Maine Landscape by Fairfield Porter Leads Upcoming American Art Auction

Bonhams’ upcoming American Art auction will highlight a late-career oil painting by Fairfield Porter. Known as both a representational painter and a leading art critic, Porter believed that realism and abstraction must work together instead of apart. His works reflect that mindset, handling color and light with equal care. The available painting, titled Yawl in the Channel, depicts the Maine landscape just outside of Porter’s home. Smooth stratus clouds float above a gray and brown shoreline. A small white boat can be seen in the upper left corner of the painting. 

This American art sale will present four works by Milton Avery from the Barter Family Collection of American Paintings. Avery’s 1963 Sunflowers painting demonstrates the artist’s commitment to color while reducing representational detail. Completed just two years before his death, Sunflowers shows the eponymous flowers in a moss green vase against a purple and violet background. The other available Avery paintings depict tall “lollipop” trees, a spring landscape, and a cross-legged figure wearing a rain hat. The catalog offers a hippopotamus sculpture by Sargent Johnson, blustery winter scenes by Guy Carleton Wiggins, and floral paintings by Laura Coombs Hills. Visit Bonhams’ website for the full catalog and to place a bid.