The Benefits of Purchasing Art from a Private Dealer

At Karges Fine Art, we take pride in forming personal relationships with our clients, getting to know them, their unique tastes, their concerns and priorities, while gaining extensive knowledge about artworks in their existing collection. Our clients gain reassurance that they're making the right decision based on our familiarity with their individual taste and budget. We become keenly aware of the specific plan the client has for the future direction of their collection as a whole, or work to assist a new collector with the creation of a vision. This close relationship saves the client time, since a trusted art advisor is always looking for specific works that will appeal to each individual customer and fit in with their current collection. Our knowledgeable, professional staff provides customized service that is specifically tailored to suit the client's individual needs. We realize that ours is a customer service business, not just a sales opportunity. Our Art Consultants might assist a collector with the reframing of one of their other paintings and enjoy a leisurely dinner together. Each of our invoices is typed out by hand. Concierge service is our specialty and we go out of our way to make our collectors feel valued and appreciated.

Art galleries offer a more relaxed environment to view an artwork in person, evaluate, and decide on purchases, at the client's own pace, without the pressure of another buyer trying to outbid them in real time.

Galleries often have more flexibility in pricing. A private dealer may be able to immediately contact a consignor who could agree to lower their net to facilitate a sale. A gallery may occasionally be willing to offer a discount to a valued, long term collector, or to a new collector whose loyalty they would like to secure for the future. No “Buyer's Premium” is charged.

Whenever anyone buys a work of art, the reputation of the source should be of primary concern. Karges Fine Art has built a very strong international reputation over a 30 year period, assisting both private collectors and museum curators in building collections that are relevant to their goals, unique to their tastes, and personally meaningful to them. Honesty and trust are essential components of the relationship between a private dealer and the client. A private gallery owner knows that their business cannot be successful and enduring without a solid long-term reputation based on truthfulness, fairness, and integrity.

Karges Fine Art caters to individual tastes and we specialize in particular styles of art and specific periods, focusing primarily on Early California paintings created between 1870 and 1950 by historically important artists including Edgar Payne, Thomas Hill, and William Wendt and Alfred Mitchell. We also carry works by notable artists of the American Southwest, including paintings by Maynard Dixon, E. Martin Hennings, Walter Ufer, Joseph Henry Sharp, and Nicolai Fechin, as well as woodblock prints by Gustave Baumann. Additionally, our Gallery Director has extensive experience with sales and purchasing of paintings by early Philippine artists including Fernando Amorsolo and Anita Magsaysay-Ho. Our staff has extensive knowledge about these very specific sectors of the art world and we work hard to stay informed about the current market for those works through comprehensive research and networking. As private art advisors, we can slowly develop long-term relationships with other knowledgeable experts in the art community, including appraisers, museum curators, and other dealers. We stay informed about fluctuations in the current market so that we are able to provide insight and advice to our collectors. A personal art advisor is well informed about the particular place the artwork holds in the history of art, and its individual position in the oeuvre of the specific artist.

Russian Villagers
by
Southwest Artist Leon Gaspard (1882 - 1964)

We provide an environment where a collector's privacy is valued, offering discreet consultations with a well informed professional. The details of the sale remain confidential, and are not made available to the public. We often offer to make an appointment, at a time that is convenient for the collector, to personally bring paintings to our clients' homes so that they can be viewed on different walls, in different locations, with various lighting options. This gives the collector the ability to make an informed decision at their own pace, in their own home.

Winding Valley
by
Early California Impressionist Alfred Mitchell (1888 - 1972)

A private gallery or home setting provides an intimate, quiet space to view a work of art in person, directly, rather than from a reproduction in a catalogue or on a computer screen. The emotional experience of physically looking at a painting, feeling the human connection with the artist, and seeing the texture of the surface and the subtleties of the brushwork and coloring is much more profound and powerful in person.

Art is not a just a “commodity” that is bought and sold by the square inch. There is an intangible quality to unique original works of art. The well trained professional staff at a private gallery understands that these precious connections to the past are valued as part of the historical record of humankind, and knows that the works can and should evoke deep feelings and emotions in the collector that will bring them joy in the years to come. When a painting is acquired, the collector becomes part of that artwork's story. For many, collecting art is not just an investment or a hobby, it's a passion that provides deep satisfaction on a personal level. Our experienced art consultants have a real understanding of this intangible factor. Need assistance starting a new collection or finding the perfect work for your existing one? Contact us any time at (800) 833-9185, or by email to gallery@kargesfineart.com, or stop by and visit our gallery at Dolores and Sixth Avenue in beautiful Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Thomas Hill, Leland Curtis and Percy Gray - Early California Paintings of the Sierra Nevada

Over the past century and a half, early American artists have been captivated by the natural beauty, rugged terrain, and panoramic views of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

In the mid 19th century, Hudson River School artists Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Moran painted luminous, romantic, landscapes of the West, bringing their epic sweeping views of “The Land of Promise” to the American public.

Early paintings of Yosemite, such as these by Thomas Hill, Leland Curtis, and Percy Gray, served to draw attention to that area, and helped to spark a new era of conservation and environmental protection for its unique and exceptional beauty.

The stunning waterfalls, majestic granite cliffs and scenic vistas were favorite subjects of famous 19th century landscape artist Thomas Hill. One of the most acclaimed painters in the history of American art, Hill is especially well known for his western landscapes and panoramic views of our National Parks. 

Thomas Hill
(1829 - 1908)
Yosemite Valley
14 x 21 inches
SOLD

Thomas Hill(1829 - 1908)
Vernal Falls
30 x 20 inches
SOLD

Avid mountain climber and talented artist Leland Curtis was known for his striking plein air mountain and desert landscape paintings. Curtis was born in Denver in 1897 and lived in Seattle prior to moving to Los Angeles in 1914.  He was the official artist for multiple U.S. Antarctic Expeditions between 1939 and 1957, and moved in 1960 to Twenty Nine Palms, California.  He spent many summers in Moose, Wyoming where he had a studio in a rustic log cabin.  He was an avid hiker and mountain climber, and his works reflect the artist's obvious love and respect for nature and his deep appreciation of the magnificent panoramic views.

Leland Curtis(1897 - 1989)
Aspen Trees
6 x 7 1/2 inches
AVAILABLE NOW

Percy Gray is considered one of California's most important historical artists, and more specifically, one of the state's premier watercolorists.  He was influential as a leader of the American art movement known as “Tonalism” that began in the 1880's and lasted well into the 1920's.  His works such as the delicate watercolor below, celebrate the artist's tonalist style, interpreting nature using muted colors, soft outlines, and subtle nuances and gradations of single hues in a narrow range. 

Percy Gray
(1869 - 1952)
Liberty Cap
SOLD

Works from the early California Impressionism genre and early Tonalist paintings, plein air landscapes in particular, serve to call attention to the exceptional and unparalleled beauty of the Sierra Nevada's mountain peaks, Alpine lakes, and granite cliffs. These, in turn, remind us of the fragile nature of our unique habitat. On this celebration of Earth Day 2020, we hope that these extraordinary historical paintings will serve to inspire us all to become better custodians of these precious lands, and to protect and nurture the environment.

Contact our staff at Karges Fine Art at (800) 833-9185 for more information about early California paintings that are currently available to add to your collection.

Alson Clark - Acclaimed Early California Impressionist Artist

Alson Clark is remembered as one of southern California’s finest early Impressionist artists.  He was a successful and influential plein-air painter and art teacher, and was deeply inspired by the French Impressionist movement.  He is known for his landscapes, figurative works, interior scenes, and cityscapes and is particularly remembered for his mastery of atmospheric and lighting effects.

Alson Clark
"La Jolla"
SOLD

Born in Chicago to a wealthy family, Alson Clark initially enrolled at the Art Institute and then took a two year long journey around the world with his parents and was exposed to a wide variety of artwork, especially European paintings.

Alson Clark
"Chicago"
SOLD

He moved to New York in 1896 to study at the Art Students League with William Merritt Chase.  He then studied at Chase’s summer school of plein-aire painting at Shinnecock.  In 1898 Clark moved to Paris to study at a school directed by James McNeill Whistler, the Academie Carmen. His work was strongly influenced by Whistler throughout his long successful career.

Returning to the U.S. in 1901, he married, then lived with his wife in Paris from 1902 to 1914. During his time in France, he painted in 1910 in Giverny with his fellow artist, Guy Rose.  His style became more strongly influenced by Impressionism and his palette became lighter than it has been during his years with Whistler.

Alson Clark
"Paris"
SOLD

In 1913 Clark was drawn to visit and paint the construction of the Panama Canal. He eventually was invited to hold a solo exhibition at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, an honor bestowed on very few American artists at that time, and was awarded a bronze medal.

Alson Clark
"Panama Canal"
SOLD

He enlisted in the Navy during World War I and afterwards, in 1919, Alson Clark settled in Southern California where he, along with Guy Rose, taught at the Stickney School in Pasadena. He later became Director of the school.  He continued painting, and was particularly interested in scenes of the California Missions including San Gabriel and San Juan Capistrano.

Alson Clark
"San Juan Capistrano"
SOLD

Alson Clark
"The Golden Hour"
SOLD

He also traveled and painted desert and mountain landscapes in Mexico and the Southwestern United States.

Alson Clark
"San Gorgonio"
SOLD

Alson Clark’s paintings have been exhibited at numerous prestigious venues including the National Academy of Design, the Paris Salon, the Los Angeles County Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago.  In 1921 his works were shown in a solo exhibition organized by Earl Stendahl, an important art dealer based in Southern California.

In 1925 he was commissioned by the Pasadena Playhouse to paint a large stage curtain, and he began a series of other commissioned works, including many well received murals.  He and his wife continued traveling when possible, in both the United States and Europe.

Alson Clark
"Seville"
SOLD

Clark’s health eventually declined, and he died in March 1949.

Note: Do you own an original painting by this artist that you would like to sell or consign? William A. Karges Fine Art, located in Carmel, California buys and sells paintings by this notable early California Impressionist.  Contact Patrick Kraft at (831) 601-2071 today for a free evaluation.