Watch Out! by Mr. Brainwash & Rare Piece by Neil Welliver Lead Dane Fine Art’s Luxor Sale of Modern & Contemporary Art

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Dane Fine Art will start the new year by presenting more than 1,000 lots of paintings, photographs, posters, prints, sculptures, and carvings in its upcoming Luxor Sale of Modern & Contemporary Art. Dane Fine Art is celebrating its 43rd year with artworks from prominent figures like Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Julian Opie, Mr. Brainwash, Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Louis Icart, and many others. The auction house is also offering in-house framing and shipping to anywhere in the world. The sale will be held live on January 26, 2023. Collectors can view the complete catalog and place bids by visiting Bidsquare

Sacred Bull, a rare oil on canvas by Neil Gavin Welliver, is a leading lot in the Luxor Sale of Modern & Contemporary Art (lot #226; estimate: USD 40,000 – $60,000). The piece is hand-signed by Welliver, an artist known for his large-format landscape paintings and woodcuts that depict profound yet unassuming views of birches, streams, and evergreens in rural Maine. Even in the frigid Maine winters, Welliver went trekking into the forest to make plein air paintings. Welliver was an American artist who pioneered the Contemporary Realism art movement in the 1950s, affiliated with the American painters Alex Katz and Fairfield Porter, who painted to translate the atmosphere around them. He received his MFA from the Yale School of Art. His works are in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, among others.

Neil Welliver - Sacred Bull
Neil Welliver – Sacred Bull

Watch Out! (Large Blue), a limited edition of three by Mr. Brainwash, is also available in the Luxor Sale of Modern & Contemporary Art (lot #16; estimate: $15,500 – $21,500). It is an original screenprint with hand-splattered paint on paper. The used-clothing-store-owner-turned-street-artist Mr. Brainwash created this piece in 2019. It shows a large blue dog barking at a bystander, holding back a chain held by its owner. The owner holds a paintbrush dipped in blue paint, the exact color of the dog. Mr. Brainwash gained popularity after reproducing iconic Pop art.

Mr. Brainwash - Watch Out! (Large Blue) I
Mr. Brainwash – Watch Out! (Large Blue) I

Alongside paintings and posters, the upcoming sale will offer a collection of sensual black and white photographs of celebrities by George Hurrell. A well-composed still of Veronica Lake taken in 1980 by Hurrell comes from a limited edition of 250. Lake’s cascading, wavy blond hair flows in the photo like a stream, complementing her glowing yet demure expression. The medium used is an original gelatin silver print on paper (lot #417; estimate: $1,000 – $1,500). The photograph, hand-signed by Hurrell, is in excellent condition. A still of John Barrymore by Hurrell is also available in the auction.

George Hurrell - Veronica Lake
George Hurrell – Veronica Lake

Other noteworthy lots in the auction include: 

  • The Praying Jew (Rabbi of Vitebsk), a 1978 offset lithograph on paper by Marc Chagall; published by the Art Institute of Chicago from a rare, limited-edition of 100, hand-signed by Chagall (lot #8; estimate: $13,500 – $19,000)
  • Pistol (1968), a rare and limited-edition silkscreen in colors from Multiples Inc. by Roy Lichtenstein (lot #440; estimate: $8,500 – $11,500)
  • Dogeyeguy (2004), a green painted resin sculpture of a three-eyed dog by Kenny Schar that comes in original packaging (lot #168; estimate: $2,500 – $3,500)
  • A rare, limited edition of 250, original gelatin silver print on paper of Anna May Wong taken and hand-signed by George Hurrell in 1980 (lot #419; estimate: $1,000 – $1,500)

The Luxor Sale of Modern & Contemporary Art from Dane Fine Art will take place on January 26, 2023. Live bidding will start at 12:00 PM EST. Interested collectors may attend live in the Philadelphia gallery or online via Bidsquare

About Dane Fine Art

As a global leader in fine art sales, Dane Fine Art is constantly buying and selling. For sellers; their expertise and authority in the marketplace affords sellers of fine art pieces excellent valuation of their work and the highest fair market value prices paid. For buyers; their buying power and economies of scale give the buyer the best possible pricing, a vast selection, reliable provenance, and secure transactions. They started in the auction industry over 50 years ago. Dane Fine Art gallery now consists of a staff of over 25 knowledgeable art professionals with in-depth knowledge and understanding of multiple fine art forms and mediums.

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