Christian Emil Marie Küpper, also known as Theo van Doesburg, was the frontrunner of the De Stijl movement. Although his style was Post-Impressionist and Fauvist until 1915, he took to geometric abstraction later, inspired by the works of Piet Mondrian. Contra-composition IV, an oil on wood painting attributed to Theo van Doesburg, is a key highlight of the upcoming 500 Gallery sale. It is characterized by horizontal and vertical shapes and primary colors, very similar to Mondrian’s works. Another noteworthy abstract work is an untitled painting attributed to Mark Rothko. The Latvian-American abstract painter is celebrated for his color field paintings portraying irregular rectangular patches of colors. Sonia Delaunay’s (attributed) Composition also leads the catalog. The gouache and graphite on paper is signed and dated 1968. The Ukrainian-French artist is noted for her use of a strong color palette.
The sale also features Alligator Pears, an oil on sack cloth artwork attributed to Georgia O’Keeffe. It is one of her still lifes from the 1920s that explored fruits and vegetables cultivated at Lake George. To view the complete catalog and register to bid in the upcoming Inspired Masterpieces sale, visit Bidsquare and browse other online auctions.
The latest Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria sale from Noonans (DNW Auctions) will offer 700 historical lots from around the globe. Leading this auction is a rare Post Captain’s Naval Gold Medal awarded to Admiral Sir Thomas Pakenham, G.C.B., a British naval officer and politician. His Majesty King George III presented this award to Pakenham after his admirable conduct in the Glorious First of June, a 1793 naval battle with the First French Republic. Another notable medal in the auction is a Field Officer’s Gold Medal from 1808-14, awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel James Hugonin. He commanded the Fourth Dragoons cavalry regiment during the Battle of Salamanca during the Peninsular War.
Another lot of interest in this sale is a rare ‘Ruby Mines Expedition 1886’ gold D.S.O. decoration pair awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel A. L. Barrett of the Bangal Infantry. This gold and enamel medal features four clasps and a top ribbon brooch bar. A group of 11 D.S.O. decorations will also be available as a set. These were given to Major-General Weir de L. Williams throughout his lengthy and sweeping military career. Medals and decorations from Romania, India, Portugal, and elsewhere will be up for bid. Find the complete catalog and register to bid in the Orders, Decorations, Medals And Militaria event by visiting Noonans.
This Music Icons 2023 sale from Julien’s Auctions features over 1,200 items owned and used by iconic musicians and bands such as Kurt Cobain, The Beatles, Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, and others. Leading the catalog is a 1960s Rosetti Egmond 276 Toledo acoustic guitar bearing signatures from musicians who performed on The Top of the Pops on BBC. The strings and bridge of this instrument have been removed. Signatures from Dusty Springfield, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Neil Diamond, The Ronettes, and others are visible to the front, back, and interior of the guitar. Another notable instrument available in this three-day event is a 1960s Premier brand drum kit used by Keith Moon, drummer for The Who, in the 1974 film Stardust.
Additional lots of interest in this auction include sheets of notebook paper containing the lyrics of “51st Anniversary,” written and signed by Jimi Hendrix, and an 18-karat gold, fire opal, and diamond ring owned and stage-worn by Elvis Presley. According to Julien’s Auctions, the handwritten lyrics were torn out of a notebook by Hendrix after a pair of fans asked him for an autograph. The pages come to auction after the fans reunited over 50 years later. Interested collectors can also consider a 2015 Moog EMMS synthesizer commemorating Keith Emerson’s 1970s version, a collection of 50 pieces associated with Amy Winehouse, and new-to-market items from the Rolling Stones archive of Bill Wyman. View the complete catalog and register to bid by visiting Julien’s Auctions.
French painter and printmaker Bernard Buffet produced an extensive body of over 8,000 works during his lifetime. He was a proponent of representational art and also a member of the anti-abstraction group L’homme Témoin. Some of his popular subjects included townscapes depicting pointed and elongated forms with subdued hues. The somber mood of his paintings was considered to be an expression of post-war emotions. Cafe Restaurant, Au Bon Coin, a mixed media on paper by Buffet, is a key highlight of the upcoming Leonard Auction event. Like most of his works, this one too portrays black outlines and persistent brush strokes that evoke melancholy. Another noteworthy painting is an abstract landscape by Lebanese artist Aref El-Rayess. Inspired by the Arabian Desert, the oil on canvas work is framed in linen-lined gold-tone wood. The painter is known for exploring varied materials and painting techniques, including elasticity and resistance.
A lithograph by Joan Miró titled Peinture-Poésie also leads the listing. The influential Spanish artist is noted for his distinctive bold outlines, vivid colors and organic shapes. To view the complete catalog and register to bid in the upcoming May Online Auction (Sale #302), visit Bidsquare and browse other online auctions.
This upcoming Sotheby’s sale highlights work by global contemporary artists and will benefit the Nina Simone Childhood Home preservation project. Julie Mehretu’s New Dawn, Sing (for Nina) leads the auction. This deeply abstract composition was made by the artist this year. The ink and acrylic on canvas plays with the elements of architecture, landscape, and figuration. Mehretu, an Ethiopian American visual artist, graduated from Kalamazoo College, Michigan (1992). Five years later, she earned an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence (1997).
One of Rashid Johnson’s ‘Bruise Paintings’ is also available. The oil-on-linen work titled Nina’s Blues is rendered in deep blue oil paint spread and layered smoothly across the surface. It depicts grids with repeated motifs and a color palette ranging from light blue to almost black. The American artist started making a series of Bruise paintings in 2021. On Bruise paintings, Johnson has said, “They were cathartic, not simple — but every time I made them I felt alive, and unburdened.” Also available are artworks by artists such as Robert Longo, Cecily Brown, Mary Weatherford, and Stanley Whitney. In addition to online bidding, all works will be available to view in person at Pace Gallery in New York from May 12 to 20, 2023. Interested collectors can explore the complete auction catalog on Sotheby’s auction and register to bid in the upcoming Nina Simone Childhood Home: Benefit Auction Co-Presented by the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund and Pace Gallery | Hosted by Sotheby’s sale.
Bonhams’ upcoming Surrounded by Beauty, Carried in Brilliance sale will feature a diverse range of North American Native objects. Among the top lots is a beaded doll made by the Lakota (Sioux) people. A significant component of life on the Reservation is beadwork, a form of art that is respected and even competitive. A beaded choker, five beaded necklaces, and a hair pipe collar adorn the available doll. The body, arms, and legs of the doll are crafted from trade cloth stuffed with batting. Both the costume and the head are made from brain-tanned buckskin. A pair of matching moccasins and leggings completes the outfit for the doll.
A Northern Inunaina (Arapaho) cradle cover will also be showcased. The cradle is made of hide in the classic Northern Arapaho style. An element in the design is the quilled disc, which symbolizes the protection of the baby’s brain. The baby’s arms, ribs, and legs are represented by the lacings. A band of slatted quillwork surrounds the hood of the green-pigmented hide. Other items in the sale include an Apache beaded doll. It is dressed in fringed and beaded clothing, a beaded bag, and beaded hightop moccasins. Browse the complete listings and register to place a bid by visiting Bonhams’ website.
Jack Squier (1927 – 2015) was considered one of the leading sculpture artists of the 20th century. Squier earned his degree from Indiana University in 1950. Two years later, he got his Cornell MFA and began teaching at Cornell. He developed an innovative sculptural style in media, often experimenting with wood, bronze, and polyester resin. An example of his work is up for bid during Day One of the Monumental Two-Day Sterling Silver Fine Art & Antiques Auction, offered by Sarasota Estate Auction. The Torso, a black large fiberglass sculpture by Squier, was rendered by the artist in 1966. A modernist-painted bronze and steel sculpture of a male figure in a photographer’s stance is another sculpture highlight. Created by Spanish-born artist Aurora Cañero Lopez, the piece is titled Fotografo II.
The first session of this sale features modern art, design, and antiques, while Day Two particularly features sterling silver and jewelry. Other notable lots include an antique Chinese export silver bowl with two ornate dragon handles, a canvas by artist Jorge Blanco from his self-portrait series, an Imperial Iris Persian glass sculpture by American artist Dale Chihuly, and a collection of chandeliers, rings, and dinner plates. Visit Bidsquare for more information on the upcoming Monumental Two-Day Sterling Silver Fine Art & Antiques Auction and to browse other online auctions.
American visual artist Chuck Close was a celebrated photographer and painter who made photorealist and abstract portraits. He adapted a brush-holding device and innovative techniques in the late 1980s after being paralyzed by blockage of the anterior spinal artery.
Close had a unique mathematical approach to his work. He superimposed a grid on a photograph and then transferred a proportional grid to his massive canvases. One such watercolor and pencil on paper painting by Close, titled Leslie, is a key highlight of the upcoming sale at Palm Beach Modern Auctions. The image is illusionistic when viewed in close-up range and at a distance. Another painting of interest is an acrylic on panel work by Richard Anuszkiewicz, one of the exponents of Op Art. The painting characterizes his visual investigations of optical effects with reference to colors. Akin to his mentor Josef Albers, Anuszkiewicz experimented with square configurations.
A welded copper and fused glass sculpture by Claire Falkenstein also leads the catalog. Inspired by Einstein’s theories of the universe, the artist crafted sculptures from wire and fused glass. To view the complete catalog of the upcoming Modern + Contemporary Art & Design sale, visit Bidsquare and browse other online auctions.
Nest Egg Auctions will start off its Spring 2023 Art, Asian, Tribal & Jewelry auction with Campo del Cielo meteorites. Campo del Cielo is an impact site in Argentina, and the eponym of a group of iron meteorites. Presented in this sale is a 17.2-pound Campo del Cielo meteorite. It is an XRF (X-ray fluorescence) tested iron and nickel meteorite from Campo del Cielo. Craters like this one are estimated to be 4,000 to 5,000 years old and were already well-known by Indigenous peoples. It was reported to the general public after 1576. A hundred tons of fragments were recovered in Campo del Cielo, the most of any meteorite find.
Fashion and jewelry connoisseurs can find an eclectic group of 16 charms from a world traveler in this auction. She was a Pan Am flight attendant in service between 1954 and 1984. Her vintage bracelet consists of Dutch clogs, Irish charms, the African continent, a zither, a marching band tom, a golf bag, an antique automobile, and many other charms. She collected them from her trips to Europe, Africa, Central America, Asia, and the South Pacific. They are also representative of the traveler’s personality and interests. The gross weight of bracelet and charms is 60.8 grams. Find the complete catalog and browse other online auctions by visiting Bidsquare.
500 Gallery’s upcoming Fine Art Showcase sale will feature artworks by prominent artists from the 19th and 20th centuries. Leading the sale is Otto Dix’s Study of a Man’s Face from 1956. A German Impressionist painter and printmaker, Otto Dix is best known for his grimly realistic portrayals of wartime Germany during the Weimar Republic, despite his art spanning both wars. Art was not about being original for Dix; he cared about making personal statements. The portraits contained elements of caricature, a commentary on social issues through facial characteristics and proportions. The available pencil on sketchbook paper artwork by Dix measures ten inches high and eight inches wide. The unframed work is signed and dated in the lower right corner. As with George Grosz and Max Beckmann, Otto Dix was a key figure in the Neue Sachlichkeit movement.
Another distinguishable lot is a reproductive etching of Alexander von Wagner’s painting Chariot Race in the Circus Maximus. With all four hooves lifted off the ground at once, the surging horses seem almost to fly along in front of the viewer, adding to the drama of the scene. The etching was among the largest of its time in the United States. Also on offer is Hebru Brantley’s Nevermore Park Poster on matte paper. Find the listed lots and other online auctions on Bidsquare.
