Apart from being a creator of art, I’m also a passionate collector of art. I buy art from all over the place: direct from artists’ studios, instagram, galleries, art fairs, thrift stores, antique malls, online sites that deal in the secondary art market like Chairish and 1stDibs, and I’ve even found amazing original art on ebay. I don’t care where the art comes from: I buy what I love, what supports the artists I care about, and sometimes what I can re-sell for a profit. I have a good eye for up and coming artists and have more than doubled my money on several pieces of work. I’m okay with art being an investment - collectors need to make money too. A few days ago, as I was doing my weekly peruse of new art on Chairish, I came across this beautiful piece:
Painted some time in the 1960’s by San Francisco Bay Area artist, Molly E. Brubaker, this little known work made me think about all the art created by womxn that never gets seen: The art that languishes in studios until the artist dies (Molly died in 2000) and then family members share it out between them and sell off what’s not wanted. I wrote last week about what a loss it is to humanity that throughout history women have not been supported in their creative labours, and this is one of the reasons why I’m starting a new series here within my substack, Beyond Frida. In the last column of each month I’ll showcase art by women that I’ve found, loved, been inspired by, wished I could afford to add to my collection - beyond the super famous women artists we all know (and love of course). I hope you enjoy the series.
Born in 1922, Molly E. Brubaker (maiden name Moore) lived and painted in Carmel, California. Although there’s no formal association recorded between Molly and the Bay Area Figurative Movement (BAFM) that roughly spanned from 1950 to 1970, undoubtedly she would have been aware of and influenced by the key figures of this West Coast movement. Established as a response to the East Coast, New York School of abstraction, members of the Bay Area Figurative Movement re-introduced the figure into painting and created works in response to the local landscape and culture. The BAFM’s leading artists, David Park, Richard Diebenkorn, and Elmer Bischoff, rejected Abstract Expressionism and embraced representation, creating luscious paintings bathed in the warm light of the Californian sun. Molly E. Becker’s paintings deserve to be recognized as part of this movement.
As a keen art collector as well as a painter (like myself), I wonder what Molly would make of me bringing her work out into the sunshine? According to Chairish, she exhibited widely in her local area but Molly has a tiny digital footprint (unsurprising) and online searches don’t throw up much information. I love her work; it’s as fresh now as it was in the 60’s and her paintings would not look out of place if hung with all the other figurative work I saw at Frieze. Her use of colour feels really contemporary and I’m drawn to the intimate moments she depicts; I feel like I’m being allowed a glimpse of something very private.
Would I add Molly E. Brubaker to my collection? Absolutely! I don’t think these are investment pieces - there isn’t enough of Molly’s work available to entice galleries and dealers - but I don’t think I’d have an issue re-selling these if I decided not to keep the work, it looks so contemporary. What do you think? Would you be happy with one of these pieces on your wall?
I don’t talk much about being an art collector. If I mention to gallerists (mostly the male ones) that I’m an artist as well as a collector, it confuses them - they don’t know whether to talk to me as an artist (assuming I’m “starving” and trying to get them to show my work) or as a collector (assuming I’m wealthy and handing me a glass of champagne). It’s bloody ridiculous. And patronizing. And needs to stop. Just treat me as a person. This is why I love to acquire works outside of the gallery system and especially directly from the artist.
One of the problems with the current trend of hyper promoting certain artists (a Frida Kahlo shower curtain anyone?) is that it pushes lesser known artists even further out of the view of new collectors. According to research by artnet Analytics and artnet News, just 25 artists are responsible for almost half of all postwar and contemporary art auction sales, and only two women made that list: Agnes Martin and Yayoi Kusama. 25 artists account for almost 50% of all auction sales! The research points out that art has become an “appealing trophy” to the rich, in the same way as a YSL handbag or a pair of Gucci slides. If nobody recognizes the art and its worth, what’s the point? But this is lazy collecting and a mindset that needs to be shifted. Far better to build a collection with works that haven’t graced the front cover of a magazine, created by artists who aren’t worth billions themselves; works that invite discussion and haven’t already been analyzed to death by critiques and dealers. A work by Molly E. Brubaker perhaps?
Until next time.
JC
RESOURCES
Visit Chairish and buy Molly’s work here: https://www.chairish.com/search?q=molly+e+brubaker
Read about the Bay Area Figurative Movement HERE
Find the artnet research article HERE
Want to know who the richest artists in the world are? Read this:
https://www.dontdiewondering.com/who-are-the-worlds-richest-painters-2022/
PS I act as an arts advisor too, so if you’d like help in starting an art collection or adding to an existing one, drop me a line: jkcalladine@outlook.com