LEETEG, BABES, BARS, BEACHES, and BLACK VELVET ART; author signed, nudes,Tahiti

Description: LEETEG, BABES, BARS, BEACHES, and BLACK VELVET ART By CJ Cook (author of Tyree, Artist of the South Pacific, 2017)(These books are directly from the publisher. If you would like the book inscribed by CJ Cook, please send a note promptly) 256 pages and over 510 illustrations ISBN 978-0-9984224-2-8 Hardback Iconoclast. Contrarian. Pugilist. Artist. Throughout his life, shrewd promoter and creative genius Edgar Leeteg possessed many titles, astounding fans and antagonizing critics. Considered the “American Gauguin,” the rakish ladies’ man originated the modern technique of oil painting on black velvet. Once memorialized by James Michener as an original rascal in paradise, he redefined artistic success by pioneering a form of painting in the South Pacific that would forever change the world.This is a biography of the artist Leeteg, who left California in 1933, with a few paint brushes and oils, bound for the South Pacific. He started the black velvet painting craze linked to South Pacific-themed restaurants. His home in Tahiti allowed him to paint nudes, drink, and party with sensual vahines from the beaches to the bars of Tahiti (Captain Louis Bougainville’s birthplace of the Venus, goddess of love). Leeteg described himself as a “fornicating, gin-soaked, dope head” and all the artists and writers of the South Pacific knew of him. He took on the elite of the art establishment of Honolulu Academy of Arts in 1938 and shamed them in the press. He painted murals in fine establishments in Honolulu and in Tahiti and sheltered himself and his family on the neighboring island of Moorea. However, his self-promotional newspaper ‘letters to the editor” and drinking bouts in the bars of Papeete, especially Quinn’s Tahitian Hut, made him a most famous scoundrel in the South Seas. He was a wealthy artist and legend in his lifetime, a goal few can achieve. Tourists visiting Tahiti would seek him out for his generosity of wine, women, and song on his Shangri-la-like estate called Villa Velour on his quiet isle. He was the father of black velvet art and the Genesis of a Genre continuing today with the Tiki and Polynesian pop art movement, nearly 70 years later. Shipping by Media Mail: USA only; If you are overseas order the audiobook from Amazon (to Hawaii or Alaska if you would like the book faster, postage will be $15) Leeteg, Babes, Bars, Beaches, and Black Velvet Art Collectors Edition available on: SouthPacificDreams.com

Price: 39.95 USD

Location: Poway, California

End Time: 2024-10-06T19:39:01.000Z

Shipping Cost: 6.88 USD