On May 15, Heritage Auctions will present its seasonal American Art Signature Sale in Dallas. Among the 100 lots will be offerings related to women artists and classic Golden Age Illustration, as well as artworks from many other categories of American art.
“We’re loving this sale, says Aviva Lehmann, the director of American art at Heritage. “Over the past few years, we’ve been pushing the envelope with American art, American realism, the Hudson River School, impressionism, realism and much more. What we decided to do this season was listen to the marketplace and find out what our bidders are looking for. What we found was that they are desperately looking for American illustration and artwork that celebrates women.”
J.C. Leyendecker (1874-1951), Caught in the Rain, The Saturday Evening Post, April 25, 1914. Oil on canvas, 30 x 21 in., signed lower left: ‘JC Leyendecker’. Estimate: $150/250,000
Lehmann adds that Heritage landed a large anonymous collection described as “property from a distinguished academic woman” that will include works collected over a period of 50 years. “The collection focuses on American art, including areas that are not normally celebrated, including pin-up art, Gil Elvgren, Dean Cornwell and others. Some of the pieces have not been celebrated on the curatorial level, but they are important and beautiful pieces,” Lehmann says. “This collection will serve as the anchor for the auction.”
Reginald Marsh (1898-1954), Fifth Avenue, No. 1, 1938. Tempera on Masonite, 24 x 29¾ in., signed and dated lower left: ‘Reginald Marsh / 1938’. Estimate: $120/180,000
Among the highlights from the sale include J.C. Leyendecker’s 1914 Saturday Evening Post cover Caught in the Rain, estimated at $150,000 to $250,000. Heritage holds the record for the illustrator, which was set in 2021 at $4.1 million. This work, of similar quality and subject matter, has already received heavy interest from bidders.
Reginald Marsh’s Fifth Avenue, No. 1, from 1938, is a tempera work, his most sought-after medium. The piece, showing a woman passing carefully designed windows in New York City, is estimated at $120,000 to $180,000. Similarly, Hughie Lee-Smith’s Ambiguities from 1991, also has fashionable women subjects. It’s being offered with estimates of $70,000 to $100,000.
John Clymer (1907-1989), Rustic Daydreams (Abandoned Equipment), South of Jackson, Wyoming, Saturday Evening Post cover, May 23, 1959. Oil on board, 30 x 28 in. Estimate: $70/100,000
Lehmann says the Cornwell painting Heritage will offer is one of the nicest she’s seen come to auction in many years. Titled The Den of Iniquity, The Valley of Giants, the painting was used inside an issue of Red Book in 1918. It’s estimated at $50,000 to $70,000.
John Clymer will have two major works available, including the 1959 Saturday Evening Post cover Rustic Daydreams (Abandoned Equipment), South of Jackson, Wyoming, which shows a young boy, his horse at his side, playing amid the rusty skeletons of cars and tractors. The work is estimated at $70,000 to $100,000. “This is one of his best Saturday Evening Post covers. It’s just iconic and the subject matter is intriguing about the changing landscape and the disappearance of the Old West,” Alissa Ford, Western art specialists, says. “It’s an exciting picture and completely fresh to the market. I’m very excited to have this one.”
Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907), Psyche of Capua, ca. 1873-74. Marble, 36 in. Estimate: $50/70,000
Other artists represented in the American sale are Sanford Robinson Gifford, William Keith, Norman Rockwell, Alfred Thompson Bricher, Asher B. Durand and Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ marble work Psyche of Capua (est. $50/70,000).
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