Know an artist named Arthur Seller?

September 28, 2008 11:50 AM

Does anyone know anything about an artist named Arthur Seller?

I saw a print (titled "The Boat" or "The Sailboat") while working at an insurance company in Hartford years ago that I liked very much, and all subsequent searches have not yielded much. An example of his work can be found on this site (second item down) and I currently see a print on ebay, though I don't believe that it is a print done by the artist. Does anyone have any biographical info or know of this artist?

posted by horsemuth to media & arts (6 answers total)

Yeesh. I can find absolutely nothing on this dude; he's obscure, no? Just a bunch of prints for sale on ebay.

Speaking of which, I did discover that you could, if you wished, go on ebay and purchase this back issue of American Artist from 1971. There's an article in there by one Robert Kolbe about our guy called "ARTHUR SELLER: B DESIGN." Don't know if that's a typo.

Or go to a library and see if they can get you the back issue. Sorry I can't be more help. They don't have that issue online.
posted by koeselitz at 2:55 PM on September 28, 2008 [1 favorite]

Sorry, link to that magazine.
posted by koeselitz at 2:55 PM on September 28, 2008

Well at least I feel vindicated in my search results impotence. Thanks for pointing that magazine out though. Perhaps it will have some biographical info. Interestingly enough, looking at the cover of that magazine, it appears as though the other person selling the prints is scanning them out of that magazine (different seller, but same variety of the exact same prints of obscure artists in sizes that appear as though they came out of a magazine. Compare that magazine cover with this Arthur Seller print(approx 7"x7" ? ), or this Hardie Gramatky(5.5" x 8")...strange.
posted by horsemuth at 3:53 PM on September 28, 2008

I checked the 2007-08 edition of Davenport's and he is not listed there.
posted by mlis at 4:45 PM on September 28, 2008

Yeah, I know Branded, but that guy is Sellers, while the gentleman that I'm looking for is Seller.
Regardless, thanks for the help folks. Since this is the top search result now for "Arthur Seller" I suppose that anyone who sees this question in the future and may have some answers can email whoisarthurseller at gmail . c o m
posted by horsemuth at 4:57 AM on September 29, 2008

I did a search for him in the Getty Union List, and found him - active in the 20th C. Unfortunately, the only link out it gave me was to "Allusive Illusions", the catalog for a show of the same name from April 9 - May 6, 1979 in the Watson Gallery at Wheaton College (Mass.).

The description reads:

Exhibition brings together eight contemporary American artists who utilize cast shadows or shadow images as a primary element in their work.

But that's all I could find - I'm not an arts subject specialist.
posted by clerestory at 8:19 AM on September 29, 2008 [1 favorite]