Patrick Nagel, Alberto Vargas Artwork at Heritage Auctions' Illustration Art Auction
Dallas, TX - American artist Patrick Nagel’s Joanna (est. $60,000-80,000) is expected to vie for top-lot honors at Heritage Auctions’ Illustration Art Auction April 24 in Dallas.
“The work of Patrick Nagel is extremely popular with collectors,” Heritage Auctions Senior Vice President for Fine & Decorative Arts Ed Jaster said. “He is a major reason why Heritage remains the No. 1 house for hard-to-source artworks from the peak of popular culture."
A 25-by-27-inch acrylic on canvas, and signed in the lower right corner by the artist, Joanna is offered just six months after his Bold sold for a record $200,000. This image of former actress Joanna Cassidy, is one of the most popular by the artist who was known for balancing erotic, evocative images with unwavering respect for women. Nagel was one of the country’s most successful artists before he died in 1984, when he was just 38 years old.
Joanna is not the only work by Nagel expected to spark major interest among collectors. Another highlight by the artist is his 1983 Nude on Back with Black Stockings (est. $50,000-70,000). The 27-by-47-inch acrylic on canvas is signed and dated in the lower right corner. The image marries Nagel’s erotic flair with his signature classic graphic work that is reminiscent of eras gone by.
Gil Elvgren’s 1967 Ruffled Feathers (est. $45,000-60,000) is a 30-by-24-inch oil on canvas from one of the most important pin-up artists of the 20th century. An artist who combined his pin-up painting with images for advertising and illustration, Elvgren preferred the girl-next-door type over traditional models. This painting also was reproduced as Figure 519 in Gil Elvgren - All His Glamorous American Pin-Ups by Charles G. Martignette and Louis K. Meisel.
Margaret Brundage A Rival from the Grave, Weird Tales magazine cover, January 1936 (est. $30,000-50,000), in pastel and mixed media on board, originally comes from the estate of John McLaughlin. The cover scene for Seabury Quinn’s A Rival from the Grave is perhaps the most well-known image by Brundage, whose iconic Weird Tales covers are exceedingly rare.
The 416-lot auction also includes a series of images by images by Peruvian pin-up artist Alberto Vargas whose paintings have been featured in publications like Esquire and Playboy to movie posters such as the 1933 Sin of Nora Moran and album covers for artists ranging from Bernadette Peters (Bernadette Peters, 1980, and Now Playing, 1981) to The Cars (Candy-O, 1979). The Vargas lot with the highest pre-auction estimate is Alberto Vargas Martini Time (est. $30,000-50,000) is a watercolor and pencil on paper that measures 27 by 20 inches.
Other Vargas lots in the auction include:
· Alberto Vargas Nude with Phone (Jeanne Dean) (est. $20,000-30,000)
· Alberto Vargas Nude with Shoe (Jeanne Dean) (est. $20,000-30,000)
· Alberto Vargas Marlene Dietrich (est. $20,000-30,000)
· Alberto Vargas Nude (est. $15,000-25,000)
· Alberto Vargas Soft Beauty, 1927 (est. $8,000-12,000)
Other top lots in the sale include, but are not limited to:
· LeRoy Neiman Art Paul, 1961 (est. $15,000-25,000)
· Gil Elvgren’s 1975 Girl on Bicycle, NAPA Auto Parts advertisement (est. $10,000-15,000)
· Hugh Joseph Ward Somebody Stole My Gal, Private Detective pulp magazine cover, April 1944 (est. $8,000-12,000)
· Greg Hildebrandt’s Fill Her Up (est. $8,000-12,000)
