Just the other day I received the following email:
Hello! I chanced upon your blog tonight because my son and I were looking at a painting in my entry and he decided to take a photo of it and do a reverse Google image search. As a result, we’re 99% certain it’s a Devoe. So cool! And here I thought it was just “some painting” my grandmother gave to me almost 30 years ago.
If you like, I can send you a photo and my info to put it on your blog.
Renee
I told Renee I would be glad to feature her Devoe painting, and so here it is:
Renee was nice enough to share the story of her Devoe with us:
Hi Jim. Ok so... back in 1992 I was admiring this painting in my grandparents’ bedroom. At the time, I was preparing to leave my home town of San Leandro California and move with my husband and baby to the east coast. My grandparents decided to clean up the frame and send the painting to me. I wish I could remember if they’d ever mentioned where they got it. Neither of them were much into art, so it must have been a gift. Perhaps a wedding gift? They were married in 1946 in Alameda California (Robert Reimche and Claudeen Reimche nee Wilburn).
I’ve done quite a bit of moving around since then. This painting has spent some years with me in Maryland, Okinawa Japan, Songtan S Korea, DC, and Monterey in California. And now both it and I have settled in Tucson Arizona (in a home built in 1941, so it fits right in).
Last night my 20 year old son and I were discussing the painting and he decided to a reverse look up on Google Image. That’s when we discovered your blog (along with severaL auction sites and message boards) and the name M Devoe. So fascinating!
Renee
Looks like Renee's painting is in the original frame, with the mirrored tiles removed.
It is a signed M. Devoe original - here's the signature:
Thanks, Renee for sharing the story of your family heirloom with other M. Devoe fans.
Hi Jim. Do you know if Devoe usually painted in oil or acrylic? Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHello Kathryn - Unfortunately I have no idea. I bought my first DeVoe in 1971 and DeVoe remains as much a mystery today as when I first encountered a DeVoe painting. I don't even know if DeVoe was male or female. That's one of the reasons I started this blog - hoping someone would come forth with the full story of DeVoe but no luck so far. Thank you for your interest!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your quick response though. I appreciate it. (And who knows, we may be very distant relatives. My paternal grandmother's maiden name was Craig! From TN)
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