Fine Art & Artifacts at Worth Auctions
Ithaca, NY—Worth Auctions, located in Dryden, NY, announces the launch of their next auction catalog.
The December 17, 2017 sale at Worth Auctions features a broad range of fine art and antiques from multiple estates and collections nationwide.
Featured in this sale are a number of rare early works by the important New York School artist Salvatore Grippi (1921-2017), who worked and exhibited alongside the likes of de Kooning, Nevelson, and Baziotes during the heydey of Abstract Expressionism. In 1968, Grippi established the art department at Ithaca College, where he taught until 1991. In 2011, he was honored with a solo retrospective at Cornell University's Johnson Museum of Art, marking the last time until now that a substantial body of his work has been on public view in his hometown. The sale showcases several large canvases dated between 1954 and 1957 exemplifying his innovative "figurative expressionist" style; one of these was exhibited at the Smithsonian and another at the Corcoran. Also offered are a variety of works on paper, including a series of preparatory sketches, collages, and a scarce artist's proof of his intaglio print "Mind" from the important portfolio "Twenty-One Etchings and Poems" (1958), which also paired the work of Franz Kline and Frank O'Hara.
Other noteworthy works on paper in this sale are original graphics by Bonnard, Kollwitz, Rembrandt, and other Old and Modern Masters from a prominent Manhattan collection.
Several sought-after pieces of vintage photographic equipment fresh from a local living estate will be offered, including three cased lenses and a camera body by Leica.
This sale also includes a number of interesting large-scale glass pieces, including a "Mega" vase by contemporary glass artist Tony Serviente, a door with an ornate stained glass window, and an antique Tiffany-style hanging lamp shade with an unusual three-dimensional fruit motif.
Another lot worthy of special mention is a carefully preserved and fully transcribed archive of Civil War letters by John Straight of the 85th and 112th New York Regiments. Datelines include Washington, Baltimore, and Raleigh, and one missive includes a hand-drawn map depicting the Battle of Seven Pines, the culmination of McClellan's offensive up the Virginia Peninsula in the summer of 1862.
Further complementary material will be offered in future sessions throughout the fall and winter of 2017.
Worth Auctions is a public auction service specializing in estate work and collections. The company conducts fully cataloged auctions with global bidding activity over three platforms. The upcoming auctions will feature a wide assortment of items, from pencils to airplanes. For more information, please contact the gallery at 607-330-0358 or email mail@worthauctions.com.
