Beanie Backus Landscape Painting, Antique Furniture Leads Helmuth Stone Gallery’s Upcoming Auction

Tropical trees with blue skies and floating clouds were a recurring theme for Albert Ernest Backus, also known as Beanie Backus. He was an American artist famous for his Florida landscape paintings, one of which is a leading lot in Helmuth Stone Gallery’s upcoming American & European Fine Art & Antiques auction. “Painting is something of a disease, you’ve just got to do it,” said Backus. He was a mostly self-taught painter who started his career at 11 by painting signs, billboards, and theater marquees. Years later, after some encouragement from Dorothy Binney Palmer, Backus pursued landscape paintings, mostly painting tropical flowers, beaches and river scenes of Florida. 

Another notable lot from the auction is Emilcar Similien’s 1980 acrylic on panel painting. Similien’s work depicts a silhouette of a woman wearing a gown and jewelry. Upon closer look, the details of her jewelry, the dotted mélange of colors on her attire, and the background can be seen. The Haitian artist signed and dated the painting. Among furniture, notable lots include an Italian hand-painted late-19th-century chest, a rare 1793 Dutch sled, and a pair of antique Anglo-Indian carved chairs. The Italian chest has elaborately painted drawers with floral motifs. Find the listed items and more online auctions on Bidsquare.