Auction Industry

Benefit Shop Foundation Presents Focused Auction Of Estelle Goodman’s Art Aug. 5

By ArtFixDaily

Published on Jul 22, 20

The Benefit Shop Foundation, Inc. will present its first-ever single-estate auction on Wednesday, Aug. 5 at 10 am, featuring the estate of the late artist Estelle Goodman (1930-2007), who lived in an iconic building in Manhattan’s Central Park West for decades. The apartment containing her own art and artwork she collected has been locked and unoccupied until now.

This abstract figural bronze sculpture ($400-600), signed Estelle Goodman, of a man and a woman, with their backs to one another yet connected by a figurative representation of communication in the form of a flowing ribbon between their mouths. It stands 18¼ inches tall.

“Walking into her grand apartment in The Majestic was a bit like stepping into a time capsule,” said Pam Stone, owner and founder of the auction house. “The apartment was just as she left it and there were many examples of her bronze sculptures as well as fine paintings by several of her artist contemporaries, which she collected.”

Known for her figural sculptures accentuating the human form, Goodman was a leading abstract sculptor and painter in her day. Born in New York City, she graduated from Barnard College and was a member of the Artist-Craftsmen of New York. “What I love about her pieces is they are so strong and have such a reverence for the human being. And her wicked sense of humor comes through,” said her niece Loreen Arbus in an online interview with Mansion Global.

In this auction, about 100 fresh-to-the-market artworks on offer here are a trove of modernist, expressionist, abstract and midcentury paintings and sculptures. The sale also includes the content of her estate and items she lived with such as a midcentury desk from the Paul McCobb “Calvin” series ($500-700) having a square tube brass base/support under a single drawer and two slide-out extensions. The desk is topped by a lively grained piece of black and white marble and measures 54 by 28 by 29½ inches. Also on offer are a Steinway Baby Grand piano, an antique French console table and a pair of period bronze lamps.

Goodman’s sculpting of this male Modernist style plaster half bust sculpture ($300-500) evinces the power and strength of the subject’s physique.

Among her abstract figural bronze sculptures is one depicting a man and a woman ($400-600), their backs to one another yet connected by a figurative representation of communication in the form of a flowing ribbon between their mouths. It measures 18¼ by 8¾ by 5½ inches.

Other works by Goodman include “Prophetique,” a large abstract figural bronze sculpture ($400-600) of a nude woman with flowing hair holding a bird with flowing tail feathers in her hand. “Presented as a figurative caregiver, the woman has elongated facial features that are reminiscent of Modigliani while her form embodies the essence of Giacometti,” Stone said. The bronze measures 7½ by 30¼ by 6¾ inches.

Male figures are well represented, led by a figural abstract Modernist plaster bust of a man ($200-400) having flowing hair, beard and cap, 12¼ by 7½ by 7½ inches; and a well-sculpted man in half-bust form ($300-500), having strong and powerful features.

Several of Goodman’s wall plaques will cross the block, including a figural Modernist abstract sculpture/wall plaque of four people in various states of repose, dated 1961, 12 by 10 by 1¾ inches.

Besides being an artist, Goodman was an avid collector, especially works by midcentury artists. Rounding out the auction will be a mixed media abstract oil painting ($150-250). The fantasy landscape style painting has figures, birds and serpents swirling around center designs and measures 23¾ by 35¾ inches.

A midcentury desk from Paul McCobb’s “Calvin” series ($500-700) has a square tube brass base/support under a drawer and two slide-out extensions, topped by lively grained black and white marble, 54 by 28 by 29½ inches.

The monthly Red Carpet sales feature choice collections of antique, Midcentury Modern, brand furnishings, sterling, china, crystal, jewelry and fine art. With a mission of “to donate, to discover and to do good,” the foundation is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit and auction proceeds support community organizations. Consignors get a tax deduction, the buyer gets a great deal and local non-profits get much needed funds.

The auction gallery is at 185 Kisco Ave, Suite 201. For more information, https://www.thebenefitshop.org or 914-864-0707.

Benefit Shop Foundation, Inc.
185 Kisco Ave Suite 201
Mount Kisco, New York
[email protected]
914-864-0707
https://www.thebenefitshop.org/

About Benefit Shop Foundation, Inc.

The Benefit Shop receives donations from the finest estates in Bedford and beyond and showcases them in one convenient and beautifully-staged location. The estates get a tax deduction, the buyer gets a great deal and non-profits in the community get the money. This elegantly-conceived, eco-friendly concept is the brainchild of Pam Stone and she is thrilled at the response from the community. It’s no secret that non-profits, from hospitals to homeless shelters, are having a tough time in this economy. Responding to the call for funding to fill the gaps , local resident Stone imagined a new possibility, an auction gallery with donated merchandise from the grand estates that surround the area. For 10 years, Stone has been busy visiting estate sales in the area, encouraging people to make high quality, tax-deductible donations for the satisfaction of helping a host of community organizations, including Neighbors’ Link and the Boys and Girls Club, as well as the continued support of Northern Westchester Hospital. According to Pam, “Often these kinds of shops benefit a big national charity, but I really wanted the beneficiary to be my community, for the people who live and work here.” Mission statement: To donate, to discover, to do good.