Lot 939: Palmer Schoppe (American/Charleston, 1912-2001),

Palmer Schoppe (American/Charleston, 1912-2001), "New Orleans Jazz Musicians and the Muse", oil on canvas, signed and dated "1987" lower right, 96 in. x 96 in., unframed.

Provenance: Commissioned by the Fairmont Hotel, New Orleans, 1987. Note: The Southern California artist Palmer Schoppe was first introduced to the world of jazz musicians, clubs, and Harlem speakeasies when he studied with Thomas Hart Benton at the Art Students' League in New York City. In 1987, The Fairmont Hotel in downtown New Orleans commissioned Palmer Schoppe to create two murals of jazz musicians. Schoppe's murals complemented the four Art Deco murals by Paul Ninas in the famed Sazerac Bar. These murals were among the last of Shoppe's long and illustrious career. Working in a modernist figurative style, Schoppe's mural of "New Orleans Jazz Musicians" depicts ten jazz musicians and a female singer in the midst of a performance. Set in a club, the musicians have placed a hat center stage to collect tips from the admirin g crowd. Reference: Severens, Martha R., The Charleston Renaissance, Saraland Press, Spartanburg, South Carolina, 1998, pp. 119-121.