Here are some facts and figures for Saturday’s opening of AN INTIMATE VIEW: Small Paintings & Drawings by Ben Solowey.
• There are over 70 pieces on the walls. In the Second Studio we have 39 lovely small works from just about every phase of Ben’s career. In the Main Studio, we have put together a stunning collection of oils and works on paper from various periods.
• There are 13 Ben Solowey handcrafted frames. This is the largest concentration of Ben’s frames ever. There are beautifully carved gold leafed frames, and others with punch decorations.
• There are eight portraits of Rae and four self portraits. In one work, Rae can be seen in the first year of their marriage, elegantly dressed in a yellow gown. Two of Ben’s self portraits were the subjects of an earlier entry.
• There are ten Bucks County landscapes including four views of the farmhouse in different seasons and media, and a delightful brush drawing (in a Solowey frame) from Lake Nockamixon.
• There are eights scenes from Ben’s 1924 sojourn in Europe. Six are from Paris, including an intoxicating view of the Jardin de Luxemborg, and two plein air paintings of the mountains of Engelberg, Germany.
• There are seven still lifes with flowers from Ben’s garden, including several of Ben’s favorite flowers, peonies (three different colors are in full bloom here now).
• You will also be able to get an intimate peek into Ben’s Fifth Avenue studio in New York, his Philadelphia studio in 1954, and of course scenes from his Bucks County studio where the works are on view.
Clockwise from top left: Hydrangea & Roses. Pastel on board. 16 x 12 in.; The Sail. Brush drawing on paper, 12 x 20 in.; Rae. Oil on canvas, 1939, 16 x 20 in. ; Morning Mood. Oil on board, c. 1977, 6 1/4 x 9 1/2 in.
