HERITAGE AUCTIONS’ ART SPECIALISTS SHARE THE LOTS THEY’RE MOST EXCITED ABOUT THIS SEASON
Jean-Michel Basquiat ‘Untitled (Wolf),’ 1984. Softcover book with crayon drawing. 11 x 9 inches (27.9 x 22.9 cm) (cover). 11 x 18-1/4 inches (drawing on full spread). Estimate: $150,000-$250,000.
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled (Wolf), 1984
Offered in Heritage’s May 23 Modern & Contemporary Art Signature® Auction
“Brooklyn-born painter Jean-Michel Basquiat emerged from New York’s vibrant downtown scene in the late 1970s to become one of the most influential and beloved artists of the late 20th century. This commanding work was completed in 1984 and executed at a pivotal point in the artist’s career. Basquiat was New York’s premier art star at this stage, captivating the scene with his unique visual language. In this work, Basquiat draws up a rich art historical tradition and infuses the piece with contemporary themes and concerns. Influences range from cartoons like Three Little Pigs, released in 1933, to human anatomy, words, symbols and politics, and Basquiat masterfully draws these together in this composition. The drawing was made for Martin ‘Marty’ Blinder, the founder of Martin Lawrence Galleries, who also worked with Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf and Andy Warhol.” –Taylor Curry, Director, Modern & Contemporary Art, New York
Nicolai Fechin ‘Taos Studio Interior.’ Oil on canvas. 20 x 24 inches (50.8 x 61.0 cm). Estimate: $150,000-$250,000.
Nicolai Fechin, Taos Studio Interior
Offered in Heritage’s May 12 Diverse Visions: Important Works by American Masters Signature® Auction
“Nicolai Fechin’s Taos Studio Interior is a rare portal into his private studio, a place where he found tranquility and where he created many of the masterworks that are highly collectible in today’s market. Best known for his portraits of Pueblo Indians, Russian peasants and still lifes, Fechin was an extremely skilled craftsman, having learned wood carving from his father. After emigrating from Russia, Fechin moved from New York to New Mexico with his family in 1926 and immediately earned tremendous recognition in the arts. In 1927, the Fechins acquired the property of J.J. Bergman and began a five-year renovation inspired by Russian folk art with intricate carving on the interior beams, columns and doors, as well as crafting much of the furniture using pinon fireplace logs. The windows were carefully planned as the placement and shapes were to accentuate the scenic vistas surrounding the property. These windows were positioned with a purpose, to navigate and bounce the sunlight off the richly carved interior, highlighting the fine details of the construction.
“Taos Studio Interior combines Fechin’s passion for architecture with his incredible abilities in paint. His vigorous brushwork intertwined with vivacious pops of color set against the deep tones of the wood adds a liveliness to a seemingly quiet and peaceful scene. Here, the sunlight from the window seeps in, grazing the furniture and wooden beams he carved with his own hands. In the foreground, myriad vibrant textiles parade his abilities with textural abstraction. Fechin brilliantly uses his art to capture his craft. It is no wonder why he is one of the most sought-after artists in the Western market.” –Alissa Ford, Vice President, American & Western Art
David Bates ‘Cannas,’ 2000. Mixed media on panel relief. 60 x 44 x 5 inches (152.4 x 111.8 x 12.7 cm). Estimate: $100,000-$150,000.
David Bates, Cannas, 2000
Offered in Heritage’s June 17 Texas Art Signature® Auction
“There is no living artist in Texas whose work is more sought after than David Bates, especially since he retired from painting last year. Still based in Texas, he has gained national and international acclaim for both his paintings and sculptures of Texas and the Gulf Coast. In fact, in 2014 the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas held an exhibition of his sculptures in conjunction with a show of his Gulf Coast paintings at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. In Cannas, 2000, we get the best of both worlds with a wonderful three-dimensional floral. I just love a sculpture you can hang on the wall! I cannot wait for collectors to see it in person. His unique style of neo-expressionism and modernism can be found in all his works, but I have always been most impressed with how he has revitalized the floral still life as a vibrant, modernist subject. I could not be more excited to be offering this painting in our June 17 Texas Art auction.” –Atlee Phillips, Director, Texas Art
Arnoldus Bloemers ‘Still life with flowers, fruit, and walnuts.’ Oil on canvas. 14 x 12 inches (35.6 x 30.5 cm). Estimate: $20,000-$30,000.
Arnoldus Bloemers, Still life with flowers, fruit, and walnuts
Offered in Heritage’s June 9 Fine European Art Signature® Auction
“One of the loveliest paintings in this June’s Fine European Art auction is, appropriately, a bouquet of springtime flowers by the Dutch flower and fruit painter Arnoldus Bloemers. Although he flourished in the early decades of the 19th century, more than 130 years following the Golden Age of flower painting in The Netherlands, Bloemers was nonetheless a true inheritor of that astonishing tradition of botanical accuracy, sensitivity and technical wizardry that resulted in zealously coveted paintings of almost miraculous verisimilitude. Born in Amsterdam, Bloemers was instructed by Antonie Piera but principally imitated the work of Jan van Huysum – the flower painter responsible for keying up the 17th-century palette, doing away with the rich dark backgrounds and ushering in a more decorative approach to the flower piece to keep pace with the taste of the French Rococo.
“Active in The Hague, Bloemers preferred a palette of warm golden hues, which became a trademark for him. In the present painting, the vase is a golden Neoclassical form resembling Wedgwood Yellow Jasperware, which complements the tone of the indefinite background plane and pink-yellow slab on which the still life, including grapes, a peach and walnuts, is arranged. The bouquet features a sprig of blue periwinkle (vinca), a stem of double pink hyacinth, yellow ranunculus, a white hibiscus, poppy anemones, a deep red-purple primula, and nasturtiums and their leaves turning into and out of the light. Bloemers initialed the painting at lower left in such a way that the letters appear to have been carved into the edge of the plinth. The painting has been in the possession of the same Dutch family for three generations.” –Marianne Berardi, Ph.D., Director, European Art
Louise Bourgeois ‘Crochet V, 1998.’ Mixografia on handmade paper. 33-1/2 x 28 inches (85.1 x 71.1 cm) (sheet). Ed. 39/50. Estimate: $6,000-$8,000.
Louise Bourgeois, Crochet V, 1998
Offered in Heritage’s April 18 Prints & Multiples Signature® Auction
“Throughout her career, Louise Bourgeois explored themes of materiality, feminism and personal psychological struggles. Her expansive body of work embraced elements of Abstract Expressionism and Surrealism, although Bourgeois was never formally affiliated with any particular movement. Beyond painting and printmaking, she experimented with fiber art and mixografia, the latter a technique that allows for the production of three-dimensional prints with texture and very fine surface detail. With this process, one makes a model with any solid material or combination of materials to create a relief for the image to be reproduced. This edition, Crochet V, is from a series of five works inspired by various drawings of meandering lines, which Bourgeois felt were particularly well-suited for the medium. With the help of Judith Solodkin of SOLO Impression, New York, Bourgeois used red yarn as a drawing tool to create a series of compositions that represented a woman’s braided hair. This intricate pattern made with vivid red string forms a graceful and delicate composition that is both dynamic and unique.” –Desiree Pakravan, Consignment Director, Modern & Contemporary Art
Wayne Thiebaud ‘Standing Couple,’ 1989. Oil on panel. 10-1/4 x 5-1/2 inches (26.0 x 14.0 cm). Estimate: $150,000-$250,000.
Wayne Thiebaud, Standing Couple, 1989
Offered in Heritage’s May 23 Modern & Contemporary Art Signature® Auction
“Wayne Thiebaud painted Standing Couple when he was 69 years old. Surprisingly, this was only the midpoint of the artist’s illustrious career; Thiebaud would continue to paint until age 101 when he passed away on Christmas Day in 2021. While the couple is anonymous, Thiebaud often used his wife, Betty Jean, as his model, and perhaps she inspired this intimate scene. According to his gallery, he painted several dancing couples with similar compositions and never revealed the identity of his subjects. With obscured faces and heads bowed, the couple evokes a quiet feeling that invites comparisons to Edward Hopper. Thiebaud echoes the reflective mood of the couple with a mirror-like dance floor that casts back a striated reflection of the woman’s blue dress.
“A masterful colorist, Thiebaud outlines the painting – which comes from the Estate of Dr. Malcolm McHenry and is being sold to benefit the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, California – with bands of rainbow colors repeated in the fabric and flesh. He uses his quintessential palette of yellow, orange, blue and white to bathe his figures with his distinctive glow. Contrasting shadows in white and burnt orange make the dress and contours of the back melt into a hazy dream. Like Thiebaud’s scrumptious pies and cakes, the painting is nostalgic and sweet. It’s a touching tribute to the recently departed artist whom we fondly remember with the same joyful wistfulness.” –Holly Sherratt, Director, Modern & Contemporary Art
Alexander Calder ‘Culbute (Tumble),’ 1965. Gouache and ink on paper. 29-1/2 x 42-1/2 inches (74.9 x 108.0 cm). Estimate: $40,000-$60,000.
Alexander Calder, Culbute (Tumble), 1965
Offered in Heritage’s May 23 Modern & Contemporary Art Signature® Auction
“Alexander Calder was an American sculptor known as the originator of the mobile, a type of moving sculpture made with delicately balanced or suspended shapes that move in response to touch or air currents. Calder’s monumental stationary sculptures are called stabiles. He also produced wire figures resembling three-dimensional drawings, including an entire miniature circus. This original gouache on paper, Culbute (Tumble), depicting circus acrobats and balls, was created in 1965 – a time when the artist was fabricating monumental works and his major retrospectives were being held both in Europe and New York. These funny, stylized figures rotate and float across the sheet like his mobiles in the air.” –Frank Hettig, Vice President, Modern & Contemporary Art
Ansel Adams ‘Juniper, Cliffs, and River, Upper Merced River Canyon, Yosemite, California,’ 1936. Gelatin silver print, printed later and one volume. 13 x 19-1/8 inches (33.0 x 48.6 cm) (image/sheet). 13 x 16 x 1 inches (volume). Estimate: $5,000-$7,000.
Ansel Adams, Juniper, Cliffs, and River, Upper Merced River Canyon, Yosemite, California, 1936
Offered in Heritage’s April 12 Depth of Field: Photographs Showcase Auction
“In a photography book, as opposed to a single photograph, the photographer, or an editor, has carefully chosen a group of photographs to represent an overview or thematic series of the photographer’s work. You can think of it as an exhibition you can hold in your hands. In our April 12 Depth of Field auction, we have a collection of photography books, many of which are signed by the photographers. Deluxe limited editions can be accompanied by a photograph by the photographer. The deluxe edition of Ansel Adams: Yosemite and the Range of Light comes with a gelatin silver print of Juniper, Cliffs, and River, Upper Merced River Canyon, Yosemite, California. Other deluxe editions that include prints are Ansel Adams: Images 1923-1974, which comes with a gelatin silver print of Fern Spring, Dusk, Yosemite Valley, California; Robert Adams’ From the Missouri West, supplemented with a gelatin silver print of Bulldoze Slash, Tillamook County, Oregon; Lucas Samaras’ Samaras Album, one of an edition of 100 to come with a Polaroid self-portrait; Karsh: A Fifty-Year Perspective, accompanied by a portrait of Pablo Casals; and Edward Weston Nudes, which is complemented by a platinum photograph of a Nude printed by Cole Weston.” –Nigel Russell, Director, Photographs