Modern and Contemporary art will headline Shannon’s Spring 2023 Fine Art Auction

Modern and Contemporary art will headline the auction with fresh-to-the-market works by American Modernists. A George Tooker painting titled The Watchers depicts three figures staring wide-eyed and with their mouths agape. Other figures are visible around them. The group must surely be observing a suspenseful scene evidenced in their expression. Dated circa 1962, this rare, museum-quality work will be offered at $250,000-350,000.

Following the previous season’s successful sale of a Lynne Drexler oil painting for $450,000, Shannon’s will offer four works on paper by the artist. Each watercolor is vibrantly colored and dated 1962. The works will be sold individually and estimated at $30,000-50,000 each. A fourth work is more experimental, composed of a wax resist with a colored ink wash. This work will be offered at $20,000-30,000.

In addition to Drexler, a painting by another Hans Hofmann alum, Michael Goldberg will be featured in the sale. The painting, dated 1959, is oil on paper mounted to canvas. Measuring 11 x 14 inches the painting will be offered at an estimate of $40,000-60,000.

Other Contemporary paintings in the auction include a large Paul Wonner still-life measuring an impressive 72 x 48 inches, estimated at $30,000-50,000; a rare 48-inch tall bronze by Latin-American artist Angel Botello titled Coquette will be offered at $25,000-35,000; and four paintings by New Haven outsider artist Winfred Rembert each depicting scenes from the artist’s life and memory.

In the American Impressionist category there is an exceptional 50 x 60-inch Richard Hayley Lever, View of the High Bridge Over Harlem River, from ca. 1913. This large canvas is elegantly framed in an impressive, custom Lowy frame. The package is ready-to-hang and is a show-stopper in the auction gallery. This fresh-to-the-market canvas is being offered from a private Connecticut collection of American paintings and estimated at $50,000-75,000.

From the same collection, there is a landscape titled “Summer in Connecticut - The Old Barn at Branchville,” by J. Alden Weir. Weir, lived in Branchville, and is famous for his Impressionist landscapes of rural Connecticut. He was also a founding member of the famed American Impressionist group “The Ten.” The painting is estimated at $12,000-18,000. Other highlights from this Connecticut collection include another large Richard Hayley Lever, “Sunshine in the Hills,” painted during the artist’s time in England estimated at $60,000-80,000 and an Ernest Lawson view of “The Lock, New Hope” estimated at $5,000-7,000.

A rare beach scene in Boston by American Post-Impressionist artist Maurice Prendergast is featured in the sale at a $100,000-150,000 estimate. The busy scene depicts women and children walking along the esplanade.The work is painted in Predergast’s typical style with broad brush strokes. Closely comparable to the work of French artist Georges Seurat, Prendergast was more interested in creating a mosaic effect rather than the science of color.

Continuing their success in offering quality Hudson River paintings, Shannon’s will feature several works from some of the best known artists of this school. Jasper Francis Cropsey, Bend in the River, will be offered at $30,000-50,000. The painting, exhibited at the National Academy of Design in 1892, depicts sheep grazing along a river bank. The Luminst sky and fall foliage are typical of Cropsey’s best works. From the same collection, a charming Thomas Doughty, Promenade on the Hudson, from 1839 will be offered for $25,000-35,000. The painting depicts a couple walking along a path with the Hudson river and highlands visible in the distance.

In the 19th century American Paintings category, a Martin Johnson Heade of Roses leads the still-life offerings. Other quality still lifes by John F. Francis, Levi Wells Prentice, and Abbott Thayer will be included in the auction.

Among the other notable American paintings in the auction are a large seascape by Alfred T. Bricher of the View at Grand Manan offered for $25,000-35,000; a tender portrait of “Bobbie” by his father William Merritt Chase estimated at $25,000-$35,000; a 1928 watercolor by Charles Burchfield titled “November Plowing” estimated at $25,000-35,000; a 30 x 40-inch barn scene by Regionalist artist Dale Nichols; and a William James Glackens, Flowers on a Pink Table, estimated at $15,000-25,000.

In addition to the exceptional examples of American Art headlining the sale, the auction will include quality examples of European art. Most notably, a 1908 painting by French Impressionist master Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Measuring only 7 ½ x 6-inches the painting captures the artist’s spirit depicting the trees in front of his house. Admired in a private collection for over 30 years, this fresh-to-the-market painting is likely to attract international interest. The painting is estimated at $60,000-80,000.

Shannon’s is accepting consignments for the April 27th Fine Art Auction through March 15th. To consign a single artwork or discuss the sale of your collection visit shannons.com or contact the gallery at [email protected].

– View the April 2023 Auction Preview –