A DEEPER DIVE IMPORTANT PAINTINGS | AUCTION MAY 20
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WOMEN ARTISTS YOU SHOULD KNOW Every period of the modern age is shaped, defined and understood by the artists working at the time. What cultural, political or economic shifts occurred during the period? Where did people travel? What literary or religious subjects resonated with contemporary audiences? These questions and more can be answered by looking at art. However, because artistic pursuits were often unavailable to women and other marginalized groups, we are at times left with only half the picture. Works by women, artists of color, and queer artists provide us with important counterbalances in art history. Often working outside the academic sphere, these artists experimented with different styles, media and subject matter that lend us even greater understanding of the way certain events impacted society. Now more than ever, it is vitally important that we recognize the achievements of women artists -- many of whom worked alongside some of the best-known artists of their time with little or no recognition. Doyle is pleased to offer a number of excellent works by women in the auction of Important Paintings on Wednesday, May 20, 2020, and to acknowledge the importance of a diversity of viewpoints in understanding the world around us.
Noted for her portraits of young children, Philadelphia native Martha Walter (1875-1976) was an American Impressionist painter who studied under William Merritt Chase. Prompting from her mentor Chase greatly influenced Walter’s bright palette. This she balanced deftly by using black pigment, a rare choice among artists of the day. Walter’s bright, evocative works bring pathos to her subjects – whether they be child immigrants arriving at Ellis Island or plein-air depictions of the French coast. Pink Cheeks shows Walter’s signature palette put to great use, the heavy blues of the chair offsetting the pink dress and cherubic image of the young sitter.
Estate of Laura M. Mako
1 Martha Walter American, 1875-1976 Pink Cheeks Signed Martha Walter (ll) Oil on canvas 26 x 21 inches (66 x 53.3 cm) Provenance: Hammer Galleries, New York C $8,000-12,000
While a student of sculpture in Switzerland, Harriet Frishmuth (1880-1980) was singled out by Auguste Rodin for praise when the artist visited her classes. Following her return to the US, Frishmuth opened a studio in New York City in 1908. The artist’s decorative and garden sculptures emphasized the natural grace of the female form. Frishmuth often employed Yugoslavian dancer Desha as a model, because the gifted ballerina had an aptitude for maintaining the stylized poses paramount to Frishmuth’s work. The commanding 1917 sculpture Joy of the Waters is emblematic of Frishmuth’s Art Nouveau elegance, its playful subject full of life and motion.
2 Harriet Whitney Frishmuth American, 1880-1980 Joy of the Waters, 1917 Signed Harriet W. Frishmuth, dated 1912, and inscribed R oman Bronze Works Inc. on the base Bronze with light green patina Height 61 inches (154.9 cm) Piped for a fountain
Yugoslavian dancer, Desha
Provenance: James Graham and Sons, New York, circa 1970s Private collection Literature: C.N. Aronson, Sculptured Hyacinths, New York, 1973, pp. 26, 107-09, illus. J. Conner, J. Rosenkranz, Rediscoveries in American Sculpture: Studio Works, 1893-1939, Austin, Texas, 1989, pp. 38, 40-41, 42n13, 191 T. Tolles, ed., American Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: A Catalogue of Works by Artists Born between 1865 and 1885, vol. II, New York, 2001, p. 640 J. Conner, L.R. Lehmbeck, T. Tolles, F.L. Hohmann III, Captured Motion, The Sculpture of Harriet Whitney Frishmuth: A Catalogue of Works, New York, 2006, pp. 28, 66, 79n80, 86, 200, 236, 277-78, no. 1917:3, another example illustrated C $80,000-120,000
Though Berthe Morisot (1841-1895) was every bit the talent as the group of Impressionists with whom she exhibited – Renoir, Cezanne, Monet, Pissarro, Degas and Sisley – she nevertheless struggled for acceptance. In a diary entry, Morisot claims, “I don’t think there has ever been a man who treated a woman as an equal and that’s all I would have asked for, for I know I’m worth as much as they.” Having later moved on from plein-air painting to interior scenes largely depicting women, children and domestic life, Morisot documented family without crossing over to sentimentality. The charming pastel work Tete d’Enfant showcases Morisot’s gift for employing white as a means to show dimension. The child’s coy grin sings out, and Morisot’s talent for spare, feathery strokes breathes fullness into her subject. Morisot sadly died at age 54 in 1895, having never shaken the limiting title of “Woman Impressionist.” Nevertheless, she took countless risks within a notoriously alpha-male group of Impressionists. Her fellow artists would secretly, if not publicly, admit that the Impressionist movement would not be the same without her vibrant, thoughtful contributions.
Estate of Patricia Patterson 3 Berthe Morisot French, 1841-1895 Tete d’enfant: A double-sided work Stamped Berthe Morisot and B. M. (ll) [recto] Pastel and charcoal on light green/gray paper 18 3/4 x 13 3/4 inches (47.6 x 35 cm) Provenance: Fairweather Hardin Gallery, Chicago Charles E. Slatkin Galleries, New York
“I don’t think there has ever been a man who treated a woman as an equal and that’s all I would have asked for, for I know I’m worth as much as they.” - Berthe Morisot
Literature: Marie-Louise Bataille and Georges Wildenstein, Berthe Morisot, Catalogue des peintures, pastels et aquarelles, Paris, 1961, p. 53, no. 468, illus., fig. 455 C $7,000-9,000
Polish-born British artist Francizka Themerson (1907-1988) created striking abstract paintings, in addition to her revolutionary work in theatre and as an illustrator and filmmaker. Themerson and her husband collaborated on animated films and created the first English translation of Alfred Jarry’s notorious play Ubu Roi, later performed in 1951 at London’s ICA. Each performer wore fabulously bizarre papier-mache masks created by Themerson. This landmark Dada event morphed into a fantastical puppet show, which Themerson would go on to tour for roughly 20 years. Themerson’s Adagio, from 1947, is largely emblematic of work from this period: lyrical, curvilinear forms are rendered in earthy tones with pops of bright color. "Véritable portrait de Monsieur Ubu" from the 1896 printing of Ubu Roi : drame en cinq actes en prose by Alfred Jarry.
5 Franciszka Themerson Polish, 1907-1988 Adagio, 1947 Signed Themerson (ur) Oil on canvas 16 1/2 x 22 3/4 inches (41.91 x 57.78 cm) Provenance: Drian Galleries, London Exhibited: London, Drian Galleries, A Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings by Franciszka Themerson, Sep. 10 Oct. 7, 1963, no. 12 C $15,000-25,000
Lot 6 reverse
Following her stint at the Leeds College of Art, Barbara Hepworth (1903-1975) spent parts of the 1930s visiting the studios of Brancusi, Arp and Picasso, which provided crucial insight and focus to the development of her abstract forms. A 1968 bronze contains all the suppleness and grace of the pioneering sculptor’s best-known work. Thin threads connect the curved form to employ the negative space within, creating an object both formidable and delicate. Hepworth energetically pushed the boundaries of how art could be created and exhibited. Challenged by a male-dominated art world, Dame Hepworth simply wished to be known as a sculptor, irrespective of gender. In 50 years of making, the artist created over 600 sculptures.
Estate of Patricia Patterson 6 Barbara Hepworth British, 1903-1975 Sculpture with Colour, 1968 Initialed B. H., dated 1940 and numbered 2/9, initialed MS (Morris Singer Foundry) and dated 1968 Polished bronze with string on bronze base, from an edition of 9 + AP Dimensions with base 4 3/8 x 6 x 4 1/4 inches (11.11 x 15.24 x 10.79 cm) Provenance: The artist Mercury Gallery, London, purchased from the above, 1969 This work is listed as BH 459. We thank Dr. Sophie Bowness, of the Barbara Hepworth Estate and preparer of the Barbara Hepworth catalogue raisonne, for her assistance. C $50,000-70,000
Hepworth in 1966
Overshadowed by her husband’s overwhelming fame, Elaine de Kooning (1918-1989) was an incredible force in her own right – not only as a tireless promoter of husband Willem’s work, but as an accomplished painter, crucial to the Abstract Expressionist movement. De Kooning was a rare female member of the formidable Eighth Street Club, alongside Clyfford Still, Hans Hofmann and others. Unfazed by the macho New York School artists, de Kooning was the outgoing, gregarious foil to Willem’s gruff, curmudgeonly nature – her brilliance revealed through her regular contributions to ArtNews. The 1953 work Home is an early example in a series of baseball paintings, a subject she would return to throughout her career. In the work we see the hallmarks of abstract painting connect to the kinetic forms of the sport. Home depicts three figures crowded around home plate, arguing a close play: the umpire with arm outstretched, keeping the catcher from attacking the runner, possibly after an aggressive slide into home plate. 7 Elaine de Kooning American, 1918-1989 Home, 1953 Signed E. de Kooning (lr); signed E. de K. and Elaine de Kooning, dated 1953 and inscribed as titled on the reverse Oil on Masonite 17 1/2 x 14 inches (44.45 x 35.56 cm) Provenance: Hackett-Freedman Gallery, San Francisco [Sale] Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Oct. 27, 2010, Modern & Contemporary Art Auction, lot no. 72045 Purchased from the above by the current owner Exhibited: Elaine de Kooning: Portraits, Apr 3 - May 31, 2003, Hackett-Freedman Gallery, San Francisco C $8,000-12,000
Elaine de Kooning, Lopez and Ump and Baseball #5A, Kansas City, Lou Boudreau. Sold by Doyle for $5,625.
A very early abstraction from 1961, Southern Light contains much of the same all-over busyness of Carolee Schneemann’s later work. Schneemann (1939-2019) was a leading figure in performance art and feminist art and an incredible force across a variety of mediums. An early painting in the sale displays the wildly colorful, abstracted tangles that the artist repeated sporadically throughout her career. Schneemann would largely move to performance following this period of abstract painting. Addressing social issues and gender politics, Schneemann pushed forward from participation in Allan Kaprow’s “Happenings” into revolutionary multi-media feminist art pieces, including 1963’s Eye Body, 1964’s Meat Joy and 1975’s Interior Scroll. Though Schneemann employed film, photography, poetry and installation works in her practice, she always claimed to view the entirety of her work through the lens of a painter. Schneemann explained that she was “a painter who has left the canvas to activate actual space and lived time.” 8 Carolee Schneemann American, 1939-2019 Southern Light, 1961 Signed Schneemann and dated 1/61 (ll); signed C. Schneemann, dated 1/61 and inscribed as titled on the reverse; signed Carolee Schneemann, dated 1/61 and inscribed as titled on the backing Oil on canvas 28 x 21 1/4 inches (71.12 x 53.97 cm) Provenance: Max Hutchinson Gallery, New York C $10,000-15,000
“My work became a bridge that had to be crossed by young feminists working with their bodies.” - Carolee Schneemann
Lolo Soldevilla (1901-1971) eschewed the figurative work common to Cuba in the mid-20th century after returning from a life-changing trip to Paris. Soldevilla was an irrepressible figure in Cuba – after turns in music and politics, she became Cuba’s cultural attaché to Europe in 1949. Soldevilla did not begin to create until her late 40s, but was quickly exhibiting in Parisian galleries and by 1950 was fully immersed in geometric abstraction. She was a star figure among the abstract painters group, the Cuban Concretists. Her tireless energy led Soldevilla to not only create art, but also act as curator, gallery owner and teacher in her native Cuba. A 1957 untitled collage is indicative of her bold, blocky, geometric abstractions. Also featured is an untitled 1955 work that shows a direct line to Malevich and the Russian avant-garde Concrete painters.
Pinar del Rio Province, Cuba, the birthplace of Dolores Soldevilla Nieto
9 Lolo Soldevilla Cuban, 1901-1971 Untitled, 1957 Signed Lolo (lr) Paper collage on cardboard 11 x 14 1/2 inches (27.94 x 36.83 cm) Provenance: Private collection, New York
Exhibited: New York, Sean Kelly Gallery, Lolo Soldevilla: Constructing Her Universe, Sep. 6 - Oct. 19, 2019 This work was executed for an exhibition in Caracas, Venezuela, 1957. This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Roberto Cobas Amate, reg. no. 30082013388. C $7,000-10,000
10 Lolo Soldevilla Cuban, 1901-1971 Untitled, circa, 1955 Signed Lolo (lr) Tempera and graphite on cardboard 18 1/2 x 20 5/8 inches (47 x 52.38 cm) This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Roberto Cobas Amate, reg no. 1402201400123. C $7,000-10,000
Grace Hartigan, Self Portrait in Fur. Sold by Doyle for $4,375.
Grace Hartigan (1922-2008) employed bold colors and recognizable imagery in her work. The 1954 Flower Still Life is a prime example of the chunky, distorted shapes culled from her immersion in the works of Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. Hartigan was the first of the second generation Abstract Expressionists to have a work included in MoMA’s permanent collection, an event followed by a sold-out 1954 exhibition at the important Tibor de Nagy Gallery. Hartigan’s pool of close friends, including Philip Guston, poet Frank O’Hara and many other legends of the New York School provided constant opportunities for exploration, growth and collaboration. The rediscovery and inclusion of figurative painting within her work both set her apart from her peers and provided a bridge to the Pop artists that would follow.
Estate of Richard and Carole Rifkind 11 Grace Hartigan American, 1922-2008 Flower Still Life, 1954 Signed and dated Hartigan ‘54 (ll) Oil on canvas 42 x 27 inches (106.68 x 68.58 cm) Provenance: [Sale] Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, May 4 - 5, 1982, Contemporary Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, sale 4856M C $70,000-100,000
Louise Bourgeois, Fragile Goddess. Sold by Doyle for $137,000.
A sublime 1968 work on paper by Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010) shares the eccentric, organic shapes of some of her best-known sculptures. The abstract, biomorphic forms intertwine with the rest of Bourgeois’ oeuvre -- the strikingly bright colors employed here belie the bizarre morbidity of her focus on the human body. Bourgeois was a fearless creator and many of her works act as catharsis, documenting her childhood abuse and personal turmoil. Regardless of the medium, the artist created strangely beautiful anthropomorphic shapes that feel both remembered and new, alien and personal.
Estate of Richard and Carole Rifkind 12 Louise Bourgeois French/American, 1911-2010 Untitled, 1968 Initialed LB (lr) Oil on paper 17 x 24 inches (43.18 x 60.96 cm) Provenance: Robert Miller Gallery, New York Purchased from the above by Carole and Richard Rifkind Thence by descent to the estate Exhibited: Berkeley, CA, University Art Museum, Louise Bourgeois: Drawings, Jan. 24 - Mar. 24, 1996 Traveled to New York, The Drawing Center, Apr. 24 - Jun. 8, 1996 C $100,000-150,000
MILAN TESSLER EXPLORES
Tamara de Lempicka More than a century has passed since Tamara de Lempicka arrived in Paris as a young emigrée in her twenties. Leaving behind wealth and comfort, and having just narrowly managed to flee the Bolshevik Revolution, she turned to painting in order to support her family upon their arrival in France. During les années folles, café life, cabaret nights and more freedom of movement for women within these spaces were important features of an increasingly liberal society; however, Lempicka was still subject to gender bias in the art world. Though she moved easily among such important painters as Soutine and Modigliani, she is still too often excluded from art histories of the 1920s. Nevertheless, she thrived in the party atmosphere that emerged in Paris at the time. Soirées might start with cocktails at Natalie Barney's salon or a Josephine Baker performance, capped off by a night of rampant partying alongside her good friend Jean Cocteau.
Before the Revolution, being upper-class meant that the young Lempicka could take advantage of cosmopolitan Moscow, Warsaw or Saint Petersburg, with yearly trips to other destinations in Europe. More influential than the costume balls and the Ballets Russes she attended was her first trip to Florence. In the city’s museums Lempicka discovered the Italian old masters, which she would always maintain exemplified the quintessence of beauty. This lifelong commitment to the paintings of Caravaggio, Messina, Bronzino and Michelangelo is perfectly captured in Laura Claridge's illuminating biography on the artist's life. Referring to Lempicka's first trip to Italy, she writes, "Fifty years later, with unflagging energy, Tamara would repeat the itinerary with her own granddaughters, extolling the line of the body, the mastery of flesh tones, of shadow and light, and the clarity of a color. Until she was too weak to hold a paintbrush steady, Tamara returned yearly to study the great Italian museum holdings of Renaissance and early-fifteenth-century paintings, in order to be reminded of what greatness on a canvas looked like, of what beauty could be." The political landscape in 1930s Europe and the rise of Nazi Germany eventually led Lempicka to relocate to the United States, first to Beverly Hills and later to New York. With fewer exhibitions and commissions coming in, she worked on a series of still lifes in the 1940s. These works, though different from the portraits painted between 1925 and 1935, remind viewers of the artist’s aesthetic allegiances with a nod to the Dutch and Flemish masters she so appreciated.
In Still Life with Apples, the illusion of light and perspective, rounded volumes and polished finish are all at play in an unusually prosaic subject for Lempicka. Serenely resting in the sunlight by a windowsill, the two exquisitely luminous apples on their unassuming plate are masterfully achieved such that they remain both true to nature and to the distinctive style of the artist. Now presented for auction, Still Life with Apples is a lovely example of her unwavering dedication to representational painting. Tamara de Lempicka’s highly stylized, angular and precise compositions have led viewers and critics to designate her an Art Deco painter. Though this provided the artist with recognition in her lifetime, she also contended with the label. Ascribed more often to design and decorations, this categorization was at least partially responsible for the marginalization of Lempicka’s work in modernist narratives. Beyond the Cubist influences that she absorbed from the teachings of her early mentor André Lhote, Lempicka’s most successful paintings refused to bend to the various art movements that developed around her, whether it was the emergence of Surrealism and Dada in Paris or the rise of Abstract Expressionism in the United States. Lempicka’s real genius lies in a classicist devotion to her personal manner of painting and her own perception of beauty.
4 Tamara de Lempicka Polish/Russian, 1898-1980 Still Life with Apples, circa 1946 Signed LEMPICKA. (lr); estate stamped on the reverse Oil on canvas 8 x 10 1/4 inches (20.3 x 26 cm) Provenance: Estate of the artist Thence by descent in the family Weinstein Gallery, San Francisco Private collection, New York This lot is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from the Estate of Tamara de Lempicka C $20,000-40,000
The Estate of
Carole and Richard Rifkind
Noted author, leading architectural historian, filmmaker and professor Carole Lewis Rifkind studied at Mount Holyoke College and then at Barnard College, graduating in 1956. She went on to teach at Columbia Graduate School of Architecture and direct programs for the Hudson River Museum and the Municipal Art Society. Together with her husband, Dr. Richard Rifkin, she built Barnard’s Faculty Support Fund to assist young teachers. Mrs. Rifkind authored a number of important architectural books, including Mansions, Mills and Main Streets (1975), Main Street: The Face of Urban America (1977), A Field Guide to American Architecture (1980), Tourism and Communities: Process, Problems and Solutions (1981), and A Field Guide to Contemporary American Architecture (1998). She also contributed a number of articles for Metropolitan Home, Metropolis and The New York Times, among others. She and her husband also collaborated to produce two documentary films, The Venetian Dilemma (2004) and Naturally Obsessed: The Making of a Scientist (2009). A preeminent cancer researcher, Dr. Richard Rifkind studied at Yale and Columbia, returning to teach at Columbia, and eventually moving on to become Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Rifkind’s remarkable research led to new advances in chemotherapy. Collaborating with colleagues throughout the medical industry, Dr. Rifkind spearheaded the creation of the New York Structural Biology Center, where he later retired as Chairman Emeritus. Dr. Rifkind was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellows in Medicine and Health in 1965 and later served on the Foundation board, as well as the boards of the New York Academy of Medicine and New York Hall of Science.
Not limited to just professional pursuits, the Rifkinds collaborated on projects that showed their shared passion for art and architecture. A 1994 story in The New York Times entitled “House Proud” documents the couple’s purchase of a Cape Cod-style home in Amagansett, Long Island, and their efforts to reimagine the house into one with fantastical backstory. Working with a designer, the Rifkinds invented a fictional story of a potato farmer who had owned the house a hundred years prior. With this framework of an historical narrative, they assembled clever interiors, a new porch with a copper roof, and faux finishes mirroring the look of decades of repainting. Much like the Amagansett home, the Rifkinds lived with their collection as it grew and changed over the decades. A personal friendship with legendary photographer Lee Friedlander led to collecting many of his notable photos. And while the collection is dotted with works on paper by traditional American artists like Gifford Beal and Jane Peterson, the collection's true stars is the exceptional Post-War art, including paintings by Louise Bourgeois, Richard Serra and Grace Hartigan and two impressive sculptures by Richard Stankiewicz.
Property from the Estate of Richard and Carole Rifkind 13 Richard Serra American, b. 1938 Videy Drawing VI, 1991 Initialed RS and dated 1991 on the reverse Paint stick on German etching paper 19 x 25 1/2 inches (48.26 x 64.77 cm) Provenance: Matthew Marks Gallery, New York (SERR. DR. 1176) Purchased from the above by Carole and Richard Rifkind, 1992 Thence by descent to the estate C $100,000-150,000
Property from the Estate of Richard and Carole Rifkin
14 Giorgio Cavallon American, 1904-1989 Woman Sitting, 1938 Signed Giorgio Cavallon and dated 1938 (lr) Watercolor on paper 22 1/2 x 15 1/2 inches (57.15 x 39.37 cm) Provenance: [Sale] Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, American Paintings, Dec. 4, 1980, lot 206 Thence by descent to the estate C $5,000-7,000
BEAUTIFUL DETRITUS THE “JUNK” SCULPTURE OF RICHARD STANKIEWICZ
A “MIRACLE IN THE SCRAP HEAP” The sculpture of Richard Stankiewicz is revolutionary in its definition of assémblage art. Stankiewicz began to sculpt while in the Navy during WWII after passing on a Cranbrook Academy of Art acceptance that he could not afford. He used his GI Bill to study art after his 1947 discharge. Stankiewicz studied under Fernand Leger and Ossip Zadkine in Paris, and later under Hans Hofmann. Upon his return to New York, Stankiewicz began showing at the famed Hansa Gallery, an artist-run space made up mostly of fellow Hofmann students. Stankiewicz was an unique and fascinating addition to the gallery’s roster, all largely Abstract Expressionist painters. His lyrical scrap metal sculptures drew a line through abstraction to future Contemporary art movements and supplied a much-needed counterpoint to action painting.
In his renowned articles, the artist/critic Fairfield Porter championed Stankiewicz’s found objects. When welded together, they created forms that were at times whimsical (as seen with the mid-50s work Tribal Diagram), but often foreboding (as with an untitled work from 1960). Stankiewicz would soon arrive at even more powerful and striking compositions. His Untitled 1970 work approximates hard-edge abstraction alongside forms that reveal him to be holding his own with peers like John Chamberlain and David Smith. The artist’s “junk” aesthetic, with roots in the work of Jean Tinguely, Dubuffet, Duchamp, and other predecessors, was pronounced by the preeminent critic and Brancusi expert Sidney Geist as a “miracle in the scrap heap.” The energy and motion Stankiewicz achieved with his welded creations were genre-defining and created a path forward to the work of Mike Kelley, Sarah Lucas, Monica Bonvinci and many others, appearing just as vital and contemporary today as when they were crafted.
Estate of Richard and Carole Rifkind 15 Richard Stankiewicz American, 1922-1983 Tribal Diagram, 1953-55 Welded steel and mixed metals Height 42 inches (106.68 cm) Provenance: Zabriskie Gallery, New York Purchased from the above by Carole and Richard Rifkind Thence by descent to the estate C $20,000-30,000
17 Richard Stankiewicz American, 1922-1983 Untitled (1970-4), 1970 Initialed RS and dated 70-4 on the underside of base Welded steel 33 1/2 x 21 x 21 inches (85.09 x 53.34 x 53.34 cm) Provenance: Zabriskie Gallery, New York Private collection, New England C $8,000-12,000
Estate of Richard and Carole Rifkind 16 Richard Stankiewicz American 1922-1983 Untitled, 1960-18, 1960 Initialed RS and dated 1960-18 Welded steel Height 15 inches (38.1 cm) Provenance: The artist [Galerie Lawrence, Paris] Collection of William Rubin, New York Gift of the above to Sarah Lawrence College, New York Zabriskie Gallery, New York, inventory no. S-RS-1368 Purchased from the above by Carole Rifkind, 1984 Thence by descent to the estate C $10,000-15,000
SELECTIONS FROM THE COLLECTION OF GILBERT & SANDRA OKEN
SAMIRA FARMER EXPLORES
WASHINGTON COLOR SCHOOL
Gilbert and Sandra Oken’s home gallery in Washington, DC displayed a vibrant array of art and contemporary craft. The couple’s personal collection was focused on local artists and galleries with whom they established direct relationships. Pedestals in every corner showcased whimsical sculptures and brightly colored glass, and the walls were covered with colorful paintings by important Washington, DC painters, including Paul Reed, Howard Mehring and Thomas Downing. Several works from the Collection of Gilbert and Sandra Oken reside in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery. In 1965, the Washington Gallery of Modern Art presented the exhibition, Washington Color Painters, curated by Gerald Nordland. This show exalted in the achievements of a select group of Washington, DC artists whose experiments with color and canvas led to a new level of expression. This seminal exhibition included works by Reed, Mehring and Downing, along with Kenneth Noland, Morris Louis, Gene Davis, Leon Berkowitz and Sam Gilliam, as well as important women artists like Anne Truitt and Alma Thomas. Several of these artists later became associated with The Washington Color School. They were championed by collector, curator and influential art promoter Vincent Melzac, as well as noted art critic Clement Greenberg. Melzac’s own collection was presented at a Corcoran exhibition in 1970-71 entitled The Vincent Melzac Collection: Modernist American Art Featuring New York Abstract Expressionism and Washington Color Painting. The exhibition showcased one of the finest collections of American Abstract Expressionists together with Washington Color School artists. Works by Willem de Kooning, Norman Bluhm, and Michael Goldberg were displayed alongside Reed, Mehring and Downing. By positioning these lesser-known artists alongside their famous contemporaries, Melzac was instrumental in grounding the Washington Color School artists’ talent and achievements within a broader context. Works by Washington Color School painters continue to be discovered by collectors today.
39 Howard Mehring American, 1931-1978 Magenta Double, 1964 Inscribed Magenta Double and dated May 1964 on the reverse Oil on collaged unprimed canvas 72 1/4 x 72 inches (183.51 x 182.88 cm) Unframed Provenance: A.M. Sachs Gallery, New York Exhibited: Washington, DC, The Washington Gallery of Modern Art, Washington Color Painters, Jun. 25 - Sep. 5, 1965; traveled to Austin, TX, University of Texas, University Art Museum, then to Santa Barbara, University of California, Art Gallery, then to Waltham, MA, Brandeis University, Rose Art Gallery, then to Minneapolis, Walker Art Center C $15,000-20,000
Collection of Gilbert & Sandra Oken 40 Howard Mehring American, 1931-1978 Untitled Oil on collaged unprimed canvas 44 x 44 inches (111.76 x 111.76 cm) Provenance: Purchased directly from the artist by the current owners C $10,000-15,000
Collection of Gilbert & Sandra Oken 41 Howard Mehring American, 1931-1978 Untitled Oil on collaged unprimed canvas 34 x 34 inches (86.36 x 86.36 cm) Provenance: Purchased directly from the artist by the current owners C $7,000-10,000
Collection of Gilbert & Sandra Oken
Collection of Gilbert & Sandra Oken
42 Howard Mehring American, 1931-1978 Untitled Signed Howard Mehring and inscribed #1 on the reverse Oil on unprimed canvas 31 x 31 inches (78.74 x 78.74 cm)
43 Howard Mehring American, 1931-1978 Untitled Signed Howard Mehring on the reverse Oil on unprimed collaged canvas 32 x 20 inches (81.28 x 50.8 cm)
Provenance: Purchased directly from the artist by the current owners C $7,000-10,000
Provenance: Purchased directly from the artist by the current owners C $5,000-7,000
Collection of Gilbert & Sandra Oken 44 Howard Mehring American, 1931-1978 Untitled, 1957 Signed Mehring and dated 57 on the stretcher Oil on unprimed canvas 10 1/8 x 9 3/8 inches (25.71 x 23.81 cm) Provenance: Purchased directly from the artist by the current owners C $700-900
Collection of Gilbert & Sandra Oken 45 Thomas Downing American, 1928-1985 Untitled Acrylic on unprimed canvas Parallelogram, 23 3/4 x 30 3/4 inches (60.32 x 78.10 cm) Provenance: Purchased directly from the artist by the current owners, purportedly C $5,000-7,000
Collection of Gilbert & Sandra Oken 46 Paul Reed American, 1919-2015 #2B, 1965 Signed Paul Reed, dated 1965 and inscribed as titled on the stretcher Acrylic on unprimed canvas 65 x 93 1/2 inches (165.1 x 237.49 cm) Provenance: Purchased directly from the artist by the current owners Exhibited: Washington, DC, The Washington Gallery of Modern Art, Washington Color Painters, Jun. 25 - Sep. 5, 1965; traveled to Austin, TX, University of Texas, University Art Museum, then to Santa Barbara, University of California, Art Gallery, then to Waltham, MA, Brandeis University, Rose Art Gallery, then to Minneapolis, Walker Art Center C $10,000-15,000
Collection of Gilbert & Sandra Oken 47 Paul Reed American, 1919-2015 Topeka XX, 1967 Signed Paul Reed, dated 1967 and inscribed as titled on the stretcher Acrylic on unprimed canvas Polygon, 56 1/4 x 28 1/2 inches (142.9 x 72.4 cm) Provenance: Purchased directly from the artist by the current owners C $8,000-12,000
Collection of Gilbert & Sandra Oken 49 Paul Reed American, 1919-2015 #12A, 1964 Signed Paul Reed, dated 1964 and inscribed as titled on the reverse; signed Paul Reed, dated 1964 and inscribed as titled on the stretcher Oil on unprimed canvas 34 x 34 inches (86.36 x 86.36 cm) Provenance: Purchased directly from the artist by the current owners C $7,000-10,000
Collection of Gilbert & Sandra Oken 48 Paul Reed American, 1919-2015 Untitled, 1962 Signed Paul Reed, inscribed #4 and dated 1962 on the reverse Oil on unprimed canvas 42 1/2 x 42 inches (107.95 x 106.68 cm) Provenance: Purchased directly from the artist by the current owners C $7,000-9,000
Collection of Gilbert & Sandra Oken 51 Paul Reed American, 1919-2015 Untitled: Triptych, 1989 Signed Paul Reed and dated 1989 (lr) on right sheet; dated 8 22 89 1 (ll) on left sheet Monoprint with offset photo print Each monoprint sheet 17 1/2 x 11 3/4 inches, photographic sheet 17 1/2 x 11 1/2 inches Provenance: Purchased directly from the artist by the current owners C $1,000-1,500
Collection of Gilbert & Sandra Oken 52 Paul Reed American, 1919-2015 Untitled: Quadriptych, 1979 Inscribed on left sheet 91783 (ll); inscribed on sheet second from left 1219783 (ll); inscribed on sheet second from right 116974 (ll); signed Paul Reed and dated 1979 (lr), and inscribed 27292 (ll) on right sheet Pastel, graphite and marker on four separate sheets of sketchbook paper Overall 12 x 36 inches (30.48 x 91.44 cm) Provenance: Purchased directly from the artist by the current owners C $700-900
Collection of Gilbert & Sandra Oken 53 Paul Reed American, 1919-2015 Tabula, 1998 Signed Paul Reed, dated April 6, 1998 and inscribed as titled on the reverse Oil on unprimed canvas 12 x 12 inches (30.48 x 30.48 cm) Unframed Provenance: Purchased directly from the artist by the current owners C $700-900
Collection of Gilbert & Sandra Oken
Collection of Gilbert & Sandra Oken 54 Paul Reed American, 1919-2015 Untitled, 1989 Signed Paul Reed, dated 1989 and inscribed 11 23 892 (lc) Acrylic and monoprint on paper 22 x 29 3/4 inches (55.88 x 75.56 cm) Provenance: Purchased directly from the artist by the current owners C $600-800
55 Paul Reed American, 1919-2015 (i) Foxhall Mews, 1988 Signed Paul Reed and dated 1988 (lr); inscribed as titled (ll) Photo collage on paper Sight size 10 1/4 x 22 1/2 inches (26.03 x 57.15 cm) (ii) Pali-Conn, 1988 Signed Paul Reed and dated 1988 (lr); inscribed as titled (ll) Photo collage on paper Sight size 11 1/2 x 8 inches (29.21 x 20.32 cm) Provenance: Purchased directly from the artist by the current owners C $500-800
Childe Hassam’s
Haywagon in the Countryside
This rural scene by Childe Hassam is painted in the umbrous tones frequently associated with the Barbizon School. The work dates from around 1884-1885. It is consistent in theme with works executed after the artist's first trip abroad in 1883, while he was living and working once again in his native Boston. It was only after his second trip abroad that Hassam adopted a brighter palette and a more impressionistic approach to painting. The crisp signature, with the terminal vertical stroke of the "m" extending downward, is also consistent with that employed by Hassam in this early phase of his career.
The piece relates to a number of other thickly-painted compositions from 1884 and 1885 that are generally considered American, not French. These depict pastoral landscapes and farm scenes, some including hay stacks or, like the present work, a wagon traversing a country road. Among these are an 1884 Landscape (Collection Mead Art Museum, Amherst), and A Back Road (Brooklyn Museum of Art). We are grateful to Kathleen Burnside for her kind assistance in cataloguing this work.
62 Childe Hassam American, 1859-1935 Haywagon in the Countryside Signed Childe Hassam (ll) Oil on canvas 21 1/4 x 25 1/4 inches Provenance: Spanierman Gallery, LLC, New York C $60,000-80,000
FIKRET MUALLA SHANI TOLEDANO EXPLORES
By the time Fikret Moualla (Mualla) painted Sept Personnages in 1960, he was deeply entrenched in the life of a Parisian bohemian. Inspired by the people and energy of Paris, his vibrant, colorful, expressive works were odes to the city he loved. Often described as a lonely, troubled soul, Mualla was prone to violent mood swings prompted both by his heavy drinking and the scars of events in his childhood. However, although he painted and drank as a way to deal with the ghosts of his past, his works express his joy, rather than his anguish. Fikret Mualla was born and raised in the district of Kadikoy, Istanbul on the northern shore of the Sea of Marmara. He lived a carefree life as a child, and was very close to his mother. Two events in his young life — a football accident which left him with a permanently damaged foot, and the death of this mother from the Spanish flu — were to have a profound effect on his mental health. Unable to accept his father’s marriage to a much younger woman not long after his mother’s passing, for which the artist blamed himself, his behavior became erratic. His father, unable to cope with his instability, sent him to study engineering in Switzerland. After about a year in Switzerland, Mualla left for Berlin. There he felt an immediate affinity for the city’s bohemian lifestyle and decided to devote his life to creating art. He returned to Turkey after a few years when his funds ran low and took several positions teaching art there, but these were unfortunately short-lived. In order to make a living, Mualla wrote, drew costume designs and made illustrations for books. He became very close friends with the soprano Semiha Berksoy, the writer Nazim Hikmet, and was championed by another friend, the renowned artist Abidin Dino. Mualla had his first art exhibition in Turkey in 1934, although its reception was less then encouraging. He left for Paris several years later, never to return.
Despite living among titans of 20th-century Modernism—Picasso, Matisse, Van Dongen, Chagall, and Lhote—Mualla belonged to no school, adhering to no philosophy other than his own. Unconcerned with the theoretical problems of art, he painted daily, feverishly, portraying a world of people in bars, cafes, and on the street. The people of Paris were his inspiration and were to remain his muse for the rest of his life. In Sept Personnages, the artist has captured a particular moment in time— a view set against the Pont Marie. The figures are rendered in brilliant hues of yellow and blue; a woman is lost in thought as others pass her by. His choice of color invokes the Fauves; his execution of line and form, the Expressionists. Yet, his work remains distinctly his own.
Plaque of the Académie de la Grande Chaumière
While in Paris, Mualla studied in the studio of Othon Friesz at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, one of the most influential art schools in Paris of the 20th century. Some of the most recognized and important modern artists of the last century studied there, including Louise Bourgeois and Tamara de Lempicka, whose work is also represented in our May 20th sale.
Much of Fikret Mualla’s art remains in important private and public collections, including the Ankara Museum of Painting and Sculpture and the Sakıp Sabancı Museum. Ending shortly before our sale of Important Paintings is the exhibition “Fikret Mualla: A Lonely and Wounded Life” at the Folkart Gallery in Izmir. Although he is recognized today as one of Turkey’s most important modernist artists, Fikret Mualla’s talent was not fully appreciated during his lifetime. As he struggled through bouts of poverty, emotional torment and several stays in institutions, he nevertheless persevered, leaving behind his remarkable love letter to Paris.
75 Fikret Mualla Turkish/French, 1903-1967 Sept Personages, 1960 Signed Fikret Mualla and dated 60 (ll) Gouache on paper 25 3/8 x 21 1/2 inches (64.5 x 54.6 cm) C $12,000-18,000
ANGELO MADRIGALE EXPLORES
THE FUTURE-PRIMITIVE PANELS OF
The grand scale of Cecil Skotnes’ work evokes the enormity of the African landscape itself, and the angst reflects the tragedy and turmoil he witnessed first-hand in South Africa. A London-born son of a missionary family, Skotnes grew to become an indispensable teacher and mentor who looked to democratize the South African art world in the face of Apartheid. Against the wishes of the state government, Skotnes opened the first professional art school in South Africa in 1954.
Deeply influenced by Henry Moore as well as Picasso’s Cubist period, Skotnes balanced the importance of the Western fine art he loved with his lifelong role as an outspoken voice in the South African community. “As chronicler of the South African situation,” Skotnes attested, “I could not think in European terms. My approach had to originate here, otherwise my art would be a lie of little importance.”
Beginning the incised paintings for which he is best known in 1956, Skotnes was given pieces of parquet flooring with which to experiment. He achieved transformative techniques, using the woodblock less as a printmaking device than as the work of art itself. Skotnes’ incised wood panels, with pigments applied directly to its surface, spoke to the traditions of indigenous wooden mask-making and carving in tribal African craft. The artist’s materials and use of scale also lent themselves to the creation of murals.
Landscapes and figural references to African life and culture were Skotnes’ primary focus. He deftly balanced Christian iconography with traditional African figures and flora. These heavily-incised panels embrace abstraction while referencing Skotnes’ deep passion for religious art and his undying devotion to the South Africa he loved.
“My approach had to originate here, otherwise my art would be a lie of little importance.” A La Jolla Family Collection 89 Cecil Skotnes South African, 1926-2009 Untitled Signed C. Skotnes (lr) Painted and incised wood panel Overall including artist’s frame 49 5/8 x 97 1/2 inches (126.04 x 247.65 cm) Provenance: Purchased directly from the artist by the current owner C $20,000-30,000
A La Jolla Family Collection 90 Cecil Skotnes South African, 1926-2009 Untitled Signed C. Skotnes (ll) Painted and incised wood panel 48 x 35 1/4 inches (121.92 x 89.53 cm) Provenance: Purchased directly from the artist by the current owner C $10,000-15,000
Orville Bulman
Orville Bulman was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1904 to Margaret Agnes (Maggie) and Elvah O. Bulman, known as E. O. Though E. O. only had a formal education up to the eighth grade, he was both industrious and clever. He designed and built a number of devices to dispense and cut twine and paper for shop-owners and their customers which were used for wrapping parcels. His ingenuity, matched by his business acumen, enabled him to grow his company from a modest cottage industry into a corporation that supplied its products to stores around the world. By the time his son Orville was in high school, E. O. had established his family in the upper class of Grand Rapids society.
Orville Bulman, Tiger in the Garden, 1977. Sold by Doyle for $8,750.
Orville took an early interest in drawing and provided cartoons and illustrations for his school’s publications. It was expected that the young man would help run the family business after graduating high school, but instead he decided to try his luck in Chicago. There he worked for some time as an illustrator for a newspaper and later enrolled at the Art Institute of Chicago. However, discouraged by the prospects offered by a cartoonist’s or painter’s wages, he decided to return to Grand Rapids to work for his father. Although Bulman had the satisfaction of helping run a successful business, he never lost his desire for artistic expression. He continued to do illustration work for local companies in town and self-published books of his work on the side. He also took brief lessons in painting, including a two week course at the Ox-bow art school in Saugatuck, Michigan. In 1948 or 49, at the invitation of his friend Denny Winters and her husband Herman Cherry, he visited the Woodstock artists’ colony for a time to paint. During his brief time at Woodstock he was introduced to a number of artists who would end up becoming close friends, including Adolph Dehn, Arnold Blanch, and Doris Lee.
Bulman’s early work was influenced by, and was a continuation of, the Regionalist and Social Realist traditions. By the late forties Bulman had moved part-time to Palm Beach, Florida where he took to painting the poor neighborhoods of North Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana, as well as those of his home state of Michigan. For the most part the palette of these paintings is somber in tone, though these works do hint at the artist’s natural ability as a colorist. Bulman handled his subjects with sympathy, for he was well aware of how charmed his own life was and he sought to evoke our shared humanity across class lines. Bulman was well traveled and he had explored much of the Caribbean, but in 1952 he made his first trip to Haiti. By this time he was the President of the Bulman Manufacturing Company and was starting to gain recognition as a painter. He had had a few successful solo exhibitions of his work, including a sold out show at the Worth Avenue Gallery in Palm Beach in March of 1952. (right) Orville Bulman, Une Agreable Rencontre, 1969. Sold by Doyle for $53,125.
The trip to Haiti proved to be a turning point in the artist’s career. There he would find the subject and develop the style that set him apart from his contemporaries. He visited the local galleries and absorbed the island’s artistic traditions. Using his natural charm and affection for people he was able to ingratiate himself with the locals and procure a much desired invitation to the backcountry, where he stayed among the rural population, escaping the tourist traps of the city of Port au Prince. He returned to the States inspired and in possession of a trove of sketches and photographs from which to work.
In the years following, the palette of Bulman’s paintings began to brighten. He painted scenes from city life in Port au Prince with its lively streets and pastel-painted houses. He delighted in the architectural details of these buildings, and one can sense the joy he took in depicting their gingerbread trim-work. He also aimed to portray the vitality of the island’s people without falling into caricature. Later in his career, Bulman’s works incorporate more fantastical elements. The buildings begin to appear in more unnatural settings, and his subjects find themselves transported on fanciful “braques” or boats. In Le Parapluie de Madame Clarte from 1961 a woman in a stately pose is having her hair done while perched upon a balcony, shaded by a large pink umbrella. The yellow building is itself perched upon the edge of the shore. The scene is framed by two dignified women in the foreground whose pink dresses echo the color of the umbrella. The overall effect of the painting’s composition and palette is one of serene pleasure.
72 Orville Bulman American, 1904-1978 Le Parapluie de Madame Clarte, 1961 Signed Bulman (ll); signed Orville Bulman, dated 1961, and inscribed as titled on the reverse Oil on canvas 20 x 18 inches (50.8 x 45.7 cm) Provenance: Collection of K. Oscar Gren, Palm Beach, FL [Sale] Arthur James Galleries, Delray Beach, FL, Sept. 2004, lot 201 C Estate of a Palm Beach Heiress $10,000-20,000 See Illustration
Eventually Bulman began to leave Haiti behind as a subject matter, withdrawing to a more personal, imaginary place, which he called “Bulman’s Island.” The jungle landscape of Bulman’s Island was inspired by the artist’s property on Point Manalapan, south of Palm Beach. Its inhabitants are costumed in the dress from various cultures. They may wear the uniform of a colonial officer or bear the shield of an African warrior. They might don fanciful headdresses or be cloaked in burkas. This international cast lives alongside, and in harmony with, an exotic fauna that includes zebras, giraffes, tigers, and of course, lions.
71 Orville Bulman American, 1904-1978 Le Concert Signed Orville Bulman (ll); signed Orville Bulman and inscribed as titled on the reverse Oil on canvas 24 x 36 inches (61 x 91.4 cm) Literature: Deborah Pollack, Orville Bulman: An Enchanted Life and Fantastic Legacy, Blue Heron Press, Toronto, ON, Canada, 2005, p. 198, illus. p. 202 C Estate of a Palm Beach Heiress $20,000-30,000 See Illustration
(left) Orville Bulman, Ou Est-Elle, 1969. Sold by Doyle for $25,000.
In Le Concert an African warrior, a crane, and a lion listen intently as a woman performs on a harp. Deborah C. Pollack in her book Orville Bulman: An Enchanted Life and Fantastic Legacy, Blue Heron Press, 2005, p. 198 (to which this brief essay is largely indebted) compares the handling of the foliage in this work to that of Botticelli and Pietro di Sano. She also points out the similarity of the theme to that of Edward Hicks’s Peaceable Kingdom. These late paintings were also heavily influenced by Henri Rousseau, a similarity acknowledged by the artist himself. But Rousseau’s jungle is a more dangerous place than Bulman’s. On Bulman’s Island one gets the sense that the animals are protectors of the island’s people and they are often gazing out at the viewer with some amount of distrust. Bulman must have felt a special affinity for Rousseau. Both men were largely self-taught. They both came to painting from professions outside the art world, and while both men were certainly acknowledged for their accomplishments during their lives, they were both always seen by some as outsiders.
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Lot 87 Martin Wong, American, 1946-1999, Store Front, Chinatown SF, circa 1976, Oil on canvas, 20 x 16 inches (50.8 x 40.64 cm), Unframed, Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist by the current owner. Est: $8,000 - $12,000
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