PAUL GRIMM (1892-1974) California art early illustration drawing of William Howard Taft throwing a baseball

Fine Art : Drawings : American 20th Century : California Art

 

Here's an unusual item for the collector of early California art, illustration art, or baseball related art.......an ink on paper drawing showing President William Howard Taft throwing out the (first?) baseball......signed at center right and dated 1910, when the artist would have been 18 or 19 years old (some sources report his birth year as 1891). According to the Hughes biography, Grimm was born in South America and was already displaying talent in art at a tender age. He could have been in Rochester, New York at the time this was drawn. It seems he didn't arrive in California until 1919. The piece measures 7 3/4" by 4 3/4" inside the mat (13 1/2" by 10 1/2" as framed). Allow for a few reflections in the glass, and some photos show brown/yellow "stain" that doesn't exist except in the photo. The actual piece is very clean with just an original tiny pinhole perhaps dating to its creation and a little old rumpling of the paper at lower right, perhaps also going back a long ways. One or two photos are rather orange in color, that is solely due to the artificial light under which the photos were taken. Grimm of course is best known in today's gallery and auction scene as the creator of beautifully painted images of the California desert. President Eisenhower was a friend and collector of his work. Shipping wizard figures are guesstimates. SEE HUNDREDS OF OTHER WORKS NOW IN MY SHOP.

Item ID: JB0867