Works by leading American and California artists spanning the mid-19th to mid- 20th centuries will be offered at John Moran Auctioneers’ third California and American Art Auction of 2011. The sale represents a broad survey of the American experience, with 210 oils and watercolors including Impressionist landscapes, still lifes, Westerns, American Scene subjects and California School watercolors, as well as sculptures. With estimates ranging from under $1000 up to $80,000, the sale presents excellent opportunities for new collectors entering the market as well as for seasoned buyers. The sale is scheduled for Tuesday, October 18th at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, CA and bidding is available from the floor, via absentee or telephone, or online through Artfact.com.
The highest-value lot in the sale is one of the highly covetable beach scenes by Edward Henry Potthast (1857 – 1927). The charming, softly colored oil depicting two young girls wading in the surf is offered for $60,000 – 80,000. Other East Coast artists represented include Emile Gruppe (1896 – 1978), Alexis Fournier (1865 – 1948), whose tonalist sunset landscape ‘’Evening’’ is estimated to sell for $10,000 – 15,000, and Augusta Savage (1892 – 1962) who is represented by two sculptures, a plaster titled ‘’Gamin’’ (estimate: $10,000 – 20,000) and a cast-metal work titled ‘’Lift Every Voice and Sing’’ (estimate: $8000 – 10,000).
Among the later 20th century works is a typically, and wonderfully, cryptic work by Henry Koerner (1915 – 1991) titled ‘’The Wedding Party’’ (Birth of a Book). Replete with many of Koerner’s distinctive and jarring iconographical devices, and a multitude of disparate, clashing figures in various roles, this dream-like scene is a fine example of his ‘Magic Realist’ style. It arrives at auction from the private Los Angeles, CA collection of close friends of the artist and is estimated to realize $15,000 – 20,000. Moran’s recently sold an important work by Koerner from the early 1950’s at their June 14, 2011 auction for $252,000.
Additional sale highlights include:
• A stunning, icy winter scene with figures set beside a bridge over a stream in a Normandy village by George Ames Aldrich (1872 – 1941)
• A superb Paul de Longpre (1855 – 1911) watercolor composition of chrysanthemums in a woven basket with three bumblebees (estimate: $20,000 – 30,000)
• One of Jessie Arms Botke’s stylized oil and gold leaf bird paintings, a depiction of egrets, from a Private San Francisco, CA collection (estimate: $40,000 – 60,000)
• Yosemite scenes by Thomas Hill (1829 – 1908)(estimate: $15,000 – 20,000) and Albert Bierstadt (1830 – 1902)(estimate: $7000 – 9000)
• A lovely late work by John Frost (1890 – 1937), ‘’Sweeping Autumn Landscape’’, offered for $30,000 – 50,000
• Gordon Coutts’ (1868 – 1937) poignant ‘’The Third of August’’, subtitled ‘’France Enters WWI’’, a large oil of a soldier bidding goodbye to his family as he departs for the front (estimate: $20,000 – 25,000)
The large number of California plein air landscapes includes works by Hanson Puthuff, Maurice Braun, Franz Bischoff, Edgar Payne, Joseph Kleitsch, Arthur G. Rider, Benjamin Brown, Paul Lauritz and many more. Monterey and the San Francisco Bay area are represented by, among others, Percy Gray, Charles Rollo Peters, S.C. Yuan, and Society of Six members William H. Clapp, Bernard Von Eichman and Selden Connor Gile (1877 – 1947), whose spring landscape with blossoming trees is expected to bring $10,000 – 15,000. An oil by French / American artist Jules Pages (1867 – 1946) is of particular historical interest, as it depicts San Francisco during the fire that followed the great earthquake in 1906, with the old City Hall prominently shown (estimate: $7000 – 10,000).
The selection of Western works includes some fine depictions of Native American life by Louis Benton Akin (1868 – 1913), Bert Geer Phillips (1868 – 1956), and Maynard Dixon, whose charcoal and chalk drawing of Navajo women weaving is offered for $10,000 – 15,000. Gene Kloss’ (1903 – 1996) striking watercolor, ‘’Corner of Taos Pueblo’’, is estimated to realize $3000 – 5000. Edward Borein, Will Sparks and Marjorie Reed are also represented in the sale.
Exceptional California School watercolors to be sold include works by Jake Lee, Dong Kingman, and Phil Dike (1906 – 1990), whose ‘’Docks at Newport’’ is a strong example from his best period. The work is estimated to realize $15,000 – 25,000. Dike’s Claremont, CA colleague Millard Sheets (1907 – 1989) is represented by a large oil with abstract figures on a beach titled ’’On the Beach’’ (estimate: $20,000 – 30,000)
Moran’s auction will begin at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, October 18th. All of Moran’s auctions are held at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, California. Bidding is available from the floor and via telephone, absentee or online at Artfact.com. Moran’s posts images of sale highlights on their website, johnmoran.com, and a full catalogue of the auction, with complete descriptions, condition reports and multiple images of every item, will be posted at johnmoran.com and at artfact.com three weeks prior to the sale.
For more information about this sale or to consign artworks, antiques or jewelry, please call the offices of John Moran Auctioneers at (626) 793-1833 or email [email protected].
All of John Moran Auctioneers’ sales are held at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, CA. Catalogues are posted at their website, johnmoran.com, 3-4 weeks prior to each sale. Bidding is available from the floor, via phone, absentee or online through Artfact.com.
