Douglas Donaldson

together with a platinum or palladium print executed by Edward Weston of his niece, Jeannette Seaman, ca. 1920, showing the present lot in-situ; and a photographically-illustrated promotional brochure of Donaldson's work, ca. 1916, with its original mailing envelope addressed to Edward Weston

Douglas Donaldson, Los Angeles, CA
Edward Weston, Tropico, CA
Eloise and Lowell Longstreth, Middletown, OH
By descent to their son, John W. Longstreth

Douglas Donaldson, Douglas Donaldson Craftsman, promotional brochure, Los Angeles, ca. 1917, n.p. (for a closely related tray decorated with a landscape after a print by Kay Nielsen)
Kenneth R. Trapp, ed., The Arts and Crafts Movement in California:  Living the Good Life, New York, 1993, p. 179 (for a related enameled silver tea caddy in the collection of the Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI) 

Generally in very good overall condition. The hammered copper surfaces with a few minor surface scratches, and with some traces of surface soiling and oxidation consistent with age. There are a few areas along the perimeter edges of the outer rim which are bent slightly downward, and the outer rim overall is slightly warped. The brochure with only very minor wear, its mailing envelope with staining, tears and supporting tape. The photograph with minor edge wear, a half inch tear to the lower edge, and half inch water stain to right corner. The photograph is currently within an archival mat, hinged with archival tape. Some abrasions to the back of the photograph from previous mounting. A rare surviving example of Donaldson's work with superb provenance and supporting documentation.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Douglas Donaldson was one of the most important champions of the Arts and Crafts movement in Los Angeles.  His designs in hand-wrought copper and silver are typically mounted with hardstones and enamels depicting stylized foliage and animals.  These works were influenced by the English Arts and Crafts metalwork of Charles Ashbee's Guild of Handicraft where Ernest A. Batchelder trained for six months.  Donaldson and Batchelder later collaborated on a number of decorative objects.  Donaldson referred to these large enamels as "picture enamels" and some can be traced to fanciful illustrations of the period by such notables as the Danish artist Kay Nielsen.

The American photographer Edward Weston (1886–1958), a defining force in the history of photography in the twentieth century, acquired this plate directly from Donaldson.  In 1906, at the age of 20, Weston had moved from his native Chicago to Tropico (now Glendale), a suburb of Los Angeles, where he opened his own photography studio in 1911.  Through his studio assistant and lover Margrethe Mather, Weston was introduced to the bohemian side of Los Angeles, and his expanding circle of friends came to include artists, writers, socialists, and actors, some of whom were involved in the city's new industry, the cinema.  It is likely that Weston met Donaldson through Mather or one of her avant-garde acquaintances.
It is possible that Weston was hired to make the photographs that illustrate the promotional brochure that accompanies this lot, although the photographs are not credited.  The envelope in which the brochure was mailed is addressed to Weston in Tropico, where his studio was in business from 1911 to 1923.  These early years in Los Angeles, with its vibrant artistic community, were formative in Weston's career.  When he left Tropico for Mexico in 1923, he had redefined himself as a modernist in American photography, a field he would dominate for the next three decades.     

 

Douglas Donaldson presented the plate to Edward Weston who in turn gave it to his niece, Eloise Seaman, and her husband, Lowell Longstreth, on the occasion of their wedding.