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Detail
Jessie Arms Botke (1883-1971)
Untitled Toucan (a portion of a mural removed from the Oaks Hotel in Ojai, CA)
1955-1956
Oil on canvas
8” H x 14” W (image size)
12” H x 18” W (frame size)
Unsigned
Estimated value: $2,500 - $3,500
Additional Information
This auction piece by historic Santa Paula artist Jessie Arms Botke (1883-1971) has a fascinating history and provenance. The painting was previously in the collection of DeWitt McCall, the late owner of DeRu’s Fine Arts in Laguna Beach and an expert in early California art and art conservation; however, it was originally part of a nearly 30 feet long wall mural installed in the Oaks Hotel in Ojai, California from 1956 to 1992. It was one of many mural commissions Botke completed during her artistic career (and mostly likely the first mural that Jessie completed without the help of her artist husband, Cornelis, who passed in 1954).
In her book “A California Woman’s Story,” Jean Stern, who in 1992 was The Irvine Museum’s very first executive director, writes: “The large mural… had been commissioned for the east wall of the ballroom of the Oaks Hotel, in Ojai, California. With a general renovation of the hotel underway [in 1992], the wall that displayed the mural was scheduled to be demolished in order to greatly expand the exercise area. After meeting with the owners of the spa, [The Irvine Museum] gratefully accepted the significant gift. It came with the sole proviso that the museum had to bear all costs of removal and conservation. In other words, if we managed to take it off the wall, it was ours… Fortunately, the mural had been painted on canvas that had been glued to the wall… The mural was in fact painted on two large pieces of canvas, one piece was six and one-half feet high by 12 feet long, while the other was six and one-half feet high by fourteen feet long. Over the years, two small pieces of mural along the top edge had been cut out, one to allow for the installation of a heating/air conditioning vent, and the other for an exit sign. Also, one or two other peripheral strips had been cut off near the doorway.”
Measuring 8” x 14”, the painting available in this year’s art auction is almost certainly the piece cut out for the vent or exit sign. This painting is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a piece of one of Jessie Arms Botke’s famous wall murals and a companion to a piece now in the collection of the UCI Jack and Shanaz Langson Institute and Museum of California Art (pictured below).
Image by Laguna Art Museum. Jessie Arms Botke, Untitled (mural from The Coral Spa’s east wall at The Oaks in Ojai), 1955-1956, Oil with gold leaf on canvas, 82 x 347 in. UCI Jack and Shanaz Langson Institute and Museum of California Art, Gift of The Irvine Museum.
Artist Biography
From her ranch and studio in Santa Paula, California, artist Jessie Arms Botke became (and remains) one of the most treasured decorative painters of the 20th century. Her paintings of birds and flowers are particularly prized for their richness of color and detail, and her frequent use of dazzling gold leaf.
Jessie Arms was born in Chicago in 1883. Following a course of study at the Art Institute of Chicago and several summers with renowned artists and teachers John C. Johansen and Charles Woodbury, Jessie found work as an interior decorator, painting wall friezes in private homes. By 1911, Botke had landed in New York where she was employed by interior design firm Herter Looms as a wall decorator, tapestry "cartoonist," and muralist. It was around this time that Jessie first fell in love with painting birds.
Jessie married artist Cornelis Botke in 1915. In 1919, the Botkes moved to Carmel, California, with its thriving art colony. They settled in Santa Paula in 1927 and remained there, painting and printmaking, for the rest of their lives. The artist couple also worked on a number of mural commissions together throughout their careers. Botke's oil and watercolor paintings and block prints continue to be eagerly collected by private collectors and museums worldwide, including the Art Institute of Chicago and the Santa Paula Art Museum.
Auction Information
The 13th Annual Fine Art Auction Fundraiser
Saturday, August 19, 2023
The silent auction starts at 3:00 PM.
The live auction starts at 4:00 PM.
Auction admission: $15.00 SPAM members, $20.00 Non-members
All proceeds benefit the Santa Paula Art Museum, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization #2478728.
All major credit cards, check, and cash are accepted.
Sales tax will be applied to all hammer prices. There is no buyer’s premium.