ATLANTA, GA. — Ahlers & Ogletree presented its annual New Year’s Signature Estates Auction offering more than 1,200 lots across three sessions, January 14-16. It was a Thornton Dial Sr (1928-2016) paint and mixed media on canvas featured in the series’ second day that led the lots, finishing at $84,700, including buyer’s premium. “Struggling Tiger (The Tiger Penned In),” 1991, titled on verso and measuring approximately 60 by 60 inches, had been purchased from William Arnett in February 1993. Dial was a pioneering American artist who came to prominence in the late 1980s. His body of work exhibits formal variety through expressive, densely composed assemblages of found materials, often executed on a monumental scale.

A more extensive review of this sale will appear in a future issue.