Merton D. Simpson (American, 1928-2013). Figurescape, 1978. Oil on Masonite. 19 x 25-1/4 inches (48.3 x 64.1 cm). Initia...

Description

Merton D. Simpson (American, 1928-2013)
Figurescape, 1978
Oil on Masonite
19 x 25-1/4 inches (48.3 x 64.1 cm)
Initialed and dated lower right: M.D.S. 78
Signed, dated, and titled on the reverse: Figurescape / M.D. Simpson 78

Black Art from a Distinguished Collector

PROVENANCE:
The Benefit Shop Foundation, Mount Kisco, New York, April 5, 2020, lot 150.

A true Renaissance man, Merton Simpson was an acclaimed Abstract Expressionist, amateur jazz musician, and pre-eminent dealer of African and tribal art. Though his paintings continue to be exhibited and collected by museums nationwide, Simpson's legacy is most closely tied to the vast collection of African art left behind in his eponymous-and now shuttered-New York gallery upon his death in March 2013. Curators and dealers from around the world visited and purchased African art from Simpson during the gallery's fifty-nine years of operation, and he is credited with assisting numerous institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in their efforts to establish African art collections.


More information about Merton D. Simpson. See also: Simpson, Merton D. Artist.

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