Welcome to the Painting The American Scene Blog
When it rains, it pours. And so it is with collectors. After a considerable period of relative inactivity during which we were routinely outbid (often dramatically) or outfoxed by other collectors or simply unmoved by the relevant offerings on the art market, we had the good fortune of discovering and acquiring four important artworks in the span of just a few weeks in January of 2025. The serendipity of their acquisition gave rise to a feverish round of research which led, in turn, to a zealous campaign to comprehensively update our web- site. Accordingly, we invite you to peruse five new entries (including a late 2023 acquisition which we had not yet included) presenting works by two artists already represented in our collection (James Chapin and Reginald Marsh) as well as three new additions: Charles Goeller, Enid Bell and Yvonne Twining Humber. While we were at it, we've supplemented the Bibliography with a handful of recent publications. Our website, we're pleased to report, has become a useful resource for those intrigued by American Scene painting and, in particular, by the growing list of artists for which our site is a valued (and sometimes the only) biographical resource. Indeed, over 1,300 users visited our site in 2024!
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Finally, unlike several collectors we know (and love!), we live with all of our art on our walls. But there are only so many walls. So, regrettably, the need arises to deaccession works from time to time. We'd rather have them grace the walls of other collectors than line our closets. While we still love them, works in the collection by Ballin, Berkman, Kollorsz and Poray are available at prices below our acquisition costs to collectors who will cherish them as we have--in one case for more than a quarter century. If interested, email us through our Contact Page.
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We welcome you to our revised website and value your input; we invite you to reach out to us via the Contact Page with any questions or comments you may have.
Art Hittner
Post #4
February 10, 2025
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Sadly, we've been notified of the cancellation of the multi-venue exhibition described in our previous blogpost. Increased costs and pandemic-related complications conspired to render the exhibition no longer feasible. The good news is that we will no longer be obliged to endure three years without our art; the bad news is that the public will not have the chance to rediscover the long neglected artists of the Thirties and Forties whose works grace our walls. We remain open to opportunities to share our collection or lend specific artworks under appropriate circumstances in the future.
Art Hittner
Post #3
May 23, 2022
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We’re pleased to report that preparations are underway for a catalogued exhibition of our collection currently projected to open at the New Britain Museum of American Art in May of 2023. The show is slated to travel to six additional venues: Asheville Art Museum, Columbus Museum of Art, Hunter Museum of American Art (Chatanooga, TN), Westmoreland Museum of American Art (Greensburg, PA), Georgia Museum of Art and Tucson Museum of Art. Updates will be posted as additional details become available.
Art Hittner
Post #2
January 17, 2022
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Welcome to the Blog Page of our brand new website. In the future, we hope to post on this page our thoughts (and, hopefully, those of some of our visitors) about the painters of the American Scene, the art of the Thirties and Forties, the strategies, joys and perils of collecting and other topics arising directly or indirectly from the content of our website. We'd like to make this a cooperative venture, so please do not hesitate to get in touch with us, either to sign up for updates (using our Contact page) or to participate in our informal forum on the painters and art of the American Scene.
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Art Hittner
Post #1
October 12, 2018