ROMARE BEARDEN (1911 - 1988) Untitled (Nude Studies of Joan Sandler).
Pencil, gouache and watercolor on heavy cream wove paper, 1953. 16 1/2x7 3/4 inches. Signed "Romare after a few years" in ink, lower right. Dated "11/16/53" and inscribed "Joan S." in pencil, lower right.
Provenance: private collection.
Joan Delores Sandler was a friend of Elizabeth Catlett and Romare Bearden. An art educator, writer and actress, in 1975, Sandler began her New York art career as a program specialist for the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. She also worked for the Black Theater Alliance, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Museum of American Folk Art. In 2001, Sandler served as executive director of the Bearden Foundation. Torso, Portrait of Joan, Elizabeth Catlett's terracotta sculpture of her friend from 1960 was sold at Swann Auction Galleries on February 19, 2008.
