Exemplars from the History of Printmaking at Swann Galleries on November 1

New York-An auction of Old Master Through Modern Prints on Thursday, November 1 at Swann Galleries offers a grand selection of prints by Pablo Picasso. Rare and museum-quality prints from the fifteenth-to-twentieth centuries act as an overview of the evolution of Western printmaking and chronicle the dramatic changes of the second half of the millennium.

European works from the early twentieth century are led by a powerful selection of works by Pablo Picasso. Hailing from the artist’s Blue Period, Le Repas Frugal, 1904, presents an allegorical scene constructed from glimpses into the lives of those living in poverty (Estimate: $100,000-150,000). Flûtiste et Trois Femmes nues, 1932, is one of 100 Neoclassical-style subjects Picasso etched for Suite Vollard, valued at $8,000 to $12,000. Late color linoleum cuts include La Femme au Chapeau, 1962, which spotlights the artist’s second wife Jacqueline Roque, and Le Vieux Roi, 1963 ($80,000-120,000 and $15,000-20,000, respectively).

Additional works from the twentieth century include Les Chevaux Daliniens, 1972, a complete set of 25 color lithographs with embossing by Salvador Dalí ($15,000-20,000); René Margritte’s Trois Pommes, circa 1968 ($1,200-1,800); and Alberto Giacometti’s scarce, early etching, Sans titre, 1935 ($10,000-15,000).

Exemplary works from old masters feature Rembrandt van Rijn’s The Windmill, 1641, at $70,000 to $100,000, and Albrecht Dürer’s Melencolia I, 1514 ($60,000-90,000). Other notable lots include The Drunken Silenus, 1597-1600, by Annibale Carracci, estimated at $2,500 to $3,500, and a run of prints by Francisco José de Goya, including Las Proverbios: Additional Plates, 1824, which features the complete set of four aquatints ($5,000-8,000).

Mary Cassatt is represented in the sale with Baby’s Back, a scarce print from 1890 ($10,000-15,000); Baby’s Lullaby, circa 1887 ($6,000-9,000); and Marjorie Wearing a Dress with Puffed Sleeves, circa 1895 ($7,000-10,000). Also, from the nineteenth century come a slew of works by James Jacques Tissot. The assortment is led by Octobre, 1878, an etching based on the painting of the same name from 1877, and depicts Mrs. Kathleen Newton, the artist’s frequent model and companion, also featured in L’?té, 1878 ($15,000-20,000 and $2,000-3,000, respectively).

Latin American material includes Rufino Tamayo’s Galaxia, 1977, at $5,000 to $8,000, and an array of works by David A. Siqueiros.

A strong selection of works by American printmakers is led by East Side Interior, 1922, one of Edward Hopper’s most celebrated etchings, which displays the artist’s use of heavy chiaroscuro and strong, dark hatching ($50,000 to $80,000). George Bellows’s lithograph, Introducing the Champion, 1916, is estimated at $4,000 to $6,000. A substantial amount of prints by Thomas Hart Benton include Wreck of the Ol’ 97, 1944, which pictures the famous Southern Railway locomotive as it derails at Stillhouse Trestle near Danville, Virginia in September of 1903 ($10,000-15,000).