Review by W.A. Demers,
Photos Courtesy of Trinity International Auctions and Appraisals

AVON, CONN. — An international stable of bidders competed for an equally wide selection of artwork at Trinity International Auctions and Appraisals on Saturday, February 20. The firm’s principal Steve Gass said that the sale was “off the map,” its noon start time designed to accommodate clients from around the world. There were bidders from 26 countries participating, according to Gass, making for an “excellent and very strong sale.”

Topping the sale at $93,100, was this vibrant “Still Life with Flowers and Fruits,” 1952, by Armenian artist Martiros Seregeevich Sarian (1880–1972). It was won by an Armenian bidder so will be heading back to its homeland. 

Topping the sale at $93,100, including buyer’s premium, was a vibrant “Still Life with Flowers and Fruits,” 1952, by Armenian artist Martiros Seregeevich Sarian (1880–1972). It was won by an Armenian bidder so will be heading back to its homeland. The artist, whose surname is also spelled “Saryan” was a founder of the Armenian national school of painting. A master of the still life genre, he was devoted to the glorification of nature, which this large-scale work at 353/8 by 51 inches so vividly exemplifies. Signed lower right and dated 1952, the work was accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from the Cultural Ministry of Armenia.

Adolf Richard Fleischmann (German American, 1892–1968), “Composition #120,” 1959, 36 by 29 inches, sold for $55,125.

Two back-to-back lots of work by Adolf Richard Fleischmann (German American, 1892–1968) continued the firm’s success in finding a market for this abstract artist known for his late work that evolved into constructivism and a precursor of Op Art. The two oil on canvas lots offered — “Composition #120,” 1959, 36 by 29 inches, and “Composition #107,” 1958, 44½ by 34½ inches — were optically arresting and commanded $55,125 and $52,000, respectively. From the estate of the artist, both works were accompanied by certificates of authenticity from a family member of the artist. Fleischmann is the subject of a retrospective planned at Daimler Contemporary in Berlin from April 30 to November 6, the first Berlin retrospective of his work. The upcoming exhibit, comprising about 60 of his paintings, collages and gouaches, will have as its central focus his significant late New York period work. “He’s a contemporary German artist coming into his own,” said Gass, who added that what may be the artist’s largest work — 92 by 42 inches — will be offered in the firm’s next sale.

Another Armenian artist achieved notable results in this sale. Realizing $19,600 was “Leningrad,” an oil on canvas measuring 22 by 35½ inches by Minas Avetisian (1925–1975), a colorful combination of still life and portrait featuring fruit, flowers and a pensive woman at a table.

American artist Charles Henry Gifford (1839–1904) found favor with bidders. His “Fall Landscape with Sailboat on the River,” a 14-by-24-inch oil on canvas, signed lower left, left the dock with a $400/600 estimate and was propelled to a final price of $6,737.

“Composition #107, 1958, by Adolf Richard Fleischmann (German American, 1892–1968), 44½ by 34½ inches, fetched $52,000.

Additional highlights in this sale were an aptly titled “Glow Flock,” 1975, by Hungarian American artist Gyorgy Kepes (1906–2001), mixed media/oil and sand on canvas, 30 by 24 inches, which came out of a private Rosindale, Mass., collection and fetched $4,287; an untitled abstraction by Aristodimos Kaldis (Turkish American, 1899–1979), an oil on canvas measuring 23 by 18½ inches from the same collection selling at $3,675; and, from a private Connecticut collection, Edouard Jean Baptiste Detaille’s (French, 1848–1912) “Dragoon and his Mount,” watercolor and gouache, 19½ by 16 inches, changing hands for $2,327.

Prices reported include the buyer’s premium.

The firm’s next sale is scheduled for May. Gass said he will continue in the direction of presenting diverse auctions. “You cannot stereotype these, and each sale evolves into its own personality. People say that’s what they love about them — the diversity and fun,” he said.

For additional information, www.tiauctions.com or 860-677-9996.