Ed Jaster, Senior Vice President, Heritage Auction Galleries

Heritage Auction Galleries has announced the appointment of Ed Jaster to Senior Vice President. He will be transferring to the company’s soon-to-be-opened Manhattan gallery.

“Since Ed came to Heritage in 2002 his vast expertise in collectibles and Fine Art, his marketing skills and his reputation for honesty, has meant a tremendous amount to Heritage,” said Greg Rohan, President of Heritage Auction Galleries. “Ed has been instrumental in bringing some of Heritage’s biggest collections to auction in his eight year tenure here, and with the opening of our new Park Avenue street-level location, we’re very much looking forward to having him apply his considerable talents to the New York City market.”

In Jaster’s time as Vice President at Heritage he has been a key to the significant growth of the American Paintings, Illustration Art and many Collectibles departments, with all having seen yearly jumps in sales that amount to tens of millions of dollars. His recent stewardship at Heritage has included helping to build the Vintage & Contemporary Photography department.

“I can’t wait to get to New York City and help introduce more New Yorkers to Heritage,” said Jaster. “We’re going to become a local presence in what is, clearly, the most vibrant collector market in this nation, if not the world.”

Among the many collections and collectibles Jaster has helped bring to market in his time at Heritage, a few of the standouts include the Charles Martignette Estate of Illustration Art, the most exciting collection of its kind ever offered publicly – which has already brought more than $10 million with well over half the collection still to come; The Estate of the Hon. Paul Buchanan, Jr, which featured one of the finest collections of American Paintings Heritage has ever offered, and most recently, a 8.0 Detective Comics #27, which became the most expensive comic book ever offered at public auction when it brought $1.07 million last February.

From the beginning Jaster seemed destined for the art business. His parents met the Art Institute of Chicago in the 1940s, the same school he would later attend. Subsequently, for more than 20 years, Ed owned his own commercial art firm in Chicago, acquiring, trading, and selling world class collections of American photography, illustration art, and vintage comic books, where he built his vast experience and expertise.

Heritage Auctions, headed by Steve Ivy, Jim Halperin and Greg Rohan, is the world’s third largest auction house, with annual sales more than $600 million, and 500,000+ registered online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and gain access to a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit HA.com.

Human Nature by Bruce Nauman, 1983

Heritage’s $3.48 million Modern & Contemporary Art Auction vastly exceeds estimates

The Collection of a Fortune 500 Company led the way to a $3.48 million afternoon at Heritage Auction Galleries’ June 9 Signature® Impressionist, Modern & Contemporary Art Auction with Bruce Nauman’s stunning Human Nature, 1983, bringing $776,750 – the highest price yet paid for a work on paper by the artist – to take top honors. All prices include 19.5% Buyer’s Premium.

“The pre-auction buzz on a lot of the Fortune 500 pieces was significant,” said Ed Beardsley, Managing Director of the Fine Arts Department at Heritage, “and the action on the floor, on the phones and on the Internet during the sale reflected that excitement. The result was stellar prices on great pieces, which translated into an excellent overall auction.”

Including the Nauman, the Collection of a Fortune 500 Company accounted for the top five lots in the auction, and seven of the top 10 lots total, with Helen Frankenthaler’s stormy acrylic on canvas, Quattrocento, 1984, coming in as the second highest lot in the auction when it brought $346,550 against a pre-auction estimate of $150,000+, while Richard Diebenkorn’s etching Green, 1986, widely regarded as one of the artist’s finest etchings, performed solidly with a $262,900 total, exceeding its $200,000+ pre-auction expectations.

Two of the great surprises of the day came in the form of Edward Ruscha’s bold Golden Words, 1985, which realized $334,600 against a $70,000+ pre-auction estimate – one of the highest recent prices paid for a work on paper by the artist – while the bidding on Jack Goldstein’s acrylic on canvas Untitled, 1983 exploded much the same as the subject matter of the painting itself, finishing at almost seven times the pre-auction estimate of $30,000+ to realize $203,150, and establishing a new world record at auction for the painter.

“Collectors all over the world were drawn to this auction,” said Frank Hettig, Director of Modern & Contemporary Fine and Decorative Arts at Heritage, “and subsequently pieces of it are on their way to happy new owners overseas. We took great pains to market each piece based on who the artist was and where each work fit into their overall oeuvre. The result was strong prices across the board.”

The late Charles Martignette has certainly made his presence felt in the Illustration Art market in the last year, and in the Heritage Impressionist, Modern & Contemporary Auction he showed that his collecting genius transcended boundaries as Mel Ramos’ Pop Art masterpiece Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, 1963, brought $179,500 and further burnished the legendary reputation of Martignette’s superb eye for great art.

More offerings from the Collection of a Fortune 500 Company followed Ramos in the final price hierarchy of the event, as Mario Merz’s surreal oil, acrylic and charcoal 8 Case, 1981-1982, exceeded pre-auction estimates to finish at $101,575 and Ed Paschke’s 1986 Pazzo realized $59,750 against a pre-auction estimate of $25,000+, just shy of a world record price for the artist.

Two paintings from Edouard-Léon Cortès finished out the day’s top offerings, both of which came to auction courtesy of The Property of Dorothy & Sidney Factor, sold to benefit charity. The delightful and evocative Parisian street scene Porte St. Martin, circa 1935, brought $56,763, while another equally stunning street scene, La Coupole, Montparnasse, circa 1935, brought $41,825.

“The auction of these paintings marks the fourth sale of pieces from the Factor family collection sold to benefit charity,” said Beardsley. “Property sold in Jewelry, Silver, Decorative Arts, and Fine Art has raised more than $500,000 for the family’s chosen institutions and organizations.”

Heritage Auctions, founded by Steve Ivy and Jim Halperin, is the world’s third largest auction house, with annual sales more than $600 million, and 500,000+ registered online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and gain access to a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit HA.com.

American hand-carved Cigar Store Indian (Detail)

78-year-old woman’s possession, sold at Heritage, sets all-time auction record

A superbly colorful and remarkably well-preserved American hand-carved Cigar Store Indian, which had sat in a Washington, D.C.-area basement for at least 20 years, brought a world record public auction price of $203,150 on May 22 as the top lot in Heritage Auction Galleries’ Grand Format Political & Americana Auction. The auction realized more than $1.25 million in total. All prices include 19.5% Buyer’s Premium.

The remarkable carving was consigned by 78 year-old Nancy Wischnowski, of Washington, DC, whose husband was an Americana collector until he passed away in 1989.

“This item was purchased in the 1960s or earlier,” she said, “before we were married.”

While Mrs. Wischnowski knew the Indian was “valuable,” she never dreamed it would sell for this kind of money. Her husband had a limited collecting budget, and was a very conservative buyer.

“I doubt that it was fully appreciated or valued when he was able to buy it originally,” she said.

Now there can be no doubt as to its full appreciation or value; it’s a world record piece of Americana.

“We expected a great response to this outstanding example,” said Tom Slater, Director of Heritage Americana Auctions, “but this was really amazing. I was watching the action, and saw at least four different bidders actually enter bids at or above the $75,000 level.”

American hand-carved Cigar Store Indian

With its powerful nostalgic draw, its’ distinctly American flavor and the masterful artistry, this example seems to have surfaced at the perfect time.

“Its overall originality was definitely key to bidder enthusiasm,” said Slater. “Most cigar store Indians have been restored and repainted to the point where they don’t even convey a sense of age. This example, with its seemingly untouched original patina, clearly appealed tremendously to serious collectors.”

This Heritage Americana sale featured the debut of a new category, as well as the revival of an old one:

Heritage became the first major auction firm to offer highly-collectable Nevada casino chips, the result of which can certainly be considered outstanding. Out of 53 casino chip lots, 51 sold for a total of $106,702. The high water mark was a prohibitively rare 1950s Sands Casino issue featuring the classic “cowgirl leaning on an hourglass” design that brought $26,290.

“Casino chip collecting has been a small but active collecting hobby for some years now,” said Slater. “It was time for a major firm like Heritage to step up and provide a national auction platform for these colorful and valuable collectibles.”

The revival at the May 22 auction came in the form of Western Americana at Heritage, with some 150 diverse lots. The top seller was a rare “Pony Express Bible,” which sold for $20,315.

“One of the partners in the firm behind the Pony Express, Russell, Majors, & Waddell, was a deeply religious man,” said Slater, “and the company provided one of these Bibles to each of its riders. Only perhaps a dozen or so copies are believed to have survived.”

The auction also included a fine selection of historical photography, a category Heritage plans to develop further in future sales, according to Slater. A three-quarter plate tinted daguerreotype of a Shakespearean actor drew spirited bidding, ultimately selling for $13,145 against a high-estimate of $6500. A number of 19th century Western images by William Henry Jackson also inspired aggressive bidding, with a photo of Sitting Crow bringing $4,183 against a pre-sale high-estimate of $2500 leading the way. A superb circa 1871 expedition photo of the Colorado River by T. H. O’Sullivan sold for $9560, completely obliterating its $800-1500 pre-auction estimate.

An important offering of 13 19th century Charleston slave hire badges also drew much attention, including considerable institutional bidding.

“This was a truly superior selection,” Slater said, “a fact not lost on some smart bidders.”

The highest price was achieved by a badge dated 1800 and marked “Fisher,” which almost tripled its $5,000+ pre-auction estimate to finish at $14,340. The year 1800 was the first year for these badges and “Fisher” is one of the rarest occupations. This example also bears what is believed to be the second-lowest number from that year’s issue.

Another high point of the auction was an important selection of 19th century political textiles sold for a total of more than $200,000, led by an Abraham Lincoln campaign flag and an 1840 William Henry Harrison flag, each of which realized $33,460.

Political campaign memorabilia, always well-represented in Heritage Americana auctions, continued to prove a major draw for collectors. The highest priced pin-back button was a rare 1924 John W. Davis variety, which brought $4,481. The top-selling item in the political section, however, was a rare and colorful 1900 McKinley campaign poster that hammered for 50% above its estimate and sold for $17,925.

The next comprehensive Heritage Americana auction is planned for November 2010.

Heritage Auction Galleries

Heritage Auctions, headed by Steve Ivy, Jim Halperin and Greg Rohan, is the world’s third largest auction house, with annual sales more than $600 million, and 500,000+ registered online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and gain access to a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit HA.com.

Human Nature by Bruce Nauman, 1983

Collection of a Fortune 500 Company, Factor Family and The Martignette Estate provide principal highlights in Heritage Auctions June 9 art event

Bruce Nauman’s masterful charcoal, pencil, pastel and watercolor Human Nature, 1983, is expected to bring $250,000+ as the centerpiece of Heritage Auction Galleries’ June 9 Signature® Impressionist, Modern & Contemporary Art Auction at its Dallas Design District Annex, 1518 Slocum Street.

“This sublime piece comes to auction from the Collection of a Fortune 500 Company,” said Frank Hettig, Director of Modern & Contemporary Art at Heritage. “It’s a wonderful combination of several of the elements that make Nauman such an important voice in contemporary art, especially the aspect of word play and the interaction of color, shadow and light.”

Also from the Collection of a Fortune 500 Company comes another of the auction’s principal highlights, Richard Diebenkorn’s 1986 etching with aquatint and drypoint printed in colors, Green, regarded as one of the artist’s finest etchings “embodying all of the skills and knowledge of graphics he had been accumulating for more than 20 years.” It is estimated at $200,000+.

The same Fortune 500 Collection is also providing collectors watching the auction with a chance to acquire more work from some of the biggest names of the last 50 years, including Helen Frankenthaler’s Quattrocento, 1984, acrylic on canvas (estimated at $150,000+) and Edward Ruscha’s Golden Words, 1985, pigment and acrylic on paper, estimated at $70,000+.

“The selections from this important collection are just one reason for collectors to be excited about this auction,” said Hettig. “We’ve worked very hard to put together this grouping of excellent material and we believe it shows in the diverse offerings from a splendid array of internationally known artists.”

The Estate of Charles Martignette, the most important collection of illustration art ever offered, contained many surprises when its full depth was finally revealed. One of the most important of these surprises was Mel Ramos’s Pop Art masterpiece Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, 1963, a transcending ode to the great pulp illustration of the mid-20th century. This piece, which carries a $120,000+ estimate, is certain to be one of the most watched pieces in the entire auction.

The Property of Dorothy & Sidney Factor, complemented by pieces from the collection of their son, Max Factor III, has been sold to benefit various charities in auctions throughout this spring, and this event features several more important examples from this philanthropic family. From the collection of Dorothy & Sidney Factor comes Edouard-Léon Cortés’ Porte St. Martin, circa 1935, oil on canvas (estimate: $20,000+), while the intriguing sculpture Accumulation Colombienne, 1979-1980, by French-American sculptor Arman, comes to this auction from Max Factor III’s collection. It is expected to bring $20,000+.

Some of the most captivating paintings in the auction come from a special section of the sale devoted exclusively to Contemporary Chinese and Cuban art, led by China’s Wu Mingzhong, with his vibrant, electrically kinetic oil River and Ocean, Be Careful!, 2003, estimated at $20,000+, and Cuba’s Roberto Fabelo, with his haunted and deeply contemplative oil painting Memorias, 2007, also estimated at $20,000+.

Further highlights include, but are not limited to:

Vilmos Aba-Novák, Flood, Tempera on panel: Estimate: $40,000 – $60,000.

Alexander Calder, Untitled, 1967, gouache on paper: Estiamte: $30,000-$50,000.

Jean Dufy, Marine, circa 1946-1950, oil on canvas: Estimate: $25,000 – $35,000.

Richard Joseph Anuszkiewicz, Visible State, 1966, liquitex on board: Estimate: $15,000 – $20,000.

Daniel Spoerri, Untitled, 1984, mixed media assemblage: Estimate: $15,000 – $20,000.

Heritage Auctions, headed by Steve Ivy, Jim Halperin and Greg Rohan, is the world’s third largest auction house, with annual sales more than $600 million, and 500,000+ registered online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and gain access to a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit HA.com.

Human Nature by Bruce Nauman, 1983

Calla Lily by Robert Maplethorpe, 1984

Virtual ‘Who’s Who’ of American photography represented in Heritage Auctions’ June 9 Fine Art Photography event

Robert Mapplethorpe’s delicate, lilting 1984 gelatin silver photograph Calla Lily is expected to bring between $30,000-$40,000 as one of the principal highlights in Heritage Auctions June 9 Signature® Vintage & Contemporary Photography Auction, taking place at the company’s Dallas Design District Annex, 1518 Slocum Street.

“There are few modern photographers more widely recognized or controversial than Mapplethorpe,” said Ed Jaster, Vice President of Heritage. “Calla Lily, however, is simply a brilliant photograph that shows Mapplethorpe’s ability as an artist to capture an image and re-contextualize the subject in a transcendent way. This photograph is about the art, nothing else.”

Mapplethorpe is just the first among equals in the collection that Heritage has assembled for this auction, with prime examples from some of the biggest names to ever pick up a camera, from the early days of the form up through the giants of today.

“This auction reads like a Who’s Who of great photographers,” said Jaster. “We have examples from Irving Penn, Yousuf Karsh, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Annie Leibovitz and more.”

Irving Penn is widely regarded as one of America’s most-brilliant and influential post-War photographers. A pair of photographs in this auction vividly display his genius with a variety of subjects as well as his mastery of both color photography and black & white. His Three Tulips: Red Shine, Black Parrot, Gudoshnik, New York, 1967 Dye-transfer, 1987 is estimated at $25,000-$35,000, while his evocative 1947 gelatin silver print Still Life (with mouse) is estimated at $15,000-$25,000.

One of the most intriguing, enigmatic and compelling photographs in the auction, and one that is sure to capture the attention of bidders, is Richard Avedon’s virtuosic portrait, John Harrison, lumber salesman and his daughter Melissa, Lewisville, TX, (from In the American West), November 11, 1981, in which Avedon presents his subject with compassion, humor and amazing intensity. It is estimated at $25,000-$35,000.

There are few American photographs more famous than Alfred Eisenstaedt’s V.J. Day, Times Square, New York City, 1945, with the iconic image of a newly-returned sailor kissing a USO nurse, and a gelatin silver print of that celebrated image (estimate: $12,000-$15,000) anchors a grouping of six Eisenstaedt photographs in the auction, including the breathtaking Marilyn Monroe, 1953 (estimate: $7,000-$10,000), Ice Skating Waiter, St. Moritz, 1932 (Estimate: $6,000-$8,000) and Portrait of Marilyn Monroe, 1953 (Estimate: $5,000-$7,000).

Two stunning portraits by masters of the form also bear significant mention: Yousuf Karsh’s doleful and revealing 1948 gelatin silver print of Albert Einstein is estimated to bring between $7,000-$9,000, while Annie Leibovitz’s Robert Redford, Malibu, California 1980, captures the famed movie star in a brilliantly blue-framed moment of repose in Los Angeles while at the same time showing the touch that has made Leibovitz the most famous photographer of contemporary America. It is estimated at $4,000-$6,000.

Further highlights include, but are not limited to:

Timothy O’Sullivan, The Halt, 1864, albumen: Estimate: $4,000-$6,000.

Helmut Newton, Cyberwomen 1, 2000, gelatin silver paper: Estimate: $3,000-$5,000.

Garry Winogrand, Marilyn Monroe on the set of the Seven Year Itch (from 15 Big Shots), 1955 Gelatin silver, 1983 Paper: Estimate: $3,000-$4,000.

Heritage Auctions, headed by Steve Ivy, Jim Halperin and Greg Rohan, is the world’s third largest auction house, with annual sales more than $600 million, and 500,000+ registered online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and gain access to a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit HA.com.

Calla Lily by Robert Maplethorpe, 1984

The Sleigh by Harry Leith-Ross, 1945

May 27 auction at Heritage Auction Galleries features property from notable private and public collections including Mrs. Ruth Carter Stevenson, descendants of Trompe L’oeil still life painter Alexander Pope, the Wichita Center for the Arts, among others.

A fine array of paintings, drawings, prints and sculpture by major 19th and 20th-century American artists dominate Heritage Auction Galleries May 27 Signature® Fine American & European Art Auction at the company’s Dallas Design District Annex, 1518 Slocum Street. European Old Masters, 19th-century academic painting, and top-notch printmaking by luminaries of French Impressionism are also well represented.

“The 20th-Century American offerings are particularly strong in our spring sale at all price points, and cover a range of aesthetic styles and genres,” said Courtney Case, Associate Director of American & European Paintings at Heritage. “From powerful examples of early 20th-Century Modernism, to mid-century work by iconic African-American artists, to Regionalist work from the heartland and the New Hope School, our current auction has both breadth and depth of quality.”

20th-Century American Modernist highlights include several seminal works of the 1920s and 30s by Jan Matulka, notably his circa 1931 gouache, Cape Ann Abstraction, estimated at $20,000-$30,000, a fine example of the artist’s hard-edged style reminiscent of the work of his friend Stuart Davis; a 1986 casting of Donald Delue’s 1948 bronze Jason (Triumph Over Tyranny), one of 12 produced, estimated at $8,000-$12,000; Paul Cadmus’ mixed media Reading Nude, is expected to bring between $10,000 – $15,000, while Sally Michel Avery’s The Conversation (1977) carries an estimate of $8,000-$12,000 and John Marin’s watercolor, Mountain Country, is attracting bidder attention with a $4,000-$6,000 pre-auction estimate.

Two paintings from renowned African-American painter Romare Bearden, including his 1988 oil Caribbean Harbor, estimated at $10,000-$15,000, anchor a rich group of works by John Biggers, Harvey Johnson, Norman Lewis, Beauford Delaney, Robert Thompson and Jacob Lawrence.

A wide and varied section of important American Regionalist works includes: a superb grouping of Thomas Hart Benton lithographs and drawings; three marvelous paintings of caricatured portrait heads by close Benton pupil from the Kansas City Art Institute days, Roger Norman Medearis, including his 1961 A Talkative Drunk, which carries an estimate of $5,000-$7,000; and four prime lithographs by Iowa’s greatest artist, Grant Wood, creator of America’s most parodied painting, “American Gothic,” whose simple and beautifully-designed landscape July 15th – estimated at $5,000-$8,000 – is sure to be hotly pursued by collectors. Charles Ephraim Burchfield’s Untitled (possibly Green Grove) (1920), estimated at $10,000-$15,000, is another important offering sure to be the subject of heated bidding.

Pennsylvania’s New Hope School luminary Harry Leith-Ross is represented in the auction by a standout landscape entitled The Sleigh, estimated at $60,000-$90,000.

“This snow scene is an important example of the artist’s most famous genre of landscape,” said Case. “Leith-Ross’ ability to paint blistering winter light ranks him among the finest in this specialized branch of landscape painting. He was more descriptive and narrative than Twachtman, but equally skilled in capturing winter’s chilly iridescence. He was an incredible colorist, but an equally skillful compositional designer.”

“Aficionados of 19th-century American painting will discover exceptional opportunities in the current auction,” said Dr. Marianne Berardi, Heritage’s Senior Fine Art Expert. “Collectors will compete for a small but extremely beautiful cluster of Hudson River School landscape paintings by Jasper Francis Cropsey and John Frederick Kensett, whose finest works have become increasingly rare.”

The auction features two works by Cropsey: his Wyoming Valley (Probably, Landscape with Sheep) (1897), known to be the preliminary study for Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania, 1897 – which gained famed when it was exhibited at the National Academy – is expected to bring $80,000-$120,000, while his vibrant 1880 oil, In the Berkshires, carries a pre-auction estimate of $40,000-$60,000.

“John Frederick Kensett’s Summer Landscape of circa 1860s is one of the gems of the sale, carrying an estimate of $15,000-$20,000,” said Berardi. “This serene view of a light-drenched meadow in midsummer is painted in oil pigments on paper, and is period-mounted to finely woven canvas. Although measuring an intimate 4 x 6 inches, Kensett was capable of conveying in it an astonishing sense of deep panoramic space – a truly remarkable achievement. The scene’s structural clarity is paired with a meticulous rendering of the revealing effects of morning light. It’s the type of effect one usually finds in the work of the greatest portrait miniaturists. It’s a prize to be sure.”

One of the most exciting finds in the auction is a cache of never-before-seen works by American trompe l’oeil and animalier painter, Alexander Pope. The group of works has been residing in the collection of the Pope family for more than five generations. Foremost among the Pope efforts is Dogs In a Kennel, estimated at $80,000-$120,000.

The European side of the auction features a wide array of notable work, highlights of which follow below:

The Old Master category is anchored both by fine prints and paintings. Two richly printed engravings by Albrecht Durer, The Sudarium Held by Two Angels (1513) and St. Anthony Reading (1519), come under the hammer from the Collection of Mrs. Ruth Carter Stevenson. Italian, Dutch and Flemish Old Master paintings include Sumptuous Floral and Fruit Still Life in an Extensive Landscape, 18th Century, attributed to Francesco Lavagna, estimated at $18,000 – $20,000; Jan Victors’ Portrait of a Man as a Shepherd, expected to bring $15,000-$25,000, and Philosophers and Soldiers Among Ancient Ruins, Including the Pyramid of Gaius Cestius, 18th century, from the Circle of Giovanni Paolo Panini, carrying an estimate of $12,000 – $16,000. A painting attributed to Gaetano Vetturali, Italian Scene with Ruins (1700), is estimated at $10,000-$15,000.

From the exquisite collection known simply as Property of a Lady comes one of the standout 19th-century paintings, Étienne Prosper Berne-Bellecour’s A Cavalry Halt (1878), a brilliant oil on canvas estimated at $12,000-$18,000. Another prize from the same period is Gustav Wertheimer’s fantastically romantic, salon-sized Agrippina of 1874, a baroque-inspired treatment of the dramatic myth.

Fine French Impressionist and Fauvist prints from the late 19th century by Pissarro, Morisot, Manet and Matisse are among the top works on paper.

Two School of Paris paintings by Edouard Cortes are the top lots of the European 20th Century offerings. These include his 1952 masterwork, Arc de Triomphe et Avenue de Friedland, 1952, estimated at $30,000-$50,000.

Heritage Auctions, headed by Steve Ivy, Jim Halperin and Greg Rohan, is the world’s third largest auction house, with annual sales more than $600 million, and 500,000+ registered online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and gain access to a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit HA.com.

The Sleigh by Harry Leith-Ross, 1945

Bear Facts (A Modest Look; Bearback Rider) by Gil Elvgren, 1962

Martignette Collection dominates top offerings; New all-time auction price records set for Enoch Bolles, Chesley Bonestell and Coles Phillips

Gil Elvgren’s landmark pin-up, Bear Facts (A Modest Look; Bearback Rider), 1962, brought $191,200 in Heritage Auction Galleries Beverly Hills’ record-setting May 6 Illustration Art Auction. The auction realized more than $3.4 million total, and continued the stellar rise of the Illustration Art market, dominated by the blockbuster Estate of Charles Martignette, which continues to produce examples and record prices. All prices include 19.5 Buyer’s Premium.

“Bear Facts is a particularly important example from Martignette,” said Ed Jaster, Vice President of Heritage Auctions. “Not only was it his favorite piece out of the more than 4,000 that he owned, it represents Elvgren at the peak of his powers and is viewed, by many, as the pinnacle of American pin-up art.”

More than 1100 bidders competed – in-person in Beverly Hills, via Internet, mail, phone bidding and Heritage LIVE! – on the 670 lots offered. The auction saw more than 90% of prices realized by value and more than 95% by lot total.

The good name of Elvgren produced several of the Top 10 lots in the auction, including his evocative 1961 masterpiece Jackpot, from another consignor, which soared to a $131,450 finish against its base pre-auction estimate of $30,000. The painting was not only the subject of intense bidding during the auction, it was also one of the most actively watched paintings in the entire auction, garnering more than 9,500 pre-auction page views on HA.com.

A world record price of $80,663 was realized for Enoch Bolles’ surreal October 1935 Sure to Make a Hit, Film Fun magazine cover, another of Martignette’s most important pieces. Determined bidders vied for several minutes over the suggestive painting, driving it far above its’ pre-auction estimate of $10,000-$15,000.

“Bolles’ profile has been steadily rising over the last several auctions,” said Todd Hignite, Consignment Director of Illustration Art at Heritage, “so it’s not surprising that a painting like this – one of his best examples – would be subject to intense competition. This price shows that Bolles has stepped up a rung in hierarchy of great illustration artists.”

Another of the few pieces to break the Top 10 lots of the auction that didn’t have Martignette’s name attached to it came in the form of Chesley Bonestell’s Saturn Viewed from Titan, c. 1952, realizing $77,675.

“This iconic image is perhaps the most famous and recognized image Bonestell ever painted, having been used no less than in 10 different publications in its 60 years,” said Jaster. “The painting represents the top offering in the auction from the famed Frank Collection, a gathering as important to sci-fi and fantasy art in its own right as Martignette’s collection is to the illustration art genre.”

One more record-setting painting also happened to be another of Martignette’s favorites, Coles Phillips’ 1922 Holeproof Hosiery Company ad illustration, one of the most famous images of the period, certainly one of the most controversial, and one of the earliest paintings that could be considered a pin-up. Amidst much wrangling from erudite collectors, it rose to a final price of $77,675.

Among others world record prices set for individual artists, demonstrating the strength of the Illustration Art market across genres, was one set for pulp cover artist Rafael De Soto’s New Detective, pulp cover, January 1948, which realized $28,680, another for pin-up favorite Henry Clive’s 1925 Sultana, calendar illustration, proving exceedingly popular with a record $22,705 final price and Golden Age great McClelland Barclay, whose Pictorial Review cover, September 1933, saw the same record price of $22,705.

Martignette’s gathering of Alberto Vargas paintings was also amply represented in the auction with several important works, but perhaps none so much as Vargas’ early, seminal circa 1932 watercolor, Reverie, which was the artist’s top example in the auction, making its way to $77,675, more than three times its pre-auction base estimate of $18,000.

Further Highlights include, but are not limited to:

Rolf Armstrong (American, 1889-1960), Twinkle Toes, c. 1947: Pastel on board, 38 x 28.5 in., Signed center right. From the Estate of Charles Martignette. Realized $56,763.

J.C. Leyendecker (American, 1874-1951), Record Time, Cool Summer Comfort, House of Kuppenheimer ad illustration, c. 1920: Oil on canvas, 21.5 x 20 in. Not signed. From the Estate of Charles Martignette. Realized: $47,800.

Earl Moran (American, 1893-1984), A Mere Maid, Brown and Bigelow calendar illustration, c. late 1930s: Pastel on board, 38 x 29 in. Signed lower right. Truly one of the great pinups in all of the genre. This masterpiece is truly “the Great American Pin-Up” personified. Realized $35,850.

Heritage Auctions, headed by Steve Ivy, Jim Halperin and Greg Rohan, is the world’s third largest auction house, with annual sales more than $600 million, and 500,000+ registered online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and gain access to a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit HA.com.

Bear Facts (A Modest Look; Bearback Rider) by Gil Elvgren, 1962

Bluebonnets at Sunrise by Julian Onderdonk, 1917

Important works from Grelle, Donray, Travis, Mell and more punctuate deep Dallas lineup, May 15

Julian Onderdonk’s 1917 oil painting Bluebonnets at Sunrise headlines the sublime, often stellar lineup of Texas & Western Art in Heritage Auction Galleries’ Signature® Auction, May 15, at the company’s Downtown Dallas Design District Annex, locate at 1518 Slocum Street. The painting, the first major Onderdonk “Bluebonnet” painting to be offered at public auction since the major retrospective of his work at the Dallas Museum of Art in 2008. It is estimated at $80,000 – $120,000.

“Bluebonnets at Sunrise has the quality of light and atmosphere found in Onderdonk’s most beautiful depictions of bluebonnets,” said Atlee Phillips, Director of Texas Art at Heritage. “You have these beautiful Texas wildflowers blanketed in mist as dawn begins to glow on the horizon, making it quite an arresting and important piece of work, on par with his very best paintings.”

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Bluebonnets at Sunrise – especially to scholars and serious collectors – is the inscription on the back, which reveals valuable insight into his methods and business practices. In addition to the signature, date, and title, Onderdonk wrote instructions to return the painting, still wet at the time of purchase, so that he could varnish it himself later in the year.

“This picture should be varnished in October or Nov 1917,” wrote Onderdonk. “Notify me and I will attend to it.”

“Bluebonnets at Sunrise represents the best of both early Texas art and American Impressionism,” said Phillips. “The most desirable and beloved subject that Onderdonk painted was bluebonnets, which was demonstrated by the tremendous response to the 2008 DMA exhibition.”

Another important Texas highlight from the May Heritage Texas & Western Art Auction is James Erwin Boren’s ethereal oil painting, Golliad March 19, 1836, done by Boren in 1983 to celebrate the upcoming 1986 Texas Sesquicentennial. The painting, which was exhibited in the Texas Sesquicentennial Show at the CAA Museum in Kerrville, Texas, April 25-July 13, 1986, is estimated at $60,000-$80,000 and comes to Heritage from the Duffy and Tina Oyster Foundation.

Martin Grelle’s energetic and deeply detailed 2006 oil painting, Cheyenne Pride, represents an important offering in modern Texas & Western painting. In this notable painting a Cheyenne brave sits atop a dappled bay horse, surveying the horizon. The intensity of his gaze doesn’t reveal what he sees, but certainly relays the gravity of the approaching situation.

“In Cheyenne Pride Grelle manages to capture the wild spirit of his subjects, giving them tremendous vitality,” said Phillips, “all the while pointing to a way of life that has been gone for more than a century.”

Further highlights include:

Donray (American, b. 1945), Redrock, 2008: Acrylic on linen, 37 x 45 inches (94.0 x 114.3 cm). Signed and dated: Ray ‘08. Estimate: $10,000 – $15,000.

Ed Mell (American, b. 1942), Sunset Landscape: Oil on canvas, 16 x 20 inches (40.6 x 50.8 cm). Signed/etched lower right: Ed Mell. Estimate: $10,000 – $15,000.

Olin Travis (American, 1888-1975), Red Mountain, circa 1938: Oil on masonite, 35 x 47 inches (88.9 x 119.4 cm). Signed lower right: Olin Travis. Estimate: $40,000 – $60,000.

Heritage Auction Galleries

Heritage Auctions, headed by Steve Ivy, Jim Halperin and Greg Rohan, is the world’s third largest auction house, with annual sales more than $600 million, and 500,000+ registered online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and gain access to a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit HA.com.

Bluebonnets at Sunrise by Julian Onderdonk, 1917

Bear Facts (A Modest Look; Bearback Rider) by Gil Elvgren, 1962

The greatest pin-up paintings of the epic Martignette Estate will be offered in a special May 7 Heritage Beverly Hills Pin-Up and Glamour Illustration Art auction.

If ever there was a perfect match, it would be the setting of the Golden State with a showing of the greatest names in Pin-Up and Glamour Art, and now they’ve set a date to make beautiful music together at Heritage Auction Galleries Beverly Hills on May 7, 2010 for the company’s Signature® Illustration Art Auction, in-person at 9478 West Olympic Blvd, and online at HA.com.

“The top names in Glamour and Pin-Up – Elvgren, Vargas, Petty, Armstrong, Bolles, Moran – are all here in this superb collection,” said Ed Jaster, Vice President of Heritage Auctions. “Los Angeles is celebrated for its beautiful women, but even so, the city is in for a fun, glitzy floor show with these ladies.”

The Illustration Art venue at Heritage has grown increasingly popular throughout the last 10 months, with the three auctions that have transpired since the company began auctioning the epic Charles Martignette Estate last July. Many of the best examples are waiting their turn at auction, and for several of Martignette’s personal favorites, that turn is coming up in Beverly Hills in only a few weeks.

Perhaps the most significant piece of Pin-Up art in the auction, and certainly one of the most famous pieces of pin-up art ever painted, is Gil Elvgren’s 1962 masterpiece Bear Facts (A Modest Look; Bearback Rider), estimated at $50,000-$75,000.

“The pin-up talent most near and dear to Martignette’s heart had to be Gil Elvgren, and his favorite piece was Bear Facts,” said Todd Hignite, Consignment Director at Heritage Auctions. “It was showcased as the dust jacket cover, and featured again as figure 414, of the important monograph, Gil Elvgren All His Glamorous American Pin-Ups by Martignette and Louis K. Meisel, and once again as figure 382 of The Great American Pin-Up, also written by Martignette and Meisel. Here is a pin-up masterwork that top collectors have been waiting years to have a chance at owning.”

Martignette was also a passionate fan of the radiant hues, sweeping rhythms, and enchanting detail featured in the pastels of the legendary Rolf Armstrong, all of which are on full display in the artist’s 1947 drawing for the calendar print Twinkle Toes, one of the most iconic pin-ups in the Martignette Estate, estimated at $20,000-$30,000.

“For those who know illustration, drawings don’t get much better than this piece,” said Jaster. “All of Armstrong’s bravura draftsmanship is evident in this incredible piece, perhaps more so than any other that he created. Martignette knew what this piece was worth, and I’m betting that today’s collectors also know its value, and are willing to bid whatever it takes to win.”

In keeping with the theme of Martignette’s favorites, Heritage is also offering Coles Phillips’ 1922 Holeproof Hosiery Company ad illustration, one of the earliest and most popular of all American pin-up pieces. This lovely ad illustration appeared in Life, Redbook, Library Digest, Good Housekeeping, Pictorial Review, and Women’s Home Companion magazines in 1922-23, and it was reproduced in the books, All American Girl — The Art of Coles Phillips by Michael Schau, Famous American Illustrators by Arpi Ermoyan, and Martignette and Meisel’s own seminal book, The Great American Pin-Up. It is estimated at $18,000 – $24,000.

While Martignette was identified almost exclusively with the big-name illustrators whose art he saved and championed, his incredible eye for often unheralded, yet important works, must also be noted, and credited. He single-handedly saved many superb mid-20th Century American illustrations from a fate that might otherwise have been measured only in obscurity. Such is the case with George Hughes’ classic Aug. 28, 1954 Saturday Evening Post cover, a painting that, in acquisition, confirmed not only Martignette’s eye for great paintings of ladies, but also his ability to identify a compelling story, and a classic piece of Americana. It is estimated at $8,000 – $12,000.

“In addition to the Martignette Pin-Up and Glamour Art treasures that anchor this auction,” said Hignite, “we’ll offer a sparkling selection of highlights from his collection of the biggest names in Illustration, just as the Heritage clients have come to expect.”

Among the important examples of the form that will be auctioned in Beverly Hills are J. C. Leyendecker’s 1920 House of Kuppenheimer ad illustration Record Time, Cool Summer Comfort, estimated at $20,000 – $30,000, and Norman Rockwell’s c. 1960 Portrait of a Woman in a Red Dress (Mrs. David Shapiro), an important piece in the Rockwell oeuvre that was a product of the artist’s 1960 joining of Best on Thursday mornings, a group of artists that met in the Pine Street, Cambridge, MA studio of Peggy Worthington. It is estimated at $8,000-$12,000.

According to Rockwell historian Laurie Norton Moffatt, “The purpose of the class was for him to experiment in loosening up his tight, detailed style in which he felt he had become too rigid.” She has further noted, “Some of the portraits were sold in a gallery shop at the studio. Many were given to the models who had posed during the session. The remaining paintings are part of the Norman Rockwell Paintings Trust at the Old Corner House.”

While the Martignette lots will be an undeniable draw in the May 7 auction, avid collectors of Science Fiction/Fantasy art have already sat up and taken notice of the inclusion of The Frank Collection of Science-Fiction and Fantasy Art, perhaps the most awesome assemblage of Fantasy art ever offered.

Chief among the amazing rarities in The Frank Collection is Frank Frazetta’s Warrior with Ball and Chain, Flashing Swords #1, paperback cover, 1973, one of the most-recognizable and famous of all Sword and Sorcery Fantasy paintings. It is estimated at $200,000-$300,000.

“This stirring, savage and superb Frazetta masterwork first appeared on the cover of the anthology Flashing Swords #1, published by Dell in the early 1970s,” said Jaster, “and it’s only gained in popularity since then. Such a peak-period, published cover painting spotlighting the signature subject matter by the master represents an incredible collecting opportunity.”

Science Fiction masterworks from The Frank Collection take the stellar form of Chesley Bonestell’s Saturn Viewed from Titan, c. 1952, the most famous and recognized image Bonestell ever painted, estimated at $30,000-$50,000, and in Virgil Finlay’s Palos of the Dog Star Pack, Famous Fantastic Mysteries cover, October 1941, another of Science Fiction’s most intriguing and beloved images. It is estimated at $8,000-$12,000.

An exhilarating opportunity for erudite collectors comes to auction from The Mort Künstler Collection, selections from the personal archives of the legendary post-war men’s adventure magazines’ premier artist. Among its offerings will be Captured by the Chief, Stag cover, February 1967, estimated at $4,000-$6,000, Blonde on the Rocks, Men cover, August 1967, a classic of the form, for which Künstler set the standard, which is estimated at $3,000-$4,000.

Heritage Auctions, headed by Steve Ivy, Jim Halperin and Greg Rohan, is the world’s third largest auction house, with annual sales more than $600 million, and 500,000+ registered online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and gain access to a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit HA.com.

Bear Facts (A Modest Look; Bearback Rider) by Gil Elvgren, 1962

Edmund P. Pillsbury Ph.D., Heritage’s Chairman of Fine Arts and Director of Museum Services

In Memoriam: Dr. Edmund P. Pillsbury – 1943-2010

A statement from Heritage Auctions Co-Founders Steve Ivy and Jim Halperin on the sudden passing of Edmund P. Pillsbury Ph.D., Heritage’s Chairman of Fine Arts and Director of Museum Services.

We learned this morning of the passing of Dr. Edmund P. (“Ted”) Pillsbury at the age of 66 from an apparent heart attack yesterday afternoon after returning from lunch with a consignor. All of us here at Heritage Auction Galleries wish to express our deepest sympathy to his wife, children, coworkers and all others who knew and loved him.

Dr. Pillsbury was well-known as one of the world’s foremost art museum professionals. He earned his Ph.D. in Italian Renaissance Art from the University of London’s Courtauld Institute of Art. Among the places that flourished under his leadership are: The Yale Center for British Art; the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art in London; the Kimbell Art Museum in Ft. Worth, TX (he served as director of the Kimbell for 18 years and built it into one of the greatest art museums in the world); the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art in Las Vegas, and the Meadows Museum at SMU. He also served as an advisor to The Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Ted joined the Heritage family in 2005 and, with his dynamism, unimpeachable reputation and encyclopedic knowledge of Fine Art, made an immediate impact as Chairman of our Fine Arts and Museum Services departments. He essentially built both departments from scratch, recruiting a world class team of experts and other professionals.

His tenure here at Heritage lasted nearly five years, the longest of any institution he served other than the Kimbell, and we all expected to be working with him for many more years to come. This is such a sad day for Heritage’s 375 employees, and for the art community at large. Ted will be terribly missed, though his legacy proudly continues.

Steve Ivy & Jim Halperin

Edmund P. Pillsbury Ph.D., Heritage’s Chairman of Fine Arts and Director of Museum Services

White Cross Nurse by Haddon Hubbard Sunblom

Signature Illustration Art Auction
Heritage Auction Galleries
February 18, 2010

Important original American imagery from the Collection of the American Red Cross, punctuated by names like Haddon Sundblom and Walter Beach Humphrey, highlights the comprehensive array of artwork that is Heritage Auctions’ Feb. 18 Signature® Illustration Art Auction.

“There is something instantly recognizable and unmistakably American about these wonderful original illustrations,” said Ed Jaster, Vice President of Heritage Auctions. “While all the art was created by a wide grouping of talented artists, they all are definitive of the period and subject. They’re also all consigned directly from the American Red Cross, and all proceeds from the auction go to benefit the organization.”

The ongoing dispersal of The Charles Martignette Estate, still the finest collection of illustration art ever offered at public auction, continues to yield its amazingly deep trove of treasures to the collecting public. Perhaps even more important to collectors is that Martignette’s genius has enticed many collectors to release long-held important works from their own collections to sell alongside his legendary gathering.

“This auction is notable, among many reasons, for the huge selection of stellar pin-up art that has come to accompany Martignette,” said Todd Hignite, Consignment Director at Heritage Auctions, “including one of the most striking Vargas we’ve ever offered, Duotone Varga Signature, 1947, estimated at $30,000-$40,000, and one of the wildest Enoch Bolles’ Film Fun magazine covers of his career, expected to go for $12,000-$18,000.”

Elvgren’s Best

Heritage Illustration Art Auctions have rightly become synonymous with the sale of prime examples of the original artwork of Gil Elvgren, the unchallenged king of pin-up art. The Feb. 18 auction is no exception, with seven major Elvgrens to choose from, including the catalog cover lot He Thinks I’m Too Good To Be True, 1947, an absolute stunner from the master, and Blanket Coverage, 1952, classic examples of Elvgren’s unmatched eye for beauty.

One area that collectors new to illustration art might pay special attention to is premium pulp and paperback cover art.

“We’ve never come close to a selection of such classic, iconic covers for many of the most noteworthy titles,” said Hignite, “including many from Martignette’s famed collection.”

A stunning Sci-Fi pulp cover, Amazing Stories, August 1942, by Harold W. McCauley, is one of the great images of the period. It is estimated at $6,000-$8,000. In The Great American Pin-Up, Martignette himself noted this iconic science fiction scene as an example of the connection between the pin-up field and the pulps: “Many artists who restricted their careers to pulps,” he wrote, “incorporated pin-up and glamour themes into their subjects, as in Harold McCauley’s vintage pulp from the 1940s.”

Peter Driben is always a popular draw for original pulp art lovers, and prime examples of his work continue to surprise as they reach new heights of bidding. His oil on board The Captive is another fantastic example of masterful pin-up art combined with the best of pulp art, as a buxom blond with her hands bound above her head eyes the action off-canvas. This is another image Martignette cited in his book The Great American Pin-Up. It is estimated at $4,000-$6,000.

Two paintings from legendary illustrator Rafael De Soto mark a special point in Martignette’s collection and speak, more than ever, to his incredible eye. Black Book Detective, pulp cover, August 1934 is one of a few early paintings from De Soto’s finest artistic Art Deco period known to survive. It is believed this painting hung on display in Coney Island’s famous House of Horrors attraction. De Soto’s “H” is for Heroin, paperback cover, 1953 is one of the most important paperback images ever created and appeared on the cover of David Hulburd’s juvenile delinquent classic, H is for Heroin, Popular Library #495, 1953. Both paintings are estimated at $3,000-$5,000.

“The staple of our Illustration Art auctions is always a superb grouping of classic Golden Age art,” said Jaster, “and we’ve got the bases covered once again, without a doubt.”

Martignette’s personal favorite artist, Dean Cornwell, provides one of the great Golden Age highlights with his masterpiece, The Rendezvous, 1951-1952, a pinnacle of Cornwell’s formal approach from a peak period of his career. Another personal favorite of Martignette’s was Harvey T. Dunn, and his Saturday Evening Post Illustration, A Furbished Gentleman, from April 8, 1916, is another high point of the Heritage Auctions event. Both paintings are estimated to bring between $20,000-$30,000.

No Heritage Illustration Art Auction is complete without an offering from the master, Norman Rockwell, and his There is Only One Reason, Roebling Corporation Steel Wire Rope ad, Fortune Magazine, May 1953, fills that space quite nicely. This well known illustration appeared in numerous trade magazines as an ad for the John A. Roebling Corporation of Trenton, New Jersey. It is estimated at $8,000-$12,000.

An incredible group of Saturday Evening Post covers, spanning 1902 to 1960, is sure to have discriminating collectors hotly chasing the diverse offerings with such examples as Thorton Utz’s vibrant and evocative Saturday Evening Post cover from April 19, 1952, estimated at $8,000-$12,000, and Frederick Sands Brunner’s Valentine’s Day themed Saturday Evening Post cover of Feb. 16, 1935, estimated at $2,000-$4,000.

Leyendecker’s Thanksgiving

Without a doubt, however, the greatest Saturday Evening Post cover offered – and one of the principal highlights of the auction altogether – is J.C. Leyendecker’s wonderfully stylized and beautifully playful Bringing in the Turkey, Dec. 2, 1933. It is estimated at $100,000-$150,000.

“Leyendecker is one of the greatest illustrators of all time,” said Hignite, “and paintings of this quality represent the very best of what he was capable of. Such A+ examples are very rare in the marketplace.”

Heritage Auctions, headed by Steve Ivy, Jim Halperin and Greg Rohan, is the world’s third largest auction house, with annual sales more than $600 million, and 475,000+ registered online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and gain access to a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit www.HA.com.

White Cross Nurse by Haddon Hubbard Sunblom

Dallas County Courthouse by Tony Eubanks, 1981

While rooted as firmly in the South as any state can be, Texas is also largely considered a Western state. Its epic landscapes, larger-than-life personality and iconoclastic status all lend to this perception. Besides in its people, this unique spirit is best displayed in the great Western art to have come out of the state, and that talent will be on display, and up for bid, in Heritage Auctions’ Signature® Art of the American West & Texas Auction, Dec. 16, live, in-person and online at www.HA.com.

“It’s a unique tribute to the homegrown talent of this state that its best artists so easily cross classifications,” said Michael Duty, Director of Art of the American West at Heritage Auctions. “This is evidenced by the great demand for the best examples of Western canvases by Texans, and by the sublime quality of the art itself.”

Perhaps the best example of a Texan creating an important piece of art that straddles the Texas/Western line is Tony Eubanks’ 1981 oil painting Dallas County Courthouse, a work of great artistic merit and exhaustive scholarly research. It is estimated at $15,000-$20,000.

Dallas County Courthouse is a glimpse into Dallas at the turn of the 20th century. Eubanks shows the bustling life around the courthouse as Dallas is transitioning to the modern era. Cowboys ride down a muddy street; the setting sun highlights the red stone of the newly constructed courthouse, illuminated by early electric lights. Decades later the courthouse would become known locally as “Old Red,” due to the color of the stones.

“To create a historically accurate scene, Eubanks drew on period photographs and research as well as first hand observation,” said Duty. “He also had the advantage of stories his grandfather, who helped build the courthouse, told him about the construction of the building. Eubanks painted the building as it was at the turn of the century, not as it was when the painting was completed in 1981. The clock tower, which is a prominent feature of the painting, was removed from the structure in the 1920s after being so severely damaged in a wind storm that city fathers feared it would topple into the street.”

A large grouping of paintings by G. Harvey is also superbly representative of the broad reach of Texas brushstrokes into the Western realm. Harvey, one of the most successful living artists in the nation, hails originally from San Antonio. He internalized the stories of his grandfather, a cowboy who drove longhorn cattle along trails toward the Kansas railway, and his subsequent art training at North Texas State University drew upon these tales, resulting in early paintings of cowboys in the Hill Country.

“A brief teaching post at the University of Texas led Harvey to a full-time painting career in the 1960s,” said Duty, “whereupon he added cityscapes – moody, nostalgic scenes with streetcars, horse-drawn buggies, glowing street lamps, and pedestrians – to his cowboy repertoire.”

Almost all Harvey’s paintings, whether urban or western, include horses, a signature motif.

The Heritage offering of Harvey paintings in this auction is a broad survey from his storied career. There is the tender horse “portrait,” First Spring (estimated at $40,000-$50,000); the extraordinary cityscape After Tea (estimated at $50,000-$70,000); the evocative and moody brilliance of Hot Grub Coming Up (estimated at $30,000-$40,000) and the iconic cowboy image of Closing the Winter Gap (estimated at $30,000-$40,000), which demonstrates his mastery of equine form and aesthetics.

If famous Western artists from Texas tells one of the more compelling storylines of the Dec. 16 Heritage Auctions event, the great Western painters from outside the Lone Star State certainly hold their own within the context of the auction, and nowhere is this greatness more evident than in the ethereal canvas, Moose, Alberta, by Carl Clemens Moritz Rungius, estimated at $60,000-$80,000.

“Rungius can arguably be called America’s greatest wildlife painter,” said Duty. “He was an avid big game hunter and had learned much early on about animal anatomy from his grandfather, a taxidermist. Moose, Alberta shows his ability to capture the beauty of the landscape with quick, bold brushstrokes.”

River Bed at Pojoaque by Fremont Ellis (estimated at $25,000-$40,000), a founding member in 1921 of Los Cinco Pintores, Santa Fe’s Modernist Art movement, is another painting that is sure to garner much attention and spirited bidding from collectors. In this painting Ellis captures an eerie, pre-storm effect, where light, peeking out beneath turbulent gray clouds, throws into relief the sandy Pojoaque River bed below.

Further highlights include, but are not limited to:

• Eanger Irving Couse, (American, 1866-1936), The Encampment, circa 1896: Oil on canvas, 12 x 16 inches. Estimate: $30,000 – $40,000.
• Tom Lovell (American, 1909-1997), Fremont Crossing the Rockies: Oil on canvas, 22 x 32 inches. Estimate: $50,000-$60,000.
• Tim Cox (American, b. 1957), Pardners, 1981: Oil on masonite, 30 x 40 inches. Estimate: $20,000-$30,000.

Heritage Auctions, headed by Steve Ivy, Jim Halperin and Greg Rohan, is the world’s third largest auction house, with annual sales more than $700 million, and 475,000+ registered online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and gain access to a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit www.HA.com.

Dallas County Courthouse by Tony Eubanks, 1981

Flag Mountain by Julian Onderdonk, 1914

Two paintings by Texas Impressionist Julian Onderdonk anchor the Texas Art side of Heritage Auctions’ Dec. 16 Signature® Art of the American West &Texas Auction, an auction featuring a host of the best names in Texas art, taking place live at Heritage’s Design District Annex at 1518 Slocum Street and online at www.HA.com.

“Onderdonk’s work has become particularly sought-after in recent years and it’s easy to see why,” said Atlee Phillips, Consignment Director for Texas Art at Heritage Auctions. “With the two paintings we’re offering, In Flag Mountain (1914) and Flying Shadows (1910), we have two diverse and beautiful paintings that demonstrate the artist’s versatility while at the same time being undeniably Onderdonk.”

With In Flag Mountain – on the West Prong of the Medina River (S.W. Texas), Onderdonk has given us something somewhat different then his “typical” impressionistic paintings. His usual lyrical style, so soft and dreamy, gives way to a painting with a rough surface, an abstract style and a wonderful rich texture rarely associated with Onderdonk’s masterful brushwork. The painting is estimated at $50,000-$70,000.

Flying Shadows is a beautiful gem Julian Onderdonk painted in 1910 with saturated jewel-tones in his more recognizable soft impressionistic style. Shadows of clouds can be seen moving across the vast landscape, creating flying shadows that sweep over the Texas Hill Country. The contrast of vivid colors is particularly striking, all in all a wonderful example of Onderdonk’s brilliant technique and sense of color. It is estimated at $40,000-$60,000.

The greats of Texas Modernism are well-represented in the auction, with Olin Travis’s Ex Slave providing the key highlights. A truly powerful painting, Ex Slave us not the kind of portrait commission that Travis, and artists like him, often painted to assure a steady income. Here, using a realistic style and accentuating the sad gaze and gnarled, weather beaten face of his subject, Travis has created an image capable of eliciting a strong emotional response. It carries a pre-auction estimate of $6,000-$8,000.

“This portrait serves as documentation of an important chapter of the American experience in Texas,” said Phillips. “In depicting this former slave, intentionally or not, Travis invokes the long history of oppression, violence, poverty and racism towards African-Americans and in the process creates an important piece of Texas cultural and art history.”

Collectors of Texas Modernism will also be particularly interested in two paintings Heritage Auctions is offering from Ft. Worth painter Bror Utter. In Still-life with Roses, Apples, and Plums, circa 1950 (estimated at $6,000-$9,000), Utter presents a unique amalgamation of varying modernist influences, especially those of Matisse and Cézanne. Despite these references to French modernists, Utter’s distinctive style is still recognizable in the fine draftsmanship and interesting use of color. With Mission Series, 1965, Utter presents one of the best examples of his Mexican mission scenes, a favorite subject of the painter after his frequent travels of the 1960s. It is estimated at $6,000-$9,000.

Bent Figure with Ghosts/KKK, 1965, by African-American artist John Biggers is a powerful and emotional work of the highest quality and is sure to attract competitive bidding from collectors of Texas Art as well as collectors of African-American Art and African-Americana. In the painting a tormented figure, bent over and wracked with pain, anguish, and fear, is being aggressively haunted by the ghostly figures behind him, obviously images of the Ku Klux Klan. It is estimated at $4,000-$6,000.

“This subject is hard today,” said Phillips, “so it’s difficult to imagine how it would have been received by the general public at the time it was made in 1965. Despite this, Biggers’ mentor, Victor Lowenfield – himself a Holocaust survivor – encouraged him to explore such a profoundly difficult, but important, subject. The beauty and formal brilliance of the work makes it even more moving.”

Further highlights from the Texas Art portion of the auction include, but are not limited to:

• Dawson Dawson-Watson, Country Landscape, 1927: Oil on Canvas. Estimate: $20,000-$30,000.
• Jerry Bywaters, The Giralda and the Cathedral: Oil on Canvas. Estimate: $10,000-$20,000.
• Forest Bess, Untitled (Sailboats): Oil on Canvas. Estimate: $10,000-$15,000.
• Michael Etie, West Texas Sunset: Oil on Board. Estimate: $5,000-$8,000.

Heritage Auctions, headed by Steve Ivy, Jim Halperin and Greg Rohan, is the world’s third largest auction house, with annual sales more than $600 million, and 475,000+ registered online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and gain access to a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit www.HA.com.

Flying Shadows by Julian Onderdonk, 1910

Flag Mountain by Julian Onderdonk, 1914

Despite the fact that the art world is experiencing the same economic struggles as other sectors, 38 artists have generously donated their time and artwork to support a new local non-profit called My Very Own Book (MVOB). Their generous donations are a testament to their support of MVOB’s goals to increase literacy skills in elementary schools in low-income neighborhoods and to put new books into the homes of families who often can’t afford to purchase their own new books.

The public is invited to attend My Very Own Book’s reception and art silent auction on Saturday, December 12, 2009, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the McKinney Avenue Contemporary (MAC) gallery in Uptown Dallas. Guests will enjoy a silent auction with art to suit a wide range of tastes and budgets, an opportunity to meet some of the artists, appetizers donated by Market Street Catering and a free door prize drawing for a $75 gift certificate from Tom Battles Custom Framing. Also, during the event, artist Scott Wade will create his “dirty car art” on the car of one lucky raffle drawing winner. To RSVP or to see photos of the artwork, go to www.myveryownbook.org.

My Very Own Book is very grateful to the participating artists, Market Street, and Tom Battles Custom Framing. It is with their support that the organization will be able to distribute approximately 4,500 new books this year to students in their three schools in Dallas ISD, Plano ISD, and Richardson ISD, and hopefully expand to more schools next year. A big thanks goes out to artists:

Art Mart and Auction at the Bath House Cultural Center

2009 Winter Art Mart and Silent Auction
Bath House Cultural Center
November 20-22, 2009

The art mart and auction are free and open to the public.

Fall in Dallas means, among other things, that art lovers can get a head start on holiday shopping during the Bath House Cultural Center Art Mart, November 20 – 22, 2009. Art Mart has always been the place to find a special piece of art for yourself, family, and friends: paintings, sculpture, photography, pottery, ceramics, jewelry, cards and other unique creations. This year, the Art Mart will include a reception launching the Friends of the Bath House Cultural Center, a new non-profit organization supporting the Bath House. There will also be a sneak peek of art on sale, a silent auction, and much more.

The Bath House Winter Art Mart benefits the Bath House Cultural Center’s year-round visual and performing arts programs. Purchases benefit everyone: The lucky owner will take home one-of-a-kind artwork, while local artists and arts lovers will be able to continue enjoying the arts at the neighborhood cultural center on White Rock Lake.

The Friends’ Kick-Off Reception and Art Preview is Friday, November 20, from 7:00 – 9:00 pm, and will be open to the public. Art Mart visitors are invited to raise a glass of cheer to celebrate the new organization, maybe become a Friend, and take a first look at the artistic creations and auction items being showcased in the Art Mart.

In addition to the art sale, which continues during the weekend, Friends of the Bath House will host a silent auction. All participating artists have generously donated art for the auction. This year’s auctioneer will be Artistic Eye; proceeds will go to the Friends Advisory Board to support visual and performing arts at the Bath House.

The artists participating in the 2009 Winter Art Mart are:

The 2009 Winter Art Mart is free and open to the public.

Art Mart Schedule

• Friday, November 20, 7 – 9 p.m. (Kick-Off Reception for Friends of the Bath House Cultural Center and Art Preview)
• Saturday, November 21, noon – 7 p.m. – (Art Mart and Silent Auction)
• Sunday, November 22, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. – (Art Mart and Silent Auction)

Please visit www.bathhousecultural.com for more information. To preview selected art pieces from the exhibition, please visit the Bath House Cultural Center’s Photo Gallery at www.dallasculture.org/bathHouseCultureCenter/photos.asp.

Art Mart and Auction at the Bath House Cultural Center