Three choice lots from upcoming Heritage auctions
Asian Art
Utagawa Hiroshige’s woodblock The Plum Garden at Kameido(1857) was the 30th image in the master Japanese printmaker’s renowned series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. The gorgeous and balanced composition – lyrical in its muted palette and masterful symbiosis of foreground and background, relaxed perspective, and fine detail – depicts plum trees in bloom against a carnelian sky. Notably, Vincent van Gogh paid homage to this print in his beloved 1887 painting Flowering Plum Orchard: After Hiroshige.
Utagawa Hiroshige IThe Plum Garden at Kameido
Woodblock on paper
14-3/8 x 9-3/8 inches (36.5 x 23.8 cm)
Estimate: $5,000-$7,000
Auction: March 21
Photographs
“I am a golden god!” Robert Plant famously proclaimed along L.A.’s Sunset Boulevard in 1975. The iconic moment was immortalized by renowned rock-and-roll photographer Peter Simon on the balcony of the Continental Hyatt House hotel, aka “Riot House,” overlooking a billboard advertising the Led Zeppelin album Physical Graffiti. One of Simon’s best-known works, the photograph captures the Led Zeppelin front man at the height of both his and the band’s careers.
Peter Simon I am a Golden God, Robert Plant, 1975
Oversized gelatin silver print, printed later
40 x 52 inches (101.6 x 132.1 cm)
Estimate: $2,000-$3,000
Auction: March 8
Comics & Comic Art
Sheriff Donald stands ready to take on a hail of bullets in this bronze statue inspired by the cover art from the classic 1948 Dell Four Color No. 199 Donald Duck comic book story “Sheriff of Bullet Valley,” written and drawn by Carl Barks. The statue, created by artist Paul Vought and cast at Parks Bronze Foundry in Wallowa County, Oregon, was exclusively offered in an edition of 200 at the 1995 Disneyana Convention at Disneyland.
‘Sheriff of Bullet Valley’ Donald Duck Limited Edition Bronze Statue
Signed by Carl Barks and Paul Vought #141/200
Walt Disney, 1995
Auction: March 23