Wednesday, December 29, 2010

My Allen Noonan Art Collection





I've been collecting art from the Allen Noonan "Originals" series for the past three years. I've purchased six pieces total, and here are some pictures of them as they're hanging in my home. The ones directly to the left (wine bottles) are from Deja Vu in Long Beach. I paid $200 for the pair.

I don't know much about the artist, but after contacting Atomic Ranch magazine and doing a little research myself on the interwebs, I believe that these are by the Long Beach sign painter-turned-UFO Cult leader, Allen Noonan.

I also know that he designed wood mosaics for the Hody's Diners in the Los Angeles area during the mid 1960s. I believe that the two mosaics you see below on my orange kitchen wall are from one of these diners, as they look very similar to the ones I've seen in old Hody's pictures.

I bought all six pieces in Long Beach, and I've seen some others on eBay and etsy, but I didn't purchase them for various reasons. One reason is that a set I saw on etsy were horrible colors. They were so cool in shape--geometric amoeba and boomerags--but the colors were ick. I couldn't justify plunking down $250 for art that I just didn't quite like. Also, I had the chance to purchase a huge still life for $250, but again, I just didn't like it that much. I like the quirkier and more abstract ones. I do think that I have a pretty good collection going, though.
















I love these. These are the second set I bought, and I bought them for $175 for the pair. They're hanging in my dining room above the mid-century table I restored.













These are the first Allen Noonan Originials I bought, and I got the pair for $220. These are my favorites because they are more three-dimensional than the rest. They were filthy when I got them because they'd just been dug out of someone's basement in Long Beach, so after a thorough cleaning, I proudly hung them on my favorite orange wall.