Ski Posters, Alphonse Mucha Panels & Judaic Posters Coming up at Swann Galleries
New York—Swann Galleries' annual February auction of Vintage Posters—held this year on Tuesday, February 25—offers a diverse selection of images, from exquisite Art Nouveau designs by Alphonse Mucha to avant-garde artist exhibition posters.
In this Olympic year, there are more than 35 posters promoting skiing and winter resort activities, including Witold Gordon’s design for III Olympic Winter Games / Lake Placid, 1932 (estimate: $3,000 to $4,000), and other American highlights such as Sascha Maurer’s Let’s Go Skiing!, 1936 ($2,000 to $3,000), the iconic This Winter / Sun Valley ($1,500 to $2,000) and a run of Dartmouth Winter Carnival posters including one by Dwight Clark Shepler, featuring a figure skater.
European ski posters of note include Candido Aragonese de Faria’s Sports d’Hiver a Chamonix / Cachat’s—Majestic, circa 1910 ($4,000 to $6,000); Erich Hermes’s Winter in Switzerland, 1936 ($2,000 to $3,000); Emil Cardinaux’s Jungfrau Bahn, 1925 ($3,000 to $4,000); Roger Broders’s Funiculaire / Chamonix—Planpraz, circa 1930 ($3,000 to $4,000); and Leonetto Cappiello’s Superbagners—Luchon / Sports d’Hiver, 1929 ($4,000 to $6,000).
There are nearly 100 lots of rare and important Art Nouveau posters, with examples by some of the best known artists of the fin-de-siècle era. A wonderful selection of decorative panels by Alphonse Mucha includes the quartets The Seasons, 1896 ($20,000 to $30,000) and Times of the Day, 1899 ($50,000 to $75,000); as well as two of his celebrated posters for Job rolling papers.
Toulouse-Lautrec highlights are Divan Japonais, depicting both Jane Avril and Yvette Guilbert, two of his muses, 1893 ($40,000 to $60,000) and May Milton, which he created for the English dancer who was the lover of his friend May Belfort, 1895 ($10,000 to $15,000).
Similar in style are Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen’s first significant poster, for Mothu et Doria, a pair of singers performing as a shabby drifter and an aristocrat, 1893 ($8,000 to $12,000); and Cocorico, circa 1899, using a crowing rooster to promote a magazine ($4,000 to $6,000).
There are also Art Nouveau designs by F. Hugo d’Alesi, Pierre Bonnard, Jules Cheret, Georges de Feure, Jules-Alexandre Grun, PAL and SEM.
A choice selection of early aviation posters includes Rene Hermann-Paul’s Aerodrome de Cannes, 1909, offering flying lessons and excursions ($5,000 to $7,500); I. Fries’s International Aviation Tournament / Belmont Park, 1910, one of the earliest flying competitions in the U.S. ($4,000 to $6,000) and Ernest Louis Lessieux and H. Carrey’s 1er Grand Prix d’Aviation / Angers, 1912, a competition held by the Aero Club of France ($5,000 to $7,500).
An assortment of Judaic posters also features an aviation image, Gavrieli’s Aviation Week / The Nation Needs Pilots and Planes, circa 1945 ($1,200 to $1,800). Other Judaic highlights include Franz Krausz’s WWII poster, For Rescue and Immigration, 1943 ($2,000 to $3,000) and Jean David’s avant-garde travel image, Visit Israel the Land of the Bible / 4th Maccabiah Games, 1953 ($1,500 to $2,000).
Among signed artist and exhibition posters are Marc Chagall’s iconic design for the Metropolitan Opera production of Carmen, 1966 ($3,000 to $4,000); Andy Warhol’s The American Indian Series / Ace Gallery, 1977 (1,000 to $1,500); and Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Vrej Baghoomian, 1988 ($800 to $1,200).
The auction concludes with a run of Mather Work Incentive posters, known for their workplace safety and productivity slogans and kitschy artwork. Among these are Say It-and Smile / Make a Friend, 1924 ($2,500 to $3,500); Think “I” and You Work Alone / Help Others and They Help You, 1925 ($2,000 to $3,000); and He Sets the Pace / He Gets There First, 1927 ($1,500 to $2,000).
The auction will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 25.
The posters will be on public exhibition at Swann Galleries on Thursday, February 20 and Friday, February 21, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, February 22, from 12 noon to 5 p.m.; Monday, February 24, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Tuesday, February 25, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.
An illustrated auction catalogue, with information on bidding by mail or fax, is available for $35 from Swann Galleries, Inc., 104 East 25th Street, New York, NY 10010, or online at www.swanngalleries.com.
For further information, and to make advance arrangements to bid by telephone during the auction, please contact Kristina Goodstadt at (212) 254-4710 ext. 53, or via e-mail at posters@swanngalleries.com.
Live online bidding is also available via invaluable.com.
First image: Witold Gordon, III Olympic Winter Games / Lake Placid, 1932 (estimate: $3,000 to $4,000).
Second image: Alphonse Mucha, Times of the Day, 1899 ($50,000 to $75,000).
