Ben Jorj (aka Jorg) Harris was a noted African American artist (1904-1957), related to Joel Harris, author the Uncle Remus stories, who specialized in airbrushed watercolors. Harris was one of a stable of artists who supplied original watercolors, usually in pairs, to Newman Decor, a high-end interior design firm that decorated apartments during the late 1940s housing boom. This original art work would complement the fabric selected as coverings or, as in this case, the overall mood of the decorations.
Over the years, Harris' work has become highly sought-after and collectable as he and his wife, Georgette (perhaps the "Jorj" in the signature), were thought to have "perfected the art of airbrushing."
Some Ben Harris watercolors come up for sale recently at Phil Weiss Auctions of Oceanside, "This is find is about saving strong examples of Mid-20th Century Design and technique, so they may be purchased by an institution or collector and thus be rescued to circulate in the art world mainstream."
When purchasing a Ben Jorj Harris last year I researched him (actually, "them") and found the "African-American" lineage to be untrue. Here's the bio: (and photo proof)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.artistbios.com/ben-jorj-harris/
Thanks.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete