“Our spring sale of American art has a wonderful selection of interesting and rare works from the 19th and 20th centuries across the genres represented in our category,” says Jennifer Jacobsen, director of American art at Bonhams. Works offered in the sale, which is currently set to take place May 20, come primarily from private collections and will be appearing to the public for the first time.
Milton Avery (1885-1965), Dunes and Blue Sea, 1961. Oil on canvasboard, 24¾ x 297/8 in., signed and dated lower left: ‘Milton Avery 1961’. Estimate: $150/250,000
“There is a consignment of multiple works being offered from the Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans Foundation, highlighted by a grand portrait by John Singer Sargent and several significant works by John Koch, with whom the late owners had a close friendship,” Jacobsen explains. “We will also offer a quintessential beach scene by Edward Potthast that is multi-figural and sun-drenched.” There will also be a selection of American sculpture, one of which is an extremely rare and impressive work by Bessie Potter Vonnoh, Day Dreams, one of five known versions of this model, according to Jacobsen. Three of these, she says, are currently in museum collections, and the bronze included in the May sale is the first example to come to auction.
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), Mrs. John C. Tomlinson, ca. 1904. Oil on canvas, 581⁄8 x 377⁄8 in. Estimate: $200/300,000
A gorgeous figurative piece by Sargent, Mrs. John C. Tomlinson, is expected to sell between $200,000 and $300,000. “[This] is an exemplary work displaying Sargent’s maturity as a portrait painter, utilizing a mastery of his fluid painting technique and a keen ability to depict society’s elite with elegance, grace and grandeur,” says Jacobsen. “The sitter of the present work is Dora Morrel Tomlinson, who became the second wife of prominent New York lawyer John C. Tomlinson in 1888. Mrs. Tomlinson, here shown in a fashionable gown, is painted on an impressively large scale with elements of traditional formal portraiture, like the deep red curtain and classically columned façade of the fireplace mantle on which she leans.”
Walt Kuhn (1877-1949), Lady in Vest, 1939. Oil on canvas, 36 x 23 in., signed and dated lower left: ‘Walt Kuhn / 1939’. Estimate: $100/150,000
Another highlight in the upcoming sale is Milton Avery’s Dunes and Blue Sea, featuring stark contrasts of deep yellows, blues and neutrals (est. $150/250,000). “The sale includes paintings by three artists in the Avery family—Milton Avery, Sally Michel and March Avery…Dunes and Blue Sea by Milton Avery is a bold landscape from the artist’s late period. Avery has deconstructed land, sea and sky so they serve as both simplified abstract forms and as recognizable natural elements. He maintains the illusion of depth through bold diagonal lines that divide the work into several parts,” says Jacobsen.
John Koch (1909-1978), Summer Night, 1965. Oil on canvas, 78 x 44 in., signed lower right: ‘Koch’. Estimate: $80/120,000
Bessie Potter Vonnoh (1872-1955), Day Dreams, modeled in 1898, cast in 1907. Bronze with brown patina, 105/8 in., inscribed and numbered on base: ‘Bessie Potter Vonnoh / no. II copyright 1903’ and inscribed along the base: ‘ROMAN BRONZE WORKS / N.Y.’. Estimate: $40/60,000
Lady in Vest, an oil by Walt Kuhn, is expected to fetch between $100,000 and $150,000. Jacobsen explains that this piece was the most noteworthy in the artist’s oeuvre. “Lady in Vest is a fantastically bold and modern portrait of a performer...Kuhn was an aficionado of theatrical, vaudeville and circus performances, and he would often study his subjects backstage,” she says. “Kuhn omits the spectacle of the performance, choosing, instead, a bare background. He often composed the sitters with a direct and engaging gaze with the viewer that imbues his works with a psychological intensity. Exhibiting its vibrant color palette, a lively costume design and the arresting gaze of the woman’s piercing blue eyes, the present work is a thoroughly modern and striking work that is a significant example by the artist.”
Bonhams will also be hosting the 25th Annual IAC American Art Conference in conjunction with the sale’s exhibition. —
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