Heralding the spring season is Swann Auction Galleries’ 19th & 20th Century Art auction, featuring a noteworthy collection of fine art, prints and sculpture from the United States, Europe and beyond.
Aldro Thompson Hibbard (1886-1972), Vermont Mountain Range. Oil on canvas, 22 x 36 in. Estimate: $7/10,000
“We have several exciting American lots to be offered in our March 12 sale,” says Meagan Gandolfo, Swann’s American art specialist. “One of our highlights is one of the largest Julius Bloch paintings we have ever encountered. It is a larger-than-life, full-length portrait of a man rooted in an imagined landscape with clouds swirling around him, approximately 75 inches in height. I think that bidders will also be excited about two other artists in the sale whose works are rarely seen at auction. Margaret is an elegant and tender portrait of Nils Gren’s second wife painted in 1932 by the artist, the year that they were married in California. Gren destroyed much of his early work and died in 1940, so his paintings are exceedingly scarce.”
Ruth Alice Temple Anderson (1891-1957), Beach Scene, ca. 1917. Oil on canvas, 25 x 30 in. Estimate: $15/20,000
Gandolfo adds that Swann saw very strong bidding for the last paintings by Gren that were offered up by the auction gallery back in 2020. “I expect that this very beautiful and personal painting will stir up some enthusiasm,” she says.
Another piece that is rare to auction is a carved wood sculpture by celebrated painter and sculptor Allan Houser. “Houser was a Chiricahua Apache and is considered to be one of the most influential Native American artists of the 20th century. His sculpture is an engaging blend of modern and traditional aesthetic. While Houser’s bronze editions are often offered, we have found only three wood sculptures at auction in the past 30 years,” says Gandolfo. “The sale will also include works by other American artists, including Paul Cornoyer, Ruth Temple Anderson, Karl Priebe, Samuel Halpert, Joseph Yoakum, Herman Maril and Will Barnet.”
Herman Maril (1908-1986), Patterns, 20 x 26 in. Oil on canvas, 1966-67. Estimate: $6/9,000.
Anderson’s Beach Scene, circa 1917, in which a large group of people enjoy a day on the shore, is estimated to fetch between $15,000 and $20,000. In addition, Aldro Thompson Hibbard’s oil Vermont Mountain Range has a presale estimate of $7,000 to $10,000; Herman Maril’s modernist Patterns is estimated at $6,000 to $9,000; and John B. Lear Jr.’s watercolor from 1988, Shoreline Plumage, is estimated to bring in $2,000 to $3,000.
American print highlights include a color woodcut by Gustave Baumann titled The Town Gossips, an Adolf Dehn color lithograph titled Central Park Winter; and Peggy Bacon’s drypoint Promenade Deck.
John B. Lear Jr. (1910-2008), Shoreline Plumage, 1988. Watercolor on board, 16 x 251⁄8 in. Estimate: $2/3,000
Bidding will be available through online platforms, absentee, phone and in-person. Collectors can access online bidding platforms through the Swann Galleries website, Invaluable and Live Auctioneers. Complete catalog and bidding information is available at www.swanngalleries.com. —
Powered by Froala Editor
