American Art at Swann June 30
George Tooker Leads Sale
New York—Swann Galleries will present a sale of American Art on Wednesday, June 30. The auction will include notable works from prominent artists working in America beginning in the mid-1800s and continuing through the contemporary era.
The sale is led by George Tooker with Untitled (Young Man Facing a Woman), egg tempera and ink, 1950 ($100,000-150,000), alongside a selection of Mid-Century Modernism, Symbolic and Social Realism. Tooker worked alongside the artist trio PaJaMa resisting the “Magic Realist” moniker assigned to him and his works. In Young Man Facing a Woman the features of the male bear a striking resemblance to Tooker in his twenties, while the style of the dress shown in the image is one frequently modeled by Margaret French in numerous 1940s and 50s PaJaMa photographs, and the scene with its scaffolding and playground-like frame also strikes a strong resemblance to the ones seen in PaJaMa photographs of the time. Additional highlights include male figure studies by Paul Cadmus, works on canvas by Emil Bisttram, Dennis Burlingame, Eugene Francis Savage and more.
Landscapes abound with scenes that span multiple periods of art history, from the nineteenth century through the modernist movements of the twentieth century. Highlights include Albert Pinkham Ryder’s Houses by the Sea, oil on panel ($10,000-15,000); Alice Beach Winter’s Pond, Gloucester, oil on canvas, circa 1920 ($8,000-12,000); Charles Burchfield’s Untitled (The House in the Woods), watercolor, gouache and charcoal ($5,000-8,000); Larry Rivers’s View on Fire Island, New York, oil on canvas, circa 1951–52 ($10,000-15,000); Fairfield Porter’s Fairview, North Carolina, watercolor and pencil, 1964 ($7,000-10,000); and Neil Welliver’s Shaled Trees, Alagash, oil on canvas, 1994 ($15,000-20,000).
Works of note from the early twentieth century include Arthur B. Carles’s Nude with Red Background, oil on canvas, circa 1925 ($30,000-50,000); Stuart Davis’s Faun and Girl from The Puritans, gouache, pencil and ink, 1923 ($15,000-20,000); and Rockwell Kent’s Irish Lad, watercolor and pencil, 1927 ($10,000-15,000).
Artists of the Ashcan school, as well as a standout offering of sculpture, and New York scenes by Reginald Marsh, Leon Kroll, Guy Wiggins, among other familiar names, feature throughout the sale.
Limited previewing (by appointment only) will be available through June 29, to be scheduled directly with a specialist in advance and conforming to strict safety guidelines. Swann Galleries staff will prepare condition reports and provide additional photographs of material on request. Advance order bids can be placed with the specialist for the sale or on Swann’s website, and phone bidding will be available. Live online bidding platforms will be the Swann Galleries App, Invaluable, and Live Auctioneers. The complete catalogue and bidding information is available at www.swanngalleries.com and on the Swann Galleries App.
Additional highlights can be found here.
Captions:
Lot 232: George Tooker, Untitled (Young Man Facing a Woman), egg tempera and ink, circa 1950. Estimate $100,000 to $150,000.
Lot 365: Neil Welliver, Shaled Trees, Alagash, oil on canvas, 1994. Estimate $15,000 to $20,000.
Auction date: Wednesday, June 30, at 10:30 am
Specialist: Todd Weyman • [email protected] • 212-254-4710 x 32
CMO: Alexandra Nelson • [email protected] • 212-254-4710 x 19
Public Relations Associate: Kelsie Jankowski • [email protected] • 212-254-4710 x 23
Social media: @swanngalleries
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PRINTED CATALOGUE & ADDL. DIGITAL IMAGES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST
Swann Auction Galleries is a third-generation family business as well as the world’s largest auction house for works on paper. In the last 75 years, Swann has repeatedly revolutionized the trade with such innovations as the first U.S. auction dedicated to photographs and the world’s only department of African-American Fine Art. More than 30 auctions and previews are held annually in Swann Galleries’ two-floor exhibition space in Midtown Manhattan, and online worldwide. Visit swanngalleries.com for more information.
