Neal Auction Company
4038 Magazine Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70115
504-899-5329
About Auction House
Neal Auction Company is New Orleans’ oldest and most respected auction house. Since its inception in 1984, Neal Auction Company has continually set record prices for paintings, watercolors, furniture, art pottery, porcelain, prints, silver, and decorative arts and is widely considered the country’s foremost auctioneer of Southern regional material.Auction Previews & News
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Auction ResultA Celebration of Women’s Art Throughout History: Results From Neal Auction Company’s Inaugural Sale
Long neglected and often misattributed, women artists are finally getting their due. The upward trend for women artists can be seen across all levels of the art market, with increasing enthusiasm for contemporary artists and renewed interest in artists from the past. In keeping with a growing focus on this category, Neal Auction Company celebrated works by women artists throughout art history in an inaugural annual auction on March 30, 2023. The sale paid homage to the female voice while encouraging new dialogue and scholarship on how women influence art history. Semiotic 86-4, a 1986 mixed-media on canvas by Ida Rittenberg Kohlmeyer. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Company. The sale kicked off with Semiotic 86-4, a 1986 mixed-media on canvas by Ida Rittenberg Kohlmeyer (lot #64; sold for USD 29,000). Kohlmeyer’s paintings are abstract yet linguistic, and they hint at the deep personal emotion behind them. In this vibrant 1986 painting, the artist’s signature vocabulary of glyphs has broken free of the grid system she originally employed to float across the canvas in a cacophony of shapes and colors. The glyphs hint at familiar shapes, each undergoing a dimensional distortion that further adds to the overall feeling of movement and vitality. A native of New Orleans, Ida Kohlmeyer (American, 1912 - 1997) achieved international acclaim as an artist and developed her unique perspective on abstract art. Kohlmeyer’s interest in non-objective matters was, to a certain extent, influenced by Hans Hofmann and Mark Rothko. Abstraction appealed to Kohlmeyer, and she likened her sudden shift from representation to being freed from prison. Kohlmeyer is considered a matriarch among American artists, as she broke the mold for Southern artists and women artists alike during her lifetime. She is widely considered one of the most influential artists from Louisiana and the American South. Her legacy is one of joyful, colorful paintings and a generation of creators who follow in her footsteps. Boy and Girl, a 1974 oil on canvas, signed and dated lower right by Theora Hamblett. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Company. Boy and Girl, a 1974 oil on canvas, signed and dated lower…
Artists, Auction IndustryArtist to Know: Ida Kohlmeyer
Ahlers & Ogletree to Offer Mixed Media Work by New Orleans Artist Ida Kohlmeyer struggled to find her own style for years. She trained under some of the leading Modernists and Abstract Expressionists of the 20th century, including Hans Hofmann. Artists such as Mark Rothko and Joan Miró steadily rotated through Kohlmeyer’s social circle. However, she gradually developed an artistic language all her own. At the time of her death in 1997, Kohlmeyer was among the best-known artists of Louisiana and the American South. Ahlers & Ogletree will offer a mixed media work by Ida Kohlmeyer in the first session of the upcoming Spring Fine Estates & Collection sale. The auction will begin at 10:00 AM EDT on March 27th, 2021. Learn more about Kohlmeyer before the bidding begins. Ida Kohlmeyer in her studio. Image from the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, Tulane University. The daughter of Polish-Jewish immigrants, Ida Kohlmeyer was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. Art was only a casual interest for most of her early life. Kohlmeyer earned an English degree from the women’s college at Tulane University in the 1930s before settling down to raise a family. After marriage, she especially found herself drawn to Latin American art and literature. Kohlmeyer started to imagine a career in art after World War II. She spent the next decade taking classes in the French Quarter, returning to Tulane for her master’s degree, and studying under Hans Hofmann in Massachusetts. Kohlmeyer caught the attention of many leading Abstract Expressionists. Mark Rothko taught at her school for a time and rented studio space from Kohlmeyer. She counted Pat Trivigno among her mentors. These connections helped Kohlmeyer establish herself in the art world, but they also caused a delay in her independent style. Her works from this early period seem to survey the Abstract Expressionist field. Some are nearly serial, exploring variations of the same themes. “These works may be derivative but they are gloriously so,” Roberta Smith wrote for The New York Times. “They’re so full of the work of disparate artists that they become overarching, laying waste to the…
Auction PreviewWinter Estates Auction Day 1
Neal Auction Company will present a collection of 704 items with categories such as fine art, furniture, and jewelry in the upcoming Winter Estates Auction. The sale offers works by artists such as Robert Wadsworth Grafton, Ida Rittenberg Kohlmeyer, and James Campbell Moise. One of the featured lots depicts the Pirate's Alley at Royal Street, New Orleans with two bystanders. George Rodrigue is also one of the highlighted artists with three available paintings in the auction. Known for showing a recurring blue dog in most of his works, he was inspired by his own pet that passed away. Rodrigue is quoted on Artnet, “The dog never changes position. He just stares at you. And you’re looking at him, looking for some answers... and he’s just looking back at you, wondering the same.” Interested bidders looking for furniture can also find a stainless-steel bureau designed by John Vesey. To register to bid for these items, visit Invaluable.
Auction PreviewWinter Estates Auction February 8 & 9, 2020 Day 2 of 2
The second day of the upcoming Winter Estates Auction offered by Neal Auction Company will include over 450 lots. Item categories such as furniture and decorative art are especially prominent in the collection. One highlighted item is a bronze table lamp with Handel leaded glass from the early 20th century. The decorative lamp displays a vibrant rose pattern on the shade with a lily pad design at the base. In the sale, several Persian carpets are also available. One of the rugs comes from Sarouk, which was among the most active carpet weaving villages of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Sarouk rugs are characterized by a cotton foundation with balanced colors and are particularly known for their standards of quality. Other available items include a pair of carved mahogany daybeds decorated in flowers and acorns. The two sofas are asymmetrical and balance each other. A pair of American garden benches from the mid-19th century will be presented as well. Register to bid and view the full auction catalog on Invaluable.
