The exhibit has been extended until January 30, 2021, so please call to make an appointment to see this wonderful show.
Artist page with bio and addtional works link
Jimmy Litz As I Knew Him
by artist Sally Cook
Now the province of highly paid bureaucrats, only a few decades ago, the Allentown area was buzzing with artists of every stripe. Good, bad, old, young – it didn’t seem to matter; art was the thing to be stalked, analyzed, consumed or devoured on every level. Sculptors, printmakers, from portrait painters to abstractionists all were determined to take Buffalo by the hand, rip off her blindfold, and turn her toward whatever art they had produced. Of course it didn’t work, and why should it have? Artists, while imaginative, are not always logical in the conventional manner.
In a strange way, Jimmy was a much more mature artist than the rest; he streaked through the skies of Cheektowaga like a sturdy comet, blazing fire and rockets, larger than life itself, completely unaware of how different his attitudes, concepts and motivations were from the others. He made them seem conventional by comparison.
For years, art had been the province of society, and society always has rules. One big rule in Buffalo was that in order to appear in full color and in three dimensions as a 100% actual certified artist, you must get in line, follow along, speak softly, dress well, and hope for the best. It was all discreet and written on the air. You were free to comply or not, but those who did not would remain invisible.
Allentown had only one rule - ART. Some wonderful stories came out of those midnight Allentown sessions spent discussing art and philosophy, but you would never see Jimmy there. You might, however, routinely bump into him in a local art supply store or local coffee shop. Though Jimmy Litz did none of the usual things, he had attracted the attention of some of his fellow artists. One, notably, Tony Sisti, was intrigued by Jimmy’s approach to painting.
Everyone liked Tony; he was a leader in the fight against the pomposity of the Albright Knox, and whenever he caught it doing something aimed at discouraging the Allentown Irregulars, would kick up a fuss in the papers, put on a show and reap the profits in commissions and fees. Did he pay ridiculously low prices for the early work of his neighbor, Charles Burchfield? Did he study Burchfield’s style and teach it to others? And when push came to shove did he parlay his collection of Burchfield’s into a place of permanent recognition for himself?
Guilty on all counts. But no one cared; Tony was Tony, and he was on our side. So once he had noticed Jimmy, of course he wanted to make an ally of him. I think that Tony must have sensed that Jim and I were kindred spirits, because the first thing he did was to call me and ask if I could do anything for Jimmy. I said, based on his recommendation, of course I would be glad to see Jim’s work and make suggestions, and very soon I answered the door, never having seen Jimmy in person - only his work - to find myself looking up at one very chunky guy with the face of a little boy.
Jim was a truck driver who loved nature, looked at the stars, and painted what he saw. What he showed me in a few snapshots and original pieces was remarkable. It was as if he had popped out of the womb a full-blown artist with a unique style. His subject matter was immense – Jim thought nothing of painting an entire football game or the fifth floor of a department store, where he might have included the shoe department complete with all the shoes neatly lined up. Jimmy had an eye for detail, yet he could also fill a large canvas with just a few flowers or a single magnificent forbidding feline.
Everything interested Jimmy, and he painted all of it.
Where had he shown? Turned out there was a place in Chicago that liked his work and had some on view there. How did he find outlets? Simple. Every time he drove his truck through a city he would find a gallery and show them some of his work. Other times he would look up galleries in a city and either leave work with them or mail them some. Jim admitted that most times he never saw the work again or the money for it.
Bob Fisk and I told him this method was full of holes; in those days before the internet, before phones took countless pictures, Bob taught him the basics of how to photograph a work and send off slides, not the more expensive photos or the priceless art itself for approval. We explained about commissions, much in the same way that Tony Sisti had explained them to me all those years before, when he made my initial painting sale. After that, I began to notice more of Jimmy’s work in shows around town. Discerning collectors such as Dan Fogel and later the Burchfield took an interest in him.
A true primitive, Jimmy loved color. The Hawaiian shirts he liked to wear to openings were a perfect foil for the more conservative tweed-jacketed professorial academics gathered there. The last time I saw Jimmy, I was properly dressed for any possible encounter with the Albright Knox; he was attired in an obviously new and somewhat uncomfortable three piece tweed suit. We gave each other knowing looks, then moved on to the next handshake; both, as usual, still hoping for the best.
· Image dimensions are in inches, height precedes width.
· All works are signed, titled & dated by the artist.
· Additional works by James C. Litz are available through Meibohm Fine Arts.
· View the full exhibition and additional works at meibohmfinearts.com
Catalog of Exhibition:
1. Country Night Snow
24 x 30, acrylic on canvas, 1994
2750.00
2. Midnight Rural Country Bonfire
22 x 30, acrylic & watercolor, 1998
2000.00
3. Santa’s Workshop
18 x 24, acrylic on canvas, 1985
2500.00
4. Winter Time in New England
30 x 40, acrylic on canvas, 1990
4200.00
5. Flower Delivery
18 x 24, acrylic on canvas, 1985
2300.00
6. City Street
22 x 30, acrylic & watercolor, 1986
1650.00
7. USA Cross Country Train Over
Rocky Mountain Gorge
24 x 36, acrylic on canvas, 1997
3800.00
8. Winter Fun in the Country
27-3/8 x 44-1/2, acrylic & watercolor, 2000
3000.00
9. Ocean Coastal Fun
19-3/4 x 44-3/4, acrylic & watercolor, 2001
2650.00
10. Midwestern USA Riverbanks Relaxation
22 x 30, acrylic & watercolor, 1999
1850.00
11. New England Coastal Town
28 x 45, acrylic & watercolor, 1998
2500.00
12. Living Off the Land
30 x 36, acrylic on canvas, 1994
3900.00
13. Two Cats, a Dog and a Little Boy
(in artist painted frame)
22 x 30, acrylic & watercolor, 2001
2900.00
14. Litz’s Pool Room
24 x 30, acrylic on canvas, 1991
2350.00
15. Country Airplanes
27 x 44-3/4, acrylic & watercolor, 1995
2700.00
16. Artist Hand-painted Mirror Frame
30 x 15-3/4, acrylic on wood, undated
750.00 (sold)
17. Freedom and Equality for All
16 x 20, acrylic on canvas, 1995
1950.00 (sold)
18. Relaxing at Our Lake Front Retreat
22 x 30, acrylic & watercolor, 1998
2100.00
19. Kites are Fun
22 x 30, acrylic & watercolor, 1998
2100.00
20. Rural Country Animals and Pond Fishing
16 x 24, acrylic & watercolor, 1999
1350.00 (sold)
21. 241 Cross Country USA Express Train
28 x 45, acrylic & watercolor, 1999
2700.00
22. The Old Ballgame
24 x 30, acrylic on canvas, 1998
2550.00
23. Miami Music Festival Poster
28 x 45, acrylic & watercolor, 1990
2650.00
24. Tropical Island
28 x 45, acrylic & watercolor, 1998
2650.00
