Art, Gold & Silver, Primitives & Rare Books
Lot 27:
Description
Large oil on canvas harbor scene depicting a European canal city with sailboats, bridges, and Dutch gabled architecture, believed to be the work of Jackson, Michigan collector and artist Henry Shafer executed after his favorite painter Johann Bernard Klombeek. Shafer was a World War II veteran who served in the Italian campaign with the 13th Armored Regiment before later studying and working through the Chicago Institute of Art. After returning to Jackson he took over the family business, Shafer Cleaners, a local establishment dating to the 1890s, while continuing his lifelong passion for art. Shafer became known locally as an avid collector and dealer, acquiring and selling works through Detroit auction house DuMouchelles during the 1960sā1980s and even converting portions of the family cleaners into an informal gallery where he displayed his collection and his own works inspired by artists he admired. This painting reflects Klombeek-style European harbor architecture and maritime activity and is housed in a period frame bearing the name of British wildlife painter Robert Cleminson (1862ā1934); however Shafer acquired several frame shops over the years and frequently reused frames for works in his collection. Offered from the Henry Shafer Collection, Jackson, Michigan. Sight size approximately 30" x 50"; framed approximately 35" x 55".
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