Big $ales Seen At Smith's Art20

NEW YORK CITY

:Optimism was in good supply at Art20, the Modern and Contemporary fine art fair that took place at the Seventh Regiment Armory November 18-21. Organized by Sanford Smith, the international fair brought together dealers selling works from the past century. From Cubism to Photo Realism, buyers and visitors were treated to a first rate survey of the past one hundred years.

The Galerie Boulakia of Paris was selling paintings from the late Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. "Madame Hessel dans sa Chambre des Clayes," circa 1930-35, one of Vuillard's sunnier works, and "L'Étoile de Mer," 1937, by Fernand Léger, formerly in the collection of designer Charlotte Perriand, were two of the highlights. The French gallery also had works by Renoir ("La Baigneuse," 1907), Braque ("Le Pichet Bleu," 1944), and Belle Époque painter Jean-Louis Forain ("Une Nuit Chez Maxim," circa 1907), not to mention the seascapes by Boudin and Raoul Dufy.

The Galerie Brockstedt of Berlin had a sweet old-fashioned portrait by Christian Schad. The "Portrait of Lisa Denkö," 1925, shows a lady dressed in black velvet with a gray collar, holding a yellow rose. Nearby this specimen of bourgeois propriety was the "Acrobates," 1916, a grim, joyless circus scene by George Grosz.

Also from Germany was the Galerie Thomas of Munich. Its inventory included "Composition aux deux Papillons," 1943, and "Paysage," 1941-42, which were painted by Fernand Léger when he was teaching in California. Also on display was a late work by Jean Dubuffet ("Site avec 6 Personnages"), which he painted in the last four years of his life.

Michael Rosenfeld, one of the many New York art dealers at the fair, was selling "Dirge," circa 1983, by Seymour Lipton and "Figure in Space," 1952, by Beauford Delaney.

Louis Stern Fine Arts of Los Angeles was selling "Composition," 1923, by János Mattis Teutsch, a Hungarian painter who is not well known in this country. The small Cubist painting was skied, but nonetheless noticeable for the bright yellows, greens, blues and blacks.

"The purpose of the fair is being accomplished. There is very good art and good attendance" said Ernesto Mardones of the Nohra Haine Gallery of New York." The gallery was selling a late work by Nikki de Saint-Phalle, "Nana on Unicorn," 1995, that recalled an old-fashioned carousel ride.

The Tasende Gallery of Los Angeles was also selling sculptures by Niki De Saint-Phalle and Bottero.

At R.S. Johnson Fine Art of Chicago, Raoul Dufy was represented by "Fenêtre Ouverte au Havre," circa 1925-29, a pretty seascape with lace curtains and balcony in the foreground. "Avant la Pique," 1959, a linocut in browns and blacks by Picasso, evoked the artist's passion for bullfighting.

For many dealers, the fair was the opportunity to meet new clients. According to John Driscoll of Babcock Galleries, it was "a great chance to meet and greet people who don't go to all the galleries." The New York gallery was selling works by Marsden Hartley and Alexander Calder. There was also a selection of paintings by Will Barnet, who was described by Driscoll as "one of the great masters of American art. His work always accrues a great deal of interest."

Also the subject of interest was "San Francisco (Fisherman's Wharf)," 1956, by Charles Sheeler. "It dates from the last decade of Sheeler's career. There are not many paintings still in private hands from that period," said Driscoll.

Marsden Hartley was represented also at Mark Borghi Fine Art with "Arroyo, near Santa Fe," circa 1920-22, which featured a sold tag early on in the fair. The New York gallery was also selling "The Dead Tree," circa 1928, an austere and lugubrious work by Max Weber. Its painting by Pousette-Dart was sold by Borghi at the fair for $285,000.

"Village en Neige," a melancholy scene of snow and darkness, by Maurice de Vlaminck was offered by Alexander Kahan Fine Arts Ltd of New York.

Two watercolors by John Marin ("White Mountain Country," 1927, and "Before the Wind, Maine," 1921-23) were offered by Amy Wolf Fine Art, also of New York.

Meredith Ward Fine Art, another New York art dealer, was selling a bronze torso, 1925, one of the late works of Gaston Lachaise.

"An American in Paris," 1926, by Guy Pène du Bois inspired "a ton of interest," reports Tom Veilleux of Farmington, Maine. The painting antedates by one year a similar work in the Museum of Modern Art. He added, "So far, so good. We're pleased with the turnout and the response, and the sales." Also for sale by Veilleux were "Two Figures," a pencil and watercolor sketch by Elie Nadelman, and "Spirit of the Dance," 1934, an aluminum sculpture by William Zorach.

"We always love this fair. It's our fourth year coming here," said Jeffrey Bergen of ACA Galleries of New York.

Also upbeat was Valerie Carberry of Chicago, who reported "good sales, and both new and regular customers."

Susan Klein of Richard Norton Gallery was happy to report the group sale of six drawings by Carl Holty. "It's nice when a group like that stays together," she said. Also at Richard Norton was Claes Oldenberg's "Screw Arch Model," 1977, which attracted a lot of attention. The witty sculpture depicting a melted screw was the first of an edition of four.

"Excellent," was how Jonathan Novak of Los Angeles described the fair. "We have met qualified and understanding collectors. Sales are great. It's a terrific show." Novak brought a range of American Expressionist, Pop and Photo Realist paintings by the likes of Jim Dine and David Hockney. He also had a stock of hidden reserves that were stored in the knock-down shelving he commissioned some years ago.

Arshile Gorky's "Staten Island," 1927 (which here vaguely resembles a Provencal village), was for sale by Jack Rutberg Fine Arts of Los Angeles.

"Fiery Space," 1952, a thick, textural painting by Richard Pousette-Dart was for sale at the Alpha Gallery. The Boston firm was also selling Haley Hasler's Surrealist "Birthday," 2005.

Janis Conner of Conner Rosenkranz of New York was optimistic about sales. "I've had the best time. There's a lot of interest in Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century traditional sculpture, and also in works made of plastic and resin."

Mary Lou Rutberg of Jack Rutberg Fine Arts, doubtless speaking for many, said, "We keep coming back to Art20 because it's working for us."

Art20 culminates Sanford Smith's three-day show, monthlong November residency in the Seventh Regiment Armory that also included the IFPDA Print Fair and Modernism.