1947 Clifford Odets "Death of the House Cat" Casein Painting
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APPRAISER:
You brought in this watercolor by the amazing playwright, American 20th century playwright Clifford Odets. Odets was one of the most important early 20th century playwrights. Among his important plays were Waiting for Lefty, Awake and Sing! Just a really important member of the New York theater scene. What can you tell me about this piece?
GUEST:
Well, it's called "Death of the House Cat." My father used to go to auctions in Midtown Manhattan, and he used to buy lots, and he brought this home sometime in the mid-'60s. And when we unpacked everything that he brought home, I saw this picture and I said, "That's going in my bedroom." And I've had it with me ever since then, and I just love it. It's on my wall, I have all different animal pictures, but this is the focus picture on the wall.
APPRAISER:
Initially, Odets was known as a playwright, but he also took his artwork quite seriously. He had an exhibit in Manhattan in the '40s, and also one of his pieces was exhibited at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the 1950s.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
Yes.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
And his son wrote that Odets would often paint at his desk when he couldn't sleep or when he was having a writer's block or something like that. So art was his go-to place to revive his creativity.
GUEST:
Oh, that's interesting.
APPRAISER:
One of the sad reasons that Clifford Odets may have had difficulties is that in 1947, the year that this was actually painted, he was accused of being a Communist and was in fact blacklisted. That certainly affected his career, as well as his life. And he died in '63 as a quite young man. But getting back to this wonderful image, it's a great example of Mid-Century Modern artwork, which is extraordinarily popular right now.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
Yes. So you not only have a piece by an extraordinarily integral member of the American theater community, but you also have a really great Mid-Century Modern painting. You also have, you know, these sort of surreal-- "sort of surreal"-- completely surreal little kitties coming up from this... I'm going with sleeping.
GUEST:
No.
APPRAISER:
(laughing) Okay.
GUEST:
We got the nine lives of the cat.
APPRAISER:
Exactly.
GUEST:
They're nine little kitties.
APPRAISER:
Exactly. In terms of its value, for retail purposes, I would think somewhere between $5,000 and $7,000.
GUEST:
Really! Whoa!
APPRAISER:
It's got a lot going on. Thank you so much for bringing it in.
GUEST:
Thank you, I really appreciate it, I didn't think it was worth anything like that.
APPRAISER:
Oh yes, oh yes.
GUEST:
It's going back on my wall.
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