Freeman’s – Art Auction led by Warhol, Picasso & Katz

Freeman’s – Art Auction led by Warhol, Picasso & Katz

PHILADELPHIA, PA—On Thursday, May 14, Freeman’s will hold its online auction of Modern & Contemporary Art. The 58-lot sale spans myriad artistic periods and features fresh-to-market works by important international artists such as Sam Gilliam, Wolf Kahn, Harry Bertoia, Henri Matisse, and Lynn Chadwick, amongst others.

Says Dunham Townend, Head of Sale: “We are delighted to present this well-curated sale, which offers a wide array of works that will appeal to a broad cross-section of collectors.  With pieces by early Modern masters, Post-War luminaries, and dynamic blue-chip artists still working today, this sale offers something for the new as well as the established collector.”

 

WARHOL, PECHSTEIN, BRASILIER, KATZ AND PICASSO

Leading the auction is Chanel from Ads (Lot 48, $120,000-180,000) by American Pop Art icon Andy Warhol. Chanel is one of ten prints from Andy Warhol’s Ads series, each of which features images that were appropriated from ubiquitous ads or logos of the 1950s-1980s.  Like his famous depictions of celebrities, Warhol’s Ads both reveal and revel in our devotion to the iconography of fame and luxury. Chanel is an excellent example of the themes and techniques that Warhol explored throughout his long and celebrated career.

Other notable international top lots in the sale include: Äpfel (Lot 4; $60,000-100,000) by German Expressionist Max Pechstein and Cavaliers sur la Neige (Lot 32, $60,000-100,000) by French artist André Brasilier.  Äpfel depicts a still life of apples in a compressed and flattened space that seem to fall forward toward the viewer. Painted in 1928, this work reveals the influences of Matisse and Cézanne in Pechstein’s early work.  Brasilier’s Cavaliers sur la Neige is an excellent example of the artist’s lyrical and elegant depictions of horses in the landscape. Both paintings are fresh-to-the market, having been held in private collections for decades.

Notable contemporary works in the auction include Yellow Road (Lot 30, $25,000-40,000) and Forsythia (Lot 31, $20,000-$30,000) by Alex Katz; Behind Sam’s (Putney, VT) (Lot 29, $10,000-15,000) by Wolf Kahn; and Run (Lot 50, $15,000-$20,000)by Sam Gilliam.  Executed in 2011, Run is an exciting recent example by Gilliam, whose market has seen robust growth in recent years.

The sale also includes a grouping of ceramics by Pablo Picasso (Lots 8-11).  Leading them is Face with Black Nose  (Lot 11, $25,000-$40,000), an excellent example of the artist’s exploration of portraiture in his ceramic forms.  Additionally, there is a collection of sculptures by Kiki Smith, Lynda Benglis, David Salle and Richard Tuttle from the noted innovative Art Foundry Editions, Santa Fe, New Mexico (Lots 51-54).

 

LATIN-AMERICAN SECTION FEATURING DIEGO RIVERA AND OTHERS

A considerable number of works in the sale are by artists hailing from or working in Central and South America. This sizable representation of Latin American artists contributes to a sale that features blue-chip artists from around the world.

Highlights of this section include The Merchant (Lot 20, $25,000-40,000) and Seated Woman (Lot 21, $25,000-40,000)—two paintings by Mexican painter and muralist Diego Rivera.  Both works have descended in the family of the woman to whom the artist dedicated the works, and come to the market for the first time in decades.

An untitled, mixed media textile (Lot 17, $25,000-40,000) by Brazilian artist Roberto Burle-Marx is included in the sale, as well as four paintings (Lots 13-16) by Venezuelan painter and muralist Oswaldo Vigas, and two works by Mexican artist Francisco Zúñiga (1912-1998), including Madre e Hija Sentadas (Lot 19, $25,000-40,000), a figural onyx sculpture depicting a mother and daughter working in Zuniga’s trademark voluminous style.

 

ENHANCING ONLINE EXPERIENCE FOR BUYERS – INTERACTIVE E-CATALOGUE

With the house’s recent launch of an online only sales format, Freeman’s is increasing its accessibility and ensuring that the buying experience for their international bidders remains as seamless as possible. To that effect, the house launched a new eco-friendly and technology-driven catalogue, encouraging exploration and immersion through the use of different media. The digital format aims to simplify the online buying process while its multi-sensory delivery enhances and enriches the viewing experience. Explore the interactive e-catalogue on Freeman’s website.

 

AUCTION: May 14 | 12pm

 

HEAD OF SALE

Dunham Townend, [email protected]

PRESS INQUIRIES

Madeline Hill, [email protected]

 

 

Lot 4: Max Pechstein (German, 1881-1955) Äpfel

Estimate: $60,000 – $100,000

Signed and erroneously dated 1947 bottom right, signed again and titled verso, also inscribed with the artist’s address, oil on canvas. Executed circa 1928. 19 3/8 x 19 7/16 in. (49.2 x 49.4cm)

 

Lot 32: André Brasilier (French, born 1929). Cavaliers sur la Neige

Estimate: $60,000 – $100,000

Signed and dated 1969 bottom center, oil on canvas.
76 1/4 x 50 9/16 in. (193.7 x 128.4cm)

 

Lot 30: Alex Katz (American, born 1927). Yellow Road

Estimate: $25,000 – $40,000

Signed and dated 98 bottom right, oil on board.
14 5/8 x 11 9/16 in. (37.1 x 29.4cm)

Lot 31: Alex Katz (American, born 1927). Forsythia #2

Estimate: $20,000 – $30,000

Signed and dated 97 top right, oil on board.
11 3/4 x 9 in. (29.8 x 22.9cm)

 

Lot 29: Wolf Kahn (American/German, 1927-2020). Behind Sam’s (Putney, VT)

Estimate: $10,000 – $15,000

Signed bottom left, inscribed #53-1976 and titled verso, oil on canvas. Executed in 1976.
14 x 28 in. (35.6 x 71.1cm)

Lot 50: Sam Gilliam (American, born 1933). Run

Estimate: $15,000 – $20,000

Signed and titled bottom right, mixed media.
Executed in 2011.
sight: 30 x 29 x 1 1/2 in. (76.2 x 73.7 x 3.8cm)

Freeman’s – Single Owner Collection of P.G. Wodehouse

Freeman’s – Single Owner Collection of P.G. Wodehouse

PHILADELPHIA, PA—On May 7, Freeman’s will proudly present an online auction of The P.G. Wodehouse Collection of William Toplis (1924-2019). The present collection encompasses an array of material that spans Wodehouse’s entire career, from his earliest forays into publishing in the 1890s, to the 1970s when he published his last works. William Toplis was a Philadelphia native, veteran of the US Navy, dedicated teacher, and—in true Bertie Wooster fashion—a fervent collector of bespoke suits. His high standards and love for the author’s work allowed him to build a collection without peer. Diligently researched and covering both his literary work as well as his work for the stage, the collection encompasses first editions, manuscripts, original art, sheet music, libretti, scripts, and much more. In its breadth, it charts the author’s trajectory from aspiring writer to world-renowned author.

NOTABLE AUCTION HIGHLIGHTS

Featured in this sale are many rare and unusual items, including a unique set of P.G. Wodehouse’s personal scrapbooks (Lot 176, Est. $3,000-5,000). Wodehouse compiled these four scrapbooks over an almost 50-year period from 1911 to 1960. They contain hundreds of newspaper clippings, programs, telegrams and other ephemera related to Wodehouse’s career, both on the page and on the stage, and offer a rare glimpse into Wodehouse’s own chronicles of his professional life. Also on offer is a first issue of Wodehouse’s 1910 novel “The Intrusion of Jimmy,” charmingly inscribed to Wodehouse’s mother and signed by the author with his nickname, “Plum” (Lot 60, Est. $1,000-$1,500). Published six months later in England with a new title, “A Gentleman of Leisure,” this work represents an important period of Wodehouse’s writing career, when it began to take off in both the United States and England. This, along with numerous other important books – like a first English issue of “Big Money” in its exceedingly scarce first issue dust jacket (Lot 7, Est. $3,000-5,000) – brings together a robust and expansive collection spanning the illustrious career of P.G. Wodehouse

ABOUT THE COLLECTION

An English humorist, Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse (1881-1975) is perhaps best known as the creator of comedic duo Bertie Wooster and his sharp-witted valet, Jeeves, who appeared together in 11 novels and 35 short stories. His humor prodded at the eccentricities of the gentlemanly upper-class, and his poetic writing style captured the attention of audiences around the world. Wodehouse, a prolific writer if there ever was one, published more than 90 novels and 200 short stories in his lifetime, solidifying his place in the English literary canon and in the hearts of his readers.

 

AUCTION: May 7 | 10am

 

HEAD OF SALE

Darren Winston, [email protected]

 

PRESS INQUIRIES

Madeline Hill, [email protected]

“The Intrusion of Jimmy” inscription.

Estimated: $600-$900

Lot 60: New York: W.J. Watt & Company, (1910). First edition, first issue. 8vo. (vi), 314 pp. Inscribed by Wodehouse on front free endpaper: “To Mr. Mathis/with the author’s compliments/P.G. Wodehouse.”

P.G. Wodehouse’s Personal Scrapbooks,, 1911-1960

Estimate $3,000-5,000

Lot 176: In four volumes. P.G. Wodehouse’s personal scrapbooks. Compiled over an almost 50-year period.

P.G. Wodehouse’s Personal Scrapbooks,, 1911-1960

Estimate $3,000-5,000

Lot 176: In four volumes. P.G. Wodehouse’s personal scrapbooks. Compiled over an almost 50-year period.

P.G. Wodehouse Collection of Willia Toplis

Thu, May 7 2020

“The Intrusion of Jimmy”

Estimated: $600-$900

Lot 60: New York: W.J. Watt & Company, (1910). First edition, first issue. 8vo. (vi), 314 pp. Inscribed by Wodehouse on front free endpaper: “To Mr. Mathis/with the author’s compliments/P.G. Wodehouse.”

P.G. Wodehouse Collection of Willia Toplis

Thu, May 7 2020