The top price of the day was $40,625, earned by Martiros Saryan’s oil on canvas landscape of a mountain and valley.
GLEN COVE, N.Y. — A selection of contemporary art and Midcentury Modern furniture took center stage at Roland Auctions NY’s first auction of the New Year on Saturday, January 7, with an oil on canvas by artist Martiros Saryan (Armenian, 1880-1972) being the high seller of the day. The sale also featured works by D*Face, Andy Warhol, KAWS, Dale Chihuly, Lucio Fontana, Flo Perkins and DAIN, along with hundreds of lots of fine art, decorative arts, Twentieth Century modern, antique and vintage furniture, textiles, silver, gold, jewelry, rugs, collectibles and Asian Art.
The top seller was Martiros Saryan’s “Mountain & Valley” landscape, an oil on canvas painting of a mountain and valley landscape with oxen and plow in the foreground, signed lower left and dated, 1921; it was accompanied by a provenance certificate and measured 23½ by 19½ inches. Bidding quickly escalated from its estimate of $10/15,000 to selling for $40,625.
Also doing well in the art category were Jean Dufy’s (French, 1888-1964) oil on canvas painting titled “Clown,” signed lower left with labels to reverse, which brought $5,000 and a Gayane Khachaturian (Georgian-Armenian, 1942-2009) oil on canvas, “Musician with Onlookers,” which depicted a female musician with onlookers, signed lower right, selling for more than a song at $4,375.
Decorative arts also shined, with a Dale Chihuly (American, b 1941), “Imperial Iris Persian” two-piece purple sculpture with green lip, a smaller piece monogrammed and signed, that sold for $4,375 and a 9½-inch-tall Mary Ann “Toots” Zynsky (American, b 1951) “Filet-De-Verre” multicolor glass vessel, made from fused and thermoformed glass threads and with a “Z” monogram that finished at $7,500. Following at $5,937 was an Eighteenth Century framed silk embroidered altar frontal.
In addition, a 4½-inch-tall, small Muller Freres French cameo glass vase, with butterfly and pine cone motifs; signed to body, achieved $2,125 and a Le Coultre Swiss Marina Angel Fish clock, with 16 jewels with gilt-metal decoration and stepped base, signed to face and movement swam to $1,125.
Also making a prominent showing at the auction, Roland presented a Midcentury Modern furniture selection that included an Adrian Pearsall walnut Crescent lounge chair and ottoman, the Midcentury Modern design with grasshopper arc legs around the recently upholstered Hallingdal upholstery, labels to underside; model 748-LB and 748-FS for Craft Associates. Rare to be offered with its ottoman, the lot finished at $4,062, ahead of a Warren Platner for Knoll Throne lounge chair, the design with molded shell seat over a steel rod cage base; label under cushion selling for $3,750. A pair of Milo Baughman swivel lounge chairs, circa 1970s, with blue upholstery to the swivel and tilt action seats went out for $4,375 and a Danish Midcentury House of Finn Juhl Pelican armchair with gray upholstered fabric, which also sold for $4,375.
Rounding out the Midcentury Modern offerings was a Paul Evans Brutalist pedestal, circa 1969, going for $5,937; a Gaetano Pesce Feltri lounge chair of Italian modern design with thick felted wool and black hemp cord trim to the pliable backrest amd rigid lower section, which sold for $2,500; and a Vladimir Kagan Art Deco-style chaise lounge, which earned $3,125.
Notable lots of antique furniture included a rare Nineteenth Century French Vernis Martin vitrine, which sold for $2,250.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium. Roland Auctions NY’s next sale is scheduled to take place February 4. For information, 212-260-2000 or www.rolandauctions.com.
