Old Masters through contemporary works at Skinner, May 18

Fine Prints:

Skinner continues to experience strong growth with multiples and works on paper. The upcoming sale will present an excellent assortment of prints and photography. A fine selection of modern & contemporary works will be offered, spearheaded by works of Roy Lichtenstein and Paul Klee.

The cover lot is Roy Lichtenstein’s Imperfect Diptych. From 1986 to 1988 Lichtenstein created a series of works that collectively came to be known as the Imperfect Series. Each work in the series features tangram-like geometric shapes, in which one element projects beyond the normal frame of composition. Lichtenstein often used a method known as overprinting to saturate colors; the Mylar elements in these collages have a clear coat overprint to maintain the reflective qualities of these saturated portions. Lichtenstein’s Imperfect Diptych (lot 79, estimated between $20,000 and $30,000) is the 24th work in the series and is an excellent example of the techniques used throughout the series.

Paul Klee’s Höhe! (Height!) of 1928 (lot 73, $50,000 to $70,000) demonstrates the artist’s iconic visual vocabulary of fine lines to create a dream-like and whimsical image.

African-American Artists:

The sale also features an interesting group of fine paintings and prints by African-American artists such as Jacob Lawrence’s Lawyers and Clients (lot 76, $4,000 to $6,000) and an untitled color lithograph by Gene Davis (lot 37, $2,000 to $3,000). Also on offer are several paintings by Sam Gilliam including an acrylic and pastel on canvas titled Iceland I (lot 510, $20,000 to $30,000), and an untitled abstract (lot 509, $2,000 to $3,000).

Photography:

Ansel Adams’s The Tetons and the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming (lot 158, $35,000 to $45,000) represents one of many photography highlights. This work demonstrates Adams’s magnificent use of burning and dodging techniques to create the rich look of his iconic landscapes.

Adams inspired another photographer featured in the sale: Eliot Porter. A chance meeting with Adams and a subsequent meeting with Alfred Stieglitz prompted Porter to abandon a career as a research biologist to pursue photography. He eventually became a pioneer in dye transfer prints. Porter’s Certain Passages (lot 171, $3,500 to $4,000) is a portfolio comprised of eight landscapes that descended through the family of the artist. Harry Callahan’s Eleanor (lot 161, $12,000 to $18,000), an image of his muse, will also be offered.

Fine Paintings and Sculpture:

Fine paintings on offer range from Old Masters through contemporary works. Works from the 18th and 19th centuries include a strong group by Dutch and German Masters such as Jan Jacob Spohler, Hermann Herzog, Richard Zimmermann, and Hermann Baisch. Other highlights include a portrait attributed to Allan Ramsay (lot 208, $10,000 to $15,000) titled Portrait of a Lady Holding a Book of Verse; Eugène Louis Lami’s Equestrian Portrait of Louis Phillippe, King of France, 1830 (lot 210, $18,000 to $22,000); and Awaiting the Master by Wouterus Verschuur I (lot 244, $12,000 to $18,000).

Karel Appel’s Presque Une Joie (lot 517, $80,000 to $100,000) leads the 20th century works. The composition makes use of Appel’s signature texture: a thick impasto, often with paint applied directly from the tube. While the present work is not explicitly figurative, its title [“Almost a Joy”] refers to the human condition in terms of melancholy. For Appel, despair was always a counterpart to joy, but the speed with which it could change from one to the other was emblematic of the modern world. Two op-art pieces by Victor Vasarely (lots 528 & 529, both $25,000 to $35,000) will also be auctioned.

A bronze cast by George Kolbe, Skizze zu Wolkenfahrt (lot 501, $40,000 to $50,000), depicting Dante’s tragic lovers Paolo and Francesca, highlights the fine sculpture offered in the sale.

View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

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View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.