: Story by David S. Smith, photos By David S. Smith and Terri
Garneau
Fans of Twentieth Century art who flocked to the chic and lavish
Art20 show found a little slice of heaven in Manhattan's Seventh
Regiment Armory over the weekend of November 18. A wide range of
"museum quality" works in a variety of mediums by artists such as
Jean Dubuffet, Fernando Botero, Josef Albers, Picasso, Bearden,
Hartley, Leger, Matisse, Rauschenberg and Basquiat were not only
seen in abundance, but they were available.
Art20, Sanford Smith's final event for the year at the armory,
his third show there in as many weeks, seemingly set a high water
mark for the show in regard to appearance and response from the
art collecting community. Opening on Wednesday evening, November
17, with a gala benefit preview for the Children's Museum of
Manhattan that attracted more than 1,200 people, the show ran
through Sunday, November 21.
Sold tags began appearing as the doors opened for preview and
according to several dealers we spoke with, sales remained steady
throughout the course of the fair. This show is on par with the
prestigious Art Dealers show, but is inclusive of a great many
European dealers. "That's what gives it a little spice,"
commented Smith.
"We are more of a Twentieth Century show without the cutting edge
and we have a wider scope than the Art Show," he said. "There are
no Nineteenth Century Impressionists here and there are no Old
Masters. It is like a boutique show that is concentrated with a
date guide from 1900 right up to 2004."
Upon entering the show, patrons were greeted by the front booth
of Parisian dealers Galerie Fabien Boulakia and there they would
sample the quality of art that would set the standard for the
show. On the back wall of the booth was a Robert Rauschenberg
abstract, "Palms Urban Bourban Series," priced at $400,000, while
the front walls featured Marc Chagall oils including "La Famille
du pecheur" executed in 1968, and an earlier work, "Le Cheval
vert," done in 1956. Other highlights from the booth included a
large Jean Dubuffet abstract vinyl on canvas titled "Scene
episodique a deuv protagonists," 1974, and a Georges Braque oil
on canvas from 1917 titled "Verre, pipe et journal."
David Findlay Jr Fine Art put forth an eclectic booth with Op Art
pieces by Richard Anuszkiewicz including "Luminous," a 1965
acrylic on Masonite, and "Transluminan - Star I," a monumental
painted wooden piece from 1986. The dealers also included several
contemporary pieces by Harry Nadler including "Persian
Labyrinth," 1978, and "Return to Byzantium," 1987.
Eric W. Baumgartner, director of Hirschl & Adler's American
art department, with "Veiled Lady (The Persian Lady)" by Frank
Stella, 1926. The oil on canvas was $750,000 and was included
in Stella's landmark solo show in Naples, 1929. It has been
part of a private collection since the 1930s.
"Veiled Lady (The Persian Lady)," by Frank Stella, 1926, oil
on canvas, was priced at $750,000 in the booth of Hirschl &
Adler Galleries. Eric W. Baumgartner, director of the department of
American Art at Hirschl & Adler, commented that the Stella was
included in the artist's "landmark one-man show in Naples in 1929,"
and that it had been "a part of the same private collection since
the 1930s."
Adam Gallery, London, offered a very nice Henry Moore sculpture,
"Reclining Figure," that was attracting a good deal of attention
early on in the show. The bronze, a miniature of a larger version
by the artist, was priced at $125,000.
The front wall of German dealer Galerie Thomas was filled with a
large Jean-Michel Basquiat acrylic and mixed media on canvas
titled "Alpha Particles," 1984.
The work of Romare Beardon was seen in several booths in a
variety of mediums with "Showtime," a large mixed media collage
of lithographs, wallpaper, colored paper and painted paper
depicting a lively jazz scene, in the booth of ACA Galleries.
Another collage, "To See, Go Into The Shade," from Beardon's
"Rain Forest" series, 1973, was offered by Manhattan dealer
Gerald Peters.
Riding a wave of popularity, the works of Fernando Botero were in
several booths including Nora Haime Gallery with the offering of
a large and colorful atypical oil on canvas titled "Homenaje a
Cezzane," painted in 1963. In the booth of David Klein,
Birmingham, Mich., was a large bronze sculpture, "Hand," priced
at $245,000. Also in Klein's booth was a Walker Evans two-panel
photograph, 1936, "Shoeshine Sign in Southern Town." Among the
first items sold from the booth was a colorful "Landscape Mobile"
by Roy Lichtenstein.
"Identical Twins" by Diane Arbus was a featured work in the booth
of Alan Kopel, Chicago. The dealer explained that this particular
image was one of the earliest ones printed by the photographer.
"It has a MoMA label on the back of it from 1966," stated the
dealer, who added with a chuckle, "It also has a price tag of
$50." The piece has appreciated significantly, carrying an asking
price from Kopel of $475,000.
Several pieces by Joan Miro were offered by Elrick-Manley Fine
Art including a 1953 ink on paper "A la sante du serpant" and an
oil on Ingres paper, 1931, "Le fumeur de pipe." The dealer also
offered a bronze by Miro, 1981, from an edition of six, titled
"Personnage."
Mark Borghi offered a nice assortment including a Marsden Hartley
oil on board, circa 1938, measuring 24 by 18 inches and titled
"Finnish-Yankee Wrestler." The dealer also offered a selection of
art ranging from a rare Louis Lozowick oil on canvas, 1927,
titled "Detroit Urban Geometry," a Willem De Kooning oil, 1937,
"Mother, Father, Sister, Brother," a John Storrs cast terra-cotta
sculpture, 1917, titled "Two Horse Heads," and a Robert
Motherwell acrylic, graphite, printed paper and cardboard collage
titled "Regie Francaise," executed in 1967.
Aaron Galleries also displayed and eclectic mix ranging from a
selection of Beauford Delaney oils to a Joseph Cornell untitled
bird box. Delaney, according to dealer Patrick Albano, is the
subject of an extensive exhibition at the Art Institute of
Chicago. Pieces in the booth were priced from $10,000 to $35,000.
Los Angeles dealer Jack Rutberg, owner of Jack Rutberg Fine Arts,
put forth an exciting stand that featured a wide variety of work.
Standing in the front of the booth was an impressive
larger-than-life-size bronze sculpture of a native woman with a
Serape wrapped over her shoulders by Francisco Zuniga. Titled
"Mujer de Pie Rebozo," 1983, the piece was priced at $300,000.
The dealer has also mounted a major exhibition of Arshile Gorky
paintings and drawings, several of which were on hand in the
booth. Pieces included untitled drawings from Gorky's sketchbook
as well as a gouache on paper titled "Abstraction 1934."
David Janis also offered some remarkable pieces that ranged from
Tom Wesselmann's "Sunset Nude with Abstract Painting," 2003, oil
on cutout aluminum, priced at $195,000, to two wonderful Morris
Hirshfeld oil on canvas paintings, "Harp Girl II," 1945, and Nude
with Vase," 1946, that were priced at $325,000 and $190,000
respectively.
Francisco Zuniga's bronze "Mujer de Pie Rebozo," 1983, was
$300,000 at Jack Rutberg Fine Arts, Los Angeles.
Aubusson tapestries by artists such as Le Corbusier, Fernand
Leger and Alexander Calder were featured in the booth of Jane
Kahan. "Artists and weavers have collaborated for centuries,"
commented the dealer, "Rubens and Goya had their works transferred
into weavings. Then the art sort of died out for a while until the
Twentieth Century artists started commissioning pieces. Often times
they would be exhibited alongside the original art," she said.
"There was a real revival in the 50s with artists like Calder and
Chagall doing lots of them."
The relatively rare weavings were done in limited editions with
prices today ranging from $110,000 for the 1950 Le Corbusier
tapestry of "Le Canape," to $96,000 for "Ancien Constructeurs" by
Fernand Leger. Calder, who was the most prolific, had pieces such
as the colorful "Le profil qui desparait," circa 1970, priced at
$25,000.
Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller Gallery, New York City offered a
good selection of paintings by Marc Chagall including the oil on
canvas "Le Luxembourg," 1953, that carried a price tag of
$750,000, the oil on canvas "Corbeille de Fruits aux Amoureux,"
1978-80, that was priced at $850,000, and an oil and pastel "Les
Cerises," 1956, that was marked at $280,000.
Other items of interest seen around the floor included a
patinated bronze sculpture by William Kentridge, "Four Figures on
a Bridge," 2001, that was selling for $150,000 in the booth of
New York City Gallery Schlesinger. Also offered was a Tom
Wesselmann, "Study for Helen Nude," 1981, at $220,000, and an
Yves Tanguy ink, "Composition," 1952, tagged at $45,000.
