Tuesday, December 24, 2013

The Bohemian Couple

The bohemian couple circa 1940's. Love the smirk on Betty.

Always The Funny Guy

When Betty was ill with cancer, Dick would cheer her up with little pictures he would tape to her bed or dresser. Circa mid-70's.

The Coachman

Here is a view of Dick's The Coachman hanging in my sister Laura Robertson's home.
Photo taken in 2003 during my daughter Marcella's prom night.

Palisades Home of Burgs

This picture was given to me by long time Palisadian Toots Stewart and probably taken from her front yard on El Medio. The photo is of the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and El Medio Ave. taken in 1953.   It clearly shows the Burg house directly above the automobile in the center. The tri-level floor plan is distinctive as is the large bay window. To the right of intersection is a fenced vacant lot which will be the future Palisades High School. At the time of the photo that area below was a ranch owned by Eddy Fisher and Debbie Reynolds.

Sunday, June 23, 2013

House and Street Lamp (Bunker Hill Relocation Project)



Oil painting of a house and street lamps by Dick Burg, a listed Californian artist. Signed lower right. Image, 24x30

This was offered by Adamor Home sale in 2004
Adamor Home prides itself on offering the finest selection of linens, textiles, books, paintings, furniture and great finds that our buyers have encountered in their travels across the United States, Europe, Asia and South America

I believe this is another painting in his Bunker Hill relocation project series.
Courtesy of Brian and Heather Hughes


Friday, March 1, 2013

The Hale House

The Hale House


James and Bessie Hale purchased this residence in approximately 1901, and lived here in the early 20th century; their name is inscribed on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. But the original owner-builder is still unknown. So is the architect, though we are sure that the house was built in the late 1880's during the Treat Land Boom. It was moved from the corner of North Figueroa and Avenue 45 to Heritage Square in 1970.

The style -- Queen Anne with Eastlake decoration -- is characteristic of the years 1887-88, when throughout California the ample, sculptural forms of the former style were wedded to the Geometrical detail produced by the laths. The corner tower and the tall chimneys are evidence of the picturesque Queen Anne, but the elaborate decoration elsewhere is taken from illustrations of furniture by Charles Lock Eastlake, an English interior designer, who published a vastly important book "Hints on Household Taste" first in England (1863) and then in the United Stated (1872). Ironically what was intended to be advice on interior decoration was applied to the exterior detail, a fact that Eastlake heard about and deplored. It is nevertheless, a distinctive California phenomenon.

In the restoration great pains have been taken to present an authentic period piece, whatever offenses the original ideas present for contemporary taste. The colors of the exterior were reproduced after the most careful research, which means literally scraping all areas of the house and even lifting boards to get some hint of the color of the first coat of paint. What we discovered was that the first floor was mainly in shades of green and the second in shades of barn-red. This shocked us at first, but after comparing our findings with other restorations and books on exterior painting, we have determined that the Victorian palette of the 1880s was considerably more colorful than we had expected. (Quoted from a newsletter, circa 1970)

The Hale House was declared an historic-cultural monument in 1966, for the home's exuberant ornamentation which illustrates the Victorian style.

The Hale House is considered a symbol of America in the transitional Victorian age as it passed from a rural society of the 19th century toward a growing industrial, urban America.



This work of Dick's was miss titled Bunker Hill Brownstown. I have been informed that it is the well known Hale House and not a brownstone at all. Posted October of 2010. Thanks to followers I am able to piece the past together.


Untitled Hale House 24x30, oil on canvass, framed, signed

Friday, February 15, 2013

LISTED ARTIST DICK BURG OIL ON BOARD SANTA MONICA PIER FISHING SAILING FRAMED


Santa Monica Pier Scene with Figures

 In 1982 a storm swept away the protective breakwater and in 1983 two severe storms destroyed about a third of the pier. The fishing deck at the end of the pier vanished.

John Moran Auctioneers in Monrovia, California offered this painting of Dick’s for sale in 2018.

Pier scene with figures, Oil on canvas laid to Masonite board, 24 x 36 framed, signed