Who is Serge D.?

(Above) DOUBLE PORTRAIT: Francis Bacon and His Art
Serge D.
Oil on Canvas
1975
24” x 16”

(Above) DOUBLE PORTRAIT: Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn
Serge D.
Oil on Canvas
1973
24” x 16”


(Above) DOUBLE PORTRAIT: Art Critics
Serge D.
Oil on Canvas
1975
24” x 16”


(Above) DOUBLE PORTRAIT: Angie Dickenson and Sammy Davis Jr.
Serge D.
Oil on Canvas
1970
24” x 16”


ANDREW FLAMM & MICHELLE HAUSER find incredible things and make them available to collectors like me. Their shop, Odd Fellows Art & Antiques, is located in Augusta, Maine, but you can find them at most of the higher-end antique shows. As dealers, they represent a new vision in collectible antiques and objects—they, and a few others, who have been redefining the “antiques” industry. If anyone is going to bring the younger generation into this collecting field, it will be collector/dealers like Andrew and Michelle.

I saw these paintings several years ago at Andrew and Michelle’s display at the Intuit show in Chicago. I loved them, and I was surprised when Andrew told me the paintings are basically anonymous, except for the signature “Serge D.” I have to tell you, I think they are great. These paintings have a Chicago Imagists kind of look, sort of a cross between really quirky thrift store art and a highly stylistic point of view. Andrew says the paintings surfaced in Connecticut some years back, and nothing—absolutely NOTHING—is known about the artist. For what it’s worth, and it is a considerable compliment to Serge D., Michelle told me that the Chicago artist Karl Wirsum saw the paintings and liked them very much. Andrew says they have about 12 or 15 paintings by this artist.

So, who was Serge D.? Was he a talented art school painter who gave up too early because no one bought his work? Or, was he a self-taught artist with great talent who has disappeared from our sights? Talk to me, Serge.

An AM repost from 2/2/09

The Roger Brown Study Collection

(Above) Upstairs, front room of the Roger Brown Study Collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Click for larger view.

(Above) The yellow painting above is an early Karl Wirsum and below, a red and blue abstraction by artist Barbara Rossi. Click for larger view.

(Above) Painting by Christina Ramberg, one of the original Chicago Imagists who died in 1995 at the young age of 49. Click for larger view.

(Above) A fine relief carving by the great Elijah Pierce (1892 -1984), a barber/preacher and artist from Columbus, OH. Click for larger view.

(Above) An entire room of Joseph Yoakum (1886 - 1972) paintings was breath-taking to view. Click for larger view.

(Above) Brown was a voracious collector of cool stuff. I understand his love for the odd and quirky. Click for larger view.

(Above) A hand-carved 1940’s-50’s advertising figure caught my eye. Click for larger view.

(Above) This powerful carving of a monkey-like animal was most likely made by an anonymous artist. Click for larger view.

(Above) A painting by Chicago artist Mike Noland, a well-known and highly collected painter whose work follows in the tradition of the Chicago Imagists.
Click for larger view.

(Above) This circus banner was huge and draped down a stairwell. Click for larger view.

(Above) This is a great “cheesecake” painting on a barrel lid, very well done. Anonymous artist. Click for larger view.


(Above) Carving by self-taught artist William Dawson (1901 - 1989). Click for larger view.

(Above) A strange and surreal masterpiece by the great self-taught artist Drossos Skyllas (1912 - 1973). Click for larger view.

(Above) A “yellow cab” painting on a found object (an iron) by Roger Brown. Click for larger view.

SEVERAL WEEKS AGO I HAD THE PLEASURE OF VISITING THE ROGER BROWN STUDY COLLECTION located in Chicago. I had been there once before several years ago, and for the most part, it was as I remember it. It is run by curator Lisa Stone and is now a part of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

From the RBSC Web site:

“Established in 1997, the Roger Brown Study Collection (RBSC) is an artists’ study collection and archive, preserved intact in a historic house museum setting. Located off campus in artist and SAIC alumnus Roger Brown’s former home, an 1888 storefront building at 1926 North Halsted Street, the RBSC is an intimate collection with an astonishing range of objects, including works by Chicago Imagists and other contemporary artists, self-taught artists, folk and tribal art from many cultures, objects from material and popular culture, costumes, textiles, furniture, travel souvenirs, and other things Brown surrounded himself with for artistic inspiration.

The RBSC archive is a comprehensive collection of the artist’s personal and working life, and includes Brown’s sketchbooks, library, slides and photographs, personal and professional correspondence, writings, architectural drawings, studies for large-scale projects, and prints and works on paper. The collection is installed as Brown left it, throughout the second floor of the building and two stairways; the archive is on the first floor.”

Contact the RBSC:
Roger Brown Study Collection,
1926 North Halsted Street, Chicago, IL 60614
Telephone: 773. 929-2452
Fax: 773. 665-4802 Email: lstone@saic.edu