James Cox Gallery – Collectors Fine Art Exchange Auction
Sunday, June 9 2024 at 1pm
4666 State Route 212, Willow, NY 12495
info@jamescoxgallery.com 856-679-7608

WILLOW, N.Y. — A “Pop Culture” section will be included among 200 items to be offered for sale at the upcoming Collector’s Exchange Fine Art Auction slated for Sunday, June 9, at the James Cox Gallery at Woodstock. The online-only sale will begin promptly at 1 pm.

According to James Cox, the idea of highlighting artwork and photographs from the world of popular entertainment came to him when a dress worn by pop icon Taylor Swift was consigned to his June auction. The portrait collar dress was designed by Rafael Cennamo and was worn by Swift when she posed for the cover of the UK Bliss magazine’s November 2012 edition. “After receiving this exciting consignment, we began to explore the possibility of including more of this genre in our June sale,” Cox noted. “We are so pleased to have gathered an eclectic array of posters, photographs and artwork that embrace this theme.”

Recording stars are subjects as well as creators of several photographs included in the Pop Culture section. Most notably is a self-portrait by Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills and Nash fame, as well as an archival pigment print he created of Joni Mitchell performing on stage in a 1969 concert. Both are signed by Nash. A digital ink jet portrait of Patti Smith by a member of her band, Lenny Kaye, will be featured in the sale, as well as “White Chair, Tangier,” also a digital print, taken by Patti Smith herself in 2013.

“We were fortunate to have three photographs by Elliot Landy consigned to this sale,” Cox remarked. Landy was the official photographer for the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival. Among the prints by this renowned photographer is a black and white photo titled “Janis Joplin, Woodstock Festival, 1969.” This lot will be accompanied by an autographed copy of Landy’s book Photographs of Janis Joplin: On the Road & On Stage. A color print, “Jimi Hendrix, Fillmore East, NYC, 1968” will be sold along with a copy of Landy’s book The Spirit of a Generation. The book about Janis Joplin will also accompany a print titled “Paul Morrissey, Andy Warhol, Janis Joplin and Tim Buckley, Max’s Kansas City, NYC, 1968, Opening Night, Fillmore East.”

“Who typifies Pop Culture more than Peter Max?” Cox observed when referring to “Cosmic Flyer with Sun in Blends,” a 2006 hand-embellished lithograph by the trendsetting artist. A vintage poster advertising the February 9, 1964, appearance of the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show will also be included in the sale.

A poster created by Woodstock artist Mike Dubois celebrates the 50th anniversary of the 1969 festival. “Back to the Garden” is a serigraph on foil print that features the iconic festival logo of a dove perched on a guitar. Woodstock artist Anton Refregier’s (1905-1979) 1970 color lithograph celebrates the era with images of musical instruments and also includes a dove. An ink on paper line drawing of Nina Simone by Pele De Lappe (1916-2007) “lends an elegant addition to this star-studded section,” Cox observed.

One of the rarest lots in the Pop Culture category features original song lyrics composed by Bob Dylan when he lived in an apartment above the famous Cafe Expresso in Woodstock in the 1960s. The typed page comes from the collection of Mary Lou Paturel, owner of the Cafe Expresso. A photograph of Dylan at his typewriter during this period accompanies the lot.

Finally, three assemblages by area artist Steve Heller are included in this category. “The Orville” is a 28-inch-high electric rocket lamp created in 2020, while a slightly smaller lamp made a year later, “Frank Blue Eyes,” recalls another popular recording star. The third Heller piece is a stainless steel assemblage titled “Lady Gaga.”

Midcentury masters are also well represented in the June auction. An important oil by minimalist Brice Marden (1938-2003) and a landscape by the renowned African American artist Felrath Hines (1913-1993) will be offered along with several abstracts by Rolph Scarlett (1889-1984), a Canadian born painter and teacher who lived and worked in Woodstock. He was also a talented jewelry maker. “We are pleased to offer several exquisite Scarlett pieces in this sale,” Cox remarked.

Another unusual and important piece on the auction block June 9 is a bronze sculpture by Canadian artist Bill Reid, a member of the Haida First Nations tribe. The sculpture, measuring 14¾ inches in diameter, is a casting of the blow hole carved in a large, stylized Reid sculpture titled “Chief of the Undersea World”.

Work by Woodstock artists is always prominently featured in Cox’s biannual sales. A reclining figure in oil by Fletcher Martin (1904-1979) is described by Cox as “among the finest examples I have seen of this artist’s work.” Also of note is a whimsical farmyard painting by Petra Cabot. Titled “The Hog Pen,” the oil painting features a contented sow surrounded by her piglets. Cox cited this painting as another exceptional piece. Other popular Woodstock artists featured in the sale include Doris Lee (1905-1983) Richard Segalman (1934-2021) Georgina Klitgaard (1893-1977) and

living artists Mary Frank, Donald Elder, Staats Fasoldt and Mary Anna Goetz.

The public will have an opportunity to preview the auction at the James Cox Gallery, 4666 State Route 212, from noon to 5 pm, Wednesday, June 5 through Saturday, June 8. A reception will be conducted at the gallery Friday, June 7, from 5 to 8 pm. For information, 845-679-7608 or www.jamescoxgallery.com.

BID ONLINE FROM ANY DEVICE ANYWHERE!
Gallery Preview Wednesday (June 5th) to Saturday (June 8th) from Noon – 5:00PM
200 PIECES 98% NO RESERVE
liveauctioneers, invaluable
Earl H. Brewster $2,000 – $2,500
Georgina Klitgaard $2,000 -$3,000
Henry Miller $800 – $1,200
Petra Cabot $2,000 – $2,500
Will Barnet $1,000 – $1,500
J. Huntington $2,500 -$3,000
Fletcher Martin $3,000 -$4,000
Bill Reid $20,000 – $30,000
Richard Segalman $2,000 – $3,000
Doris Lee $1,000 – $1,500
Donald Sultan $1,000 – $1,200
Rolph Scarlett $600 – $800
William Wegman $2,000 – $3,000
Rolph Scarlett Necklace $2,000 – $3,000
Mary Frank $1,000 – $1,200
Mary Anna Goetz $1,200 – $1,500
Hermann Fenner-Behmer $1,000 – $1,500
Brice Marden $300,000 – $350,000
Felrath Hines $3,000 – $4,000
Moses Soyer $1,000 – $2,000
Elliott Landy $800 – $1,200
Lot of Two: Lenny Kaye $800 – $1,200
Steve Heller $1,500 – $2,000
Original Bob Dylan Song Lyrics from the 1960s $2,000 – $3,000
Konrad Cramer, Joseph Garlock, Louis Wolchonok, Lucile Blanch, Elaine Wesley, James Chapin, Patti Smith, Charles Rosen, Michael Trovato, Bobby Blitzer, Cecil Chichester, Francis Luis Mora, Graham Nash, Rhoda Sherbell, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Bertram Hartman, Manuel Komroff, Bertha Tungovia, Ronald Searle, Howard Mandel, Stefan Lokos, Albrecht Durer, Adachi Ginkb, Susan Willard Flint, Paul Cadmus, Pia Oste-Alexander, Sally Michel Avery, Steve Kuzma, Robert Angeloch, Hugh Bolton Jones, Albert Pels, Kiyoshi Hasegawa, Christie Scheele, Donald Elder, Karl Tutter, Julio De Diego, Emil Ganso, Gustave Kaitz, Yale Epstein, Deborah Freedman, Arnold Blanch, Rosella Hartman, Victor Vasarely, Francis Coates Jones, Thomas Aquinas Daly, Donald Sultan, Irving Kriesberg, Pablo Picasso, Edward Gorey, Pele de Lappe, Sandro Chia, Helen Gerardia, John Fenton, Ben Benn, Josef Presser, Doug Safranek, Carl Walters, John Clem Clarke, Chaim Koppelman, Salvador Dali, Grif Teller, Philip Reisman, Irving Lehman, Allen D. Cochran, Ilya Bolotowsk
JAMES COX GALLERY AT WOODSTOCK
4666 STATE ROUTE 212, WILLOW, NY 12495 info@jamescoxgallery.com 856-679-7608