The Art of Douglas Duder

The Picture of Lindsay Marriott (played by Douglas Walton aka Douglas Duder) in "Murder, My Sweet" (1944).  Artwork by ???

Some time after his military service in the early 1940's, Douglas Walton or more appropriately Douglas Duder himself began immersing himself into the fine arts scene.  He became a full-time painter and art teacher in the 1950's and retired from movies altogether.  He had a studio in Brentwood, California (still very close by to Hollywood) until he moved to New York in 1958.  His art was exhibited in several galleries in several states including California, New York, and Arizona among others.  The news coverage of his painted works were in newspapers and art magazines, so his art had achieved some sort of fame.  One of his students, Sarta Leuw, became a local famous artist in Van Nuys, California in 1964 and even MARLON BRANDO himself bought one of her works!  His painting style had an impressionistic and abstract look to them with bold bright colors and rough edges.  Subject matters are often landscapes and architecture.  Human figures were painted vaguely.



EAST RIVER

"East River" by John Douglas Duder (Douglas Walton).  Oil on canvas, 1956.  20 x 30 in., 30 x 40 in. (frame).  On January 18, 1962, about less than two months after Duder's death, this painting was sold to the James Prendergast Free Library in Jamestown, New York by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.  Childe Hassam, academy member at the time, said that the income from sold paintings would be used to purchase works from contemporary American artists to be displayed in museums and galleries.  On October 29, 2017, this painting was auctioned and sold for $1,152 at Stair Galleries in Hudson, New York.
John Douglas Duder (Douglas Walton) signature.









INTERIEUR WITH LOVERS
"Interieur with Lovers" by John Douglas Duder (Douglas Walton).  OIL ON MASONITE, 20" X 30" inches.  Was last auctioned from DuMouchelle Art Galleries in Detroit, Michigan.

John Douglas Duder (Douglas Walton) signature.





UNTITLED WORK

Artwork of a woman behind of vase of flowers by John Douglas Duder (Douglas Walton).  Oil painting on canvas, size 20 x 38 inches (22.5 x 40.5 inches with frame).  1954.  On SALE on ebay for $972.00 !!!

John Douglas Duder (Douglas Walton) signature.





THE BRIDE

Painting by John Douglas Duder (Douglas Walton). Oil painting on canvas.  1959.   Image credit to NYC Artist Evelyn Inoa, who is a proud owner of this piece.  Also, check out her Youtube page.





UNTITLED WORK

Artwork by John Douglas Duder (Douglas Walton).  Image credit to Foxhall Ltd.  It is currently available for purchase!!!  Link to image is HERE.





UNTITLED WORK
Painting by John Douglas Duder (Douglas Walton). Oil painting on canvas, 15.5 x 19.5 inches.  1961.
From the Arizona Republic (March 26, 1961 - Page 80) newspaper article, it details several of Douglas Duder's painted works.  Here are some snippets of this article, which was written by Lotan Lotan.

---------------------
The over-all effect of rich, juicy color, and the subject matter that Duder presents to Phoenicians in this show, is truly material of museum quality, Duder's work should have the rich surrounding of a grand piano, tapestries, oriental rugs, French and Italian furniture.

 As an example, a still life painting that is formal and at the same time as rich in color, as that of the Chicago artist, of a decade ago, Frederick M. Grant, is titled, "Methapor."  This is one of the outstanding compositions of the show, a painting showing a table top with candles, wine bottles and indefinite accessories against a vibrant red background, that could have come from the school of Venice.  This painting should be viewed from a distance of more than 10 feet.  Then the subtle greys become the accents that, like a French chef's cooking, are the gravies for the connoisseur's delight.

 A large composition titled, "Roma," gives on the feeling of the classic and exotic life of ancient Rome.  Here, figures an darcvhitectural forms are silhouetted against an emerald sky.  This is truly a painting that one may look at every day for many years, and like exploring an exotic woman, never quite discover all of her secrets.

 In "The City of Alleys," by sharp contrast, Duder has captured a feeling of the filth, the dirt, the hurry and lack of consideration that a large city has for mankind.  This painting shows the canyon-like alley that runs through a metropolis.  In the street stupified human figures plod along, not knowing from whence they came, nor is it of any importance as to where they are going.  Overhead, pigeons, like Noah's dove, offer hope, but who cares.  In this composition they sky is an ominous purple-black, as with the approach of nigh and a dirty snow.  

 John Douglas Duder is a academician, who paints like an impressionist, somewhat like John Sloane or George Bellow or others from the "Ashcan" school.

 Underneath it all, he is an academic as an artist can be, but he paints through the eye of an impressionist, for example: "Aumilled."  In this canvas two girls, one front view, one back view, one in blue, the other in red, is a painting that is as sharp and brittle as the pieces of stained glass, but without the lead strips that would hold the composition together.  

 Duder's women are always the same, they are feminine, a little aloof, but basically potential mothers, as in the study of "Grace," where he has depicted a woman and child at a round table.  At the side of the woman are candles and a bottle of wine.  At the side of the child, nothing, which could be meant to represent the expectations of future womanhood, because the little girl will have to make and fulfill  her own situations in life.
GRACE

"Grace" by John Douglas Duder (Douglas Walton)

 A most unusual painting in this show, "On the Beach," has a feeling of perspective that comes close to leading the viewer on the over the horizon and into life after death.  In this composition, the observer stands on a quay rather than a beach.  The ocean is on the right.  On the left are the fishermen's shacks, the saloons, and the houses of ill shape, all of this which is real disappears into a vanishing point where sky and ocean meet.  There, perhaps, is the transition into another life.

 This show should have been hung in a museum.

------------------



So if you ever come by one of Douglas Duder's paintings in real life, or if you actually own a piece or two of his, keep in mind that you're looking at something REALLY SPECIAL!!!  He's not just an obscure artist, but this was the man that went by the name of Douglas Walton and appeared in movies like "The Bride of Frankenstein" (1935), "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1931), and "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (1945) and shared the screen with the likes of CLARK GABLE, JOHN WAYNE, LUCILLE BALL, KATHARINE HEPBURN, FRED ASTAIRE, BORIS KARLOFF, SPENCER TRACY, BETTE DAVIS, OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND, RONALD REAGAN, LLOYD BRIDGES, and many many more!  Douglas Duder was part of the Golden Era of Hollywood.  So yes, his paintings are in fact a big deal, even if hardly anyone knows it.




Exhibited Locations and Date

  • Laguna Beach Art Gallery in California (June 18, 1950 to July 1, 1950).  This exhibition comprised mostly of war veterans.
  • Long Beach Museum of Art in California (1958)
  • Selected Artists Galleries in NYC (???)
  • Galleries National in Phoenix, Arizona (March 1961)
  • James Prendergast Free Library, Jamestown, New York (January 1962)
  • Art Bank in Scottsdale, Arizona (1962, after his death)
  • Stair Galleries in Hudson, New York (2017, after his death).  Auction titled 'English, Continental & American Fine Art' 





CITATIONS

Comments

Unknown said…
I have a original Duder 1958. I would like some more information on it
5/17/2021 12:29 PM
Post a Comment