Quinn’s Feb. 23 Fine & Decorative Arts Auction offers diverse array of Asian, American, European and Modern works

Featured: Thomas Hart Benton, Paul Reed & Bill Mack artworks; stunning Chinese Export sterling silver tea set, antique netsuke collection, paperweight collection, antique and Modern furniture

FALLS CHURCH, Va. – Works by Thomas Hart Benton, Paul Reed, sculptor Bill Mack and Old Lyme Colony Impressionist Will Howe Foote will join European and Modern furniture and beautiful objets d’art at Quinn’s February 23 online Fine & Decorative Arts Auction. 

The 474-lot sale consists primarily of consignments from prominent estates and collections in the northern Virginia region, with an emphasis on fine Asian, American, Continental and Modern arts. The sterling silver category is crowned by both a 4-piece Tiffany & Co., tea set and a stunning 19th-century Chinese Export dragon-and-pearl tea set; while specialty collections include high-quality paperweights and antique Japanese netsukes.

A selection of fine prints is led by a 1955 Thomas Hart Benton (American, 1889-1975) lithograph titled Running Horses. Expressing a quintessential Benton theme of Midwestern progress, the 16½-inch by 12½-inch work portrays three wild horses running free as a steam locomotive barrels down a parallel train track – a juxtaposition of the modern era racing against the more-traditional but fast-fading way of life. The print is from an Associated American Artists edition of 75 and is artist-signed in pencil. The pre-sale estimate is $6,000-$8,000.

Other noteworthy prints and lithographs run the gamut of genres and individual artistic styles, and include works by Joan Miro, Norman Rockwell, Albrecht Durer, Rockwell Kent and others. A circa-1997 Peter Max mixed media and acrylic on paper artwork titled Liberty Head II is signed and estimated at $600-$800, and three 19th-century Frederick S Remington (American, 1861-1909) cowboy-themed photogravures are entered with individual estimates of $500-$700.

Six lots in the sale represent artworks by Washington DC artist Paul Reed (1919-2015). At the time of his death, Reed was the last living member of the Washington Color School, an art collective that gained national acclaim in the 1960s. His first solo exhibition, at the Adams-Morgan Gallery in Washington, consisted of water-based acrylic paintings on unprimed canvas, usually characterized by a centralized image that suggested centrifugal motion. Reed’s art is held in important institutional collections throughout the United States. Quinn’s is proud to offer Reed’s #21, a 1962 acrylic on canvas depicting green organic shapes in a circle. Signed, dated and titled on verso, it is estimated at $2,000-$3,000. 

An unusual opportunity presents itself as Lot 178, a Paul Reed yellow acrylic paint on cardboard mobile titled DE-TA. It is signed, titled and dated 7/8//2003 on verso. Almost certainly, the mobile was used as the model for one or more of Reed’s iconic depictions of “slatted” parallel lines that appear to float, as seen in the painting titled GBN (See Lot 177 in Quinn’s sale). The mobile is estimated at $300-$500.

Some might see a resemblance between the subtle color palette Will Howe Foote (American, 1874-1965) used in his oil-on-board landscape titled Early Morning Arizona and some of the works of Birger Sandzen – Foote famously disliked green, favoring the hues of Southwestern flora. The artist’s depiction of a mountainous Arizona landscape with cacti is signed and has a label on verso from the Lyme Art Association. This provenance is right in line with Foote’s distinguished history. He was one of the earliest artists in the Old Lyme (Connecticut) Colony and was the last survivor of the original group. The 12-inch by 16-inch auction entry is estimated at $600-$800.

Two bas-relief bonded-bronze sculptures by Bill Mack (Minnesota, b. 1944-) will be auctioned. One of them, measuring 54 inches wide, depicts a reclining woman draped glamorously in a bedsheet. Signed at lower left, it is expected to make $2,000-$3,000 at auction.

A great variety of furniture will be available to bidders, including a distinctive MacKenzie-Childs hutch with credenza, Hans Olsen Danish Modern rosewood side chairs, and a circa-1920 Dutch Art Nouveau oak desk attributed to Napoleon le Grand (Dutch, 1837-1932) for “t Modelhuis N. Legrand Amsterdam.” It has a leathered top with gallery and three drawers above two doors with a phoenix roundel. Accompanied by a 1990 receipt from an antique shop in Bonn, Germany, it will cross the auction block with a $1,500-$2,500 estimate.

There are several lots of sterling silver from Tiffany and Co: an ornate bowl with underplate, $1,000-$2,000; a “Blackberry” bowl, $400-$600; and an elegant Model 17880A tea set comprising a teapot, lidded sugar, and creamer with tray. This particular Tiffany model was produced between 1907 and 1947. Quinn’s example will be auctioned with a $2,000-$3,000 estimate. 

At the forefront of the Asian Art category is a gorgeous 5-piece Chinese Export sterling silver tea set decorated in high relief with a dragon-and-cloud pattern. The set consists of a hot water kettle on its matching stand with burner, a teapot, lidded sugar bowl, and creamer, each marked “STERLING,” plus a waste bin marked “Chun Yin.” All have dragon and/or pearl-form figural adornments or handles. The kettle is the heaviest piece, weighing 65.60ozt. The lot estimate is $3,000-$5,000.

In addition to Japanese woodblock prints (Hiroshige, Koson, Kimura et al.), an array of finely crafted Asian decorative art will be presented, including porcelains and antique netsukes from the Estate of Maybelle Dore, past chairwoman of the International Netsuke Society, Northern California chapter. Among the top pieces in the Dore collection is a 19th-century netsuke of Ashinaga and Tenaga with an octopus, which was acquired sometime between the early 1960s and late 1980s. It is signed “Tomochika.” Estimate: $3,000-$4,000

A collection of nearly 90 paperweights apportioned into 54 lots includes designs by Perthshire, Lubomir Richter, John Deacons, Parabelle, Peter MacDougall and others. Estimates range from $80 at the low end to $600 at the high end (for two Lubomir Richter “Orient and Flume” paperweights).

There will be no in-person gallery bidding for Quinn’s Feb. 23, 2024 auction, but Quinn’s invites bidders to participate live via the Internet through LiveAuctioneers or Invaluable. Additionally, absentee bids may be placed through Quinn’s website. Auction start time: 10am ET. Quinn’s helpful staff will be on hand at an open gallery preview Monday, Feb. 19 through and including Thursday, Feb. 22, from 11-4 each day. For information about any auction item or to discuss consigning to a future Quinn’s sale, call Corrie Brady at 703-532-5632 ext. 572, or email [email protected]. Visit Quinn’s online at www.quinnsauction.com.