Kicking off at 10 a.m. on April 16 is Christie’s Modern American Art sale, featuring roughly 100 artworks produced between the late 19th century and mid-20th century.
“Works by leading artists of the category such as Georgia O’Keeffe and Milton Avery will headline the sale alongside major illustrators Norman Rockwell and J.C. Leyendecker,” shares Christie’s head of sale Quincie Dixon. “We’ll have representation from Stieglitz Circle artists. We are also excited to be offering works by Doris Lee again this season, after an extraordinary performance for Butterfly Catchers in our April 2025 iteration of the sale.”
Norman Rockell (1894-1978), Fact and Fiction, 1917. Oil on canvas, 24 x 20 in. Estimate: $300/500,000
One major highlight in the sale comes from painter and muralist Hale Woodruff (1900-1980). His oil Picking Cotton, circa 1936, is expected to achieve between $600,000 and $800,000.
“The Hale Woodruff comes to us from the highly successful Robert and Faye Davidson Collection that was partially sold within our fall 20/21 week and as recently as Americana Week with the sale of the Robert S. Duncanson and Henry Ossawa Tanner paintings,” says Dixon. “This collection of museum-quality works by African American artists was one of the finest in private hands, so the Hale Woodruff is a rare example by an important artist with powerful historical context.”
Joseph Christian Leyendecker (1874-1951), Christmas Prayer, 1921. Oil on canvas, 27 x 19½ in. Estimate: $150/250,000
Hale Woodruff (1900-1980), Picking Cotton, ca. 1936. Oil on Masonite, 36 x 72 in. Estimate: $600/800,000
Rockwell is represented by the oil Fact and Fiction (est. $300/500,000), which appeared on the cover of Leslie’s Weekly, formerly Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, on January 17, 1917. In it, an old man and young woman are sitting on a bench in a commuter train. He wears a business suit under his overcoat and studies a newspaper intently while the fashionably dressed woman gazes vacantly out at the viewer.
Doris Emrick Lee (1905-1983), Bells on the Trees, ca. 1950s. Oil on canvas, 20 x 24 in., signed lower right: ‘Doris Lee’. Estimate: $15/25,000
“Rockwell’s Fact and Fiction headlines another important collection within the sale, the McCann Collection of American Illustration,” adds Dixon. “Rockwell’s works still command some of the highest prices in the illustration category, and we are excited to offer his work alongside works by many other artists within that space from such an extraordinary collection.” —
Powered by Froala Editor
