An exhibited collection of Picasso ceramics including a Madoura Femme lamp and pitcher, a Tete de Femme pitcher, a Corrida Fond Noir platter, Sujet Poisson fish pitcher, and a Toros plate dating from 1952-1955. More information in the coming weeks.
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973) lithograph on Arches paper entitled “Football” and depicting several stylized figures who wear red and blue jerseys and surround a central, yellow ball. Dated 3/6/61 in the stone. Pencil signed lower right and numbered 156/200 lower left. Inscribed 6423 and 28 x 36 in pencil to verso. Ref.: Bloch 1019, Mourlot 356. Housed under glass in ebonized and giltwood frame with fabric mat. Sheet: 21 3/4″ H x 30 1/4″ W. Framed: 30″ H x 38″ W.
After Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973) color lithograph entitled “Le Cavalier (Mousquetaire a la Pipe).” Lithographed by Henri Deschamps (French, 1898–1990) and printed by Mourlot, Paris. Published by Yamet Fine Arts, New York, 1968. On Arches paper with watermark center right. Pencil-signed “Picasso,” lower right, and numbered 190/300, lower left. Housed under plexiglass in a giltwood frame with black mat and gilt fillet. Sheet: 27″ H x 19 3/4″ W. Framed: 38″ H x 32″ W.
William Edmondson (American/Tennessee, 1874-1951) sculptures from two prominent Nashville area collections. More information in the coming weeks.
Louise Dahl-Wolfe (American, 1895-1989) gelatin silver print photograph of African-American folk art sculptor William Edmondson (1874-1951). Signed in the lower right margin mat, “Louise Dahl Wolfe”.
Louise Dahl-Wolfe (American, 1895-1989) gelatin silver print photograph of African-American folk art sculptor William Edmondson (1874-1951). Signed in the lower right margin mat, “Louise Dahl Wolfe”.
Meyer R. Wolfe (Tennessee/New York, 1897-1985), “Vanderbilt Clinic,” 1939, American Regionalist lithograph depicting a group of Black patients with weary expressions in a segregated waiting room at the Vanderbilt Medical Clinic in Nashville, Tennessee. A narrow doorway shows a white nurse, seated at a desk and reading, in an adjacent room. Titled and numbered “Ed 25″ lower left. Signed and dated lower right. Housed under glass in a simple, ebonized wood frame with cream mat. Sight: 13″ H x 16 1/2″ W. Framed: 20 3/4″ H x 23 3/4” W.
Meyer R. Wolfe (Tennessee/New York, 1897-1985), “The Conversation,” WPA era oil on panel painting depicting two African American women standing deep in conversation at a clothesline, with the steeple of a church visible in the background against a darkening sky. Unsigned. Two exhibition labels en verso. Exhibited, The Art of Tennessee, Frist Art Museum, 2006. Panel – 20″H x 24″W. Frame – 25″H x 30″W.
One of three Bill Sawyer (American/Tennessee, 1936-2020) oil paintings to be offered in the January auction.
William Aiken Walker (American/South Carolina, 1838-1921) oil on canvas painting of an elderly, bearded African American sharecropper who leans on a cane. A large, woven cotton basket sits to his right and a field of cotton grows behind him. In the distance a house, adjacent building, and split rail fence stand before a line of trees. The ripe cotton and leafless trees suggest an autumnal setting. Signed lower left. With Schultheis Art Galleries, New York label affixed to back of frame. Housed in a likely original giltwood frame. Sight: 13 1/2″ H x 9 1/2″ W. Framed: 17 1/2″ H x 13 1/2″ W.
One of two William Aiken Walkers in the January auction.
Ralph Eleaser Whiteside Earl (Tennessee/Massachusetts, 1788-1838) miniature portrait depicting a youthful, red-haired Andrew Jackson in military uniform. After John Welsley Jarvis’s c. 1819 portrait in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Signed “R.E.W.E.,” center right. The present portrait is encased in a 14k yellow gold mourning brooch with a lock of (presumably) Jackson’s red hair braided into a wire mesh housed under glass and affixed to the backing. Miniature: 1 1/4″ H x 1″ W. Brooch: 1 7/8″ H x 1 3/8″ W.
Maritime battle scene painting attributed to William John Huggins (British, 1781-1845), “Aftermath of the Battle of Trafalgar,” oil on canvas, circa 1810. The large scale painting depicts a British prize crew attempting to patch the Spanish Three Decker, “Rayo 100”, with Admiral Nelson’s “Victory” behind, and “Donegal 80″ to the left. Unsigned. Circa 1810. Giltwood carved frame, possibly original, with old Towner’s Depository label en verso. Sight – 39” H x 59″W. Frame – 49 1/2″H x 68 1/2″W. Note: this painting is featured in a Malcolm Franklin Gallery ad that appeared in the January, 1979 issues of The Magazine Antiques and Antiques World Magazine (referencing the Winter Antiques Show). Copies of both magazines accompany this lot.
Thomas Willis (New York, Denmark, 1850 – 1925) maritime ship portrait of “The Mary J. Freeman”, in full sail. The ship, its sails and flags are rendered in silk, satin, velvet and embroidery, against an oil on canvas background of waves, sky, shore and ship in the distance. Signed “Ths Willis NY” lower right. Mounted in the likely original period giltwood frame with plaque containing information on the ship, which operated out of Springfield, Nova Scotia from 1881-1918 and was commanded by Alfred W. Nelson. Sight: 39″W x 20″H. Frame: 47″W x 27″H. Circa 1918.
Ralph Albert Blakelock (New York/California, 1847-1919) oil on canvas laid to panel Hudson River landscape painting entitled “Up The Hudson,” c. 1879. Unsigned. Housed in the original giltwood and composition frame. Panel: 21 1/4″ H x 35 1/4″ W. Framed: 29″ H x 43″ W. Note: This painting is registered as NBI-1939-1 in the University of Nebraska Blakelock Inventory.
Tennessee Hepplewhite Federal Sugar Chest, cherry with poplar secondary wood. Hinged single board top with cleated ends, over a locking dovetailed case with original divided interior supported on a base with scratch-beaded dovetailed drawer and four square tapering legs. Original oval Federal brasses. 35 1/2″H x 26″W x 17 1/2″D. Possibly Davidson or Wilson County, TN, Circa 1815.
East Tennessee, Greene or Wahington County, pie safe, poplar primary and secondary and all over old polychrome paint. Rectangular top over two dovetailed drawers with wood pulls, two cupboard doors each having four punched tins decorated with stylized starburst and tulip above urns, hearts and candlesticks, sides, with three punched tins decorated with arch and tulips, sunburst and tulips, and urns with hearts, over a plain base with turned Sheraton feet. 46 1/2″ H x 50 1/4″ W x 16 1/2″ D. 3rd qtr. 19th century.
Sullivan County, Tennessee earthenware jug, attributed to the Cain pottery. Lead-glazed jug with extruded handle and double thumbprint to the handle terminus, sine wave and incised lines bordering the upper bulbous midsection, flaring rim with tapered edge, beaded foot. Underside of base unglazed and unmarked. 10 3/4″ H. Note: This jug is illustrated in “Earthenware Potters Along the Great Road in Virginia and Tennessee,” J. Roderick Moore, Antiques Magazine, September 1983, p. 531, figure 7. Additional note: Recognition of the prolific Cain pottery in East Tennessee was noted in published resources as early as 1909, wherein the publication “Historic Sullivan,” Oliver Taylor states “Another factory which received national attention was the Cain pottery, located at Emanuel Church, and owned by two brothers, William M. and Abe Cain . . . It was operated about 1840 and, among other wares, souvenir jugs were made, many of which still exist.”
Bien double elephant folio chromolithograph depicting a life-sized male American Wild Turkey standing among a variety of plants and against a blue sky, 1858. Marginal text reads “Plate,” upper right, plus “Drawn From Nature by J.J. Audubon, F.R.S. F.R.S.” and “Chromolithy by J. Bien, New York, 1858,” lower margin. Housed under glass in a wooden frame. Sight: 39″ H x 26″ W. Framed: 45″ H x 32″ W. Note: The wild turkey was among the three prints produced by Bien in 1858. The absence of numbering in the upper margin suggests that this impression may be especially early. Other known impressions of this print read “1-1,” upper left, and “Plate 287,” upper right.
Mary Lee Abbott (New York, 1921-2019) oil and oil stick on paper mounted to canvas Abstract Expressionist composition in blue, yellow, white, and black with areas of heavy impasto that contrast with more thinly painted passages, c. 1952. Signed lower right. With McCormick Gallery, Chicago, label affixed to back of stretcher. Floated in a modern wood frame. Sheet: 29″ H x 23″ W. Framed: 33 1/2″ H x 27 1/2″ W. Biographical note: Born in New York City in 1921, pioneering Abstract Expressionist Mary Lee Abbott studied at the Art Students League under George Grosz and later with Eugene Weiss at the Corcoran Museum School in Washington, DC. In 1946, Abbott moved to Greenwich Village where she met and joined the circle of fellow Abstract Expressionists Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning, among others. Abbott was among the artists included in “Women of Abstract Expressionism,” the first museum exhibition dedicated exclusively to the pioneering women of the AbEx movement. Presented at the Denver Museum of Art in 2016, the show also included the work of Helen Frankenthaler, Elaine de Kooning, Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, Deborah Remington, and Ethel Schwabacher. In addition to painting, Abbott also had a career as a model and was featured on the covers of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar (Adapted from “Mary Abbott (1921-2019).” Artforum, September 11, 2019).
Original color screenprint and letterpress poster for the 1913 International Exhibition of Modern Art, also known as The Armory Show, The official poster announced the first venue of the three-city Armory Show tour in New York from February 15 to March 15, 1913. Unframed. 20 1/2″ H x 14″ W. Note: Another example of this poster sold in the January 2024 Case Auction, lot 434.
Norman Rockwell (American, 1894-1978) color collotype print entitled “The Connoisseur,” 1977. After the artist’s painting for the cover of the January 13, 1962 Saturday Evening Post. Pencil signed and editioned “a/p,” lower margin. Printed by Atelier Ettinger and published by Eleanor Ettinger, Inc., with blind stamp lower left. Housed under glass in a silvered wood frame with white mat and green reveal. Sight: 25 1/2″ H x 21″ W. Framed: 34 3/8″ H x 29 5/8″ W.
Toshiko Takaezu (American, 1922-2011) Polychrome Glazed Porcelain Closed Form Moon Pot, incised “TT” signature to underside. 6 5/8″H x 7″ diameter. Note: this piece is accompanied by a 1995 catalog from the Toshiko Takaezu Retrospective at the National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto (exhibit held June 6-July 9, 1995).
Marie A. Seaman (b. 1868) for Grueby Pottery, matte green glazed ceramic vase with curdling to glaze and curling leaf tips tinged with yellow. Impressed factory marks and incised artist’s initials to underside. Boston, Massachusetts, circa 1903. 10″H x 6 1/4″ Diameter.
French gilt bronze “Singing Bird” automaton mantle clock, signed on the works H & F Paris. Consisting of a rectangular glazed case containing an automata bird in a naturalistic setting of rocks and foliage against a painted oil landscape backdrop, raised on a deep plinth base engraved with a flower basket, surmounted by a drum case and beaded bezel containing a blue and white enamel chapter ring with Roman numerals, bronze center, and Gothic style hands and resting on toupee feet. The bell striking movement signed H & F PARIS / 3773 / 72 / 79. Movement strikes and activates the automata on the hour and strikes the half hour on a bell and can also be activated by a switch on the base. 19 1/4″ H x 8 1/2″ W x 6 1/4″ D.
Pierce Arrow Motor Car Company 14K yellow, white, and rose gold cigarette case with a geometric mosaic pattern, with a crest on the front, and monogrammed “J E P” on the back. Opens with functioning spring release. Interior cigarette clasp marked with maker’s mark and “14k” and XRF tests 14K gold. 4 1/4″ W x 3 1/8″ H. Includes colored planning diagrams of the case; as well as a blue leatherette box and felt bag with the label: “Black Starr & Frost-Gorham Inc. New York”. Note: The emblem is of The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company, and features a shield with helmeted crest with a dove holding a branch in its beak at the top, three doves in the center, and a ribbon at the bottom of the emblem reading “DIXIT ET FECIT,” Latin for “said and did.” The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company, named for George Pierce, mostly known for their luxury automobiles, were in business from 1901 to 1938. Weight of the case is 140.7 grams.
A substantial sterling silver entree dish by John Roberts & Co., Sheffield, England, assayed in 1812. The dish features a footed base with four lion’s paw feet, two ornate reeded handles with shell motifs, and gadrooned borders. The lid is surmounted by a decorative handle with a shell motif and both the lid and the base feature a central cartouche engraved with a family crest depicting a standing crowned lion over a banner inscribed with the Latin motto “SPES DURANT AVORUM” (The hope of our ancestors endures). Dimensions and Weight: Approximately 9 3/4″ H x 15″ W x 9 1/2″ D. 94.9 troy ounces.
Signed Abraham Lincoln Civil War era document appointing Nathan Sargent (1794-1875) as a member of the Levy Court of the County of Washington in the District of Columbia, March 12, 1863. Signed by President Abraham Lincoln and countersigned by Secretary of State William Seward. Embossed presidential seal lower left.
Two (2) Autograph letters signed by Winston S. Churchill and Bernard Baruch, framed with a photograph of the two men together. 1st item: Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874-1965) A.L.S., dated Jan. 16, 1939, to Dr. R. K. Kommer, briefly declining to speak on his behalf to Duff Cooper (1st Viscount Norwich, a political and military historian). Sight: 7 1/2″ x 4 1/2″. 2nd item: Bernard Baruch (American, 1870-1965) A.L.S., dated March 6, 1918, as WWI era Commissioner on Raw Materials, on War Industries Board letterhead, to Mr. Herbert Bayard Swope, editor of the New York World newspaper, thanking him for an article and expressing friendship and admiration. Sight: 9 1/2″ x 7 1/4″. 3rd item: photographic print of Bernard Baruch and Winston Churchill, seated together on a sofa, sight – 8 1/2″ x 6 1/4″. Matted and framed under glass in a silvered wood frame, 15″ x 28 1/2″. Note: Churchill and Baruch, a wealthy South Carolina-born financier, first met in 1918 and soon became friends. Baruch advised Churchill on investments, and they grew even closer during WWII after Baruch was appointed by Franklin Roosevelt as a special advisor to the director of the Office of War Mobilization. Baruch championed the creation of a super-agency similar to the WWI era War Industries Board, bringing on board civilian businessmen and industry to enhance America’s military production. His ideas are credited with helping the Allies win WWII by shaving two years off the time it took to produce tanks, bombers, and other military equipment. Churchill was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, and again from 1951 to 1955
A Japanese Meiji period two-part Shibayama style lacquered display or Shodana cabinet. Consisting of a plain top with projecting ebonized metal corners above 5 shelves, one set of sliding doors, 6 doors, and 6 drawers, all with intricate high-relief carved shell, hardstone, and bone inlays depicting various birds amongst flowering trees; the top, shelves, drawer tops, interior drawer facings, and sides with detailed painted landscape scenes; all on a gilt lacquered ground and resting on flared hoofed feet with ebonized metal caps Each corner and the front stiles with decorative ebonized metal elements. 56 1/2″ H x 37 1/2″ H x 16″ D.
Chinese white jadeite snuff bottle, round flattened form, with later Japanese embellishments consisting of a figural landscape scene depicting a mother and child crossing a bridge and a young boy feeding a bird, together with flowering trees. Fitted with a blue lapis stopper. 2 3/8″ H. Late 19th/Early 20th-century bottle with 20th-century embellishments.
Antoine Blanchard (French, 1910-1988) oil on canvas of Paris Street Scene. Sight: 12 1/2″ H x 17 7/8″ W, Framed 14 3/8″ H x 19 5/8″ W.