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Hand Signed and Dated James H Cromartie “Brant Point” on Mexican Tile - $68 (Park Slope)
17th St near 4th Ave
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by James H Cromartie
On an 8x10 Mexican tile, with ready to hang hardware on the back
This beautiful art tile features a sun drenched lighthouse on a grassy dune at water’s edge with roses blooming and seagulls aflight
It is signed “JHCromartie 10” in the glaze and hand signed “Cromartie 2010” in black marker on the back.
Cromartie is an American realist painter known for pioneering the “Hard-Edge Realism” style of painting. His main subjects are Nantucket beach scenes and historical architecture, including official paintings of the White House, the Capital and the Supreme Court.
His works appear in museums and the private collections of Nelson Rockefeller, Princess Diana, Tom Brokaw, Steve Forbes, Robert Duvall, and Roger Firestone, among others.
Interestingly, the original painting of the scene on this tile was purchased by Princess Diana. In a 2022 interview, the artist recounts her entering his gallery in Nantucket looking for paintings with lighthouses and roses. He received a check for $25,000 soon thereafter. In the August 2018 Nantucket Today he states that his favorite among his paintings is “Brant Point with Roses” and that “Princess Diana bought the original.”
Indeed, the artist also chose a version of this painting for the cover of his 2008 memoir, “Nantucket Portrait: Fun and Games with the Super Rich; the Birth of Hard-Edge Realism”
Online auction records can be found for several original Cromartie paintings depicting the identical scene as on the tile. These paintings — variously called “Brant Point, Nantucket”, “Brant Point Light”, “Brant Point with Roses” and “Brant Point” — are executed in various media and in various sizes. The auction records show these Brant Point painting versions reaching hammer prices in the mid thousands.
The hand signed and dated tile up for sale here was purchased directly from Cromartie’s studio gallery in Nantucket. The informational card (whose front and back are shown in the last two photos) likely came with it or was picked up at the studio and will be included with the tile.
Framed or unframed, hanging or sitting on a mantelpiece, this luminous vision of Nantucket summer would brighten your home decor in any season. And, of course, if you are remodeling your kitchen or bathroom or some other tiled area, you could incorporate it as one of the focal tiles.
The tile can be picked up either in Park Slope at the address shown, or, for an additional $5 fee, on the UWS. Please indicate your preference. Thank you.