50s Frank Lee Modern Enamel Copper Art Midcentury Provincetown Abstract Painting

HERES AN OUTSTANDING 10 1/8 SIGNED ORIGINAL VINTAGE 1940S -1960S ENAMEL-ON-COPPER BOWL BY PROVINCETOWN, MASSACHUSETTS / NEW YORK ARTIST FRANK LEE! Please Note: Frank Lee was without a doubt one of the more important and accomplished American enamel artists from the mid twentieth century based on the body of work he created.

And yet, Lee has not been given any recognition whatsoever in recently published historical surveys about this artistic medium. Granted, there are many enamel artists who deserve to be included within the canon of American enamel art history but Lee in particular needs his due diligence. It is time to at least place him on the map.

Lee initially hand-hammered the copper form of the bowl and then created a bold and intensely rich color field abstraction comprised dark green, orange-red, yellow, dark blue, black, and orange. The enameling is very rich and thickly applied, both on the interior and exterior. The bowls underside is counter enameled in the same multi-colored-enameling minus the yellow.

Signed Lee on the underside bottom within the enamel itself, which was the standard way he signed his work. Condition: Generally excellent and clean condition with a couple of infinitesimal flea bites on the rim (cannot be seen without a magnifying glass) and the interior enameling is a little bit less glossy than the exterior probably from use over the years.

And for clarification, Lee allowed the enameling on underside bottom to flow until it created drip points that made contact with the kiln shelf. Two of these drip points sheared off at that time and left a rough area but this is original to the bowl (not damage). Overall and regardless of the minor faults mentioned, this is still a nice example of Frank Lees abstract enamel art! Please scroll down to read the first-ever attempt (albeit meager) to provide an artists bio about Frank Lee.

The 1948 issue (#7) of Everyday Art Quarterly magazine published by the Walker Art Center of Minneapolis was almost entirely devoted to an exhibition titled Modern Jewelry Under Fifty Dollars. In this issue Frank Lee is listed as an artist from New York and his entry into the exhibition was a set of enamel-on-copper jewelry. Although there is no doubt Lee became involved with the enamel arts much earlier than 1948, this is the earliest reference that could be found which definitively verifies him as an artist working with this medium. Almost simultaneously Lee is described on the website called Building Provincetown: The History of Provincetown Told Through Its Built Environment as collaborating with fellow enamelist Jim Simpson to operate an enamel studio and sales room known as the Circular Cellar. Some of their neighbors in the same building were silversmith and jeweler Ed Wiener, weaver Josephine Couch Del Deo, and lamp shade artist Polly Allen.

Aside from the enamel arts, having created both figurative and totally abstract work, Lee is listed on the askArt website as an artist who worked with oil-on-canvas. While several Frank Lee paintings can be found on the Internet, there is no convincing evidence that these works are by the enamelist Frank Lee. Stylistically, there does not appear to be a connection. In addition, the birth date of 1908 given to Frank Lee on the askArt website is also questionable. Unfortunately, there just isnt much information available about Lee at the time of this writing. But suffice it to say, Lees enamel art does, in fact, speak for itself. LASTLY, SHOULD THE WORD "EAMES" BE USED IN THE SEARCH TITLE, IT IS THERE FOR THE PURPOSE OF REFERENCING THE MID-CENTURY TIME PERIOD OF THE 1940S THROUGH THE 1970S. 14 THIS ITEM IS BEING OFFERED BY DESIGN REFERENCES -- ESTABLISHED BY A FORMER ART MUSEUM CURATOR TURNED BOOKSELLER SPECIALIZING in OUT-OF-PRINT and PERIOD MATERIALS on the PROGRESSIVE IDEAS of MODERNISM and POST-MODERNISM in DECORATIVE ARTS and ARCHITECTURE, INDUSTRIAL and STUDIO ARTS of the 19TH & 20TH CENTURIES. 15 PLEASE -- NO REQUESTS FOR PHOTOCOPIES OF THIS ITEM.

I DO NOT MAKE PHOTOCOPIES UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. 16 AGAIN, COMMUNICATION IS KEY! 17 LASTLY -- WHEN OBSTACLES AND PROBLEMS LOOM LARGE AND YOU SEEM TO BE AT A STAND STILL, REMEMBER THAT EVEN A FALTERING STEP FORWARD IS BETTER THAN NO STEP AT ALL. The item "50S FRANK LEE MODERN ENAMEL COPPER ART MIDCENTURY PROVINCETOWN ABSTRACT PAINTING" is in sale since Sunday, December 2, 2018. This item is in the category "Collectibles\Vintage, Retro, Mid-Century\1950s".

The seller is "singeldad" and is located in Scottsdale, Arizona. This item can be shipped to United States.

• Artist: Frank Lee
• Art Medium: Enamel-on-Copper
• Signed: LEE
• Date: 1940s to 1960s