Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller.

Granville Redmond
The Perils of Dissipation

1929

$1,400
£1,069.10
€1,281.13
CA$2,015.84
A$2,078.30
CHF 1,170.71
MX$26,594.42
NOK 13,508.74
SEK 14,129.35
DKK 9,579.74

About the Item

On offer is a work which was part of a book of tonalist drawings by Granville Redmond (1871-1935). This rare pencil and charcoal drawing with white gouache accents is haunting for its allegorical depiction of violent deaths, alcoholic dissipation, and the company of a dominating, cobra-like monster. What’s especially chilling is that just below the artist’s signature, it’s dated on the artist’s own birthday—late in his fifth decade. As such, it is quite a departure from the colorful California Impressionist landscapes filled with poppies and lupines for which the artist is most famous. Which is precisely what makes this and the other four sketches by this artist, each offered separately, so interesting. Born in Philadelphia, Redmond contracted scarlet fever and became deaf in early childhood. His family moved west to San Jose, California so that he could attend the California School for the Deaf in Berkeley. Showing early talent in art, Redmond won a scholarship to the Académie Julien in Paris. Upon his return to the United States, the artist lived for a period in Los Angeles, then in the Monterey area, returning to Los Angeles in 1917, working as a pantomimist. Silent film titan Charlie Chaplin met the painter in Los Angeles and reached out to him for help as a deaf person to learn sign language and especially to develop expressive pantomime techniques for his silent film performances. The filmmaker also collected Redmond’s paintings and eventually gave the artist a painting studio on his movie lot, likely a first for someone who wasn’t there to create film backdrops. Redmond’s work can be seen in numerous museum collections, especially in California. These include Sacramento’s Crocker Art Museum, the Laguna Art Museum in Laguna Beach, and the UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art, today holding the pre-eminent collection of California Impressionism. Lastly, a fun fact about Granville Redmond: he made uncredited appearances in several of Chaplin’s films, including his renowned “City Lights.” Signature: Lower left (photo #5).
  • Creator:
    Granville Redmond
  • Creation Year:
    1929
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 12 in (30.48 cm)Width: 8.5 in (21.59 cm)Depth: 0.25 in (6.35 mm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    Condition commensurate with age and use. Please review all photos.
  • Gallery Location:
    San Francisco, CA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1378217817722

More From This Seller

View All
Self-Portrait Drawing

Self-Portrait Drawing

Located in San Francisco, CA

On offer is a work which was part of a book of tonalist drawings by Granville Redmond (1871-1935). This rare charcoal self-portrait drawing is deeply introspective. No mincing words ...

Category

Early 20th Century American Impressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Charcoal

An Exodus from the Garden of Eden

An Exodus from the Garden of Eden

Located in San Francisco, CA

On offer is a work which was part of a book of drawings by Granville Redmond (1871-1935). Recalling the Biblical Fall of Man, the instrument of humanity’s sudden expulsion from the G...

Category

Early 20th Century American Impressionist Figurative Drawings and Waterc...

Materials

Paper, Chalk

Charcoal Portrait “Laughs with World, Dies Alone”

Charcoal Portrait “Laughs with World, Dies Alone”

Located in San Francisco, CA

Almost an apt marking for a tombstone, “Laughs with World, Dies Alone,” the title of this drawing by Granville Redmond (1871-1935) of silent film star Larry Semon was likely made on ...

Category

Early 20th Century American Impressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Charcoal

Signed Mid-century Post-Impressionist Watercolor

Signed Mid-century Post-Impressionist Watercolor

Located in San Francisco, CA

On offer is an exceptional piece of early-to-mid 20th-century American Modernism by Miki McCrossen Hayakawa (1899–1953). The composition perfectly reflects the avant-garde themes cir...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Watercolor, Ink, Paper

(For Grownups Only, Seriously!)

(For Grownups Only, Seriously!)

Located in San Francisco, CA

And what are you to look for? Not random swipes, as if cleaning one’s brush on the verso. Nor the whisps of cigarette smoke wafting upward from below. No. Do look again for an exquis...

Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Nude Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Chalk

Drawing of Seated Man with Female Apparition

Drawing of Seated Man with Female Apparition

Located in San Francisco, CA

On offer is a work which was part of a book of drawings by Granville Redmond (1871-1935). The moody, lamp-lit scene of a man at his desk, a bottle within easy reach, and the ghostly ...

Category

Early 20th Century American Impressionist Figurative Drawings and Waterc...

Materials

Charcoal, Laid Paper

You May Also Like

0005

0005

Located in Toronto, ON

Original, 2013 Mixed Media on Watercolour paper 8 x 8"

Category

2010s Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Mixed Media, Watercolor

'Dynamic Figurative', California Post-Impressionist, Ruskin School of Art

'Dynamic Figurative', California Post-Impressionist, Ruskin School of Art

By Robert Moesle

Located in Santa Cruz, CA

Signed lower right "Moesle" and painted circa 1975. Gouache and watercolor figurative showing numerous figures in dynamic interaction. Born in 1932, Robert Moesle studied painting ...

Category

1970s Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, India Ink, Watercolor, Gouache

"Symbolist Composition"

"Symbolist Composition"

By Unidentified

Located in Edinburgh, GB

Artist: Unidentified Dimensions: Framed: 51 x 45 cm Artwork: 13 x 9 cm Medium: Oil on board/canvas Period: [Estimate based on style, e.g., Mid-20th Century / Contemporary] Style: Sy...

Category

19th Century Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Untitled

Untitled

Located in Fairlawn, OH

Bömmels belonged to the co-founders of the Cologne artist group Mülheimer Freiheit , which also included Hans Peter Adamski , Walter Dahn , Jiří Georg Dokoupil , Gerard Kever and Ger...

Category

1980s Surrealist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Graphite

The Unraveling Secret

The Unraveling Secret

By Winold Reiss

Located in Fort Washington, PA

Medium: Pen and Ink on Board Dimensions: 16.00" x 12.00" Signature: Signed Lower Right "Man in prison with two jailers" - Book illustration.

Category

Early 20th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Board, Pen

0016

0016

Located in Toronto, ON

Original, 2013 Mixed Media on Watercolour paper 12 x 12"

Category

2010s Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Mixed Media, Watercolor