John Moran Auctioneers, the Southern California auction house known as pioneers in auction sales of California Impressionism, is pleased to announce their third and final California and American Paintings Auction of 2010, scheduled for October 19th. The sale will offer a diverse selection of over 200 paintings from the first half of the twentieth century encompassing Impressionist style landscapes and still lifes, California School watercolors and Western subjects. With estimates ranging from $1000 to $90,000, and many works offered without reserves, the sale is an excellent opportunity for collectors at all levels to acquire quality artworks.
The top lot is a farm scene by Ernest Lawson (1873 – 1939), which is known to have been acquired by the original owner directly from the artist in early 1925. It is estimated to sell for $70,000 – 90,000. Works by Modernists Charles P. Reiffel (1862 – 1942) and Walt Kuhn (1877 – 1949), who, like Lawson, were associated with Ashcan School painter Robert Henri, will also draw significant attention. Reiffel’s 1933 landscape, Homestead Ranch, Southern California, is a very attractive example of the self-taught artist’s idiosyncratic approach, with its pulsating lines and thick textures. Kuhn is represented by a 1933 still life, “Jug with Apples”, painted in his well known Cezanne-influenced style. Each of these oils is offered for $20,000 – 30,000.
More conservative in approach is a large-scale view of the San Gabriel Valley by John Frost (1890 – 1937). This profoundly beautiful meditation on nature’s inspirational powers explores light and atmospheric effects, depicting sun-shot clouds in a broad sky contrasted above a dark, shadowy field. Showcasing his delicate Impressionist technique, it exemplifies Frost’s poetic approach to the California landscape and is expected to realize $40,000 – 60,000.
An enchanting view of Sorrento on the Bay of Naples by Herman Herzog (1832 – 1932) also demonstrates a preoccupation with subtle lighting and atmospheric conditions. Estimated to sell in the range of $30,000 – 50,000, it is one of three works by Herzog from a long-held private collection, all consigned from one of Moran’s walk-in appraisal clinics. The other two paintings, a landscape of Huntingdon Valley near Philadelphia, and a woodland scene with deer, are offered for $10,000 – 15,000 and $4000 – 6000 respectively.
Several classic works by Edgar Payne (1883 – 1947) include three oils depicting two of the artist’s favorite subjects, a High Sierras landscape (estimate: $30,000 – 50,000) and two Brittany boats scenes (estimates: $20,000 – 30,000 and $30,000 – 40,000).
Additional sale highlights are two charming small works by marine specialist Joe Duncan Gleason, a William Wendt mountain landscape, a William Ritschell scene of horses plowing a field, and works by Maurice Braun, Alson Clark, Lawton Parker, Elmer Wachtel, Dedrick Stuber, Benjamin Chambers Brown, Gordon Coutts, Emile Gruppe, and Frederick Mulhaupt. Also featured are several paintings by Jessie Arms Botke and Cornelis Botke along with handwritten letters by Jessie explaining her methods and thoughts on her work. California School watercolors include works by Jake Lee, Art
