An ‘Out Of The Ordinary’ Works On Paper

New York City

:Sanford Smith's Works on Paper, at the 67th Regiment Armory February 26 through March 2, is always a popular venue as the show rings true to its name, thus allowing collectors access to watercolors, drawings, prints, photography and architectural drawings at affordable prices. In an out-of-the-ordinary twist for this year's fair, tossed into the fray by Smith to encourage additional interest, the focus of the show was widened as dealers were invited to display sculpture.

While sculpture had previously been displayed at Works On Paper, it had always been of the paper sort, either in the form of pulp derived cutouts by Tom Wesselmann or the papier mache figures executed by Elie Nadelman. Assortments of sculpture in all mediums excited the crowds.

Downscaled, the number of exhibitors came in at 46 for this year's event, the 22nd running of the show. And the number of attendees, according to Smith, was down 20 percent from last year. Despite the mitigating factors, many impressive sales were recorded.

In talking about the show, Smith said he had briefly "considered canceling it back in October." However, after speaking with the show's beneficiary, the Citizen's Committee for Children (CCC), "they told me they had raised almost $300,000 and much of that would have to be returned if the show didn't take place." Smith forged ahead with Works On Paper, as he did after 9/11 when his Modernism show was the only antiques event produced in New York City that fall. Happily, CCC raised more than $650,000 and turned out close to 1,100 patrons for the preview.

The tabletop sculptures at Tom Veilleux Gallery of Portland, Maine, alone could have proved the success of the strategy of adding sculpture to the mix. Robert Laurent's limestone interpretation of "Lamentation," the classic Martha Graham dance, and Reuben Nakian's graceful carved onyx "Nude Reclining Female Figure," circa 1925, were both lyrical and sensuous.

William Zorach's bronze interpretation of "Diomedes and His Mare" employed cubist planes to convey the mythological warrior's strength in Veilleux's stand. When seen against Andrew Wyeth's large watercolor, "Rockweed on Monhegan," that commanded the back wall, each part of the group complemented the others.

Jerald Melberg, Charlotte, N.C., presented a more contemporary and eclectic collection of works on paper with sculpture. In a booth dominated by Chuck Close's large 2007 self-portrait, James Rosati's twisted steel sculptures were a sublime mix of the sleek and complex (Rosati is perhaps best known for the stainless steel ideogram that stood between the World Trade Center towers). At least a third of the booth was dominated by the Japanese-influenced, gold leaf enhanced botanicals of Robert Kushner.

Andrew Edlin of Edlin Gallery, New York City, provided the Outsider perspective with large works by Adolf Wolfli and Henry Darger. The Darger accounted for one of the show's major sales. Edlin has been the exclusive worldwide representative of Darger's estate since 2006.

Among the show's finest examples of the minimalist mind at work was seen in Goya Contemporary, Baltimore, Md. Martha Macks-Kahn devoted one wall to six early Frank Stella lithos displayed en suite. To say they were a visual exercise in logic is to underestimate them; the Stellas were profound. Next to them, a shelf of edgy, seed bead and wood objécts by Joyce Scott played well. Though the artist is a native of Baltimore, her sculptures embody an indigenous appeal.

Daniel Kelly, an American artist working in Japan, also integrates a global sensibility into his work. Shown exclusively by Michael Verne of the Verne Collection, Cleveland, Ohio, Kelly frequently uses chine-collé to incorporate materials such as antique Japanese book pages, ukiyo-e and calligraphy into his prints. Michael Verne announced that Kelly will soon be exhibited at the Smithsonian's Sackler Museum in Washington, D.C.

London's William Weston Gallery showed Twentieth Century European and British masters. The main part of the booth belonged to Picasso's "Buste du Fond Etoile," head and shoulders of a girl with stars in the background. The 1949 lithograph was drawn with brush wash and "stop-out" on paper, then transferred to stone and reworked with scraper to create the white against black image.

Never one to shy away from a good show or a good presentation, Bernard Goldberg Fine Arts, specialists in American art from 1900 to 1950, again delivered a coup. Commanding the center wall was Emilio Sanchez's "Park Avenue," a watercolor on paper that led to a suite of New York scenes. Included in that collection were works by Jerome Myers, Martin Lewis, George Luks, John Marin and Everett Shin.

But it was the Stuart Davis from Goldberg's stand, "A sentimental Still Life," a 1922 ink on paper, that captured both the eye and imagination. Separated into six squares, the drawing follows a couple through the stages of a date at an outdoor café, playfully delineated by dotted line and linear contours.

Many dealers made notable sales throughout the run of the fair. Hill-Stone of New York City sold an Old Master German woodcut by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and a number of other Old Master prints and drawings. Important sales at Edward Cella Art + Architecture of Santa Barbara, Calif., a newcomer to the fair, were a large graphite and pastel drawing by architect Richard Neutra and a screen print made for the 1964 World's Fair by Carlos Diniz, among others.

Another first-time exhibitor, Denenberg Fine Arts of West Hollywood, Calif., received a good deal of interest from clients in regard to an Edward Hagedorn work. The gallery discovered Hagedorn's estate 20 years ago, but this was the first major sale of his work in New York. Seasoned and new collectors alike purchased several Scott Kelley wildlife watercolors, as well as a new Paul Jenkins watercolor from Sigrid Freundorfer Fine Art, New York City.

Island Weiss Gallery, New York City, did well with works on paper by Grigorian Rusu and sculpture by Strong-Cuevas. Platt Fine Art, Chicago, reported business throughout the fair, but made its largest sale within the last hour of the show. Platt reported the sale of 20 prints to one collector — some by contemporary printmakers and others by lesser-known artists from the 1930s and 1940s.

A prominent offering by Gerald Peters Gallery, New York City, included John Marin's watercolor "West Point, Maine" at $130,000; Oscar Bluemner's tempera "Sketch for A Backyard," $75,000; Arthur Dove's watercolor "Study for Old Boat Works" $35,000; and highlighting the group, Max Weber's cubist pastel titled "The Dance," at $250,000.

Several artists, many of whose works adorned the walls of various booths throughout the show, made an appearance at the preview opening, including Wolf Kahn. Taking extra time in the booth of German dealer Galerie Jens Hafenrichter, the artist purchased a William Thiebaud litho titled "Glasses."

With his extraordinary show of commitment, Sanford Smith proved to be a producer for all seasons. "Even as this show goes on," he said, "we are preparing for next year."