#91 • Rie Muñoz "Unloading Halibut" Watercolor Work-in-Progress c.1994

Part of The Works of Rie Muñoz Art Auction (timed auction by Alaska Premier Auctions & Appraisals)

High bid $850.00

Status: Sold

Category: Art

A c.1994 work-in-progress by Alaska artist Rie Muñoz entitled "Unloading Halibut". The image portrays two men standing in the opening to the hold, and a third man on the deck with a clipboard in hand. All three are looking at two halibut suspended from a hook, while a curious gull sits perched on a buoy with more flying overhead. The painting is accompanied by a note from the Rie Muñoz Gallery that reads "Unloading Halibut - This slightly unfinished original watercolor by Rie Muñoz is signed and dated, which indicated the confidence Rie had in finishing this painting. The unfinished part is the scale the fisherman is looking at. Rie Muñoz was an amazing, talented artist, capturing the feeling of life in Alaska. She was not, however, good at painting machinery; planes, snowmobiles, and in this case, scales. Halibut are white on the bottom, and dark brown on top, so that part of the painting was completed." The piece, partially painted with watercolor, also shows the faint pencil lines of the rest of the hook, additional birds, and a plethora of brush strokes testing the colors in the far-left and far-right margins. The work is titled in the artist's hand, en verso, and measures approximately 11.5" x 12.75".