Leading the sale was “Expectant Passage” by Lynne Drexler (American, 1928-1999), 1962, oil on canvas, 16 by 20 inches; it was bid to $57,500 ($30/50,000).
Review by Carly Timpson
NEW YORK CITY — November 12 brought 139 lots of Modern & Post-War Art to the auction block at Swann Auction Galleries. Kelsie Jankowski, head of public relations and content for Swann, shared, “The sale total was $457,995 with 99 of the 139 lots offered selling — a 71 percent sell-through rate by lot.”
Director of Swann’s Modern & Post-War Art department Harold Porcher commented, “Our auction saw strong interest in works by artists who perhaps fall outside the linear path of the Twentieth Century definition of modernism. Top prices were achieved by Abstract Expressionist women painters like Sonia Sekula, Turkish/American realist painter Burhan Dogançay, Southeastern modernist painter William Halsey, British filmmaker Derek Jarman and others.”
“Expectant Passage,” a 1962 painting by Lynne Drexler, rose above its $50,000 high estimate to lead the sale. The abstract oil on canvas, which had provenance to Esther Robles Gallery of Los Angeles, Calif., and the consignor, who was also based in California, was bid to $57,500.
“Miles Davis Bitches Brew (I)” by Kazuya Sakai (Argentine/American, 1927-2001), 1973, acrylic on canvas, 51¼ by 51¼ inches, made $25,000 ($25/35,000).
Finishing at $25,000 was Kazuya Sakai’s “Miles Davis Bitches Brew (I).” Ahead of the sale, Jankowski published an artist profile on the Argentine painter, in which this work was featured. Jankowski wrote of Sakai’s work while living in Mexico from 1965-77: “The paintings of this period are hard-edge abstraction, utilizing undulating bands of color and often moving through concentric rings. These paintings are known as his Ondulaciones. Many paintings from this time were influenced by jazz music and often had titles that identified them as such.” Painted in 1973, “Miles Davis Bitches Brew” was inspired by the jazz musician’s album, through which Davis “moved jazz from the smokey nightclub to the arena, electrifying and competing for audiences of the younger generation,” wrote Jankowski.
In the artist’s characteristic style resembling strands of ribbon emanating from ripped paper, Burhan Dogançay’s untitled 1983 watercolor painting with black and red strands spawning from a mustard-yellow tear in the off-white background made $16,900. Signed, dated and inscribed “B Dogancay / 1983 / To Roy / New York City” to the lower right, the sheet had provenance to a private collection, given to the owner from the artist.
Vermont-based artist Eric Aho was represented in this sale by two oil landscapes. Earning $16,250 was “Windham House” while “Cut to the River” made $12,500. Both of the works were done in 2007 and were titled on the stretcher.
“Windham House” by Eric Aho (American, b 1966), 2007, 53½ by 90 inches, was bid to $16,250 ($8/12,000).
At $16,250 was “No. 50” by Danuta Lewandowska, which featured a dark red speckled circle against a black background, all lined with vertical thin white stripes. The acrylic on canvas with monofililment work was signed, dated “1976,” inscribed “Warszawa” and titled on the reverse. The piece’s provenance included the Jacques Baruch Gallery of Chicago Ill.; a private collection; thence by descent to the consignor.
“Hawkeye, #2,” a dark acrylic on paper laid to canvas by Milton Resnick, realized $11,250. The painting was done with dark shades of green and black deeply blotted over orange and light blue.
Done with gouache, ink, paper collage and sand on board in 1957, Sonia Sekula’s “XI” was bid beyond its $7,000 estimate to achieve $11,250. It was signed, dated and titled to the lower right, on a piece of brown paper laid over a section of newsprint. The work had provenance to a collection in Switzerland and a gallery in Zurich.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.swanngalleries.com or 212-254-4710.
