1095

'Boogie Woogie'', Pine Top Playing the Piano, signed lower right: Dan Lutz, oil on canvas. est:$7000/9000. Literature: J. Stern, ''American Scene Painting: California, 1930s and 1940s'', Newport Beach, CA, p. 107. Note: Little remembered today, Clarence ‘Pine Top’ Smith recorded only eight songs during his brief career and short life, but he is credited for igniting the boogie woogie dance craze -- the upbeat, rhythmic style of piano blues which would influence swing music and ultimately evolve into rock n’ roll. Born in 1904 and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Smith joined the Great Migration of southern blacks to the industrial north, working as an entertainer and touring on the T.O.B.A. vaudeville circuit before settling in Chicago, where he made his career playing his raucous piano songs at rent parties and taverns. In the closing weeks of 1928, at age twenty-four, Smith played his first session for Vocalion Records, which produced the now classic ‘race record’ '‘Pine Top’s Boogie Woogie'’. It was an immediate sensation and became a commercial hit. ‘Pine Top’ only enjoyed a few months of fame, before he was killed by a stray bullet while at the piano during a barroom brawl. His ‘'Boogie Woogie'’ soon spread to inspire both black and white audiences nationwide, and by the early 1940s nearly every big band, including Artie Shaw’s, had recorded their own ‘boogie woogie’. The style even found its way in to the titles of paintings such as Piet Mondrian’s highly influential '‘Broadway Boogie Woogie'’, 1943, which incorporated the concept of musical rhythms into visual composition. Tommy Dorsey’s updated version of Pine Top’s recording, made ten years after the original, became the second best seller of the swing era, behind only Glenn Miller’s '‘In the Mood.’' According to Jean Stern in his essay about Dan Lutz published in ''American Scene Painting: California, 1930s and 1940s'', ''Following his Spirituals period, Lutz ventured into a 'Jazz' period, where he used harsher color cadences coupled with explosive bursts of rich pigments. Titles from this brief period include 'Virtuoso' and 'Boogie Woogie', a painting which shows Pine Top Smith at the piano and which was purchased by Artie Shaw (J. Stern, ''American Scene Painting: California, 1930s and 1940s'', p. 107). Provenance: Dalzell Hatfield Galleries, Los Angeles, CA (see label verso); Tangible Property from the Estate of Artie Shaw; sold John Moran Auctioneers, Inc. September 2008, lot 1033 ($8,625); Private Collection, Ventura, CA, acquired from the above

24'' H x 30'' W

  • Provenance: Provenance: Dalzell Hatfield Galleries, Los Angeles, CA (see label verso); Tangible Property from the Estate of Artie Shaw; sold John Moran Auctioneers, Inc. September 2008, lot 1033 ($8,625); Private Collection, Ventura, CA, acquired from the above
  • Notes: Note: Little remembered today, Clarence ‘Pine Top’ Smith recorded only eight songs during his brief career and short life, but he is credited for igniting the boogie woogie dance craze -- the upbeat, rhythmic style of piano blues which would influence swing music and ultimately evolve into rock n’ roll. Born in 1904 and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Smith joined the Great Migration of southern blacks to the industrial north, working as an entertainer and touring on the T.O.B.A. vaudeville circuit before settling in Chicago, where he made his career playing his raucous piano songs at rent parties and taverns. In the closing weeks of 1928, at age twenty-four, Smith played his first session for Vocalion Records, which produced the now classic ‘race record’ '‘Pine Top’s Boogie Woogie'’. It was an immediate sensation and became a commercial hit. ‘Pine Top’ only enjoyed a few months of fame, before he was killed by a stray bullet while at the piano during a barroom brawl. His ‘'Boogie Woogie'’ soon spread to inspire both black and white audiences nationwide, and by the early 1940s nearly every big band, including Artie Shaw’s, had recorded their own ‘boogie woogie’. The style even found its way in to the titles of paintings such as Piet Mondrian’s highly influential '‘Broadway Boogie Woogie'’, 1943, which incorporated the concept of musical rhythms into visual composition. Tommy Dorsey’s updated version of Pine Top’s recording, made ten years after the original, became the second best seller of the swing era, behind only Glenn Miller’s '‘In the Mood.’' According to Jean Stern in his essay about Dan Lutz published in ''American Scene Painting: California, 1930s and 1940s'', ''Following his Spirituals period, Lutz ventured into a 'Jazz' period, where he used harsher color cadences coupled with explosive bursts of rich pigments. Titles from this brief period include 'Virtuoso' and 'Boogie Woogie', a painting which shows Pine Top Smith at the piano and which was purchased by Artie Shaw (J. Stern, ''American Scene Painting: California, 1930s and 1940s'', p. 107)
  • Condition: Visual: Generally good condition with a small area of instability to the right of the figure. Blacklight: No evidence of restoration under blacklight. Uneven varnish.

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April 17, 2012 6:30 PM PDT
Pasadena, CA, US

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