SAM MESSER (B. 1955) Winter (After El Greco) signed and dated 'MESSER / 98' (lower right); signed, inscribed and dated 'MESSER / 'Winter' / (After El Greco) / 98' (on the reverse) oil on canvas 70 x 49 1/2 in (177.8 x 125.7 cm) Painted in 1998 Footnotes: Provenance (possibly) Nielsen Gallery, Boston, MA. Norman and Myrna Katz Collection, Massachusetts. Sam Messer received his BFA from Cooper Union in 1976 and an MFA from Yale University in 1982. In 2005, he became Yale's associate dean and an adjunct professor. Messer's work is held in the public collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as in numerous private collections. Four of the works by Messer offered in the present sale are part of a series of over 60 works depicting the painter Jon Serl (1894-1993), of whom Messer has been an avid supporter and promoter since the artists met in 1989. These four expressive portraits of Serl are titled by season, each with a palette and mood to match. The works belong to the larger collection of Norman & Myrna Katz offered in the present auction; the couple were drawn to Messer's work as he combines their interests in art storytelling with his gestural painterly style. Most recently, Messer collaborated on a retrospective exhibition at David Zwirner gallery titled Jon Serl: No straight lines (September 19 - October 26, 2024), which featured works by Serl along with works by Katherine Bradford, Louis Fratino, Brook Hsu, Sam Messer, Andy Robert, Dana Schutz, and Josh Smith. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing