Three choice lots from upcoming Heritage auctions
Western Art
Joseph Henry Sharp first visited Northern New Mexico on a magazine illustration assignment and was immediately captivated. While studying in Europe, Sharp met two other Midwestern artists, Ernest Blumenschein and Bert Phillips, who were inspired to take a painting trip to New Mexico after hearing stories of Sharp’s travels. Eventually all three artists would move to the small town of Taos and form the Taos Society of Artists. In this work, we get a glimpse of the landscape that sparked so much of Sharp’s creativity.
Joseph Henry Sharp Artist’s Studio Looking Southeast, Taos, New Mexico
Oil on board
10 x 13-3/4 inches (25.4 x 34.9 cm)
Auction: March 21
Vinyl Records
This rare, white-vinyl first U.S. pressing copy of Nirvana’s debut album, Bleach, was released on Sub Pop Records in June 1989. Recorded on a tiny budget, Bleach was initially pressed in a quantity of 1,000 on white, followed by a 2,000-copy black-vinyl run. The sessions, which cost $606.17, were paid for by second guitarist Jason Everman, and the cover photograph was done by Tracy Marander, Kurt Cobain’s girlfriend at the time and the inspiration for “About a Girl.”
Nirvana Bleach Original Pressing Rare White LP Vinyl Record (Sub Pop, SP34)
Auction: March 21
U.S. Coins
The Philadelphia Mint produced a string of remarkably low-mintage rarities among the Liberty Head double eagles of the 1880s, including three proof-only issues: the 1883, 1884 and 1887. The 1882 was not a proof-only issue, but it might as well have been as only 571 were struck for circulation – of which maybe two dozen are believed to remain in any grade. This near-Mint example is one of just five submitted in this grade at Numismatic Guaranty Company, which reports just one graded finer.
1882 $20 AU58 NGC
Auction: March 28-31