| Press Contact: | Catherine Riedell | Colleene Fesko |
| Director of Marketing | Director of Paintings & Prints | |
| Skinner, Inc | Skinner, Inc | |
|
978-779-6341, x231 |
978-779-6241 x | |
AMERICAN SCENES ABOUND AT SKINNER'S PAINTNGS AUCTION: ARTISTS INCLUDE THOMAS HART BENTON, ANDREW WYETH, GRACE HUDSON, ARTHUR WESLEY DOW, FRANK BENSON, AND GRANDMA MOSES
Rubens Santoro Painting Descended Within a Prominent Boston Family;
Several Other Works with New England Provenance;
Sculpture by Remington, Frismuth and Calder
BOSTON, Mass. - February, 2003 – www.skinnerinc.com - Skinner, Inc., one of the nation's leading auction houses for antiques and fine art, will hold an auction of American and European Paintings and Prints on Friday March 7, 2003 in its downtown Boston gallery. The Print Session will begin at 4:00 p.m., the Paintings Session will begin at 6:00 p.m. Skinner's first Paintings & Prints auction of 2003, the sale is rich with wonderful American scenes from the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s, as well as contemporary works from the 1970s through today. Western themes are also abundant in both paintings and sculpture, and a number of works have New England provenance. Also offered are several marine paintings and works with animal themes. Featured artists include Andrew Wyeth, Grace Hudson, Arthur Wesley Dow, Frank Benson, Grandma Moses, Harriet Whitney Frismuth, Alexander Stirling Calder, and perhaps most notably, Thomas Hart Benton.
Thomas Hart Benton
The major highlight of the sale is Lot 615, a work painted by noted American painter Thomas Hart Benton in 1944 entitled Threshing. Incised with signature and date "Benton '44" and inscribed "Restored by T.H. Benton March 1965" on the reverse, the work is framed and estimated at $265,000-$285,000. Thomas Hart Benton was born April 15, 1889, in Neosho, Missouri. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Academie Julian in Paris and worked as an art instructor in New York in the early part of the 20th century, mentoring young artists including Jackson Pollack. Although he experimented in his early work with many of the modern movements and styles that were gaining popularity at the time, Benton was more interested in depicting the true spirit of American life through realism. In the 1930s, along with artists Grant Wood and John Stewart Curry, Benton formed the artistic movement that became known as "Regionalism." The movement sought to capture America - American life, spirit, and meaning by focusing on this county's rural landscape and laborers. The daily activities and seasonal rhythms of farm life dominate Benton's work, and the subject of threshing wheat into grain comes up repeatedly. Benton's fluid style combined with vivid color has made him one of America's most respected artists. Today, Benton's work is included in the collections of hundreds of museums including the Metropolitan Museum, The National Gallery, The Whitney Museum, and the Guggenheim.
New England Provenance
· Lot 223: Mending the Nets/An Italian Coastal View, an oil on canvas by Rubens
Santoro (Italian, 1859-1942), signed and dated "Rubens Santoro 80" will also
be offered. This work has particular local appeal, as it has descended within
a prominent Boston family, and is estimated at $70,000-$90,000.
· Lot 461: Vermont, Watercolor on paper by Andrew Wyeth (American, b. 1917) signed and inscribed "Andrew Wyeth", framed. Painting was from the artist to a private New England collection and is estimated $60,000-80,000.
· Lot 428: Spring Thaw, Vermont, oil on board by Luigi Lucioni (Italian/American, 1900-1988), signed and dated "L. Lucioni '28", framed. The work was purchased from an Old Lyme, Connecticut private collection in 1930, then by decent to the present owner. It is estimated $8,000-12,000.
American Paintings & Sculpture:
· Lot 333: Sunlit Waves, oil on canvas, by William Trost Richards (American,
1833-1905), signed and dated "WmTRichards, framed. Born in Philadelphia, Richards
was the student of German artist Paul Weber. For most of his career, Richards
traveled throughout Europe studying and working chiefly in Florence, Rome, and
Paris. When not traveling, Richards found his way back to the United States,
specifically the Northeast coast, where he painted expansive and luminous coastal
scenes, much like the one presented here. His work is included in the collections
of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Gallery, and the Smithsonian
Museum of American Art, among others. The painting is estimated at $175,000-275,000.
· Lot 457: featured on the catalogue back cover is The Old Bridge in the Valley, an oil on board by Anna Mary Robertson "Grandma" Moses) (American, 1860-1961), signed "Moses" and titled and dated "...Jan. 25, 1944" on artist's label and label from Galerie St. Etienne, New York on the reverse. Spending much of her life as a homemaker on a rural New York farm, Moses didn't begin painting until she was into her seventies. She placed a few of her paintings for sale in a local drugstore where they sat, unsold. It wasn't until New York art collector Louis Caldor happened to see the paintings in that window, almost a year later, that Moses had her first sale. Quite taken with her simple and naive style, Caldor introduced Moses to art dealer Otto Kallir. Through Kallir, Moses' work was included in a show of self-taught artists at the Museum of Modern Art. She later became known as Grandma Moses, as an interest in folk art began to grow. The work is estimated $50,000-$75,000.
· Lot 573: The Sunlit Valley, an oil on canvas by Charles Courtney Curran (American, 1861-1942), signed and dated "CHARLES C. CURRAN, N.A. 1920". The painting was painted in Cragsmoor, New York, in September 1920, exhibited at the 96th Annual Exhibition of the National Academy of Design, New York, March 5 - April 3, 1921, and will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonne on Curran by Kaycee Benton. It is estimated $20,000-$40,000.
· Lot 576: The Vine, bronze sculpture by Harriet Whitney Frishmuth (American, 1880-1979), signed and dated "HARRIET W. FRISHMUTH c. 1921" and inscribed "Gorham Co. Founders." Sculpture presented on a low black plinth and is estimated $3,500-$5,500.
Several American works in the sale depict western themes and scenes.
Highlights of these include:
· Lot 345: The Warrior, Bronze sculpture by Alexander Stirling Calder (American,
1870-1945), signed "Calder" on the belt, signed and dated "A. Stirling Calder
copyrighted 1912" and stamped "Gorham Founders #3 Q584" on the base. Estimated
$5,000-7,000.
· Lot 347: Sacajawea, Plaster cast After Cyrus E. Dallin (American, 1861-1944), signed and dated "(c) C. Dallin 1915" on the base. Caproni and Brother, Boston, purchased the rights to reproduce fourteen of Dallin's Indian subjects, including Appeal to the Great Spirit and Sacajawea. Estimated $3,000-5,000
· Lot 348: The Bronco Buster, Bronze with brown/black patina by Frederic (Sackrider) Remington (American, 1861-1909), c. 1895. Signed "Copyright by Frederic Remington." on the base, inscribed "ROMAN BRONZE WORKS N-Y-" on the base, numbered "No 171" on the underside of the base. The cast presented here was probably cast between the time of the artist's death in 1909 and the death of Eva Remington in 1918. Estimated $50,000-60,000
· Lot 352 and 353 are two works by Grace Carpenter Hudson (American, 1865-1937) Grace Carpenter Hudson was born to well-educated pioneer parents in Potter Valley, California. She showed an early talent for portraiture that was developed by professional training in San Francisco in the late 1870's. In 1891 she painted a portrait of an Indian child, "National Thorn," that was first in a numbered series of over 684 oils, the last completed in 1935. Nearly all of her native subjects were local Pomo peoples:
· Lot 352: Oil on canvas, depicting a Native American baby. Signed and dated "G Hudson 95" l.l., signed and inscribed "Ukiah Cal. 53" on the reverse and framed. Estimated $4,000-6,000
· Lot 353: The Basket Weavers. Oil on canvas, signed and dated "Copyright by G. Hudson 1906" l.r., signed and inscribed "Ukiah Cal. 296" on the reverse and framed. Estimated $25,000-35,000.
Dog Paintings
· Lot 240: A lot of Two, Packs of Hunting Hounds, both oils on panel by Charles
Olivier de Penne (French, 1831-1897), in ornate period frames, estimated $10,000-$15,000.
· Lot 562: Play Time, oil on canvas by Maud Earl (British/American, 1864-1943) Signed (in pencil) "Maud Earl" and estimated at $4,000-$6,000.
· Lot 563: Toy Spaniels, King Charles & Rudy, "The Pillow is the Best..." oil on canvas by Maud Earl (British/American, 1864-1943), signed "Maud Earl" and inscribed on the reverse, in frame. Estimated at $4,000-$6,000.
Prints
· Lot 57: Number Two Dreitorspitze, 1933/34, edition of 150, Lithograph on paper
by Marsden Hartley (American, 1877-1943), signed and dated "Marsden Hartley/1934
and framed. The Dreitorspitze is a Tyrolian mountain in Germany consisting of
three peaks, the highest of which is 8,638 feet above sea level. A retrospective
of the works of Marsden Hartley is on view at the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford,
Connecticut, through April 20, 2003. The print is estimated $3,000-$5,000.
· Lot 62: Les Badines (Madame Helleu), drypoint on laid paper, c. 1895 by Paul Cesar Helleu (French, 1859-1927), signed "Helleu" in pencil, titled in pencil, with collectors stamp (within image.) Estimated $2,000-$2,500
· Lot 37: Little Venice, Color woodcut on Japan paper by Arthur Wesley Dow (American, 1857-1922), unsigned in a period style oak frame. Estimated $1,000-$1,500.
Special Event, Previews, Website and Catalogues
In conjunction with its Thursday evening preview of the Paintings Auction, Skinner will host a very special lecture entitled "The Art of Color". The lecture, presented by Tina Sutton, color specialist and marketing consultant will discuss what ones color choices say about ones personality. The lecture will begin at 6:00 p.m. Auctions previews will be held Wednesday, March 5, 12-5 p.m., Thursday, March 6, 12-7 p.m., and Friday, March 7, 12-3 p.m.
Buyers interested in previewing the sale online can view every lot in color with full lot descriptions and estiamtes on Skinner's web site at www.skinnerinc.com. Skinner's newly revamped site also enables customers to order catalogues, leave bids and check prices realized in real-time during the sale. Illustrated catalog #2190 is available for $29 ($32 for foreign requests) from the subscription department at Skinner/Bolton (978-779-6241 ext. 240.) For more information, call 978-779-6241, fax 978-779-5144, or visit www.skinnerinc.com.
Note to Editors: Photos available upon request. Contact Catherine Riedel at 978-779-6241 x 231.
About Skinner:With galleries in Boston and Bolton, Mass., Skinner is a full-service auctioneer and appraiser of antiques and fine art. Regularly seen on the PBS series, Antiques Roadshow, Skinner is one of the nation’s leading auction houses. Skinner conducts auctions year-round and has received world-record prices for many pieces sold at auction. Departments include American Furniture & Decorative Arts, Paintings & Prints, English & Continental Furniture & Decorations, Fine Ceramics, Jewelry, Couture, 20th Century Furniture & Decorative Arts, Fine Musical Instruments, Asian Art, Fine Judaica, Toys, Dolls & Collectibles, Science & Technology, Oriental Rugs & Carpets, American Indian & Ethnographica, and Discovery. For more information on upcoming auctions, visit Skinner’s web site www.skinnerinc.com.