Red Tape by John Brock Lear, Jr. (American, 1910 - 2008)

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One of the finest, and certainly the earliest painting by John Lear that we have seen or offered, this image … Read more One of the finest, and certainly the earliest painting by John Lear that we have seen or offered, this image depicts three male nude figures connected by a trailing line of red ribbon and framed by a series of orbs floating in the air. Like much of Lear's best work, the painting positions nude male figures in a distinctive and arresting Surrealist landscape, the figure receding into the distance in a manner that suggests Jared French as well. Lear liked to depict nude or half-nude male figures set in fantastic or exotic environments such as the circus, carnival, deserted beach, or Dali-esque setting. A contemporary of Paul Cadmus, and like him, highly focused on depicting the male figure in various settings and positions, Lear never gained fame beyond his circle of admirers in the Philadelphia area. This painting is tempera on artist's panel, and retains its original, wide and deep frame in wormy chestnut. The reverse retains two exhibition labels, one with the Philadelphia Art Alliance, the other with the Woodmere Art Gallery, now the Woodmere Museum in Chestnut Hill. See less