Friday at Auction Finds is readers’ questions day, and I try to help readers figure out the value of their items. Occasionally, I get an item that I want to know more about. That’s what happened not too long ago.
My auction pal Rebecca teaches computer classes for seniors at a local library, and noticed two sculptures by artist Charles Searles.
Charles Searles in a public library? Now that was interesting.
She said the two pieces were in the children’s section, and it looked as if one was missing (she later realized that maybe not). I finally got a chance to see for myself and there they were, on a long narrow drop wall like clouds above the little ones’ heads.
They were truly Charles Searles. His big brightly painted abstracts on wood with rhythmic curves and cutouts are instantly recognizable. All of his works seem to dance on their own wherever and however they are mounted.
“My works are primarily boldly painted wood sculptures which are free-standing or hang on a wall,” Searles said in 1990. “I use flat planes as well as curved surfaces and, although the forms are constantly changing, some things are often used such as ovular holes in the sculpture (which, for me, suggest eyes.) The pieces have been said to convey masks, dancers, music, or rhythms. They also have a strong cultural identity that has been called African, Asian, Native American, Caribbean, and more.”
What a wonderful way to expose young children to art, but I suspected that they rarely looked up to see them from their tiny perch at library tables. I wondered if any of them knew that they were being watched over by one of the country’s – and Philadelphia’s – most noted artists.
But how did the sculptures get there?
The artwork hangs in the West Oak Lane branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia, the city of Searles birth in 1937 (he died in 2004). Appropriately titled “Looking Ahead,” they apparently were created in 1982.
The library branch itself was opened in 1957, completely destroyed by fire in 1980 and reopened five years later. On its website, the library urged visitors to look for Searles’ “abstract mask forms” in the picture-book area, noting that they exemplified the artist’s American, African and Native American heritage.
Searles began painting as a child, but a high school counselor later encouraged shop over art. He loved art so much, though, that he took Saturday morning classes at a local art school. After high school, he worked with his father in carpentry and construction. After serving in the military in the 1950s, he returned home to study at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the University of Pennsylvania. A trip to Europe and then to African spurred his use of African colors and rhythms in his works.
The library sculptures were among several public commissions he completed in places where children gather. In 1977, he painted a wall mural titled “Playtime” at a Philadelphia playground. The Carter G. Woodson Regional Library in Chicago has a Searles sculpture titled “Tempest.”
His first public commission was a mural inside the William H. Green Federal Building in Philadelphia in 1976, titled “Celebration.” It was among a number of such commissions for works both inside and outside of such places as train stations, and health and social services centers. In most instances, they were commissions from Percent for Art programs to purchase or commission art for public places.
Bronze sculpture inside the Long Island Railroad station in New York. Five painted metal sculptures for the Delaware River Port Authority. Painted wood sculpture at the Woodcrest train station in Cherry Hill, NJ. Bronze sculpture in Brooklyn, NY. Sculpture at Public health center in Philadelphia. Painted wood sculpture at the Dempsey Multi-Service Center in Harlem. Bronze sculpture outside the First District Plaza in Philadelphia.
His works are also in major museums in the country.
“If I am awarded the responsibility to execute a work of art for a public space or location, I enter each situation open to the possibilities it presents,” Searles said in 1997. “Each setting calls for its own unique solution. For instance, if a public building serves a function, I consider that function, the people entering the building and the surrounding community. My work does have a particular style which I try to shape and flex to suit each project. While color, materials and form may change, I do try to maintain a feeling of universal language, positive energy, and a glimpse towards the future.”
If you’re ever near one of these locations, be sure to look for Searles’ sculptures, as well as works by other artists in other spaces. Sometimes, art may appear in the most unlikely of places.
Charles Searles was my drawing teacher in 1976 at the Philadelphia College of Art. Very nice man, always encouraging. He has a piece at LaSalle’s art museum too. If you haven’t been there it is a treasure.
Thanks, Irene. I’ll be sure to check out the sculpture at LaSalle.