- More
ERNEST MARTIN HENNINGS (American, 1886-1956). Cabins in the Blue Hills. Oil on board. 14 x 14 inches (35.6 x 35.6 cm). S...
Click the image to load the highest resolution version.
$45,500 or more
View Recent Offers on Sold Items in this category
Description
ERNEST MARTIN HENNINGS (American, 1886-1956)Cabins in the Blue Hills
Oil on board
14 x 14 inches (35.6 x 35.6 cm)
Signed lower right: E.M. Hennings
PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF JUDSON C. AND NANCY SUE BALL
The aspen groves of New Mexico, dazzling in fall shades of yellow, gold, and red, provided a favorite landscape subject for the Taos Society of Artists. Where Ernest Blumenschein and E. I. Couse utilized aspens as a vibrant backdrop for Pueblo Indians hiking or riding horses, other members like Victor Higgins were drawn to the distinctive, "graphic" appearance of the trees that befit modernist compositions: slender, tall parallel tree trunks, flattened leaves branching in dense clumps high on the trunk, and white bark with dramatic black knots and grooves.
Like his close friends Victor Higgins and Walter Ufer, Ernest Martin Hennings came to Taos by way of the Munich School, Chicago, and the patronage of Chicago's former mayor, the art collector Carter H. Harrison, Jr. In 1924, Hennings joined the Taos Society of Artists and quickly developed his signature painting style: colorful, patterned, and poetic scenes of sensitively rendered Pueblo Indians communing with nature. Aspen forests were Hennings' choice setting for these tapestry-like paintings, where Indians on horseback "weave" in and out of tree trunks, becoming part of the overall natural fabric of woodlands, mountains, and sky.
Cabins in the Blue Hills illustrates Hennings' fondness for identifying rich colors and patterns in nature. Here, a screen of aspens with red-pink winter foliage divides a cluster of cabins in snow from the background Sangre de Cristo Mountains, lush with cobalt and navy fir trees. Hennings plays with patterning through parallel lines - the horizontal logs in the cabins, diagonal sheets of snow on the cabin roofs, and vertical lines of the aspen trunks - and through the brushwork of the blue fir trees, where alternating long and short vertical bands create a woven effect. The brilliance of Hennings' colors is attributed to his precise method of applying thin layers of oil paint and allowing each to dry completely before varnishing. Compositionally, Cabins in the Blue Hills references Victor Higgins' Cabin in the Aspens (c. 1922-23, Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame) and may depict the very same subject: the homestead of the local businessman Benjamin G. Randall, who regularly hosted Taos artists, allowing them to use his property for painting expeditions.
More information about Hennings, Ernest Martin, also known as Hennings, Ernest Martin, E. Martin Hennings.
Auction Info
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
25% on the first $100,000 (minimum $14), plus 20% of any amount between $100,000 and $1,000,000, plus 12% of any amount over $1,000,000 per lot.
This item cannot be shipped using standard methods. Please contact us for more information. Sales Tax information
Terms and Conditions | Bidding Guidelines and Bid Increments | Glossary of Terms
Floor auctions
Open for bidding: (View All)US Coins
Ends on 01/21/2021
Fine Art
Ends on 01/21/2021
World & Ancient Coins
Ends on 01/21/2021
Currency
Ends on 01/21/2021
Currency
Ends on 01/21/2021
US Coins
Ends on 01/21/2021
Sports Collectibles
Ends on 01/21/2021
World & Ancient Coins
Ends on 01/24/2021
Currency
Ends on 01/24/2021
Decorative Art
Ends on 01/28/2021
US Coins
Ends on 01/29/2021
Fine Art
Ends on 02/03/2021
Sports Collectibles
Ends on 02/04/2021
Luxury Accessories
Ends on 02/07/2021
US Coins
Ends on 02/09/2021
Fine Art
Ends on 02/10/2021
Currency
Ends on 02/11/2021
US Coins
Ends on 02/15/2021
US Coins
Ends on 02/22/2021
Jewelry & Timepieces
Opens about 01/22/2021
Decorative Art
Opens about 01/21/2021
Fine Art
Opens about 01/27/2021
US Coins
Opens about 01/29/2021
Currency
Opens about 01/25/2021
Fine Art
Opens about 02/03/2021
Photography
Opens about 02/03/2021
Fine Art
Opens about 02/05/2021
Historical
Opens about 02/08/2021
Sports Collectibles
Opens about 02/05/2021
World & Ancient Coins
Opens about 01/31/2021
Currency
Opens about 02/01/2021
Fine Art
Opens about 02/10/2021
Fine Art
Opens about 02/11/2021
Jewelry & Timepieces
Opens about 02/19/2021
US Coins
Opens about 02/08/2021
Fine Art
Opens about 02/18/2021
Decorative Art
Opens about 02/18/2021
Western & Texas Art
Opens about 02/19/2021
Comics & Comic Art
Opens about 02/19/2021
US Coins
Opens about 02/12/2021
Decorative Art
Opens about 02/23/2021
US Coins
Opens about 02/26/2021
Fine Art
Opens about 02/24/2021
Nature & Science
Opens about 02/26/2021
World & Ancient Coins
Opens about 02/21/2021
Heritage membership
- Past Auction Values (prices, photos, full descriptions, etc.)
- Bid online
- Free Collector newsletter
- Want List with instant e-mail notifications
- Reduced auction commissions when you resell your
winnings
- Cash Advances
- More Bidders
- Trusted Experts
- Over 200,000 Satisfied Consignors Since 1976
Learn about consigning with us
I knew I could count on you.View More Testimonials
HA.com receives more traffic than any other auction house website. (Source: Similarweb.com)
Video tutorial
Getting the most out of search