What is the Secondary Market?

There comes a time in most artists life when some of their paintings return to market. When this happens during the artists lifetime it creates a special opportunity for newer collectors to add a painting from a different era of the artists work to their collection. Now that West Fraser is approaching his 70’s there are a lot of paintings out in the world and due to many circumstances –down sizing and death being two of the most frequent– we are given the opportunity to help these paintings find a new home. Over the past two years we have acquired several works, and most recently four particularly meaningful ones. These paintings represent important eras in West’s body of work. We are privileged to be able to handle these pieces and offer them to our incredible clients. Please find our most recent additions to the resale category below.

What began in the early 2000’s as a way to ‘advertise’ for the future homesites at Palmetto Bluff, has become an ongoing relationship between West Fraser and the environs of the Bluff. West will tell you he was there before even the first bulldozers and the paintings he created for the developers were taken on tour to show off the beauty of the landscape. Over the years West has created at least 100 paintings on the property as well as added to the collection featured at the hotel and throughout the property. Carolina Jungle not only represents the height of his painting there (2010), but it also features the transition zone that has fascinated him throughout his landscape painting career. In his own words: “In “Carolina Jungle” I’m showing the zone that separates the salt water from the sandy loam banks. I am observing and painting notes of  the bright morning haze of spring light; as it  filters through the mossy branches draped and touching the grasses along the marshy shores. The intertwined vines of a century are defining the atmospheric space of this lush Lowcountry setting.” We are thrilled to be able to offer this outstanding painting to our customers as part of our secondary market program.

Two of the paintings added to our secondary market offerings feature Charleston street scenes from the heyday of West wandering the streets and capturing everyday life. Although Charleston In My Time (USC Press 2001) was published in 2001, West continues to add to his body of Charleston street scenes. In recent years he has moved his focus to all the vanishing places, such as corner street groceries, freedman’s cottages, and sweet shacks leaving the early 2000’s reflective of the growth and change that began after Hurricane Hugo hit in 1989. Ben’s Buttonwood–named for the buttonwood tree that once grew outside his friend Ben’s home– was painted in 2006 and, our most recent acquisition, Walking the Dog was created in 2005.

“Painted in Charleston, S.C., the tree was planted by my friend Ben Chapman years ago in front of his family home, buttonwood trees are also called sycamores.” –West Fraser

While we are on the subject of things West has not done in a while, let’s move on to another recently added to the secondary market painting. West has traveled extensively and more often than not he has taken his painting gear with him. On several occasions, he has traveled with the express purpose of painting. On one such trip in 2001, taken with his good friend and fellow artist Billyo O’Donnell, he was taken by the below grouping of houses where he later learned the mayor of the town lived. His paintings from Italy were featured in an exhibit with his then dealer Rob Hicklin at Charleston Renaissance Gallery. Traveling to paint continues to be one of West’s favorite things to do and now that he has settled into his new life and studio in Camden, S.C. we hope to see more.

For more information on these paintings or to see framed images, please contact the gallery. As secondary market pieces, these are consigned by the estate to the gallery with pricing set by the owners. All frames are as is and can not be updated or changed by the gallery.

We look forward to sharing more of our exciting secondary market finds in the future. Please visit West’s artist page to learn about other pieces in this special collection. For more information on what the secondary market is, visit here.

Other pieces available from our Secondary Market category: