Important Late-Career Prints by 20th-Century Masters to Sell at URDE Fine Art Auction

Fine art, prints, lithographs, and multiples from some of the most prominent 20th-century masters will soon be available with URDE Fine Art Auction in the company’s March Affordable Art and Photography Sale. Over 750 lots will be available, including late-career works by Joan Miró, Tom Wesselmann, Marc Chagall, and Alexander Calder. The sale will begin live at 12:00 PM EDT on March 25, 2024. Here are some of the top lots coming up for bid.

Joan Miró

Joan Miró’s La folle au piment rageur, a 1975 lithograph, is among the top lots of this upcoming sale (lot #91). It comes from an edition of 30 and is hand-signed and numbered. This work features a large orange shape that resembles a curved chili pepper, accented by numerous sketched lines and stars. It comes to auction with an estimate of USD 70,000 to $100,000. 

This work belongs to a series of compositions that Miró created toward the end of his life. A Barcelona native who earned international acclaim for his Surrealist and Expressionistic designs, Miró was a prominent member of the 20th-century avant-garde. He consistently rejected labels of his work and never closely identified with the major art movements of the 20th century. Many of his late-career works, including the available example, embraced simplicity and gestural forms. Miró’s art from this period alternated between whimsy and meditation as the artist contemplated his own death. 

Tom Wesselmann 

Another notable lot in the upcoming event from URDE Fine Art Auction is a 1990 screenprint by Tom Wesselmann (lot #197). Titled Jeannie’s Backyard, East Hampton, this piece uses sketched lines and hatch marks to capture the side of a house, trees, and bushes in a backyard. It comes from an edition of 100 and is in excellent condition, according to the auction house. This piece is presented with a presale estimate of $20,000 to $30,000. 

Associated with the Pop Art movement, Tom Wesselmann featured everyday objects and nudes in his work. He employed bold, primary colors and clear lines to explore forms and cultural imagery. Wesselmann specialized in reducing figural forms to their essential elements, embracing eroticism and commercialization. By the late 1980s, the artist had started to revisit his earlier subjects and compositions while also exploring landscape sketches, such as the offered screenprint. 

Marc Chagall 

A 1983 lithograph by Marc Chagall is another notable item in the upcoming auction. Titled Day Break, this color print is signed and numbered in pencil (lot #118). It depicts a person with two faces standing outdoors and holding both a bouquet and a chicken. Behind the figure is a delicate blue sky and round yellow sun. This work comes to auction with an estimate of $7,000 to $9,000. 

Chagall composed this design near the end of his life. It unites imagery that the Russian-French artist explored consistently throughout his career. He pulled images from both his own memories and Jewish folklore, reinterpreting them throughout his life. They eventually took on poetic, dreamlike meanings. The available print stands out from Chagall’s late career, when he shifted away from canvas painting and turned his attention to stained glass, set design, and other projects. 

Alexander Calder

Alexander Calder’s Cibles variables (Variable Targets) is another notable lithograph in the upcoming auction (lot #26). This 1969 piece is signed and numbered in pencil and dates back to 1969. It has a presale estimate of $6,000 to $8,000. It features circular forms in primary colors, evoking the concentric circles of a bullseye. 

Calder was an American artist best known for his sculptural mobiles and public artworks. He embraced abstraction in his art, and he constantly experimented with new forms and motions. Calder’s visual art and prints, which he focused on toward the end of his career, flattened the circular forms of his sculptures and translated them to a two-dimensional medium. Distinct shades of red, blue, and yellow dominate these prints. 

The March Affordable Art and Photography Sale from URDE Fine Art Auction will begin at 12:00 PM EDT on March 25, 2024. To browse the complete catalog and register to bid, visit Bidsquare. Find additional courage of this event on Auction Daily.