Standout works include N.C. Wyeth’s When Drake Saw for the First Time the Waters of the South Sea (lot 23; estimate: $200,000 - $400,000). A renowned artist of the Golden Age of Illustration, N.C. Wyeth achieved success after studying at Howard Pyle’s school and selling his first drawing to the Saturday Evening Post in 1903, at the age of 21. Wyeth would go on to capture real-life, historical characters that were later romanticized in literary sources. This painting is a distinct example of Wyeth’s illustration work, while also one that clearly shows the influence Pyle had on him. Wyeth’s Leaping from Rock to Rock in Sheer Delight (lot 24; estimate: $120,000 - $180,000) is another excellent example of his work.
Other highlights include Reginald Marsh’s The People's Follies (lot 15; estimate: $100,000 - $150,000), John Singer Sargent’s David Plays Before Saul (or David Playing before Saul) (lot 39; estimate: $80,000 - $100,000), Winslow Homer’s Shepherdess (lot 37; estimate: $70,000 - $90,000) and Frederick Carl Frieseke’s Woman Reading Beside a Lamp (lot 45; estimate: $70,000 - $90,000).
Additional information about the auction can be found via the auction page and catalogue.
Post War & Contemporary Art | December 14
The December Post War and Contemporary Art auction features a carefully curated presentation of over 80 paintings, works on paper and sculpture. Prominent collections to be offered are Property Deaccessioned from the Boca Raton Museum of Art to benefit the Acquisitions Fund, from the Collection of George Irwin, (Quincy, Illinois) Sold to Benefit Krannert Art Museum, from Palm Springs Art Museum Sold to Support the Care of Collections and the George Montgomery Fund for Acquisitions and from the Collections of Webster University, (St. Louis, Missouri) Sold to Benefit the Student Experience at Webster University.
The auction is anchored with awe-inspiring abstract works by Friedel Dzubas, Joe Goode, Ron Gorchov, Hans Hofmann, Paul Jenkins, Kenneth Noland, Larry Poons, Paul Reed, Kikuo Saito, Joel Shapiro, Pat Steir, Richard Tuttle and Larry Zox.
Among the standout lots of the auction is Hans Hofmann’s Blue House from 1936 (lot 10; estimate: $50,000 - $70,000). Hofmann was a master abstract expressionist, and this work is a quintessential example with its vibrancy and bold brushstrokes. Joel Shapiro’s Untitled (lot 71; estimate: $50,000-700,000), Jenny Saville’s Untitled (Portrait of a Woman) (lot 86; estimate: $50,000-70,000), Larry Poons’ Untitled (#5) (lot 1; estimate: $40,000 - $60,000) and Friedel Dzubas’ Further Land (lot 8; estimate: $40,000 - $60,000) are among additional notable works.
In addition, the sale includes exceptional representational examples by Tom Wesselmann, Alex Katz, Chris Ofili, John Currin, Gilbert & George, Lois Dodd and Ernest Trova. Also of note in the auction are singular works by Roy Dean De Forest and Gladys Nilsson original purchased from the famed Candy Store in Folsom, California.
Additional information about the auction can be found via the auction page and catalogue.
Prints & Multiples | December 15
The December Prints and Multiples auction features more than 100 works, with a broad selection of Modern and Contemporary prints, Vintage Posters and Old Master prints. The Old Master session includes works by Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt, Jacques Callot, while the Vintage Poster session includes iconic works by Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Leonetto Cappiello. The Modern session features works by renowned American artists Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton, Martin Lewis, and Rockwell Kent as well as by Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Joan Miro and Alexander Calder. The Post War and Contemporary session includes artwork by Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, Frank Stella, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Ed Ruscha, Pierre Soulages, Julie Mehretu, Russell Young and Jeff Koons among others.
Highlight works include Julie Mehretu’s Entropia: Construction from 2005 (lot 28; estimate: $15,000 - $25,000). A distinguished American contemporary visual artist who has quickly risen in prominence over the past decade, Mehretu is known for her innovation and multilayered paintings. Her work has been exhibited in numerous prominent museums and galleries around the world, most recently in a retrospective that travelled from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to the Whitney Museum of American Art between 2019-2021.
Other notable lots from the auction include Albrecht Dürer’s The Four Horsemen (from The Apocalypse) (lot 109; estimate: $20,000 - $40,000) and Roy Lichtenstein’s Cow Triptych (Cow Going Abstract) (lot 16; estimate: $15,000-20,000) from 1982. Additional significant works are Russell Young’s Elizabeth Taylor (lot 2; estimate: $8,000-12,000) from 2011 and Jasper Johns’ Target (from For Meyer Schapiro) from 1973 (lot 9; estimate: $8,000 - $12,000).
Additional information about the auction can be found via the auction page and catalogue.
