDS". AFTER STAYING AS GUESTS AT THE ANNENBERG'S HOME IN CALIFORNIA, THE NOWAKS GAVE SEVERAL OF DOX THRASH'S WORKS TO THEM AS A GIFT. SAMUEL NOWAK DIED IN 1975 LEAVING HIS ART TO HIS WIFE, SALLY.
SALLY NOWAK ACTIVELY COLLECTED ART AND ANTIQUES FOR THE NEXT QUARTER OF A CENTURY. SEVERAL OF THE MARY CASSATT WATERCOLORS AND DRAWINGS SHE ACQUIRED DURING HER LIFETIME ARE PUBLISHED IN ADELYN BREESKIN'S CATALOGUE RAISONEE, WHICH LISTS SAMUEL AND SALLY NOWAK IN THE PROVENANCE ALONG WITH HUGO DREYFUS, ANOTHER FRIEND AND COLLECTOR. TULA HANLEY WAS ALSO A CLOSE FRIEND AND COLLECTOR WHO ASSISTED THE NOWAKS IN PURCHASING SEVERAL WORKS BY BRAQUE. IN 1999 SALLY NOWAK PASSED AWAY AND WILLED THE ART COLLECTION TO HER SON ALLAN NOWAK.
SOTHEBY'S AND OTHER APPRAISERS EVALUATED THE COLLECTION AND WHEN THEY CAME UPON SEVERAL THRASH WORKS THAT WERE DISPLAYED ON THE WALLS THEY ASKED ALLAN NOWAK FOR PERMISSION TO LEND THE WORKS TO A DOX THRASH SHOW THAT WAS BEING ORGANIZED BY THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART UNDER THE DIRECTION OF JOHN ITTMANN. ALLAN NOWAK AGREED AND ITTMANN AND HIS STAFF CATALOGUED, EXAMINED, MEASURED, EVALUATED AND NAMED THE COLLECTION. JOHN ITTMANN COMPILED A CATALOGUE RAISONEE ON DOX THRASH, WHICH LISTS ALL OF THE WORKS IN THE NOWAK COLLECTION. THE DOX THRASH SHOW OPENED AT THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART AND THEN TRAVELED TO THE TERA MUSEUM IN CHICAGO AND THE ST. LOUIS MUSEUM.
WORKS OF ART BY DOX THRASH AND OTHER ACCOMPLISHED ARTISTS LENT BY ALLAN NOWAK HAVE BEEN FEATURED IN MAJOR SHOWS AT :
LA MUSEE DU QUAI BRANLY
222 RUE DE L’ UNIVERSITE
PARIS, FRANCE
THE COLOR LINE EXHIBITION
UNDER THE DIRECTION OF MR. DANIEL SOUTIF, CURATOR AND AGATHE MOROVAL, HEAD OF THE EXHIBITION DEPT. CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT DIVISION
OCTOBER 3, 2016 THRU JANUARY 15, 2017
THE PENNSYLVANIA ACADEMY OF THE FINE ARTS,
THE WORLD WAR 1 AND AMERICAN ART EXHIBITION
NOVEMBER 2016 THRU APRIL 2017
THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
THE WORLD WAR 1 AND AMERICAN ART EXHIBITION
MAY 2017 THRU SEPTEMBER 2017
FRIST CENTER FOR THE VISUAL ARTS,
THE WORLD WAR 1 AND AMERICAN ART EXHIBITION
OCTOBER 2017 THRU JANUARY 2018
The Philadelphia Museum of Art the terra museum in Chicago and the St. Louis Museum.