Achieving the sale’s highest price was “Tete d’Homme” by Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973), 1966, colored crayons and pencil on paper, 21 by 14½ inches; it sold to a Swiss buyer over the phone for $240,000 ($100/300,000).
Review by Carly Timpson
ST LOUIS, MO. — Link Auction Galleries’ two-day December Gallery Auction was conducted December 6-7. The firm offered 516 lots in total, with jewelry, minerals and geodes, furs and bone on the first day and fine art, furniture, carpets, porcelain and glass on the second day. In total, the auction realized $808,848 and 83 percent of lots were sold. Link’s director of community relations, Marlene Marcella, shared that “a big part of the sale was from the estate of Joseph Schilling, St Louis.”
Completed in colored crayons and pencil on paper, Pablo Picasso’s (Spanish, 1881-1973) “Tête d’homme (Head of a Man)” achieved the sale’s top price. The work, which was dated “9. 6. 66” to the upper left and signed to the lower right, had provenance to a private Italian collection after being acquired in Basel in 1970, thence by descent to the consignor. The framed illustration sold to a buyer in Geneva, Switzerland, on the phone for $240,000.
Also colorful was Andy Warhol’s 1985 screenprint “Turtle,” which brought $72,000 — the sale’s second-highest price. The Pop art turtle, done with pink, blue, teal and red, was signed and numbered to the bottom right and included the artist’s copyright stamp on the reverse. Printed by Rupert Jasen Smith in New York and published by CBS Inc., Los Angeles, according to the auction catalog, the “print was published to coincide with the 1985 film Turtle Diary written by Harold Pinter.” The work was consigned by a prominent collector in St Louis and will be heading to Washington, DC.
Andy Warhol’s (American, 1928-1987) “Turtle,” 1985, screenprint on Lenox Museum Board, edition 125/250, sold to a Washington, DC, phone bidder for $72,000 ($40/60,000).
From the same era came an untitled black and white Keith Haring illustration. Done in Sumi ink on white paper, the 1989 drawing was from the Schilling estate but also had provenance to Eric Richter of Washington, DC. The auction catalog noted that this illustration, done on September 16, 1989, resembled two others completed on the same day and shown in the illustrated exhibition catalog for “Keith Haring: Works on Paper 1989” at André Emmerich Gallery in 1995. An online buyer claimed this example, accompanied by a 2023 letter of authenticity from Richard Polsky, for $54,000.
An abstract, primarily green composition by Olga Albizu impressed bidders who took it beyond estimates to achieve $24,000. It was consigned by a prominent St Louis collector who acquired it from Christie’s in 2019. The untitled oil on canvas work, which featured splotches of yellow, orange and black, sold to a phone bidder from Illinois.
A buyer based in St Louis won a locally-relevant painting by Oscar Edmund Berninghaus. The work, “Forest Park, St Louis,” depicted a woman and child walking down the lane with the World’s Fair Pavilion centered on the hill behind them. Exhibited in the Saint Louis Art Museum’s 1982 presentation of “Impressionism Reflected: American Art 1890-1920,” the signed and framed oil sold for $19,200, nearly doubling its high estimate thanks to local interest.
“Forest Park, St Louis,” an oil on paper board by Oscar Edmund Berninghaus (American, 1874-1952), 19 by 24 inches framed, sold to a local St Louis bidder for $19,200 ($7/10,000).
The strongest result for a sculpture was achieved by Australian-American Clement Meadmore’s 1977 bronze “Flurry.” The 16-inch-long work was number three in an edition of 12 and sold to an Australian buyer who was bidding online. Signed and numbered at the base, the bronze had provenance to the estate of Marjorie Wyman who was “an astute collector” and donor to the Saint Louis Art Museum, according to the auction catalog.
Stepping away from art, a complete Edward H. Bohlin parade saddle ensemble brought $15,600. Heavily adorned with Bohlin’s iconic sterling silver conchos and tooled leather, the ensemble comprised all expected accoutrements including the saddle, matching serape, bridle, breast collar, headstall, tapaderos and its original corona pad. Some additional elements by Indiana-based Ted Flowers were included as well.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.linkauctiongalleries.com or 314-454-6525.
