Artists in Florence #2

We recently attended a dinner party at the rectory of our church in Florence. 

Before dinner, we noticed some paintings in the living room.  It turns out that the rector, Mark Dunnam, is a self-taught artist.  His style is abstract expressionism and he emulates the well-known artist Joan Mitchell (not to be confused with the singer-songwriter). 

It turns out the rector first saw a Joan Mitchell painting 20 years ago and it "spoke" to him.  Since then, he has been learning as much as he can about the artist, talking to all sorts of people who actually knew Joan Mitchell.  One person was NYC gallery owner Robert Miller who represents the artist's estate (Joan Mitchell died in 1992) and who allowed the rector to see the gallery's entire Joan Mitchell collection even though it was in storage.  Without intending, Mark has become one of the leading experts on the life and work of Joan Mitchell. 

In addition to learning about Joan Mitchell, Mark paints in a style similar to hers.  Below are two paintings we saw in the rectory, plus a few Joan Mitchell paintings.

Abstract Expressionist painting by Mark Dunnam

Abstract Expressionist painting by Mark Dunnam

Brush by Joan Mitchell (1981) (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Untitled by Joan Mitchell (1979) (private collection)

Ladybug by Joan Mitchell (1957) (MoMA)

Greg especially likes the paintings because they remind him of Jackson Pollock, another abstract expressionist from the mid-20th century.  It turns out that Mitchell and Pollock crossed paths during their lives. 

At the dinner party, Greg asked Marc if he has collected any Mitchell paintings.  Marc laughed, saying that being an Episcopal priest was rewarding but not financially enriching.  A typical Mitchell painting will set you back a few million dollars. 

Untitled (1960) by Joan Mitchell--sold at auction for $11.9 million in 2014, a record for a female artist.

P.S.  While at the dinner party, we noticed another interesting item, pictured below.  It is a board game with various pieces.  Apparently, the game has no rules.  It is a "make it up as you play" sort of thing.  It was created by the rector's wife, Miss Dottie.  Like Mark, Dottie is very creative.  Aside from creating a rules-free board game, Dottie is writing a Broadway musical--one number involves crabs dancing the Mambo.  Every Broadway musical should have dancing crustaceans moving to a Latin beat.

A few more Abstract Expressionist paintings by Mark Dunnam: