Auction PR Publicity Announcements News and Information
Auction PR Publicity Announcements News and Information

Premier art featured at Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches Oct. 27 Fine & Decorative Art Auction

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – An original Picasso artwork from the collection of a French-born resident of Palm Beach, Florida, will headline Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches’ (AGOPB) October 27 Fine & Decorative Art and Antiques Auction. Titled “Bouquet de Provence,” the vibrant crayon-on-paper drawing is artist-signed and expected to realize $200,000-$300,000. Another top highlight of the 315-lot evening sale is an estate collection of five rare George Bellows lithographs. The auction is further enhanced by European paintings and fine clocks from a Boca Raton (Fla.) estate, important Chinese jades and objects from a second Palm Beach collection; and exquisite Royal Worcester and European porcelains from other South Florida estates and private collections.

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973), ‘Bouquet de Provence,’ crayon paper, artist-signed and inscribed ‘Cannes le 8.4.58,’ crayon on paper, 14½ x 10½ inches, offered with full provenance and Picasso-signed photo certificate. Est. $200,000-$300,000. Image: Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973), ‘Bouquet de Provence,’ crayon paper, artist-signed and inscribed ‘Cannes le 8.4.58,’ crayon on paper, 14½ x 10½ inches, offered with full provenance and Picasso-signed photo certificate. Est. $200,000-$300,000. Image: Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches
“The owner of the Picasso drawing sold most of her valuables at a 2013 auction in Paris,” explained AGOPB president Brian Kogan, “but she retained a few special pieces, including a Yaacov Agam painting, which we auctioned on her behalf for $60,000, and the Picasso that leads our October sale.”

“Bouquet de Provence” is not only signed, but also inscribed “Cannes” and dated “8.4.58.” The 14½ by 10½-inch work reveals Picasso’s whimsical side and fondness for primary colors, as well as his genius for rendering dynamic, spontaneous images. The drawing comes with a certificate signed by Picasso and a complete record of provenance that documents its line of ownership prior to the 45 years it resided in the Palm Beach collection.

Brian Kogan commented: “The opportunity to offer an original work of art by such an important artist is truly an event for us. In conducting our research, we were only able to find two comparables resembling this type of still life. One was slightly larger and sold for $435,000. The other was slightly smaller and brought an auction price of $275,000. We felt quite comfortable placing a pre-auction estimate of $200,000 to $300,000 on ‘Bouquet de Provence.’”

This auction will also feature an Ocala, Florida estate collection of more than 60 prints by revered American and European artists. The grouping includes five fresh-to-the-market lithographs by American realist George Wesley Bellows (1882-1925), who was described by the Columbus Museum of Art as “the most acclaimed American artist of his generation.” Between the years of 1921 and 1924, while summering in Woodstock, N.Y., Bellows and his printer, Bolton Brown, collaborated on the printing of 103 iconic images of American life. Because of the low numbers of their well-documented editions, and the fact that artist only lived to age 42, Bellows/Brown lithographs are among the most desired of all 20th-century American prints.

The five Bellows lithographs entered in AGOPB’s auction have been held privately since the collector purchased them in the 1950s from the artist’s authorized representative, H.V. Allison & Co., New York. They include the circa-1921 print “Pool Player,” whose subject matter was no doubt influenced by Bellows’ familiarity with the billiards rooms at the Players Club on Gramercy Park, The National Arts Club, and the Salmagundi Club. The other four lithographs are studies of American life in the Roaring Twenties. The titles include “The Street” (circa 1917), “Billy Sunday” (circa 1923), “Business Man Bath” (circa 1923) and “Emma and Marjorie on the Sofa” (circa 1921). Additional prints in the collection range from Old Masters by Rembrandt and Adrien van Ostade to works by modern masters such as Renoir, Matisse, Chagall, Toulouse-Lautrec, Laurencin, Redon and Villon.

Nineteenth-century European genre paintings from a Boca Raton estate include a depiction of a young gypsy girl by Charles Zacharie Landelle (French, 1821-1908). Signed and dated 1871, and measuring 40½ by 31¾ inches, it is estimated at $15,000-$20,000. Another large and important work is an oil-on-canvas by Fabio Fabbi (1861-1946), an Italian artist known for his Orientalist harem and slave girl paintings. The Fabbi in AGOPB’s auction has been assigned a $35,000-$45,000 estimate. An Angel Botello (Spanish/Puerto Rican, 1913-1986) portrait of his daughter sitting on a chair with hands clasped is estimated at $40,000-$60,000, while an 1882 Jean Aubert (French, 1824-1906) allegorical scene, “Cupid Entertaining Maidens in Diaphanous Gowns on a Hillside Landscape,” measures 47¾ by 70 3/8 inches and is estimated at $20,000-$30,000. Other art highlights include two paintings by Paul-Emile Pissarro (1884-1972), two wall constructions by Abe Ajay (American, 1919-1998), and a large oil by Gaston Sebire (French, 1920-2001).

A rich array of decorative art and accessories ranges from a collection of Lalique to fine porcelain dinner services and service plates from Minton, Wedgwood, Spode, Coalport, Limoges made for Puiforcat, and a set of eight Flora Danica soup plates. The list continues with mantel and desk clocks, including a Louis XVI 22-inch lyre clock and several from Tiffany & Co.; plus silver items, bronzes, three silver Persian carpets, chandeliers, fine stemware and contemporary art glass. Asian art of particularly high quality includes Chinese jades, cloisonné, and bronze objects, some with distinguished provenance from Spink & Co., London.

Highly select French, Italian and English period furniture came from two collectors of similar background. Both are originally from France but now live in the United States. Offerings include painted beechwood furniture, some gilded and inlaid; very nice English consoles, and an 18th-century looking glass.

Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches’ Monday Oct. 27, 2014 Fine & Decorative Art & Antiques sale will be held at the company’s gallery located at 1609 S. Dixie Hwy., #5, West Palm Beach, FL 33401. The start time is 6 p.m. EDT. Preview Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., starting Thursday, Oct. 23. Closed Sundays.

All additional forms of bidding will be available, including absentee, phone and live via the Internet through LiveAuctioneers or Invaluable. For information on any item in the auction, call 561-805-7115 or email [email protected]. Visit AGOPB online at www.agopb.com