On April 30, Shannon’s Fine Art Auctioneers will present the sale Paintings, Drawings, Prints and Sculptures at its gallery in Milford, Connecticut. More than 200 lots will be offered. 

A key 22-lot segment of the sale will be devoted to works from the Jeanne and Carroll Berry Collection of abstract expressionism, which will include pieces by Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Robert Motherwell, Hans Hoffman, Willem de Kooning and Adolph Gottlieb, all artists who were part of the group known as the Irascibles. In 1950, 18 painters and 11 sculptors led a boycott of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition American Painting Today. In a letter, drafted by Gottlieb, the artists rejected the exhibition’s juried process on the basis that the selection committee “does not warrant any hope that a just proportion of advanced art will be included.” The letter was published in the New York Times and immediately caused a stir in the art world. The name the Irascibles was coined later by the New York Herald Tribune, which responded with the headline, “The Irascible 18.”Mark Rothko (1903-1970), Untitled, ca. 1948. Ink and gouache on paper, 18 x 93/8 in., embossed with the artist’s estate stamp lower left. Estimate: $60/80,000Adolph Gottlieb (1903-1974), Untitled, 1970 (#30). Acrylic, 23¾ x 18¾ in., signed, dated and numbered. Estimate: $80/120,000

“The story was published in the Times feature section on a Monday. The next day the NY Herald Tribune responded sharply calling the group the Irascible 18—it wasn’t meant as a compliment,” says Sandra Germain, managing partner at Shannon’s. “The debate went viral among NYC art publications with criticism written in The Nation, ArtNews, ArtDigest and Time. This led to Life magazine—an important national publication—weighing in and commissioning Nina Leen to photograph the group. The photograph for Life is now an icon in the history of modern art. Further, the story obviously brought immediate attention to the group of artists. It established the Irascible 18 as the first generation of abstract expressionists. Today they are some of the most famous American artists in the world, which leads us to the question…were they irascible or were they actually visionary?”Jackson Pollock (1912-1956), Untitled, 1952-1956. Ink and gouache on light blue paper, 31/8 x 123/8 in. Estimate: $80/120,000

Ad Reinhardt (1913-1967), Untitled, 1943. Gouache and Indian ink on paper, 10¼ x 18 in., signed and dated. Estimate: $30/50,000

Works by 16 of the 18 Irascibles are represented in the Berry Collection, including untitled works from Pollock (est. $80/120,000), Gottlieb (est. $80/120,000) and Rothko (est. $60/80,000).

“It is very rare to find works by these artists that are documented and authentic. We are very excited to offer this collection not only because it is fully documented but it is also very comprehensive and representative of what each artist is known for,” Germain says. “Most recently we sold a Theodoros Stamos for $123,000…Stamos is one of the youngest artists in the group. We are offering two wonderful examples by Stamos from the Berry Collection. People may not automatically associate us with modern and contemporary art sales because we built our reputation on American impressionist and Hudson River School art. We have continued to adapt with the market and achieve excellent results for our clients.” —

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