Robert Sticker (Amer., 1922-2011), "St. Louis Wharf", oil on panel, signed and titled lower left

sight: 21 x 33 in., frame: 29.5 x 41.5 in.

Provenance: Property deaccessioned from a major corporate collection in Carthage, Missouri

Robert Sticker, a highly respected marine painter, studied at the Art Students League of New York under the rigorous instruction of Frank Reilly. Sticker mastered Reilly's “24-head” problem, which demanded painting the same head over and over in 24 different kinds of light and shadow, before dedicating himself to painting full time in 1963. Though Sticker also studied at Brooklyn College and served as a naval aviator in World War II before a career in the oil industry, he had a lifelong fascination with New York Harbor and the maritime world. His style was marked by meticulous historical research and attention to visual details. Working with equal skill in watercolor and oil, Sticker has depicted subjects and scenes from the Horatio Hornblower novels to Mississippi River steamboating, earning national recognition within the marine art field. Sticker received an Award of Excellence at the 1991 Mystic International, is a founding member of the American Society of Marine Artists, and his work is held in major corporate collections including IBM, Union Carbide, and AT&T.