Dear friends,
The original paintings by Hal Koenig I've recently found concealed in storage and called home from galleries outside Milwaukee debuted at Oil Gallery for Winter Gallery Night on Friday, January 17, and are on display through spring of 2025. Check out the latest inventory below including recent finds; I'll be updating the list with additions and sales all the way through the show. We're also featuring a Memento Wall of beautiful originals that were unsigned or not-quite-finished or meant as studies for larger works, priced at $75 to $500, for those who always wanted a Hal original but didn't have room for a major piece, or who want to add to their collection.
If you're interested in a solo viewing of these pieces, email me at [email protected] or text me at (414) 426-8353. I'd be delighted to see you.
all best,
Bob Schwoch
owner, Oil Gallery
Storm Front - 24 x 48' oil on canvas (inset) - $1950 - This water-and-sky scene in Hal's classic style was in the home studio awaiting restoration. Hal had painted it as an inset on the larger canvas but never overpainted or protected the outer white area, which was marked and scuffed in storage. Our resident artist Richard lovingly took over the job recently and the result is spectacular, signed by Hal and now fully finished. This was inspired by a storm brewing as we took a lakeside walk.
Sunset Between the Cliffs - 16 x 20" oil on board - $450 - Mexico became our vacation home late in Hal's life. He intended to produce a series of paintings inspired by Mexico. This beautifully colored small-scale semi-abstract sunset is one of the few he completed. I'm making a reproduction of it for our place in Mexico and making the original available to buyers.
Late Season - 24 x 30" oil on canvas - $850 - Hal was a dedicated Milwaukee Brewers fan, win or lose, in contention or in last place. We stopped and shot this picture on the way to a game near the end of a season; he wanted to capture the autumn light. The ballpark is the focal point, but don't miss the trestle at left.
Sunset at the Port - 18 x 36" oil on canvas - $850 - This painting was in progress when Hal left us; the photo he was working from was still tucked in the backframe. I'm offering it at less than full price because it remains unsigned, but it's a near-match for the photo, so I consider the painting essentially finished.
Vernon Marsh - 42 x 42" oil on canvas - $2800 - A scene of the spring melt at Vernon Marsh in Waukesha County, one of several scenes he painted from photos shot on a damp hike one March day.
Trestle and Signal - 16 x 20" oil on canvas - $450 - This is one of the few small-scale trestle paintings Hal produced; normally he liked to paint them large. It's wonderful and I'm not sure why Hal wasn't displaying it - I found it tucked under the utility table in the gallery's back room!
Iroquois Bow - 22 x 28" oil on canvas - $1250 - Hal and I were on the downtown Milwaukee riverwalk when we spotted the bow of the Iroquois tour boat peeking around a stanchion, ready to "take its bow" for the season. Hal snapped a photo and painted this scene, which I'd thought was sold until I found it with a number of other paintings deep in a corner of the back room balcony storage of the gallery, in shipping boxes I thought were empty. Why Hal saw fit to take this off the gallery walls and box it into storage, I'm not quite sure, but it's a charming local scene.
Country Road - 18 x 36" oil on canvas - $1250 - This discovery, boxed in storage, surprised me; I've never seen it before. It's a country scene of a winding road, no idea where, signed HAL in capital letters, which he usually did with pieces he intended to keep at home or give as gifts. I thought about keeping it, but I know nothing about it, and I'd rather save home wall space for pieces with clearer sentimental value. I hope someone we know will appreciate this little treasure as I think Hal intended.
Farm Quartet - 18 x 24" oil on canvas - $750 - I'm not sure if this painting is finished; it's unsigned and my sense is Hal might've intended to add some detail to the sky. But it would look wonderful on a wall as is. With unsigned pieces, I authenticate them on the back frame with an estate designation and my signature if the buyer wishes.
Barn and Slough - 12 x 24" oil on canvas - $500 - This was boxed along with the previous Barn Quartet painting, also unsigned. It's a bit of an abstract with the ghost of a farmhouse at right, but the sky is more of a finished Hal sky, and the colors are gorgeous, classic Hal. I'm pricing it as a study.
Milwaukee Harbor study - 18 x 24" charcoal on board - $250 - Hal sometimes would sketch a scene in charcoal on board before putting brush to canvas, and if he was especially happy with the study, he'd save it aside and hang it around the house or in his studio. This is one he saved aside, of one of his favorite downtown and harbor views, and I found it in storage. Unsigned but I can authenticate this on the reverse.
Green Shed and Red Shed - both 24 x 24" oil on canvas - $500 each or $900 for the pair - Hal painted a series of classic riverfront scenes based on pictures he took of the Ahnapee River district in Algoma near Door County. A gallery owner in Door County loved the paintings and consigned all of them for an exhibit. Most of the paintings sold at that show but these two remain; they're as good as any of the paintings from that show, just smaller.
Hillside - 24 x 36" oil on canvas - $850 - This was in Hal's home studio, unsigned. I think it's finished except for small detail. I'm curious about the source for the scene, where Hal got the idea or where in the world this might be if it were based on a real place. If anyone has any ideas, let me know!
Spring Abstract - Ecopolis - 8 x 24" oil on canvas - $350 - This little painting was displayed for years on the shelves of Hal's home painting studio and I never paid much attention to it, thinking it was a study or unfinished piece. But in cataloging all the remaining pieces, I saw not only that this was signed on the front, but it was also titled and signed on the back, unusual especially for such a small painting. It's an abstract of prairie-style rooftops against a sun-dappled sky; I think it's sort of a futuristic vision piece, Ecopolis being a sustainable architecture movement that was gaining steam around the time the piece was painted.
Michigan Clouds - 22 x 30" watercolor on paper, framed - $1750 - Hal's favored medium was oil of course, but he was skilled with watercolors, which he would use on vacation because they were portable. His watercolors are among my favorite paintings and I've saved nearly all of them as keepsakes, including a set of four he framed and installed for me at home. I think he was framing this one for me as a gift, because I know it had been sitting in his studio unframed, and I found it hidden behind a blank canvas on the large-scale painting shelf in his home studio not long after he passed. I love it, but already having a room full of watercolors Hal saved for me, I'd like for a collector to have this one and its spectacular sky.
Farm Van - 30 x 40" oil on canvas - $850 - This painting is from a period in which Hal was experimenting with inset paintings that don't fill the entire canvas. Here he painted a scene of a trusty old van on a farm or ranch surrounded by forest, then masked the subject area of the painting and covered the rest in translucent medium to emphasize the subject. I thought it was a success and wanted him to show the painting, but he wasn't delighted with the result and never signed the piece. He'd considered having our framing artist cut the canvas to re-mount the subject area into a smaller piece, but I was sort of against it, and the painting has sat in the gallery undisplayed. It's a shame because I think it's an accomplished piece of art. Being unsigned I have this priced as a large study. If someone is interested in it being a smaller piece with just the inset as Hal considered, let me know - I could consult with our framing artist. I like it as is, myself.
Harley and Tank - 18 x 24" oil on canvas - $950 - A recaptured Milwaukee urban scene with lots of green for a natural feel. It's the Harley-Davidson museum and an outlying water tank on the Menomonee Canal with the Milwaukee skyline in the background. I believe this was originally displayed in a show at the Urban Ecology Center in Milwaukee.
REDUCTIONS
Yahara (64" x 48", oil and charcoal) - was $3500, now $1900 - One of the very few black-and-white works Hal ever painted except at the very end of his career when he experimented more with monochrome. This is a Yahara River scene from Madison, though reminiscent of classic river/bridge scenes throughout the world of art. After finishing this piece Hal made a smaller framed print which has hung in our home for years so I'm willing to part with this beautiful original.
Aflame (24 x 30", oil) - was $750, now $500 - Riding in the car with Hal, he said, as he often did, "Shoot a picture!" He saw something he wanted to paint. The photo was jiggly and sunlight shooting off a facade across from Milwaukee's flame-topped Gas Building blinded part of the shot. He painted it as an experiment, just as is. I'm pricing it at reproduction level hoping it will catch someone's eye.
Ingenue (24 x 36", oil) - was $1100, now $750 - This is perhaps the last painting Hal ever finished and signed. He was in an experimentation mode with monochrome, feeling like he was relying too heavily on bright colors. He was so pleased with this, he intended to keep it, and hung it in our kitchen. I love it there, but I've chosen a different Hal painting for her spot. Someone adopt her!
Crabber (36 x 48", oil) - was $950, now $800 - A collector who visited our tent at a Chicago art show while Hal was away having lunch saw this painting among Hal's Chicago urban landscapes and told me, "Your husband is that rare artist who is skilled with landscapes, portraits and figures, all three." Hal loved painting portraits and figures, but he became known for his landscapes, so his collector base wasn't as attuned to his other work. This charming painting of a crab fisherman we met on the docks of Comox, British Columbia, is available for less than a thousand dollars, a chance to own a larger Hal original at a small-scale price.