Tag: Pablo Picasso

  • Prints, Photography and Multiples with Perry Tung

    Looking through the Prints, Photography and Multiples auction, we see excellent works by the masters of the 20th Century, including Picasso, Motherwell, Dali, Albers and Chagall. But there are two exceptionally rare prints that are wonderful examples of the difference between an etching and an engraving.

    River Drifters (River Drivers) by Frank Weston Benson

    The first is entitled Rivers Drifters (Drivers) by Frank Weston Benson, who was already an accomplished painter when he took up printmaking. Benson was a member of a group, who became known as The Ten American Painters. They were an exhibition group that included Impressionists, Tonalists and Figure painters, such as Childe Hassam and John Henry Twatchman. William Merritt Chase would join the group later upon the death of Twachtman.  Benson was exhibiting with the group when he took up etching recreationally in the early part of the 20th Century. He would have great success exhibiting and selling his work in this medium. His usual subject matter of choice was wildlife or sporting subjects.

    However, in River Drifters (Drivers) from 1914, no wildlife is present, instead he has focused attention on two loggers working along the Grand Lake Stream in Washington County. Especially wonderful is the small detail of the pipe in the standing figure’s mouth. This is a fantastic example of the etching technique, where the lines have been burned (etched) onto the plate using a chemical process, having been coated in a substance that is acid resistant called the etching ground. The image is then drawn through the ground to reveal the plate below, which is then bathed in acid etching the plate. When compared to etching, engraving is a much more physical process, where lines are carved into the plate using sharp tools producing a cleaner more pronounced line.

    Three Girls on a Chicken (Sasowsky 214) by Reginald Marsh

    Reginald Marsh studied under John Sloan at the Art Students League in New York. His subject matter were the people of New York, whether at play on Coney Island, dancing at a night club, riding the subway or just walking the street. Here is another American artist who took printmaking to a new level. Not only was he concerned with the finished product, but he was also obsessed with how he arrived there. Part of his process was making sure the temperature in his studio was just right for printmaking. Marsh was also aware of the age of the bath that his plates were soaked in, recording how long the paper soaked, observing the heating of the plate and the nature of the ink used in printing. Three Girls on a Chicken is from 1941, from an edition of approximately only twenty and is an extremely scarce engraving presenting Marsh at his finest.

    Perry Tung viewing the offerings of this month’s online auction

    Cowley Abbott is delighted to offer these rare works in our Prints, Photography and Multiples Auction currently open for bidding until April 19th.

  • An Exciting Selection of Prints, Photography & Multiples begins the Fall Auction Season

    The Prints, Photography and Multiples auction has been an extremely enjoyable sale to put together.  We started to curate the sale just after the close of the International Art auction in June and one of the early consignments was Brice Marden’s Ten Days Portfolio (lot 27). The eight etchings and aquatints in this portfolio were inspired by Marden’s travels in Greece.  Often described as a minimalist, these have the same characteristics of his larger works: rectangular formats and a subdued palette, only here on a more intimate level. The provenance is excellent, having been purchased in Toronto and remaining in the same private collection.

    Ten Days (Portfolio of 8) (Lewison 20) by Brice Marden
    Auction Estimate: $60,000-80,000h

    Our Senior International Art Specialist had the privilege of spending the afternoon with Christo and Jeanne-Claude in their studio in New York just after The Gates Project in Central Park had been realized in 2005. You realize the amount of work that goes into Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s projects, as some of the projects are not realized for several years.  When we got an email with images of the lithograph, Arc de Triompe Wrapped (A Project for Paris), we were very excited about having this work consigned. This is from the publisher’s edition of 20. Arc de Triompe Wrapped (A Project for Paris) was issued in an edition of 150 (lot 44). It is even more meaningful as the project is finally being realized in Paris.  From September 18 to October 3rd the Arc De Triomphe will be wrapped.  Here is the link for the live stream on their website.

    Arc De Triomphe Wrapped (Project for Paris) (Schellman 144) by Christo and Jeanne-Claude
    Auction Estimate: $12,000-16,000

    There is a fantastic selection of photography in the sale, including the iconic portrait of Winston Churchill by Yosuf Karsh (lot 64), an interesting series by Yuri Dojc titled the Last Folio (lot 7), which documents the preserved history in a school in Slovakia before World War II, as well as wonderful portraits by Arnold Newman of Pablo Picasso (lot 20), Georgia O’Keefe (lot 19) and Max Ernst (lot 18). The Max Ernst portrait is remarkable. The story behind the work, is that Ernst was drawing a lot of birds at this point in his career and when he saw the portrait, he was very excited, as just beside his face the plumes of smoke suggest the image of a bird.

    Winston Churchill by Yousuf Karsh
    Auction Estimate: $8,000-10,000
    The Last Folio Series (8) by Yuri Dojc
    Auction Estimate: $6,000-8,000
    Pablo Picasso, Vallauris, France by Arnold Newman
    Auction Estimate: $2,000-3,000
    Georgia O’Keefe, Outside of Ghost Ranch by Arnold Newman
    Auction Estimate: $2,000-3,000
    Max Ernst by Arnold Newman
    Auction Estimate: $800-1,200

    There are three very special lots that begin the auction, introducing our partnership with Casey House, a hospital in Toronto which specializes in HIV/AIDS care. American photographer Cara Barer starts the auction with a striking work entitled, Heart (lot 1). Characteristic of her manipulation of books into sculptural objects, this work attracted lots of interest as the previews commenced. Vancouver artist Damian Moppett’s playful image of pieces of Lego and a balloon constructs an interesting juxtaposition between the hard and soft qualities of these objects (lot 2). David Burdeny’s striking image, Sweepers, West Lake, Hangzhou China continues his exploration of Asia and its landscape (lot 3).

    Heart by Cara Barer
    Auction Estimate: $800-1,200
    Untitled (B&W Lego Pcs-Rubber Band) by Damian Moppett
    Auction Estimate: $1,000-1,500
    Sweepers, West Lake, Hangzhou, China by David Burdeny
    Auction Estimate: $1,500-2,000

    We are extremely pleased to partner with Casey House in offering these lots. All proceeds from their sale will benefit Casey House Ontario’s HIV/Aids Hospital. We hope there will be many more donations of fine art that we will be able to offer through our sales. As well, we very much look forward to hosting the Art with Heart Preview for Casey House this year and broadcasting the auction live from the Cowley Abbott gallery on Tuesday, October 19th.