Soulis – Fall Gallery Auction of Fine and Decorative Arts
Saturday, October 14
Lone Jack, Missouri
www.SoulisAuctions.com

LONE JACK, MO. — Pride in “homegrown” artists who’ve gone on to achieve success on the national or international stage is what spurred the meteoric rise of Regionalist art. Perhaps no other part of the United States has embraced the Regionalist art movement with more fervor than the Midwest, leading to the theme of Soulis Auctions’ October 14 event. The 320-lot fine and decorative arts auction is highlighted by original works created by luminaries of Midwest Regionalist and Kansas City art, including “The Big Three” — Thomas Hart Benton, John Steuart Curry and Grant Wood.

America’s heartland is where painter, muralist, printmaker and art educator Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975) was born and spent most of his life. He also studied in Paris, lived in New York City for 20 years, and summered on Martha’s Vineyard for half a century, all experiences that broadened his artistic horizons and ultimately brought him global recognition.

Benton was a champion of Realism whose initial opposition to the Modernist movement seemed untenable, but in the early 1920s, Benton reconsidered and opted to explore the new style. That sea change in Benton’s career is embodied in an associated pair of artworks to be auctioned as one lot. His mixed-media painting on board, executed circa 1922, is titled “Benton Family on South Beach.” The 13¾-by-9½-inch work served as the study for a much larger (53 by 33 inches) textile, which he envisioned his wife, Rita, embellishing with needlework. The linen panel was never fully stitched, thus leaving much of Benton’s original composition visible ($60/90,000).

The auction also includes several 1930s large-format, low-edition lithographs signed by Benton, with estimates in the $2,000-$20,000 range; as well as an endearing portrait by Margaret Brisbane (American, 1901-1970), which the Bentons commissioned in 1934 and, through photo-documentation, are known to have displayed in their home. It depicts Rita Benton with the couple’s young son, T.P., and is consigned by a gallery owner who acquired it directly from the Thomas Hart Benton Trust ($3/4,000).

A signed Arthur Kraft (1922-1977) World War II-era mural, measuring 5 by 7 feet, is especially noteworthy because it predates by several decades the period during which Kraft became widely recognized as an Expressionist ($3/5,000). “To the best of my knowledge, this mural, which is a stark depiction – in a Realistic style – of the struggles brought on by World War II, has never before been recorded. Because it is so early, and because it was painted in a style not previously connected to Kraft, we believe it will be of great interest not only locally but also at a national level,” said Soulis Auctions’ owner and auctioneer, Dirk Soulis.

Two landscapes by Birger Sandzen (Swedish/American, 1871-1964), which have been held in an institutional collection for 102 and 93 years, respectively, are among the sale’s top highlights. Both are listed in the Sandzen Memorial Gallery’s card catalog and are consigned by a rural Kansas library that acquired them directly from the artist.

Sandzen viewed his paintings as “nature studies” and, as he wrote in a letter to his brother, he strived for “the simplest possible means of expression.” In other words, every brushstroke had meaning. His 1921 oil on canvas titled “Smoky River” is a quintessential example of that approach, masterfully portraying a verdant waterside scene with light and shadow in counterpoint to lush, languid trees. Sized 30 by 40 inches, the artist-signed work is estimated at $60/90,000.

Like “Smoky River,” the second Sandzen oil is from the artist’s desirable Middle Period. Titled “Golden Aspens,” the 1929 depiction of aspen trees alongside a lake displays a robust palette of intense colors applied in high relief. The library’s acquisition of “Golden Aspens” was reported in the June 12, 1930, edition of The Lindsborg (Kans.) Progress, which noted that members of the institution’s art association had had their hearts set on purchasing the painting ever since it was exhibited the year prior ($80/120,000).

A European artwork in the auction lineup is the 1928 “Portrait of Wanda Styke with Sons Andrzej and Juliusz” by Thadeus “Tade” Styka (Polish, 1889-1954). Known for his Art Deco-era paintings of high society and celebrity subjects, Styka spent most of his life in Paris and New York. His portrait of his sister-in-law and her two young sons skillfully connects the viewer with the sitters through their expressive eyes and interactive gestures ($8/12,000).

A Louis Vuitton chassure (shoe trunk) — almost certainly a commissioned item — is a work of art in and of itself, with 25 neatly fitted shoe compartments and eight slide-out drawers. No current or historical documentation of a trunk of its type and size could be found during research conducted by Soulis Auctions staff. LV-stamped and serial-numbered, the luxury case is expected to sell in the range of $8/12,000.

Preview by appointment or from noon until 5 pm every day of the week prior to the auction. The gallery is at 529 West Lone Jack Lee’s Summit Road. For more information, www.soulisauctions.com or 816-697-3830.

Select examples from Estates and Institutions around the Midwest. Live Auction with Telephone and Internet Bidding Nationwide Shipping and Free Local Delivery Available.
Thomas Hart Benton (1889 -1975) Two Related Works: Tempera Study on Board, Graphite on Linen. The 14x 10 inch study was preliminary fora 58 x 28 inch sketch on linen by Benton for his wife, Rita, to embroider circa 1922, the year of their marriage. This composition was included in the traveling exhibition Thomas Hart Benton: Drawing from Life, various museums 1990 – 1991, and published in an associated hardback book of the same name by Henry Adams.
Thomas Hart Benton (1889 -1975) Rare Large Pencil-Signed Lithographs in Small Editions
French Cameo Glass Signed Cristallerie de Galle Nancy
A Very Rare Louis Vuitton Chassure Circa 1920
Louis Freund (1905-1999) Oil on Artist’s Board
A very Rare Louis Vuitton detail
Fine Spode Imari Influence Ice Buckets in Admiral Nelson Pattern
Birger Sandzen (1871 -1954) 30×40 Inch Oil on Canvas, 1921
Large Sterling Silver Salver 27 Inches, William Ker Reid, London, 1833
Tade Styka (1889-1954) Portrait of Wanda Styka and Sons
Grant Wood (1891-1942) Seven Pencil Signed Lithographs
John Steuart Curry (1897-1946) Five Pencil Signed Lithographs
Gilt Bronze and Rock Crystal Lighting and Accessoires
An Exceptional Inlaid 18th Century Breakfront Bureau
A Tiffany Studios Gilded Bronze Three Light Lily Lamp
Pierre August Renoir (1841 -1919) La danse a Bougival Etching Signed in the Margin
Arthur Kraft (1922 -1977) Newly Discovered Early Mural
Birger Sandzen (1871 -1954) 40 x 30 Inch Oil on Canvas, 1929
Soulis Auctions
Lone Jack, Missouri • 816.697.3830 www.SoulisAuctions.com