Tadeusz Brzozowski’s “Kuranty,” 1967, was the enigmatic top lot of the auction, exceeding its $30/50,000 estimate to $148,800.
By Z.G. Burnett; Images Courtesy of Weschler’s Auctioneers & Appraisers
ROCKVILLE, MD. — The Capital Collections auction was conducted at Weschler’s Auctioneers & Appraisers on September 22, presenting 295 lots from all categories. Weschler’s reported that it was an exciting auction overall, from preview right through the last lot. There was “tons of internet bidding,” with more than 500 people watching online, including more than 300 registered bidders. There was also an increase in the return of in-person attendance. The sale totaled $1.1 million with an 83 percent sell-through rate.
Two Polish artists featured prominently in this auction. Leading the sale was Tadeusz Brzozowski (1918-1987) whose surreal oil on canvas titled “Kuranty,” or “Chimes,” sold on the phone overseas after intense competition from all bidding venues for $148,800. In the Krakow arts community, Brzozowski exhibited a playful and sometimes sarcastic approach to his work, despite the intense, almost grotesque imagery of “Kuranty.” This was one of three lots consigned from a Virgina collector; the other two were by Jerzy Rosolowicz and Janusz Bersz, and Weschler was the first to offer works by these artists outside of Poland.
Another Polish surrealist, Franciszek Starowieyski (1930-2009) might be a familiar name to film lovers; he designed many award-winning posters for the Polish releases through the second half of the Twentieth Century, as well as for operas, plays and other events. Starowieyski was the first Polish artist to have a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York City (1986), and the pastel offered in this auction was the “face” of his “Eternity” exhibition poster at the Museum of Industrial History, Opatówek, Poland (1997). It was originally purchased at Aberbach Fine Art, New York City, and consigned from a Vermont collection, setting a record for the artist at $21,080.
“The Eternity,” was the second lot by a Polish artist to surpass its estimate and sold to an overseas internet bidder for $21,080 ($5/7,000), a record for Franciszek Starwieyski.
Continuing in this genre was “Coraza,” or “Breastplate,” by Cuban artist Agustín Fernández (1928-2006), which sold within its estimate at $31,000. Fernández was a sculptor and multimedia artist as well as a painter, and his interest in representing multiple dimensions can be seen in “Coraza,” showing teethlike protuberances emerging from a grommeted metal or leather surface. He spent the majority of his career outside of Cuba, entering political exile in Paris during the Cuban Revolution and then moving permanently to New York City. During this time and past his death, Fernández’s work was featured in numerous international exhibitions, the most recent being “Master Drawings” at the Leon Tovar Gallery, New York City, in 2022.
Bidders with more traditional tastes appeared to be out in full force. The second highest bid painting was “Summer at the Seashore” by American artist Alfred Thompson Bricher (1837-1908), which achieved $34,100 from a domestic online bidder. Bricher was associated with the Hudson River School and White Mountain art, and earned a comfortable living throughout his 50-year career. Born in Portsmouth, N.H., he eventually settled and established a studio in New York City, but would frequently return to the New England states for landscape studies that he later elaborated upon in oils and watercolors.
Although he never received the critical acclaim that his peers did in half a century of painting, Alfred Thompson Bricher’s “Summer At The Seashore,” circa 1880, exceeded its $15/25,000 estimate at $34,100.
Hermann Winterhalter (German/Swiss, 1808-1891) may be best known as the younger brother of Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873), but although their careers were inextricably linked, he had his own portrait practice and there was no sibling rivalry between them. In fact, they shared their arguably most famous sitter Queen Victoria (1819-1901), with both brothers painting her multiple times throughout her reign. The younger Winterhalter’s portrait of “Mrs Gordon Rose,” undated and otherwise unidentified, more than doubled its estimate to $20,000.
Prices quoted with buyer’s premium, as reported by the auction house. For information, www.weschlers.com or 202-628-1281.
