Lot 388: Jean Seidenberg (American/New Orleans, b. 1930),

Jean Seidenberg (American/New Orleans, b. 1930), "Charlotte as Flora", egg tempera on masonite, signed and dated "1983" lower left, signed, titled and dated en verso, 32 in. x 36 1/4 in., attractively matted and framed. Note: In 1981 New Orleans artist Jean Seidenberg married Charlotte, a garden writer and naturalist. He painted a series of portraits of Charlotte that convey her love of flowers as well as their blossoming relationship. The work offered here, painted in 1983-84 and titled "Charlotte as Flora " depicts his wife wearing a wreath of ivy and a floral embroidered blouse. To her right is a bouquet of brightly colored flowers. On her outstretched left arm sits a parakeet. This major composition is reproduced in the monograph on Jean Seidenberg published by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities last year. Reference: Jean Seidenberg: Paintings, Drawings, Sculpture, New Orleans: Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, 2009, p. 67 "Jean Seidenberg: A Brush with the Intimate", Louisiana Cultural Vistas, Spring 2008, Vol. 19, No. 1, p. 10.