Rare Works by Expressionist Artists Highlight Dane Fine Art’s Memorial Sale of Modern & Contemporary Art

American-born modern artist Neil Gavin Welliver was known for his landscape paintings inspired by the expansive wilderness around his home in Maine. With landscapes as his core subject matter, Welliver also painted nudes in wooded areas or water pools. Sacred Bull, one such countryside painting by the artist, is a key highlight of the upcoming Memorial Sale of Modern & Contemporary Art from Dane Fine Art. Like some of Welliver’s artworks of the 1960s and ‘70s, this rare oil on canvas depicts female nudes in a landscape. It marks a significant mid-point in Welliver’s creative transition from fanciful and figurative to landscape and realistic art. 

Peter Max’s Flower Heart, an acrylic mixed media on canvas, also leads the listings. Passionate about astronomy and the cosmic world, the iconic German-American Pop Expressionist uses bold colors and free brushstrokes to express his psychedelic style. Another noted avant-garde Expressionist, Karel Appel, also employed bright but aggressive brushwork in his painted stone relief Floating Family. The human figure is treated in a riotously abstract fashion. One of the founding members of the CoBrA movement in 1948, Appel was influenced by children’s and folk art. To view the complete catalog and register to bid online, visit Bidsquare and browse other online auctions.