Raul Coronel

Hello All,
What a pleasure it is to find this forum based on the work of Raul! I have a piece that was handed down to me. I would love to have more information on this piece. It has three ceramic birds on a burlap type material with silk screened trees in the background. I remember as a child seeing that piece "signed" with a small ceramic tile in the lower left hand side. That piece is now gone.
Please see the second picture.. you might see where it was attached. Do you think its value is diminished with the signature missing and if that piece can be replaced.

Hello TMB: that's an interesting piece you've got there.
The missing tile will, of course, reduce the commercial value.* A signature is always preferable to an attribution no matter what provenance can be supplied; 'top-end' collectors are, on the whole, a pretty suspicious crowd
As to whether the signature piece can be replaced, obviously not with the original one gone. It would be possible to find another to stick on I suppose, but it wouldn't be original to the piece and may even devalue it more (imagine a Van Gogh with his signature from another painting 'cut and pasted' onto it; questions would be asked!).

* This is of course assuming that the tile you remember was actually original to the work in the first place. It's always possible that somebody simply stuck something on to show who it was by-like some people stick a label under their pots or attach a label to paintings-and the birds are signed on the reverse. Also, is there anything on the back of the hessian to help id it?

The piece is original that's for sure. There is a hand written "price sticker" written in blue ink on the back in the upper left hand corner. The price $39.90! Otherwise, the descriptions that I have read here about other pieces ie; material, size etc. are the same as my piece.

I wasn't suggesting the work itself wasn't original, I was just wondering whether the missing tile that you recall seeing as a child was original to the piece, or a later addition for reference. However, a quick Google Images search found this: http://www.midcenturia.com/2010/11/raul-coronel-master-mid-century_16.html which shows the signature tiles that you're missing.

Potty Primate wrote:I wasn't suggesting the work itself wasn't original, I was just wondering whether the missing tile that you recall seeing as a child was original to the piece, or a later addition for reference. However, a quick Google Images search found this: http://www.midcenturia.com/2010/11/raul-coronel-master-mid-century_16.html which shows the signature tiles that you're missing.

I know you didn't suggest that it was a fake.. I appreciate any and all info I can find about this piece. Thank you

Hi Billy, This piece appears to be an early version of "Guinea Hens" which is pictured in the catalog, though the picture in the catalog has ceramic "trees" as opposed to silkscreen as yours is. As far as the signature tile, they were original and not later add-ons. Can you remember if it said "coronel" or "raul"? I ask because recently the American Museum of Ceramic Art acquired a similar piece with the signature tile missing and Raul made a new one to replace it; he also gave me several others which I still have. Unfortunately, they are made from "Fimo" clay which is a plastic hobby material. They are all signed "raul". I have spoken to him about making some from stoneware like the originals and I have access to a ceramic studio and can have them fired (It's not as if this will happen overnight, but I think we will get them done eventually). If you care to leave me a private message with your contact info, I will keep you posted on supplying you with one. I am in the LA area also, so it would not be difficult getting it to you. These items seem to have been lost or removed from several of the wall pieces over the years, but when the "restoration" is done by the artist himself, the value is less likely to be adversely affected. They were attached with common white glue.

Calusa,
Thank you for the information. I am delighted that the piece is a early work from Raul Coronel. I am looking forward to hearing more from you.

Hi folks,
Stumbled on this wonderfully informative thread awhile back and hope I can finally reciprocate and contribute a little with scans of Raul Coronel's Ceramics Monthly article from May 1965.
Anyone know who the 10 foot tall fountain was commissioned for and if it's still standing? Would love to see better photos of that one. And those bells - oh la la!

As a bonus I also found a photo from the letters section from Oct. of 1965 about his "heroic-size" sculpture at the Bank of Commerce in Ft. Worth (still there?).

enjoy

(click photos for full size readable scans)

members should read quickly as the mods may need to delete due to copyright issues

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28156985@N03/6284769370/

links to flickr would be OK though...

Ooops, sorry. I figured a 50+ year old out of print magazine would be ok but yeah, here's the link to the cover and you can scroll from there.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28156985@N03/6284240705/

Should be fine - magazines are generally covered by industrial copyright, meaning they're public domain after 25 years.

Exceptions are if the magazine only licensed the images or content, rather than outright owning the original copyright.