2017-02-28

7498 - 20170308 - Landmark Jean-Michel Basquiat to lead Sotheby's London Contemporary Art Evening Auction - London - 08.03.2017

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Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled (One Eyed Man or Xerox Face) acrylic, spray paint, oilstick and Xerox collage on panel, 182.9 by 121.9 cm. Estimate: £14,000,000-18,000,000 / $17,060,000-21,940,000. Photo: Sotheby's.
 
Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Auction on 8 March will be led by Untitled (One Eyed Man or Xerox Face), one of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s finest full-length male figures from his series of grand-scale paintings that took the art world by storm in the early 1980s.

Now estimated at £14-18 million, Untitled (One Eyed Man or Xerox Face) last appeared at auction in 1987, the year before the artist’s death, when it sold for $23,100. This was among the highest prices ever paid for the artist at the time.

Basquiat’s heroic male figures, always depicted with both arms raised aloft, and often shown with a studded halo or roughly pronged crown, formed the centrepiece of almost all the artist’s most important early works. Often based on the black athletes whose prowess allowed them to transcend racial boundaries in mid-20th century America, these figures were of huge personal importance to the artist. As a young black man raised in a middle-class family in Brooklyn, he readily felt the effects of racial segregation in art history: “I realised that I didn’t see many paintings with black people in them”.

Alex Branczik, Head of Contemporary Art, Sotheby’s Europe: ““The hero figures in Basquiat’s paintings refer to the stars of sporting, musical and artistic worlds who, thanks to their extraordinary talents, transcended their social status to become the nation’s icons. Painted with their arms held aloft and wearing a crown of thorns they also reflect Basquiat’s own dramatic ascent from street artist to gallery sensation, and to his present status as one of the most valuable and talked about artists in the world.”

Dating from 1982, Untitled (One Eyed Man or Xerox Face) is painted with the unbridled confidence and conviction of an artist at the zenith of his career. This was the moment when, as the prodigy of the painterly elite, he had become a dominant force in the international art world. His breakthrough had come a year before with the renowned New York/New Wave show at the P.S.1 Contemporary Art Centre. In 1982 he was the subject of six solo shows and became the youngest artist ever privileged with an invitation to exhibit in documenta 7 alongside the likes of Gerhard Richter, Joseph Beuys, Cy Twombly and Andy Warhol. Looking back on this astonishing year, Basquiat recalled “I made the best paintings ever.”
 
 
 

2017-02-27

7497 - 20170302 - Swann Auction Galleries to offer landmark deluxe portfolio of Chagall lithographs - New York - 02.03.2017

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Marc Chagall, Four Tales from the Arabian Nights, complete deluxe edition of 13 colour lithographs, New York, 1948. Estimate $250,000 to $350,000.
 
Swann Auction Galleries will offer a landmark series of lithographs by Marc Chagall in their 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings auction on March 2.

Created to illustrate ‘The Arabian Nights’ for Pantheon Books in 1948, the 13 images were Chagall’s first colour lithographs and won the Graphic Prize at the Venice Biennale of that year.

Between them, they illustrate four of the tales: ‘The Ebony Horse’, ‘Julnar the Sea-Born and her Son King Badr Basim of Persia’, ‘Abdullah the Fisherman and Abdullah the Merman’, and ‘Kamar Al-Zaman and the Jeweller’s Wife’.

The recurring theme of the tales and the lithographs is one of love, loss and reunion, and it is thought that the artist was influenced by the loss of his wife, Bella Rosenfeld, who had died in 1944.

The series is considered to be among the best examples of lithography from the first half of the 20th century.

The regular edition (limited to 90) includes only 12 lithographs, but this set – the publisher’s own – is one of only 11 copies produced of the deluxe portfolio, which also features the bird standing over the king and Scheherazade (pictured above). This makes it extremely rare, an attribute reflected in its estimate of $250,000 to $350,000.
 
 
  
 
 

2017-02-24

7496 - 20170318 - Outstanding Galle, Daum Nancy, Weller, Roseville pieces offered at Woody Auction - Douglass, KAN - 18.03.2017

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Brides basket consisting of a pair of pink satin diamond quilted mother of pearl square bowls set on a Reed & Barton #1105 silverplate stand.
 
Woody Auction is offering a surefire cure for cabin fever with what it’s calling the finest art glass auction ever held at its Douglass gallery, opened in 2015. Offered will be over 350 lots, featuring three core collections of mainly art glass and art pottery. The sale will be held Saturday, March 18th, starting at 9:30 am Central time. The gallery is located at 120 East 3rd Street in Douglass
 
Expected top lots will include Galle and Daum Nancy “bat” vases, a Galle marquetry vase, brides baskets, Weller and Roseville art pottery. For those unable to attend in person, internet bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers (full link at www.Liveauctioneers.com/woody-auction-llc. Absentee bids will also be accepted. As with all Woody Auction sale events, everything will be sold without reserve.

The entire catalog may be viewed online now, with crisp color photos, at www.woodyauction.com. Particularly beautiful are the two “bat” vases, the Daum Nancy example an extremely rare signed French cameo art glass vase, 10 ¼ inches tall, depicting eight bats in flight over a church steeple. The vase has a yellow, orange and amethyst mottled background, with cameo carved amethyst overlay.

The Galle “bat” vase, diminutive at 5 ¼ inches tall, is signed, with a white and dark lavender carved design that features bats in flight silhouetted by the moon over a village. The Galle marquetry vase, also signed and 5 ½ inches tall, has a white background with wheel carved pink overlay and large marquetry blossoms. An inscription in French, translated, reads, “Happiness in the new century.”

A pair of signed Galle French cameo art glass vases – one having a green background with strong carved pink floral blossom overlay, the other boasting vibrant translucent mottled seaweed green coloring with cameo carved branch, leaf and berry design – will attract bidder interest, as will a signed Emile Galle French art pottery figural owl, 13 inches tall, with a life-like brown glaze, on a red base.

Signed Daum Nancy French cameo art glass vases will be plentiful. Top lots will include a lovely and colorful 7 ½ inch vase with a fall scene décor along a lakeside and flowing creek; an 11 ¼ inch blown mold vase with forest décor and yellow and orange mottled background; and a 19 ¾ inch vase showing a cameo carved amethyst tree décor with multi-colored falling leaves. All three are must-see examples.

The Tiffany name always snaps bidders to attention. The sale will feature a 4 inch by 9 inch watercolor on paper beach scene with sailboats in the background, signed “Louis C. Tiffany” and mounted in a 9 inch by 14 inch frame; a signed art glass paperweight vase having a yellow opaque background and a large red blossom design; a signed favrile art glass vase, 7 inches tall, multi-color caramel shading to green; and an art glass flower form in a beautiful green pulled feather design and gold iridescent foot.

Beautiful Handel lamps will also come up for bid. These will include a marked reverse painted lamp having a chipped ice shade with exotic birds of paradise in flight against an orange and black mottled background, artist signed “HB”; and a marked reverse painted lamp, also with a chipped ice shade, with colorful parrots and butterfly among blossoming peonies, against a charcoal gray matte ground.

Brides baskets will feature a cream satin art glass ruffled bowl with coralene floral décor, set on a Monarch #556 silverplate frame; a pair of pink satin diamond quilted mother of pearl square bowls set on a Reed & Barton #1105 silverplate stand; and a Mt. Washington unmarked Crown Milano tri-color bowl with lovely pansy and geometric blossom décor, set nicely on a Pairpoint #2261 silverplate stand.

Vases by the French maker Le Verre Francais will cross the auction block. Lots will feature a signed French cameo art glass pedestal vase having a mottled orange background with dark amethyst cameo carved overlay featuring a scarab design; and a signed French cameo art glass vase having a pink and white mottled background with blue and green mottled Cypress pattern. Both are marked “Charder.”

Returning to Galle, other featured lots will include a rare signed ‘Emile Galle Nancy’ French art pottery wall pocket with a maroon background and embossed grasshoppers and blossom décor, 9 inches by 6 inches; and a marked “Emile Galle” French art pottery vase with four dimpled sides, two handles, and embossed floral and butterfly design. The vase, in brown, green and tan tones, is 7 ½ inches in height.

Back to Daum Nancy, and more spectacular offerings, to include a signed French cameo art glass vase boasting possibly the finest winter scene item Woody Auction has ever sold, 14 ¾ inches tall; a signed French cameo art glass covered jar in a rare shape and with a rare winter scene décor with pattern cut and enameled lid; and a signed French cameo art glass creamer with an ice blue background and springtime scenic décor.

Stunning vases by other makers will include a signed Thomas Webb & Sons English art glass vase with crystal clear blank, made for the 1889 Paris Exposition and marked “Tiffany & Company”; a French art glass vase made circa the 1920s by Maurice Marinot, signed, with green controlled bubble design; and a signed Muller Freres Luneville French cameo art glass vase featuring a scene of two birds near a lake.

Additional noteworthy lots include an unmarked Roseville Carnilian II pattern palace vase in mauve mottled tones, at 29 ½ inches tall the largest piece of Roseville Woody Auction has sold; an Austrian bronze mechanical statue of an Art Nouveau woman wrapped in a fur coat (which opens to reveal her as nude when the mechanism is triggered), 9 ¼ inches tall and mounted on a marble base; and a signed “G. Argy-Rousseau” pate de verre French art glass figural floral blossom with pink and lavender petals.

Internet bidders are encouraged to register a day or two ahead of the auction. Absentee bids should be submitted with a written statement indicating the amount of the bid. All bids must be received no later than Thursday, Mar. 16th. Bids may be fax’d to 316-746-2145, or e-mailed to info@woodyauction.com. Douglass is 35 miles southeast of Wichita. The gallery is a half-block from Woody Auction’s offices.

As for lodging, the recommended hotel is the Holiday Inn Express, located in Andover, Kansas, about a 15-20 minute drive away. To reserve a room there, call 316-733-8833. Many more area lodgings are also available. Moving forward, Woody Auction will conduct regular auction events in the Douglass location. Other auctions will be held at the St. Charles Convention Center in Missouri, as well as Iowa.
 
 
 
 

2017-02-23

7495 - 20170315 - Rare Rolex ordered by the Ministry of Defence in fine watch auction - Newbury - 15.03.2017

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Bovet Sportster Saguaro ref. C806.1, an 18 carat gold wristwatch, no. 014479, circa 2010, Est £8,000-12,000. Photo: Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions.
 
Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions announced their sale of Fine Jewellery, Watches and Silver which will take place on 15 March at 10am. The auction, at Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berkshire, offers buyers a superb selection of timepieces which will be on view, along with jewellery and silver items, in the run up to the sale from Sunday 12th March – Wednesday 15th March.

Prominent in the auction are timepieces by prestigious watchmakers including Rolex, Omega and Glashütte, along with important ladies watches by Louis Jardin and Jaeger-LeCoultre.

Of note is a particularly rare Rolex - an Oyster Perpetual Military Submariner, in stainless steel dated circa 1975 (Est £40,000-60,000). The 'Milsub' is an enhanced version of the civilian Submariner, Rolex’s classic diving watch. This model was ordered by the Ministry of Defence in the early 1970s with specific requirements. These included fixed bars, so that the straps could not be pulled off, and sword hands for increased legibility. The vendor of this piece was a scientific officer for a trials team at the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment on Portland, Dorset. He was issued with two Rolex Submariners for use by himself and his team. This was to save them from damaging their own personal watches. After several trials the watches were locked away in a drawer in the laboratory for safe keeping. Months later the watches had vanished and as the vendor was responsible for them, he had to pay for their loss. When moving laboratories one of these watches was found in another locked drawer.

Other Rolex models in the auction this March include an Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona in 18 carat white gold (Est £7,000 - 10,000, pictured) and, with an attractive estimate of £1,500 - 2,500, an Oyster Perpetual Datejust Thunderbird with a two colour bracelet wristwatch, circa 1971, which will serve as a great addition to any vintage watch collection.

A Glashütte Original 2006 Karree timepiece also features for £5,000-7,000 whilst Bovet, the luxury Swiss watch brand is represented by an attractive Sportster Saguaro (pictured, Est £8,000 - 12,000). This watch provides a rare opportunity to purchase a Bovet watch at auction. Currently Asprey in London is the only retailer for Bovet in the UK and they rarely come up on the second hand market.

An 18 carat and diamond bracelet wristwatch by Jaegar-LeCoutlre is a standout classic piece from the lady’s section of the sale (Est: £2,000-3,000). A highlight for fashion lovers following the current 70s trend is an elegant lady's gold, diamond and emerald bracelet wristwatch by Louis Jardin (dated circa 1970, Est £2,000-£3,000).
 
 

2017-02-22

7494 - 20170309 - English & Enlightenment works in Swann March Early Printed Books Auction - New York - 09.03.2017

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Hans Holbein, The Images of the Old Testament, first English-language edition, with 94 woodcut illustrations, Lyon, 1549. Estimate $10,000 to $15,000.
 
Swann Galleries will hold an auction of Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books, featuring a premier selection of early English material.

The top lot of the sale is a leaf from the Gutenberg Bible, Mainz, 1455, with the text of Ecclesiasticus 16:14-18:29, estimated at $40,000 to $60,000. Further doctrinal material includes the fourth edition of the first volume of Petrus Berchorius's Liber Bibliae moralis, Cologne, 1477, a thirteenth century encyclopedia of the Bible and the natural world ($10,000 to $15,000) and the first edition in English of Hans Holbein’s The Images of the Old Testament, 1549, featuring 94 woodcuts by the artist and valued at $10,000 to $15,000. A 1560 first edition of the Geneva Bible, the predominant bible in Elizabethan England, is expected to bring $10,000 to $15,000. The 1674 third edition of Baruch Spinoza’s Tractatus Theologico-Politicus, which includes the 1666 Philosophia S. Scripturae interpres by Spinoza’s friend and editor Lodewijk Meijer, a controversial work arguing for the philosophical interpretation of scripture, estimated at $2,000 to $3,000, also makes an appearance.

Early English books featured in this sale include Antonio de Guevara's manual of statecraft The Dial of Princes, 1568 ($3,000 to $5,000); the first English edition of Niccolò Machiavelli's The Florentine Historie, 1595 ($3,000 to $5,000); Michel de Montaigne's The Essayes, the precursor of the modern essay form, 1603 ($8,000 to $12,000); and Sir Philip Sidney's influential prose romance The Countess of Pembrokes Arcadia, 1598 ($3,000 to $5,000). Also available is the third edition of the English translation by Sir Thomas North of Plutarch’s The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romaines, London, 1603, from Jacques Amyot’s French version of the original Greek, as well as the first edition of Samuel Johnson’s 1755 Dictionary of the English Language, ($1,500 to $2,000 and $6,000 to $9,000, respectively).

From the travel section comes An Embassy from the East-India Company of the United Provinces, to the Grand Tartar Cham, Emperour of China, 1673, written by Jan Nieuhoff et al and originally published as part of John Ogilby’s series of travel atlases ($4,000 to $6,000). Several tomes recount exploration into the Middle East, including the first edition of Jean de la Roque’s Voyage de l’Arabie Heureuse, 1716-22, with three engraved folding plates of coffee plants, valued at $1,500 to $2,500.

A thirteenth-century noted ferial psalter and hymnal in Latin, with Western and Low German Saints’ Days ($3,000 to $5,000) is one of several rare manuscripts in the sale. Also available is a collection of 15 prayers composed by Charles V of Spain with engraved illustrations of gospel scenes, written in Spanish in Brussels in 1676; this volume, in an embellished red cloth binding, is expected to fetch $3,000 to $5,000.

Further highlights include the Italian translation by Leonardo Cernoti of Claudius Ptolemaeus's Geografia, Venice, 1598-97, with notes by the astronomer Giovanni Antonio Magini. This edition includes a double-hemisphere world map after Rumold Mercator, as well as 63 half-page maps; it is valued between $3,000 and $5,000. The second edition of Christophorus Georgius de Honestis’s Expositio super Antidotario Mesue, printed in Bologna in 1488, is also present. This late fourteenth-century commentary is based on the Antidotarium ascribed to the Baghdad court physician Mesuë the Younger, a popular pharmacopeia based on Muslim knowledge ($3,000 to $5,000).

In addition to a first edition of Paradise Lost by John Milton, 1668 ($6,000 to $9,000), there is also an extensive selection of philosophical works by important figures of the Enlightenment, including René Descartes, John Evelyn, Thomas Hobbes, David Hume, John Locke and François-Marie Arouet de Voltaire.

In the medical section is an archive of letters from Harvey Cushing to the great-niece of Elisha Bartlett, regarding the collection of Bartlett material he assembled with her help, estimated at $5,000 to $10,000. A sizable offering of seventeenth- to early twentieth-century works from the philosophy library of Professor Jan Ludwig features first editions by David Hume and Immanuel Kant, including Kant’s Critik der reinen Vernunft, printed in Riga in 1781 ($8,000 to $12,000).

The auction will be held Thursday, March 9, beginning at 10:30 a.m. The auction preview will be open to the public Saturday, March 4 from noon to 5 p.m.; Monday, March 6 through Wednesday, March 8, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
 
 
 
 

2017-02-21

7493 - 20170308 - Artists use materials recovered from The Glasgow School of Art fire to create works to be auctioned at Christie's - London - 08.03.2017

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Chantal Joffe Self Portrait with Ishbel at Glasgow School or Art , 2016 42 x 59 cm Estimate: £2,000 - £3,000 © Chantal Joffe
 
25 leading international artists, including Simon Starling, Sir Antony Gormley, Grayson Perry, Cornelia Parker, Jenny Saville, David Shrigley and Douglas Gordon have used materials retrieved from The Glasgow School of Art’s Mackintosh library after the fire to create original works of art to help raise money for restoration of the Mackintosh Building.

Each one of the diverse and distinctive pieces, covering a range of practices including Sculpture, Photography, Drawing and Painting has been created using remains from the fire, from charred timbers and debris to books and furniture.

In an auction titled Ash to Art, created by J. Walter Thompson London in collaboration with The Glasgow School of Art Development Trust, the new art works will be displayed at Christie’s in London King Street in a special exhibition between 3rd and 7th March 2017, then auctioned during the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale on 8th March 2017. The proceeds will be donated to The Mackintosh Campus Appeal.

Artists chosen by J. Walter Thompson London, and including seven Turner Prize winners, come from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds to create a distinctive body of work, reflecting the international importance and influence of the Mackintosh Building on those who studied there and further afield. Other leading artists participating include Anish Kapoor, Tacita Dean, Conrad Shawcross, The Chapman Brothers and Sir Peter Blake.

Each artist was sent a piece of debris specifically chosen for them with a note telling them what it was, where it was from and explaining the concept. The brief was left open for each artist to interpret what they received and create their own new piece of art.

The diverse body of work includes Anish Kapoor’s wood fragments in red Perspex box, Douglas Gordon’s burnt wood cast in bronze and Grayson Perry’s ceramic with the words “Art is dead. Long live Art”.

The idea was created by J. Walter Thompson London’s Bill Hartley and Giles Hepworth.

Douglas Gordon, said: “I was sent a small section of wood that came from the famous library in the building. It sat in my studio in Berlin, on my desk, next to a classic 60's ashtray that a friend had given me - the irony. In any case it reminded me of my times in the library, where one either craned ones neck in order to look up very high, or bent one's head in order to read a book. It has a kind of (traditional) religious or at least a devotional gesture to it. And when I looked at the pieces of wood, I moved them slightly and realised that it was, indeed, a cross. Regarding the material and the process - I wanted to use EXTREME heat in order to make something that would not burn - therefore, the bronze.”
 
 
 
 
 

2017-02-20

7492 - 20170308 - Rare Georg Baselitz masterpiece set to break artist record at Sotheby's sale in London - 08.03.2017

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Georg Baselitz, Mit Roter Fahne (With Red Flag), 1965 (Estimated £6.5m-8.5m). Photo: Sotheby's.
 
 
A rare masterpiece by the German painter Georg Baselitz (estimated £6.5m-8.5m) is set to break the record for the artist at auction when offered at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Auction in London on 8 March 2017. Mit Roter Fahne (With Red Flag), 1965, from the artist’s ground-breaking ‘Heroes’ series, is a painting that cemented the artist’s reputation as one of the most provocative and compelling voices of the post-war era.

Baselitz’s striking canvas is one of an outstanding group of 17 works by German artists to feature in Sotheby’s flagship contemporary auction in London, representing around a quarter of lots on offer. Further highlights include Gerhard Richter’s desolately beautiful Eisberg (estimate: £8-12m; dedicated release available here), Anselm Kiefer’s monumental Athanor (estimate: £1.5-2.5m), Sigmar Polke’s Pop-inspired Die Schmiede (estimate: £1-1.5 million), a major painting by Martin Kippenberger (estimate: £3-4 million), alongside key works by Wolfgang Tillmans, Albert Oehlen, Thomas Schütte, Günther Förg, Günther Uecker and Michael Krebber.

Alex Branczik, Sotheby’s Head of Contemporary Art, Europe said “Seismic moments of social and political change in history have always created seismic changes in art, something we undoubtedly see in post-war Germany. Many of these artists tackled challenging; some might say profound, subject matter, while at the same time creating new visual languages which redefined European art history.”

The Growth of German Contemporary
The market for German contemporary art has gone from strength to strength in recent years, led by the £30.4m ($46.3m) achieved for Gerhard Richter’s Abstraktes Bild at Sotheby’s London in 2015, a record for any living European artist. Richter is just one from a wave of German post-war masters defining today’s contemporary art market.

• Over the last 5 years there has been a 31% increase in the number of bidders on German Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s auctions worldwide.

• In Sotheby’s flagship Evening London contemporary sales in 2016, around 20% of the works offered were by German artists.

• At Sotheby’s October 2016 ‘Frieze Week’ sales in London, the 9 works offered by German artists accounted for 43.3% (£20.76m) of the overall sale total.

• In the last two years alone, new auction records have been set for Wolfgang Tilmans, Gerhard Richter, Albert Oehlen, Thomas Schütte, Georg Baselitz, Martin Kippenberger, Günther Uecker, Sigmar Polke, Michael Krebber and Günther Förg.

AUCTION HIGHLIGHTS

Georg Baselitz, Mit Roter Fahne (With Red Flag), 1965 Oil on canvas 161.9 by 130.8 cm. 63¾ by 51½ in. Estimate: £6.5-8.5m
Born in 1938 and aged seven at the end of the Second World War, Georg Baselitz once poignantly described the past that he inherited by saying, “I was born into a destroyed order”. Considered one of the most important painters of his time, the artist has assiduously challenged the realities of history and art history in order to deliver a searing analysis of human existence in the era following the Second World War. Just as Berlin and the Wall became concrete metaphors for the global stand-off of the Cold War, so Baselitz’s Hero paintings today stand as icons of a history that informs our existence in the Twenty-First Century.

The tremendous import of Mit Roter Fahne is attested to by its storied exhibition history, having been displayed in countless retrospectives of the artist’s work across the globe, including the landmark retrospective at the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 2007, curated by Norman Rosenthal. The painting is expected to surpass the current auction record for the artist (£4.69 million / $7.45 million) in Sotheby’s March sale.

Anselm Kiefer, Athanor, 1991 Oil, sand, ash, gold leaf and lead foil on canvas 281.9 by 381.6 cm. 111 by 150¼ in Estimate: £1.5-2.5 million
Executed on a monumental scale, Anselm Kiefer’s Athanor is a provocative exploration into Germany’s past, and the vicissitudes of history and memory. On 27 February 1933 the Reichtsag, home to the German parliament, burned down. The event is now seen as pivotal in the establishment of Nazi dictatorship in Germany, with Hitler manipulating the incident to expel the Communist party from parliament and imprison its leaders. In Athanor the building appears shell-like, as if we are witnessing the last burning embers of the fire. This pioneering work must be seen as one of the artist’s most important and ambitious paintings.

Gerhard Richter, Eisberg, 1982 Oil on canvas 100.5 by 151 cm. 39⅝ by 59½ in Estimate: £8-12 million
Gerhard Richter’s Eisberg is the ultimate example of the artist’s rejuvenation of the landscape painting genre. No other subject has fascinated the artist so extensively nor occupied him over such a long period, yet the total number of the landscape paintings that Richter has made is relatively low, making them rare in his oeuvre. A masterclass in technique, composition and subject matter, Eisberg is the largest of only three paintings Richter made on the subject, based on photographs taken during a journey through the icy straits of Greenland in 1972. At the time, the artist’s marriage to Ema was in crisis; his Eisberg series are widely considered to be a metaphor for the artist's state of mind. The National Gallery, Prague, has requested that this work be included in the artist’s first retrospective in the Czech Republic, due to open in April 2017.

Wolfgang Tillmans, Freischwimmer 119, 2005 Chromogenic print, in artist’s frame 180.6 by 237.8 cm. 71⅛ by 93⅝ in Estimate: £80,000-120,000
Executed in 2005, Freischwimmer 119, belongs to Wolfgang Tillmans’ highly coveted eponymous series, whose title refers to German levels of swimming proficiency, and embodies the artist’s most conceptually complex and visually enigmatic contribution to contemporary art. Created in the darkroom without the use of a camera, these works echo the avant-garde photographic experiments of Man Ray and György Kepes. However unlike these early iterations of the photographic medium, the exact process behind Tillman’s Freischwimmer works is shrouded in mystery. In 2000, Tillmans was the first photographer and non-British artist to win the Turner Prize and his multifaceted practice will be celebrated with a seminal exhibition at Tate Modern, London from February to June 2017.

Martin Kippenberger, Die Mutter von Joseph Beuys, 1984 Oil on canvas, in 4 parts 240 by 200 cm. 94½ by 78¾ in £3-4 million
Die Mutter von Joseph Beuys is one of two monumental paintings depicting the artist’s likeness in the guise of Joseph Beuys’ mother. The portrait is based upon a photograph of the Joseph Beuys - the legendary conceptual artist - as a child walking with his mother. In the source image the face of Beuys’ mother is obscured, hidden underneath a rain-hat in a grainy photograph. By presenting his own distinctive image in place of Beuys’ mother, Kippenberger satirizes and undermines the revered legacy of the godfather of German conceptualism, placing himself at the heart of art historical debate.

Sigmar Polke, Die Schmiede, 1975 Acrylic and metallic paint on cotton 150 by 130.4 cm. 59 by 51⅜ in Estimate: £1-1.5 million
Hailed by Sigmar Polke as “one of his most important paintings”, Die Schmiede presents an extraordinary multi-layered painting; with its fusion of abstraction and figuration, and appropriation of Pop imagery, it strikingly combines several elements that were of particular importance to the artist’s output during the 1970s. Born in 1941, Polke came of age in an environment rife with political conflict and division in the critical decades following the Second World War. In 1963, when he was just twenty-two years old, Polke and his contemporaries Gerhard Richter, Manfred Kuttner and Konrad Lueg, staged a direct response to the climate of their upbringing by initiating the radical stylistic notion of Kapitalischer Realismus (‘Capitalist Realism’); a pithy riposte to the state-sponsored ‘Socialist Realism’ of the German Democratic Republic as well as the aesthetics of consumer culture that dominated Western Europe.


  
 

2017-02-17

7491 - 20170308 - Uecker offered at auction in Bonhams' Post-War and Contemporary Art Sale - London - 08.03.2017

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                                Günther Uecker (German, born 1930), Oval (1958), estimated at £450,000-650,000. Photo: Bonhams.

Two works by the Zero group founding member Günther Uecker lead Bonhams March sale of Post-War and Contemporary Art at Bonhams New Bond Street.

Oval (£450,000-650,000) and Vogel (£400,000-600,000), painted in 1958 and 1962 respectively, represent a key period in the German artist’s early career, reflecting the dynamism of his practice in and around the time he was founding the avant-garde Zero group along with Heinz Mack and Otto Piene.

Ralph Taylor, Bonhams Senior Director of Post-War and Contemporary, says “We are delighted to be offering two important works by Günther Uecker. These pieces by one of the most exciting artists of the post-war era represent an exciting opportunity for collectors.”
Günther Uecker was born in 1930 in Wendorf, Germany, his work is included in the collections of international institutions such as the Tate Modern, London; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York and the Musée national d’art moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris.

Uecker studied painting at the Kunsthochschule Berlin Weissensee from 1949 to 1953, and further pursued his artistic training in 1955 at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Throughout the 1950s, Uecker cultivated a strong interest in repetitive practices and purification rituals, and became fascinated with the philosophies of Buddhism and Taoism. In response to these he developed rituals of his own, including the lengthy, repetitive, and meditative hammering of nails.

Uecker examined this effect further in the 1960s by introducing kinetic elements into his works through the use of engines, shifting his methodology from using precise, geometric patterns to more organic and irregular arrangements. In 1961, he joined the Zero Group founded by artists Heinz Mack and Otto Piene, who advocated a new ways of interacting with art. The group would soon reach out to embrace artists throughout Europe and become one of the most dynamic forces in post-war European art.

After the dissolution of the Zero Group in the mid-1960s, Uecker's began to incorporate body, Conceptual, and Land art into his oeuvre. In the 1970s he designed stage sets for several operas and in 1974 started teaching at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, which he would continue to do so until 1995.

Uecker has been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, such as the Staatspreis des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen in 2015. His work has been exhibited at museums around the world, including the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; the Budapest Museum of Fine Art, Budapest; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Ca’ Pesaro, International Gallery of Modern Art, Venice; and the Belvedere Museum, Vienna.

Other highlights include:

• Séi, a 1991 painting by the Gutai group founding member Kazuo Shiraga. Estimated at £500,000-700,000, this work follows on from impressive results in recent Bonhams sales for works by Shiraga and other members of the Gutai group.

• Shiraga (1924-2008) was one of the most original painters in post-war Japan. Famed for painting with his feet while suspended by a rope, he considered physical actions as fundamentally linked to spiritual experiences.

• The Gutai group, which means 'concrete', was founded in 1954 and sought to redefine art as a medium that could relate to post-war Japan.
 
 
 

2017-02-16

7490 - 20170305 - Notable Sam Francis, Ed Ruscha works announced for Los Angeles Modern Auctions' Winter 2017 Auction - 05.03.2017

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Ed Ruscha, Zip Rooster, 1994, Acrylic on linen, Estimate: $150,000–200,000. Photo: Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA)/Susan Einstein.
 
Los Angeles Modern Auctions has announced the date of its Winter auction, which will take place on Sunday, March 5, 2017 at 12pm (PST).
The curated LAMA auction will represent many of the most coveted examples of contemporary artwork in today’s market. The LAMA auction will include rare paintings by Sam Francis, Ed Ruscha and Alma Thomas, sculptural works by Jenny Holzer and Harry Bertoia as well as prints, multiples and works on paper by Keith Haring, Richard Diebenkorn and Roy Lichtenstein. Additionally, the auction will have a strong representation of Modern Design with works by George Nakashima, and Sam Maloof among others.

One of the twentieth century’s most prolific Abstract Expressionists, Sam Francis is known internationally for his striking use of color, influenced by his time in Paris and later in Tokyo. Untitled (SFF.535) (1969-70, Acrylic on canvas, Est.: $250,000-350,000) demonstrates a command of the medium, as well as the negative space on the canvas. Francis was precise and methodical in his work, and this piece highlights his awareness of the relationship between color and light.

“This auction has the most diverse works of vintage, contemporary art from local estates and collections that we have ever offered,” said Peter Loughrey, Founder and Director of Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA). “LAMA has grown over twenty-five years to include many original works that previously could only have been sold in New York. However, the Los Angeles market has matured over the last five years to support contemporary art at the highest level."

Alma Thomas, a preeminent African-American Expressionist, will be represented in the March 5, 2017 auction with Spring Flowers in Washington, D.C., (1969, Acrylic on canvas, Est.: $125,000-175,000) a rare and vibrant work. Spring Flowers in Washington, D.C. has been in the same family’s collection for nearly 50 years. Thomas was 75 years old before she showed her abstract work, but was the first African-American woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum and the first female African-American artist chosen by the Obamas to be displayed in the White House.

"Alma Thomas' work has been overlooked for a generation and is now enjoying a much-deserved reevaluation,” Loughrey said. “Spring Flowers in Washington, D.C. alludes to the annual blooming of the cherry blossoms in the U.S. Capital but can also be seen as an emblem of renewal. In 1969, when this painting was created, Richard Nixon was newly inaugurated and the civil rights movement was just beginning to gain national acceptance. A nearly identical work has hung in the private residence of the White House for the last eight years which was acquired by The George B. Hartzog, Jr. White House Acquisition Trust.”

One of the most influential artists working today, Ed Ruscha, draws upon recognizable icons and images. Zip Rooster (1994, Acrylic on linen, Est.: $150,000-200,000), comes at an appropriate time as 2017 is the year of the Rooster in the Chinese zodiac. Lucky colors for this sign are brown, gold and yellow: the exact color palette of this featured work.

As proven leaders in California art and design, LAMA’s March 5, 2017 auction will include over 300 items representing West Coast and International artists and artisans including Sam Maloof, De Wain Valentine, Raymond Pettibon, Charles Arnoldi, Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, and Mike Kelley.

The March 5, 2017 Modern Art & Design Auction will be conducted at the LAMA showroom: 16145 Hart Street, Van Nuys, CA 91406 and will start at 12 p.m. (PST). Auction Preview: February 20–March 4, 2017; open daily.
 
 
 
 

2017-02-15

7489 - 20170311 - RM Sotheby's extends 2017 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance sale to two days - Amelia Island, FL - 10-11.03.2017

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The exquisitely restored 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta, chassis no. 2639 GT. Photo: Erik Fuller © 2016 courtesy RM Sotheby’s.
 
If early entries are anything to go by, RM Sotheby’s 2017 Amelia Island sale will feature one of the most thrilling offerings ever presented in Amelia Island auction history. The official auction house of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance today announced a superb 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta and a 58-car private collection as the latest highlights for its 2017 March sale. The addition of the latter, a superlative group of Rolls-Royce, Bentleys and other sporting icons, will see the company’s 19th annual Amelia Island auction extended to two days, with the private collection to be offered during its own dedicated sale session on Friday, March 10. RM’s traditional Amelia Island sale, featuring a curated selection of 80 blue-chip automobiles, will follow on March 11.
“Our Amelia Island sale is a perennial favorite on the global collector car calendar and interest in our 2017 sale has been extraordinary,” says Gord Duff, Car Specialist, RM Sotheby’s. “When you look at what our team has secured thus far in terms of early entries—highlights such as the one-of-three Bugatti Type 57S Cabriolet by Vanvooren, and now, this incredible Ferrari 250 GT SWB along with the collection of Orin Smith—it is shaping up to be the biggest auction ever held during the concours weekend. And, there’s still plenty more to come.”

Maranello’s Finest Dual-Purpose Grand Tourer
RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island auction has been witness to the sale of some of the world’s most important Ferraris over the years. The tradition will continue in 2017 with early highlights led by the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta, chassis no. 2639 GT.

An outstanding example of one of Ferrari’s most beloved berlinettas, 2639 GT was completed by the Factory in 1961, outfitted as a luxury street version with several competition-style features including a steel body with aluminum hood and deck lid, as well as roll-up windows. Sold new to Marion Dall’Orso of Genoa, Italy, it was soon thereafter exported to the United States, where it spent much of its early life in California and Texas, before returning to Europe in the 1980s. It was eventually acquired by its current owner in 2011, who promptly commissioned the renowned Ferrari specialists at Motion Products of Neenah, Wisconsin, to conduct a comprehensive restoration. Beautifully presented, the quality of the restoration has earned 2639 GT numerous accolades, including Best of Show at Concorso Italiano, as well as Platinum Awards at the Ferrari Club of America International and the Cavallino Classic. Highly eligible and complete with the all-important Ferrari Classiche Red Book certification, 2639 GT is expected to command in excess of $9.5 million when it takes center stage at RM’s Ritz-Carlton sale in March. Ahead of the Amelia Island auction, the car will be on preview at the 26th annual Cavallino Classic, January 25-29 in Palm Beach Florida.

“It is easy to see why the SWB tops many enthusiast’s lists; a true dual-purpose car, it combines sensational looks with incredible driving dynamics, and its versatility means you could race it at Laguna Seca, take on the roads of the Colorado Grand and everything in between,” says Gord Duff, Car Specialist, RM Sotheby’s. “From its various unique features to the incredible quality of its restoration—– confirmed by a string of awards—– 2639 GT is a car worthy of close inspection. The fact that it is eligible for virtually every important motoring event on the planet and will outperform nearly everything in its class, makes it all the more attractive.”

‘A Gentleman’s Collection: The Pride and Passion of Orin Smith’
In addition to the SWB, RM’s 2017 Amelia Island docket is further bolstered by ‘A Gentleman’s Collection: The Pride and Passion of Orin Smith’, a meticulously presented 58-car collection, which will be offered March 10 as a prelude to RM’s traditional Amelia Island sale.

Well-known and highly respected on the international show circuit, Orin Smith was a consummate enthusiast and active concours competitor with a keen eye for detail. His collection—the result of two decades of meticulous curation—represents, at its core, one of the world’s finest groups of coachbuilt Rolls-Royces and Bentleys. In total, 22 vehicles from the two marques will be featured at the March 10 sale. For those with a predilection for Rolls-Royce, highlights include an authentic 1929 Phantom I Henley Roadster by Brewster, one of only two Henley prototypes built on the Phantom I chassis; an award-winning 1948 Silver Wraith Cabriolet by Franay, complete with streamlined one-off coachwork for French cabaret star “La Môme Moineau”; and the world’s most famous PII Continental, the ex-Raymond Gentile 1934 Phantom II Continental Drophead Sedanca Coupe by Gurney Nutting. For Bentley enthusiasts, the collection contains a show-stopping 1947 Mark VI Cabriolet, one of two bodied by Franay and featuring one-off coachwork commissioned by its original owner, A.J. Liechti; along with a beautifully restored, factory left-hand-drive 1952 R-Type Continental Fastback Sports Saloon by H.J. Mulliner, formerly of the Bud Lyon Collection and complete with factory 4.9 engine upgrade.

Beyond its concentration on Rolls-Royce and Bentley motor cars, the Gentleman’s Collection has a secondary focus on sports and performance vehicles, including powerful examples from the likes of Allard, Jaguar, Lancia, Mercedes-Benz and more. In the market for an Aston Martin? The collection covers everything from prewar to modern models, including a 1966 Aston Martin Short Chassis Volante, the first such example built. Then there is unique, jet-age design, showcased by such striking examples as the 1953 Lancia Aurelia PF200 Cabriolet, a unique Pinin Farina concept on the rare Aurelia B52 chassis, displayed at the 1953 Geneva and Turin motor shows; and, an exquisite 1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic by Ghia, originally delivered to powerboat racer Lou Fageol.

“I had the great pleasure of knowing Orin Smith and found him to be a true gentleman in every sense of the word,” shares Don Rose, Car Specialist, RM Sotheby’s. “In addition to his impressive gathering of some of the finest Rolls-Royce and Bentley automobiles, Orin displayed an eclectic taste with a keen eye for other icons of style, including sporting machinery from prewar to the best of the contemporary. The common thread here is beauty, in both design and engineering; fitting for a man of generous spirit devoted to excellence. Because of those qualities, Orin Smith was beloved to the Amelia Island crowd, which makes the offering of his collection at our Amelia Island venue all the more poignant.”
 
 
 
 

2017-02-14

7488 - 20170303 - Christie's to offer the Collection of Earl and Camilla McGrath - New York -01- 03.03.2017

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Ed Moses (B. 1926), Untitled #1, signed with the artist’s initials, titled and dated ‘EM 82 #1’ (lower right), watercolor on paper, 14 x 11 in. (35.6 x 27.9 cm.). Executed in 1982. $4,000-6,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2017.
 
This March, Christie’s will present the Collection of Earl and Camilla McGrath. Married for 44-years, Earl was the former head of Rolling Stone Records and a bicoastal gallerist, and Camilla was an Italian countess and an exceptional photographer. The McGraths were a social power couple who counted many of the leading artists and intellectuals amongst their friends, and their collection reflects a remarkable life spent alongside the greatest creative forces of the 20th century. Comprising over 135 examples of Post-War and Contemporary art, the collection will be offered in both a dedicated eponymous auction on March 3, and within the various owner Prints and Multiples sale on March 1. Highlights from the exhibition will be on view in Los Angeles February 9–11 at the De Re Gallery.

“Earl is the Gertrude Stein of our era,” artist Ron Cooper once noted. “He had a salon like Stein. I met Andy Warhol through him and Jack Nicholson and Dennis Hopper and Michelle Phillips and Michael Crichton and Joan [Didion] and John [Dunne] and… just an amazing roster of people.” The couple’s residences in New York and Los Angeles were gathering places for the world’s most influential social figures, including artists such as Andy Warhol, Cy Twombly, Larry Rivers, Brice Marden, Bruce Nauman and Robert Graham. Naturally, the McGraths surrounded themselves with works by the same artists.

Earl and Camilla McGrath were beloved partners in art and culture. In the 1960s, Earl met Ahmet Ertegun, the co-founder and president of Atlantic Records. Ertegun became one of the McGraths’ dearest friends, and invited Earl to join Atlantic Records in 1970. Seven years later, the collector was named president of the Rolling Stones’ eponymous record label. The McGraths became immersed in the free-spirited heyday of rock and roll, jetting alongside Ertegun and Mick Jagger, touring with the Stones, and hosting late-night jam sessions in their New York apartment.

After leaving the music industry in the early 1980s, Earl chose to focus his energies on art, transforming his West Hollywood home into an Arata Isozaki-designed space to showcase both established and emerging artists. His emphasis was always on artists and their work, and how to best promote multiple generations of talent to collectors and patrons. Art proved to be Earl’s ultimate passion and puzzle: a source of inspiration and delight to which he would devote decades.

Both in Los Angeles or New York, Earl brought his signature vivacity to Post-War and Contemporary art, once remarking, “Collect art that you love to have on your walls that you want to be part of your life.” The McGrath’s filled their walls with art that reflected the couple’s exuberance and discernment, as well as their unwavering dedication to the artists and their processes.

Auction Highlights from the standalone sale of The Collection of Earl and Camilla McGrath, March 3
Cy Twombly was one of Earl and Camilla’s oldest and closest friends. The McGrath’s bore witness to many of Twombly’s most significant moments, and gave the dinner that followed Twombly’s 1979 retrospective opening at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Among the top lots is Cy Twombly’s Untitled from 1963 ($250,000350,000). In the early 1960s, the artist creativity erupted in a torrent of vigorously worked drawings that brim with powerful, enigmatic motifs. Created at the height of his Roman period, Untitled illustrates the major pictorial themes of this era, particularly those inspired by the passions of love and war, as embodied by the myths of Venus and Mars. By the end of 1963, this theme reached its apotheosis in the epic, multi-panel Nine Discourses on Commodus, which now occupies the Collection of the Guggenheim Bilbao.

A highlight of the dedicated sale on March 3, is Larry Rivers’ depiction of the couple. Completed just two years after their wedding, Formal Marriage Portrait of Earl and Camilla McGrath, 1965 ($15,000-20,000) only teeters on the traditional. The narrative does not unravel in a single coherent picture, but rather in emotional vignettes. Camilla and Earl are placed among a lush, painterly landscape with Italy floating just above their heads, memorializing Camilla’s birthplace, and the country where the couple met. Earl’s head appears twice, once in profile looking towards Italy and again facing the viewer. In the painting’s center, “McGrath” is shown in a deep red stenciled lettering, and Camilla’s maiden name, “Pecci-Blunt” is included in the lower left.

Created during a profound turning-point in Marden’s career, Talisman for Earl 1981-1982 ($300,000500,000), holds particular personal significance for the artist. Marden titled the work after Earl, who was a dear friend. Created between 1981 and 1982, Talisman for Earl demonstrates new developments in Marden’s work, including a deeper emotional range and a heightened sense of feeling, both of which came to define his work during this era. Talisman for Earl demonstrates the intense, dynamic grids that Marden created at this time, and though each drawing displays a similar formal construction, Marden’s variation on the theme is remarkable.

Auction Highlights from The Collection of Earl and Camilla McGrath within the Contemporary Editions Sale, March 1
Highlighting the 76 lots included in the March 1 Contemporary Editions sale in New York, is a sweeping representation of Bruce Nauman’s most successful endeavors in printmaking. The McGraths cultivated a particularly close relationship with Nauman, and avidly collected (and sold) prints from nearly every phase of the artist’s extensive career. Earl, being such an enthusiastic supporter of Nauman’s work, often purchased multiple impressions from publishers to place in the collections of friends and collectors. For their own collection, the McGraths favored Nauman’s witty text-based works with deep philosophical ironies lurking just below the surface. Such works were hung throughout the McGrath residences, notably Shit and Die, 1985 ($10,000-15,000), which bears a personal inscription reading “Earlie Proof.” The earliest example of Nauman’s engagement with printmaking included within this grouping is Studies of Holograms ($2,000-3,000), which was the result of his choreographed performance pieces of the late 1960s.

The prints selection is also underlined by a range of dynamic examples by Jasper Johns, led by Flags II, 1973 ($25,000-35,000).
 
  
 
 

2017-02-13

7487 - 20170302 - Rare portfolios lead Swann Galleries' March sale of 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings - New York - 02.03.2017

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Edward Hopper, Evening Wind, etching, 1921. Estimate $50,000 to $80,000.
 
On Thursday, March 2, Swann Galleries will hold an auction of 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings, offering rare portfolios by masters of the last two centuries.

The sale is led by two vibrant lithograph sets, each with additional and complementary works. The publisher’s own set of the rare deluxe edition of Marc Chagall’s Arabian Nights, 1948, boasts an additional thirteenth lithograph showing the King and Scheherazade under the guardianship of a glowing bird; it is expected to sell between $250,000 and $350,000. Also available is the complete set of Édouard Vuillard’s 1899 Paysages et Intérieurs. Already scarce, this portfolio of 13 color lithographs is enhanced by additional impressions of two of the plates, bringing the total number of works to 15. The set in its entirety is estimated at $150,000 to $200,000.

There is an excellent selection of vibrant works by nineteenth-century masters led by Pierre Bonnard’s rare color lithograph, La Petite Blanchisseuse, 1896, and Mary Cassatt’s The Coiffure, circa 1891, a color drypoint and soft-ground etching ($50,000 to $80,000 and $40,000 to $60,000, respectively). A color lithograph by Pierre-Auguste Renoir titled Enfants Jouant à la Balle, circa 1900, is valued between $40,000 and $60,000. Also available is the fourth state of Edgar Degas’s lithograph, Femme nue debout à sa toilette, 1891-92, estimated at $50,000 to $80,000. The sale opens with 50 highlights from the collection of Eric Carlson, with works by masters including Eugène Delacroix, Paul Gauguin, Paul Signac and Félix Vallotton, as well as the complete set of Mélodies de Désiré Dihau, 1895, by Henri Toulouse-Lautrec ($30,000 to $50,000).

Of particular note is Egon Schiele’s first lithograph, the nude self-portrait Männlicher Akt (Selbstbildnis I), 1912, which is expected to fetch $20,000 to $30,000. Early twentieth century highlights continue with a charming pen and ink drawing by Paul Klee of bulls, titled Drama in der Kuhwelt, 1915, estimated at $25,000 to $35,000, and the rare woodcut Hafen Teufelsbrücke, 1911, by Kurt Schmidt-Rottluff, which has appeared at auction only three times in the last 30 years ($40,000 to $60,000).

A premiere selection of works by Pablo Picasso will be crossing the block: examples include the 1934 etching Femme torero, I, and the 1948 lithograph Femme au fauteuil, No. 1 ($50,000 to $80,000 and $40,000 to $60,000, respectively). These are joined by an original watercolor by Salvador Dalí titled Orologi Molli, 1960, previously in the Albaretto Collection in Turin and estimated at $70,000 to $100,000. Further highlights include the color aquatint La Permissionaire, 1974, by Joan Miró ($40,000 to $60,000), and one of 30 artist’s proofs of the deluxe portfolio with text of Le Corbusier’s Unité, 1953; there has been just one other complete set of 37 lithographs at auction in the last 30 years ($35,000 to $50,000). Also available are prints by Georges Braque, Giorgio de Chirico, René Magritte and Giorgio Morandi, bronze sculptures by Jean Arp, Brassaï, Dalí and Man Ray, and a wool tapestry designed by Henri Matisse titled Mimosa, 1951 ($7,000 to $10,000).

From the Americas comes a selection of early prints and artists’ proofs by James A.M. Whistler, led by the etching and drypoint Speke Hall: The Avenue, 1870-78, estimated at $50,000 to $80,000, as well as Evening Wind, 1921, an etching by Edward Hopper ($50,000 to $80,000). Martin Lewis’s 1932 aquatint Which Way? has appeared at auction only four times in the last 30 years; here it carries an estimate of $30,000 to $50,000.

The auction will be held Thursday, March 2, beginning at 10:30 a.m. and continuing at 1:30 p.m. The auction preview will be open to the public Saturday, February 25 from noon to 5 p.m.; Monday, February 27 through Wednesday, March 1, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
 
 
 
 
 

2017-02-10

7486 - 20170305 - Twelve works from original collections discovered in Los Angeles estates to be auctioned - Los Angeles, CA - 05.03.2017

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Harry Bertoia, Bush (c. 1975), est. $100,000-150,000.
 
Regarded as the industry’s leading West Coast-based auction house, Los Angeles Modern Auctions, the premier auction house on the West Coast for Modern and Contemporary Art & Design, today announced an impressive selection of recently discovered works from original collections in Los Angeles estates for its March 5, 2017 Modern Art & Design Auction.

“Like ‘farm to table,’ LAMA has built a reputation for digging up fresh, vintage, contemporary art and design from local estates and offering them directly to collectors,” states Peter Loughrey, Director of Modern Design & Fine Art at LAMA. “This sale is our best harvest yet with diverse offerings in many price ranges.”

The curated auction will feature works from some of the most influential artists and designers of the 20th Century with a strong core by American artists. The top lots of the auction demonstrate the rich history of Los Angeles collectors during the 20th century. The auction will include a series of works by Sam Francis, all from a single estate. In addition, Zip Rooster, an acrylic on raw linen by Ed Ruscha will be offered as an appropriate feature during the year of the Rooster in the Chinese Zodiac which started January 28, 2017. Rounding out the top lots are a significant drawing by Keith Haring, Untitled #3, as well as an intimate painting from highly coveted artist Alma Thomas, Spring Flowers in Washington D.C. All of the top lots are being offered on the resale market for the first time and serve as a window into Southern California collections and estates.

Works by Chris Burden and Jenny Holzer, each from local collections, will add another dimension to the sale with thought provoking images and text. Lorser Feitelson, Peter Halley, and Peter Alexander will all be represented in the auction, with newly offered works from the estates and collections of the original purchasers.

Sam Francis’ Untitled (SF 53-101) (1953-1954) and Untitled (SFF.535) (1969-1970) will go to auction for the first time, and have been in the same Los Angeles collection since acquisition from the artist. The varied works by Francis in this sale show his range, as they span many years in which his influences shifted and expanded as he traveled the world.

Untitled #3 (1988) by Keith Haring was created for a solo exhibition for Michael Kohn Gallery in Los Angeles, just two years before the artist’s death. The black and white work features an unbroken line of ink creating a tree of figures, surrounded by Haring’s characteristic frenzied lines depicting movement and motion. LAMA is representing this work for the original owner of the piece who purchased it at the 1988 exhibition.

This sale also features five sculptural works by Harry Bertoia, one of the most prolific artists to emerge from the post-war era. The feature sculpture, Bush, is a bronze work from c. 1975 which demonstrates Bertoia’s mastery of a difficult medium as the piece captures the intricate and delicate natural world. This example has not traded hands since the seller acquired it directly from the artist in 1975.

Two important American craftsmen, George Nakashima and Sam Maloof, are also prominently featured in the sale. A bespoke, Rosewood desk and a Rosewood dining table by Maloof, as well as a sliding door, room divider by George Nakashima are just three of the several design lots to be offered this March from the homes of the original owners.

Additionally, a portion of the March 5, 2017 Modern Art & Design auction is being offered to benefit the Palm Springs Art Museum. An impressive painting by contemporary artist Rob Pruitt titled Death Valley, two iconic bronze sculptures by Robert Graham, and an important painting by Jean-Paul Riopelle will be offered on behalf of the Museum. The proceeds raised from this portion of the auction will benefit the acquisition and exhibition programs for the Palm Springs Art Museum.

The auction will be comprised of over 400 lots of fine art and design. LAMA continues to focus on and work with regional estates to find new, fresh material for an ever-growing art market. The March 5, 2017 Modern Art & Design Auction highlights LAMA’s ability and strength to find treasures previously unseen on the secondary market.
 
 
  
 
 

2017-02-09

7485 - 20170404 - Phillips to offer The Odyssey of Collecting: Property from Joy of Giving Something Foundation - New York - 03&04-04.2017

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Alfred Stieglitz, The Terminal, New York, 1893. Estimate: $120,000-180,000. Photo courtesy Phillips.
 
Phillips announced three upcoming auctions of The Odyssey of Collecting: Property from Joy of Giving Something Foundation . Over 470 lots from this world-renowned collection of photographs will be on offer in an Evening Sale on 3 April and two Day Sales on 4 April and 3 October. Spanning three centuries of photography, the collection assembled by Joy of Giving Something’s (JGS) founder Howard Stein presents rare and unique works by true masters of the medium. Included in the highlights are photographs by Eugène Atget, Edward Steichen, Imogen Cunningham, Robert Frank, and László Moholy-Nagy, among many others. In advance of the auctions, selections from the collection will tour internationally to London, Paris, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. The Odyssey of Collecting: Property from Joy of Giving Something Foundation is expected to realize a combined total in excess of $10 million, the highest value for a collection of photographs to be offered by Phillips.   
Vanessa Hallett, Phillips’ Worldwide Head of Photographs and Deputy Chairman, Americas, said, “We at Phillips are honored to have the privilege of working with Joy of Giving Something Foundation and their world-class collection of photographs. It is extremely rare to be presented with a collection as historically important, as rich, or as encompassing as that acquired by Howard Stein and we are delighted to share these works with collectors and photographs enthusiasts, alike.”

The Collector Joy of Giving Something Foundation was founded in 1998 by the late financier and pioneering New York-based collector Howard Stein. Stein began acquiring photography in the 1980s, eventually forming one of the most comprehensive collections in private hands, spanning the 19th through 21st centuries. Devoted to the field of photography, he established the non-profit foundation to consider the relationship of photography to social issues and to support emerging artists and advance the arts in education. Stein gifted the majority of his personal collection to the organization to help fulfill its mission. In addition to publishing fine art books and journals, JGS has established annual scholarships for students pursuing post-secondary degrees in the visual arts, and has launched afterschool photography programs for youth throughout New York City. Works from the JGS collection have been loaned to major museums across the globe. An initial auction of works from the JGS collection, 175 Masterworks to Celebrate 175
Years of Photography , realized over $21 million in 2014, the highest total for an auction of photographs.

Christopher Mahoney, Consultant, Phillips’ Photographs Department, said, “The strength of the Joy of Giving Something Foundation’s collection is its inclusiveness. Mr. Stein did not allow himself to be relegated to one style, one era, or any one approach. He was instead forever on the search for photographic genius, however it might manifest itself in the 19th, 20th or 21st centuries. Throughout Phillips’ offering, Mr. Stein’s deep understanding of photography and his high standards for aesthetics, print quality, and condition are evident.”

Highlights from The Odyssey of Collecting: Property from Joy of Giving Something Foundation The Odyssey of Collecting: Property from Joy of Giving Something Foundation documents the continually evolving art of photography, from its 19th-century inception to the present day, and each of Phillips’ auctions will encapsulate this rich history. The inaugural sessions on 3 and 4 April will include seminal 19th-century images by William Henry Fox Talbot, one of the inventors of photography, and large-format albumen prints by Carleton Watkins and Gustave Le Gray. Eugène Atget’s Boutique de Coiffure , originally from the collection of Dada mastermind Tristan Tzara, captures the transformation of old Paris into a surreal turn-of-the-century metropolis. Photographs by Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Steichen track the medium’s transition from impressionistic Pictorialism to dynamic Modernism. László Moholy-Nagy’s unique pair of positive and negative Goerz photograms are exemplars of his efforts to expand the expressive capabilities of the still-new art. A rare early print of Imogen Cunningham’s Magnolia Blossom shows the photographer’s ability to capture the austere Modernist sublimity in nature. Robert Heinecken’s sly disruptions of the 1960s lead the way for the conceptual photography of Bernd and Hilla Becher, Idris Khan, and Gregory Crewdson.

The tremendous breadth and quality of material in this collection are a testament to Howard Stein’s discerning eye. Phillips’ three sales in April and October will present collectors with an exciting opportunity to acquire works of undisputable art historical significance with an equally impressive provenance.
Imogen
 
 
 
 

2017-02-08

7484 - 20170302 - Salvador Dali's controversial portrait of his sister leads Bonhams sale - London - 02.03.2017

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Salvador Dali’s Figura de perfil (La Hermana Ana María), estimated at £800,000 - 1,200,000. Photo: Bonhams.
 
Salvador Dali’s Figura de perfil (La Hermana Ana María) leads Bonhams’ Impressionist and Modern Art sale on Thursday 2 March at London, New Bond Street. The work is a portrait of Dali’s sister, given to her by the artist before their relationship descended into turmoil. It comes to the market for the first time, estimated at £800,000-1,200,000.
Figura de perfil (1925)combines two of Dali’s favoured subjects, his sister Ana María and the Cadaqués coastline that he referred to as “by far the most beautiful place in the world”. Dali painted Ana María regularly through the 1920s. She later recalled his painting ‘countless portraits of me’, noting that he ‘invariably painted me at the window’. Of those many portraits Dali chose this painting, Figura de perfil, to give to his sister. It was also one of 17 paintings he chose to include in his first solo exhibition at the Galeries Dalmau, Barcelona, in 1925.

Dali had a complicated relationship with his sister. Though on good terms when Figura de perfil was painted, they fell out over the publication of Dali’s autobiographical The Secret Life of Dali in 1942. Believing his account to be an unfair depiction of Dali family life, Ana María published a rival work: Salvador Dali as Seen by his Sister (1949). The disintegration of their relationship is encapsulated by his decision to paint another version of Figura de perfil, this time entitled Young Virgin Autosodomized by her Own Chastity (1954). The later painting was inspired by a photograph from a 1930s pornographic magazine, encouraging rumours of Dali’s sexual interest in Ana María. Critics highlight the attention given Ana María’s bottom in the many portraits he painted of her from behind. These depictions often, as in the case of Figura de perfil, show her sitting at an angle that emphasises the area.

By 1925, having already flown through Impressionism, Pointillism, Fauvism and Cubism, Dali was on the verge of entering the Surrealist phase for which he is best known. One of only a few works painted at this turning point in his career, Figura de perfil has been kept out of public view for nearly a century. Given by the artist to his sister, it was, in turn, presented by Ana Maria to the family of the present owners and now comes to the market for the first time.

India Phillips, Bonhams Head of Impressionist & Modern Art said, ‘What makes this work so remarkable is its sheer rarity – only a handful of works from this period exist outside public collections. Dali was a very deliberate painter during the 1920s, choosing his subjects carefully and working in a meticulous fashion. This work was created at the very genesis of his leap into Surrealism. Laden with meaning and utterly enigmatic, it is one of the most beautiful works I have had the pleasure of handling.’
 
 
 
 

2017-02-07

7483 - 20170301 - Jules Verne adventures at Drouot: The first stage of the sale of an exceptional Vernian Collection - Paris - 01.03.2017

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Photograph of Jules Verne, 1856.
 
On March 1st 2017, the Boisgirard - Antonini auction house will begin the dispersal of one of the last great Jules Verne collections. Precious testimonies about the author, assembled by Mr. Weissenberg, will be auctioned off under the hammer of Master Antonini.

An original drawing of The Mysterious Island map will surely attract bidders. The topography is in English and the map is accompanied by a corrected proof completed by the hand of the author.

In addition, a collection of original photographs of the writer and his family, personal letters, original paperbacks, unpublished prints on large paper, will retrace the intimacy of the famous author.

There will be rare editions, including two special book covers of the Mysterious Island in French and Spanish, washes and gouaches, original engravings, Hetzel posters in various stages of progress, polychrome theater posters, etc.

Slideshow of the main lots of this session:

• Map of The Mysterious Island (Lincoln Island) sketched by Jules Verne (dimensions: 30 X 20,5 cm). A first draft drawing, but already neat and detailed, with the name of places still written in English. Inked in red and black. Sketches in pencil. Legends of work bearing various indications of distances. This drawing is accompanied by a proof of the engraved map bearing, besides the corrections, seven topographical legends added by the hand of Jules Verne (signed J. Verne). (100 000/150 000 €)

• Photograph of Jules Verne, circa 1856. Anonymous oval size photograph (dimensions: 15 x 10 cm), on a salted paper print. Only known original print, having belonged to the writer. Sitting, young Jules Verne poses as tormented romantic in the dark. He has just adopted the fine bearded that was in vogue under the reign of Louis-Philippe and still remains. We are only in 1856, just after the Crimean War and three years before Solférino. The writer is 28 years old. (5 000/6 000 €)

• Charcoal by Léon Benett highlighted with white gouache (dimensions: 46,5 x 30,5 cm), pasted on cardboard (52 x 33,3 cm) for the polychrome inset of a famous scene of the Castle of the Carpathians, where the image of the Stilla appears. With the legend «Franz de Télek! exclaimed Rodolphe de Gortz». Handwritten mention of the legend. (4 000/5 000 €)

• Cinq semaines en ballon. First illustrated edition and first issue. Small in-8°. Only known copy of the paperback edition under illustrated cover of the publisher (1865). Sent to Paul Nadar (May 24th, 1865), the son of the famous Nadar, photographer and balloonist. The first great novel by Jules Verne intended for young readers is addressed by privilege to the son as a hint to the father, accomplice of the writer in balloons. This volume contained a photograph of Estelle Henin, the supposed mistress of the writer, dated 1873, signed Nadar and attached to the work. (8 000/10 000 €)

• Personalized cartoon of The Mysterious Island in first illustrated print (1875). This exceptional cover was a stillborn project. It is one of the five known copies of the title of which two were previously snatched at huge prices during a sale. It has never been seen since. (30 000/40 000 €)
 
 
  

2017-02-06

7482 - 20170227 - Diverse collections highlight Heritage's February 25-27 Fine & Decorative Art Auction - Dallas, TX

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A Tiffany Studios Leaded Glass and Bronze Acorn Table Lamp. Estimate: $8,000 - $12,000.
 
A wide variety of objects for young and seasoned collectors alike will highlight the Fine & Decorative Art auction February 25-27 in Dallas for Heritage Auctions. Fresh-to-market pieces from renowned collectors as well as work from artists around the world, will be available without reserve.

"We are excited to be presenting this wide-ranging auction, including both fine and decorative arts, with opportunities for the beginning and seasoned collector. There is already enthusiastic interest in many of the 1,400 plus lots in this sale," said Karen Rigdon, Director of Silver and Decorative Arts at Heritage Auctions.

A beautiful Tiffany Studios table lamp ($8,000-12,000), descended in the family of Major General John Porter Lucas, who led U.S. forces in WWI and WWII, is being made available for the first time.

Also featured in the mix is a rare French Empire clock-work mechanism baby cradle (est. $7,000-10,000), an interesting study in early 19th-century engineering made for Henri Duc de Bordeaux, the disputed King of France, circa 1820.

A lifetime collection of Asian Art from the Beverly Hills estate of Adeline Newman includes a dramatic set of 11 prints and other selections.

Also of interest are:

· A group of important American Scene prints includes John Steuart Curry lithograph titled John Brown (est. $3,000-5,000), which will be sold to benefit Sacramento Ballet

· Many Continental porcelain lots, including a fine 11-Piece Royal Copenhagen Flora Danica Porcelain Dessert Service, ($2,000-3,000)

· Important ceramic and glass from the collection of Dr. Sidney and George Perutz of Dallas, Texas, includes a Charles Catteau Boch Freres Biches Blues Enameled Ceramic Vase ($800-1,200)

· American Modern Art selections, including a bronze Beniamino Bufano, Owl, sculpture (est.$3,000-5,000), and works on paper by Romare Beardon, Alice Neal and Roy Lichtenstein

· A beautiful California seascape by Mian Situ, Sunset, Laguna Beach (est. $2,500-3,500), oil on canvas, is part of a large selection of Western and California art

· A Dallas collection of paintings and sculpture, including a stunning Art Deco marble, Nile Dancer ($8,000-12,000), by French master Claire Jeanne Robert Colinet