Thousands of art pieces tucked away for 25 years go up for sale in Columbus

“Art doesn’t come to life until someone sees it.” — Artist Bo Bartlett

About a quarter of a century after his death, artist Gerry Bosch will spring back to life this weekend when hundreds of pieces of his work are sold at a two-day sale in Columbus.

Bosch was part of a small but focused Columbus artistic community in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s. One of his step-grandsons, Stephen White, inherited all of the work when Bosch died in 1993. Nearly 5,000 paintings and drawings, in various stages of completion, have been locked away in climate-controlled storage mostly at the Country Club Apartments, where Bosch had a studio.

The works, ranging from studies to oil and water color paintings, will be on sale from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the office of Country Club Apartments at 2001 Country Club Road in Midtown Columbus. Only cash and checks will be accepted.

Elizabeth White Cook, Stephen White’s niece, is coordinating the sale. Her father and Stephen’s brother, Will White, is pleased that the paintings are being put back in circulation.

“I hope Stephen sells all of it and it is hanging in a few hundred homes around Columbus and people remember Gerry,” Will White said. “That is what Gerry would want. ... There is no reason for it to sit here. No one gets to enjoy it and no one gets any utility out of it.”

Bosch was a man of another generation. At 6-foot-2 and about 240 pounds, he was an imposing figure. In his youth, he spent time in France with Pablo Picasso. He also played professional football for the Chicago Bears and legendary coach George Halas in the 1920s, Will White said.

He lived his later life in Columbus, married to Elizabeth Heard Bosch, the widow of Bill Heard Sr. They were married for 24 years.

“They traveled the world and Gerry would paint,” Will White said.

There are a number landscapes from France, Ireland and many other places among the collection.

“What I remember more about Gerry than anything else was Gerry and my grandmother having a great time together,” Will White said. “They enjoyed people and people loved them. They were very social. My grandmother was more social than anyone ever met.”

He was a player in the local art scene, said artist Garry Pound, whose late mother, artist Barbara Pound, was a friend of Bosch’s. There were several local artist working in and out of Columbus, including Bruno Zupan, Mary Passailaigue and August Henry Nordhausen, among others.

The volume of Bosch’s work on sale this weekend is staggering. The prices will range from $25 for some of the unframed sketches to $1,000 or more for some of the larger framed oil paintings.

“It went for a lot more than that when he was alive,” Pound said. “He was a terrific artist and an asset to the local art community.”

He was also a presence.

“He was a big guy and he had a lot of confidence,” Pound remembered.

Bosch produced a lot of art work, but was not good at marketing it, Will White said. He painted for 25 years prior to his death in an apartment that was on the top floor of Country Club tower.

“That was his studio and when I went up there after Gerry passed away it was a total disaster, as you would think for an artist that was unorganized,” Will White said. “I consolidated a lot of it for Stephen and pulled it together. Stephen let it sit dormant for a period of time.”

As impressive as the art collection is, the framing is equally impressive. More than 60 percent of the paintings to be sold are framed.

Will White picked up one of the works Tuesday when showing the collection and pointed to the framing,

“I don’t know what that frame cost 30 years ago, but it could have easily cost $1,000,” Will White said. “It was almost exclusively done by Fred Reed. There may have been some others, but I remember Fred Reed.”

Reed was a well-known Atlanta framer who worked out of the High Museum basement for a number of years.

“He was the finest framer around,” Pound said. “Anything of any significant value was framed by Fred Reed.”

Along with the many landscape paintings, Bosch also painted bulls, other animals, clowns and fruit.

“His persimmons were my favorite,” Will White said.

Bosch only had one son, Jarir. When Bosch passed away, Stephen got the collection and the other four grandchildren each got to select the piece they wanted.

“I selected the picture of Jarir that Jarir painted of himself,” White said. “Jarir died when he was 18 or 19.”

Artist Bo Bartlett grew up in Columbus and has studios here and in Wheaton Island, Maine. He has been familiar with Bosch’s work for years.

“He was a great mentor and there were not too many artists around at the time,” Bartlett said. “I would go over and spend time with him at the Country Club Apartments studio.”

Bartlett said some of his first art lessons came from Bosch at a house near the Columbus Museum.

Several years later, Bartlett was still in high school and dreaming of being an artist.

“I would talk to him because I wanted to know what an artist’s life was like,” Bartlett said.

And he heard Bosch’s stories of Picasso.

“Gerry would tell me about the times he spent in the South of France with Picasso,” Bartlett said. “If you look at Gerry’s bulls, you will see the Picasso influence.”

But for a quarter of a century, Bosch’s work has been behind locked doors. Tuesday, there was only one piece — a bull — available online.

“They have been out of sight and out of mind,” White said.

That is about to change as the collection is flooded onto the market this weekend. Cook has been the one charged with going through the collection and getting it ready for sale. She did not know her great grandfather, but has seen him through the works she has been sorting.

“The sheer amount of work that has been preserved and is available for sale this weekend is outstanding,” Cook said. “When I first saw the room where the pieces were kept, I couldn’t believe it.”

Cook said she is excited to show Bosch’s work to her generation.

“We’re remembering his legacy by giving his work and lifetime passion new homes,” Cook said, “with the hope that people will enjoy his art for many years to come.”

This story was originally published January 23, 2018 at 5:15 PM with the headline "Thousands of art pieces tucked away for 25 years go up for sale in Columbus."