Shapiro Auctions announces its April 24th and 25th auction of International Fine and Decorative art. This auction will usher in spring with over 900 lots spanning a wide range of categories from painting and jewelry to furniture and decorative items, from the 19th century to contemporary. The auction will take place live beginning at 10 am each day.
One of the highlights of the sale is a new-to-market work by the Austrian Expressionist Alfons Walde, estimated at $200,000-300,000. The work comes from the estate of Austrian art collectors and entrepreneurs Kamillo and Aenne Koelblinger (Kölblinger), whose family has owned it for four generations. This quintessentially Waldean painting, entitled Bauernsonntag (Farmer’s Sunday), is among the artist’s most recognizable work the 1920s and 1930s. Set against the brilliantly white snow and blue skies of the Tyrolean Alps, it depicts a pair of robust men gazing, as if mid-sentence, beyond the confines of the painting. Walde’s formal rigor, from the abbreviated rectilinear figures to the limited but striking color palette, produces an impactful high-contrast image, equally deferential to the landscape and to its admirers.
This auction features a comprehensive and varied sampling of Russian Non-Conformist painting and works on paper, including: Oscar Rabin‘s astounding commemorative portrait of close friend and compatriot Evgeny Rukhin (also featured), a fantastic tryptich by Leonid Purygin, and many representative pieces by Oleg Tselkov, Mikhail Chemiakin, Vladimir Nemukhin, Rostislav Lebedev, Leonid Lamm and Vyacheslav Kalinin. The offering is complemented by sculpture, most notably the 15-piece “Birth of a Hero” suite by Grisha Bruskin, a monumental cast bronze figure by Ernst Neizvestny, and a kinetic painted wooden piece by Leonid Sokov. A large-scale still life composition by Yuri Kuper, three scenes by Natalia Nesterova, and a Vladimir Ovchinnikov are also not to be missed.
Shapiro Auctions continues in its role as one of the market leaders for David Burliuk, the inimitable and eccentric father of Russian Futurism. The ten lots feature vibrant colors generously applied with Burliuk’s characteristically vigorous impasto. The diverse assortment, spanning several of his periods and styles, includes an hommage to Burliuk’s artistic hero Van Gogh (the portrait is styled as Dr. Gachet in the “Night Café,” now in the Yale Collection), Burliuk’s own painted easel, and a number of floral arrangements, peasant scenes, and landscapes. The included portraits speak to the breadth of Burliuk’s social circle and influence: one depicts Lucy Manievich, daughter of Abraham Manievich — whose masterful streetscapes and a self-portrait are likewise presented — and another a red pencil-drawn portrait of the artist Joseph Stella (signed by sitter and portraitist).
Eminent Russian expatriate artists are well-represented in works by the husband-and-wife duo of Mikhail Larionov and Natalia Goncharova, Serge Soudeikine, Alexandra Exter, Ivan Puni, as well as a sought-after Marc Chagall lithograph from the 1967 Nice et la Côte d’Azur suite. Rounding the selection of Russian fine art is a group of three paintings by the highly coveted Social Realists Georgy Nissky, Aleksandr Gerasimov and Sergey Shishko, from the collection of prolific Ukrainian composer Yuliy Meitus (1903-1997), best known for his many operas, film scores, orchestral pieces and hundreds of songs.
In continuation of its expertise with Southeast Asian artists, Shapiro Auctions showcases works by Vietnamese-French Modernists Le Pho, Vu Cao Dam, and Mai Trung Thu. The trio began their careers on a similar path, having started their studies at the Hanoi École des Beaux-Art l’Indochine and later moving to Paris. Though developed with an air of western Post-Impressionism, their paintings never relinquish the stunning tones and subjects of their home country. Also included are a number of works by contemporary Burmese painters.
The sale will make available for bidding three paintings by Martiros Saryan (one dates to his exceedingly rare French period) from the estate of Levon Airapetian, which Shapiro Auctions presents, and another work from a private collection. Other Modern Armenian paintings by the likes of Arsène Chabanian, Georges Terzian, Leon Tutunjian, and Hrair Derbekian are sure to capture attention.
The auction is truly international in scope, with notable artists as varied as Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant, Maxime Maufra, Nikolai Sverchkov, Vitaly Tikhov, Bibi Zogbe, François Gall, Nicola Simbari, Hunt Slonem, Francis Speight and Michel Simonidy.
Both days of the sale will likewise feature Fabergé objets de vertu, rare Meissen figurines, a number of extensive silver and blanc de chine services, marble and bronze sculptures, antique Russian and European porcelain, timepieces, and a group of 16th-19th century furniture exhibited in and sold for the benefit of the Nicholas Roerich Museum, New York.
Bidders may register on the Shapiro Auction app.
