“G” by James Brooks (American, 1906-1992), 1951, oil on Osnaburg cloth, 38 by 55 inches framed, nearly doubled its high estimate to achieve the sale-high price of $153,600 ($60/80,000).
Review by Carly Timpson
ASTORIA, N.Y. — Auctions at Showplace celebrated a record-breaking sale on October 8, as its Important Fine Art & Design auction delivered above-estimate results across fine art, sculpture, modern design and jewelry. Driven by spirited in-person, phone, online and international bidding, as well as strong Abstract Expressionist paintings and Twentieth Century furnishings from distinguished private collections, the curated 145-lot auction highlighted the strength of the market for important pieces of art and design.
The auction catalog was comprised of property from prominent New York City metropolitan area estates and collections and additions from a Florida estate, and it saw established and first-time bidders participating from both locations, as well as Beverly Hills, Dallas, Miami, Seattle, San Francisco, St Louis, Atlanta and Washington, DC. Bidders in Tokyo, London, Paris, Madrid, Melbourne, Mexico City, Rotterdam, Athens, Santiago, Vancouver, Kuala Lumpur and Toronto represented the international market.
The auction kicked off with a series of landscape paintings by Wolf Kahn, with the third and final to cross the block rising well beyond its $20/40,000 estimate to $102,400, it led the series of related works. The painting, titled “Bright Center,” was done in 2009 and, like the other two, bore a label from Marianne Friedland Gallery (Naples, Fla.) and had provenance to a Westchester County, N.Y., estate.
Leading the selection of paintings by Wolf Kahn (American, b Germany, 1927-2020) was “Bright Center,” 2009, oil on canvas, 34½ by 45¼ inches framed. It made $102,400 ($20/40,000).
However, the auction’s top lot overall came toward the end of the sale, when a 1951 painting by Abstract Expressionist James Brooks made $153,600 against a $60/80,000 estimate. The oil on Osnaburg cloth, “G,” reflected the artist’s approach to the genre, exhibiting both freedom and intentionality. As the auction house described, “Its richly worked surface and dynamic composition exemplify the experimentation that helped establish Brooks as an important figure in postwar American painting.” On the reverse, the painting was marked with a 1983 label from the Portland (Maine) Museum of Art; it was exhibited at other museums across the US and made its way to Milan, Italy.
Other American AbEx and postwar highlights that easily exceeded their estimates included Esteban Vicente’s “No. 3” (1960), an oil on canvas that achieved $108,800; Alice Baber’s “Turn of the Wheel of Sound II” (1977) earned $28,800; Peter Busa’s “Anchor” (1958) brought $21,760; and Dan Christensen’s “Channel Pageant” (1982) realized $28,800.
For three-dimensional art, the category was topped by “Split Ring,” a black-plated aluminum sculpture by Clement Meadmore. The 1969 sculpture, edition four of six, came from a Tarrytown, N.Y., estate and sold with a pedestal for $76,800. Stretching to $22,500 was a bronze sculpture of a standing giraffe by François Pompon, one of the most celebrated animal sculptors in the early Twentieth Century.
“Split Ring” by Clement Meadmore (Australian, 1929-2005), 1969, black painted aluminum, 23 by 23½ by 21 inches without pedestal, closed for $76,800 ($40/60,000).
Furniture offerings were highlighted by the clean lines of Midcentury Modernism, though a more unconventional piece rose to the top. Fernando and Humberto Campana’s Sushi buffet, a vibrant, experimental cabinet marked by its unique material makeup: carpet, rubber, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), fabric and estela, all within brass frame. The buffet nearly doubled its high estimate, making $76,800.
A custom commissioned George Nakashima sideboard dating to 1978 realized $60,800. The walnut cabinet featured two sliding doors, lined with pandanus cloth, and a single shelf inside. The piece, which came from a New York City estate, sold with its original sketches from 1977, indicating it was designed to house a music system.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. Auctions at Showplace conducts weekly auctions on Thursdays. For information, www.nyshowplace.com or 212-633-6063.
