Sale At Auction of an Important Jules André Smith Artist’s Sketchbook Lot 329 November 17, 2012
Neal Auction Company
Lot 329 - November 17th, 2012 Jules André Smith (American/Florida, 1880-1959), Artist’s Sketchbook, 1927-28, a
bound
collection
of over 475 miniature compositions in watercolor and crayon (ranging in size from 3 ¼ in. x 2 ¼ in. to 2 ½ in. x 4 in.) for drawings, paintings, portraits and prints, with the artist’s monogram on front and back covers; inside front cover inscribed in the artist’s hand, “These date from my first winter in Florida / 1927-28”, and in a different hand, “Property of A[ttilio]. J. [‘Duke’] Banca [1901-1984], Stony Creek, Conn.”, the handsomely half-leather-bound album contained in a fine archival clamshell box under linen covers, with Smith’s abstract watercolor composition from the interior album cover reproduced in silkscreen on the outer cover, and with a reproduction of his added date of “1931-32”. [$5,000 / $7,000] Note: Born to American parents in China, where his father was a shipbuilder, then moving with his widowed mother and brothers to Hamburg in Germany in the late 1880s before settling in New York, Smith enrolled in 1898 at Cornell University, from which he took his B.A. degree in 1902, as well as a Master of Science in Architecture in 1904. Following a two-year traveling fellowship from Cornell to
Page 1
study European architecture, he dedicated the next five years to an architectural apprenticeship, and three more to professional practice, before his prints attracted notice in New York (e.g. Whistler-esque architectural subjects in Avignon 1910 and other European towns). Smith was thus able to set up as an independent artist: such early prints as these won him a Gold Medal at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco in 1915. The fundamental influence on his career, however, was the triumph of Modernism in the “Armory Show” of 1913 in New York; his large Untitled composition in a precisionist Cubist style reminiscent of Léger, for example, dates from c. 1913-15. Another profound influence on his art came from one of the youngest contributors to the Armory Show, Stuart Davis (1894-1964), whose experimental style strongly underlies (among many others of his works) Smith’s Collage of 1924. After attending an Officers’ Training School at Plattsburgh, NY in 1917, Smith was commissioned a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, and worked with camouflage units in the Engineer Reserve Corps before his assignment as an active-duty Captain with the American Expeditionary
Forces;
he
eventually
designed
the
Distinguished Service Cross. He continued to work mainly in Modernist abstraction upon his return to the U.S., but varied that idiom with prominent Surrealist motifs, and with his inclusion of representational Christian themes. Like Davis, he also experimented with “close-up” landscapes of a street or a few buildings rendered in simplified forms and primary colors. This is witnessed in the sketchbook offered here by the astonishingly varied and appealing sketches. This album in fact records the prodigious output of his “first winter in Florida,” to which he had been introduced by his
Page 2
close friend ‘Duke’ Banca, the later owner of this book. Deciding to settle in Winter Park, he began by painting sets for Annie Russell’s theatre, where he met his most devoted patron, Mary Louise Bok, in 1935. Smith acquired a sizeable property in neighboring Maitland, where beginning in 1937 he constructed a sort of ideal artistic compound, which he named The Research Studio. It grew considerably larger and its program became more elaborate after its opening in 1938, but from the outset it was conceived as a kind of haven during the winter months for a small group of “Bok Fellows” in Residence (among the first of whom was the great Ralston Crawford, 1906-1978), who typically lived in its individual artists’ quarters from November to April. It had a precarious existence, including a variety of legal challenges, after Smith’s death; but it survives today as the Maitland Art Center. In the buildings he designed for The Research Studio in the later 1930s and following, Smith introduced
extensive
motifs and imagery from the Mesoamerican world, as well as iconographies suggestive of Christianity, Buddhism, and other faiths; but the early album offered here showcases his fundamental devotion to abstract modernism. Its beautifully composed small compositions are mainly executed in grisaille watercolor, though other media are often incorporated, culminating in brilliant color especially in his tightly concentrated landscape studies. Smith’s major publication was a
Page 3
privately-printed book of 1937 called Art and the Subconscious, in which he espoused the concept of “automatic” composition: its 38 illustrations—each accompanied by an 8-line poem—reproduce drawings that he made at a uniform “12 by 17 inches” similar to the smaller rectangles of the same proportion in this album. Their unifying thread is markedly Surrealist; but the “purer” abstractions offered here succinctly summarize his first twenty years of artistic experience, and offer a comprehensive encyclopedia of the motifs that organize and illuminate his extraordinary art. References: André Smith, Art and the Subconscious [“In Explanation;” “Drawings;” “Verses;” and “Postscript” apparently issued in separate fascicles], Maitland, FL, 1937; Ginny C. Seibert, The Legacy of André Smith, M.A. thesis, University of Central Florida, Orlando, 2005
Contact Michelle LeBlanc Leckert for inquiries 800.467.5329 michelle@nealauction.com
Page 4
Neal Auction Company
#
Auctioneers & Appraisers of Antiques & Fine Art 4038 Magazine Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70115 s &AX s WWW NEALAUCTION COM
Confidential Absentee / Telephone Bid Form
12/10M
PLEASE REVIEW GUIDELINES FOR ABSENTEE & TELEPHONE BIDDING: 4 ELEPHONE BIDDING WILL BE TAKEN AT THE DISCRETION OF .EAL !UCTION #OMPANY %ACH ITEM MUST HAVE A LOW ESTIMATE OF OR MORE !BSENTEE BIDS ARE GLADLY ACCEPTED FOR ALL ITEMS BELOW !LL ABSENTEE BIDS AND OR TELEPHONE BIDS MUST BE IN OUR GALLERY BY 0 - #34 THE &RIDAY PRIOR TO THE AUCTION )N THE EVENT IDENTICAL BIDS ARE SUBMITTED THE EARLIEST BID RECEIVED WILL TAKE PRECEDENCE ! DEPOSIT MUST ACCOMPANY ALL BIDS ! CREDIT CARD NUMBER IS REQUIRED FOR SECURING YOUR BIDS !UCTION ADDENDUM AVAILABLE PRIOR TO THE AUCTION ON THE WEBSITE OR VIA FACSIMILE !LL PROPERTY IS SOLD h!3 )3v .O STATEMENT REGARDING CONDITION OF ANY ITEM WHETHER IT IS MADE ORALLY AT THE AUCTION OR ANY OTHER TIME OR IN WRITING IN THE CATALOGUE OR ELSEWHERE SHALL BE DEEMED TO BE A WARRANTY REPRESENTATION OR ASSUMPTION OF LIABILITY )N THE EVENT OF DISCREPANCIES LOT NUMBER AND NOT LOT DESCRIPTION WILL TAKE PRECEDENCE
First Last Name: _________________________ Name: ____________________________________ Company: __________________________ Address: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ City: _____________________________________________ Prov/State _______________________ Postal Code ________________ (OME 0H ????? ??????????????????? 7ORK 0H ????? ?????????????????????? &AX ????? ????????????????????? Dealer Resale# ________________________________State __________Email: __________________________________________________ Dealers must provide Neal Auction Company with proper documentation prior to bidding.
MUST PROVIDE: MUST PROVIDE: Cash Payment Credit #HECK 6ISA -# $ISCOVER !MEX??????????????????????????????????????? %XP ??????? Method: Card 7IRE #REDIT #ARD 6 CODE ???????? )& 35##%33&5, PLEASE BILL MY CARD .UMBER 4O #ALL &OR 0HONE "ID ???? ?????????????????????????? ???? ??????????????????????????
,OT
$ESCRIPTION
"ID !MOUNT OR 4ELEPHONE .O
I understand that Neal Auction Company undertakes the execution of absentee bids as a convenience for clients and is not responsible for inadvertent failure to execute bids, or for any error in the execution of bids. I have read and agree to the “Conditions of Sale� as stated in the catalogue. I understand that a buyer’s premium will be charged on each lot purchased at 22% up to and including $200,000 plus 10% of the hammer price greater than $200,000. For purchase made by cash, check or wire transfer, the buyer’s premium shall be discounted 2.5% of this 22%. No exceptions.
Signature Required
Date
For Internal Use Only: Approved _____________Registered ___________ Entered ____________ #LERKS )NITIAL _______________ Account # _________________ Confirmed ______________________
&AX &ORM ON OR BEFORE &RIDAY TO OR 237
CONDITIONS OF SALE Placing a bid at auction constitutes buyer’s acceptance of and agreement to these Conditions of Sale. 1. WAIVER OF WARRANTY: All lots are sold “AS IS”. No statement regarding condition, kind, value, or quality of a lot, whether made orally at the auction or at any other time, or in writing in this catalogue or elsewhere, shall be construed to be an express or implied warranty, representation, or assumption of liability. Any such warranty is WAIVED. Regarding works of art, Neal Auction Company does not make any express or implied warranty as to authorship. No statement in the catalogue or elsewhere, orally or in writing, shall be construed as an express or implied warranty, representation or limitation of liability as to authorship. Any such warranty is WAIVED. Buyer agrees and acknowledges that: (a) buyer is not relying on Neal Auction Company’s skill or judgment in selecting to purchase any lot; (b) no oral or written statements in the catalogue of Neal Auction Company or elsewhere regarding condition, attribution, kind, quality, value or authorship are the cause of or reason behind buyer’s purchase of any lot; (c) buyer would have incurred the purchase of any lot regardless of any oral or written statements about condition, attribution, kind, quality, value, or authorship made in the catalogue or elsewhere; (d) Neal Auction Company did not know and could not have known that condition, attribution, kind, quality, expressed value, or authorship is the cause or reason why buyer decides to purchase any lot; (e) buyer’s purchase of any lot is not intended to gratify a nonpecuniary interest; and (f) Neal Auction Company did not know, nor should it have known, that any oral or written statement about a lot in the catalogue or elsewhere would cause a nonpecuniary loss to buyer. Notwithstanding the foregoing WAIVER OF WARRANTY, agreements and acknowledgements, Neal Auction Company may in its sole discretion, but shall not be obligated to, consider any reasonable request for rescission of a sale on the basis of authenticity of authorship of a work of art under the following terms and conditions only, all of which must be met: A. Neal Auction Company shall not grant rescission regarding lots identified by Neal Auction Company by the terms “attributed to,” “school of,” “manner of,” “after,” or “signature of.” B. Neal Auction Company shall not grant rescission regarding any lot unless the buyer notifies Neal Auction Company in writing within a reasonable time from the date of the auction, and returns the lot to Neal Auction Company in the same condition that the lot was in at the time of sale. C. Neal Auction Company shall not grant rescission regarding any lot unless the buyer presents to Neal Auction Company a written document signed by a recognized art expert acceptable to Neal Auction Company that the lot in question is a forgery. D. Neal Auction Company shall not grant rescission to any person (including but not limited to the original buyer’s heirs, legatees, assigns, transferees, or subsequent purchasers) other than the original buyer, and any rights of the original buyer are not transferrable or assignable. E. Neal Auction Company shall not grant rescission when: (i) there is a conflict of expert opinion as to the authorship; (ii) expert opinion supported authorship at the time of sale, although expert opinion may have changed after the date of sale; and (iii) scientific processes that were unavailable, expensive or impractical at the time of sale have revealed since the time of sale that the author or period Neal Auction Company believed to be accurate at the time of sale was inaccurate. F. In any dispute between Neal Auction Company and buyer regarding authorship of a work of art, it is stipulated that rescission of the sale and refund of the price paid shall be the buyer’s sole recourse or remedy, if any is available, and Neal Auction Company shall not be responsible or obligated for any damages (including compensatory, general, incidental, exemplary or special damages), non-pecuniary losses, costs, expenses, injury, mental anguish, lost profits, attorney’s fees, or any other monetary or injunctive relief. 2. The auctioneer shall have absolute discretion in determining the successful bidder. At the fall of the auctioneer’s hammer, title to the offered lot will pass to the bidder acknowledged by the auctioneer. The bidder thereupon assumes full risk and responsibility and will pay full purchase price for the said lot.
3. The auctioneer may decide that any original bid is not commensurate with the value of the article offered, or that any advance thereafter is not of sufficient amount, he may reject the same. 4. The auctioneer reserves the right to withdraw any item at any time before the sale of the item. 5. No merchandise will be released before the end of the auction. 6. If the buyer fails to comply with any of the conditions of sale, Neal Auction Company reserves the right to hold such defaulting buyer liable for the purchase price; to cancel the sale, retaining as liquidated damages any payment made by the buyer; resell the property without reserve at public auction or privately on seven days’ notice to the buyer or, take such other actions available by law as deemed necessary or appropriate. If Neal Auction Company resells the property, the original defaulting buyer shall be liable for the payment of any deficiency in the purchase price and all costs and expenses, including warehousing, the expenses of both sales, reasonable attorneys’ fees, commissions, incidental damages and all other charges due hereunder. ABSENTEE/TELEPHONE BIDS 1. All absentee bids and/or telephone bids must be in our gallery by 5 P.M. CST the Thursday prior to the auction. 2. All arrangements for bidding should be made as early as possible. Telephone bidding will be taken at the discretion of the Neal Auction Company. Each item must have a minimum low estimate of $500. 3. We assume no responsibility for failure to execute bids for any reason whatsoever. 4. We reserve the right to require that advance bids be accompanied by a 25% deposit. PAYMENT 1. The successful bidder agrees to pay a buyer’s premium in the amount of 22% of the hammer price on each lot up to and including $200,000, plus 10% of the hammer price greater than $200,000. For purchases made by cash, check or wire transfer, the buyer’s premium shall be discounted 2.5% of this 22%. 2. Unless exempt by law, the purchaser will be required to pay Louisiana and local taxes, and, if applicable, any federal luxury or other tax, on the total purchase price. 3. Documentation of tax exemption must be provided upon registration. 4. Payment in full must be made by the successful bidder within ten days of the auction date. Interest charges will apply to invoices paid after this period expires. We reserve the right to require payment in full of the sales price at the moment of the successful bid. 5. VISA, MasterCard, Discover and American Express are accepted for invoices up to $25,000 per customer. LIVE INTERNET BIDDING Live internet bidding is available through Live Auctioneers at a buyer’s premium in the amount of 23% of the hammer price. See www.liveauctioneers.com TERMS Any customer not accredited by Neal Auction Company must present a letter of reference from their bank or other suitable source acceptable to Neal Auction Company. Neal Auction Company requests that the merchandise be held on premises until the check clears or money can be wired into the Neal Auction Company account. SHIPPING We will assist buyers in making shipping arrangements by furnishing information on packers and shippers. Handling of purchased lots by us is at the risk of the purchaser. Final shipping arrangements and agreements are strictly between the buyer and the shipper. STORAGE We will be glad to store certain items purchased at auction until transportation is arranged. Unless other arrangements are made and confirmed in writing, all items must be removed within one week of the auction. On the first business day following that time period, merchandise remaining in the gallery will be turned over to a storage facility. The owner will be responsible for handling and storage costs. Handling costs will be a minimum of $50. Storage rates will carry a minimum charge of $15 per month. For a list of our storage charges by item category, please ask our customer service personnel at the front desk area. All items handled or stored will be at the purchaser’s risk. Storage charges are billed monthly and must be paid before merchandise is released. We are not liable for any damage to merchandise after the sale. 199
Lot 329 • November 17th, 2012
Neal Auction Company 800.467.5329 www.nealauction.com