Heritage’s May Signature American Auction
by Matthew Innis |
Andrew Loomis (American, 1892-1959)
This is America
Shaw-Barton Calendar illustration, 1949
Oil on canvas
30 x 40 inches (76.2 x 101.6 cm)
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In a recent post on an auction of illustration art at Heritage, I lamented that — despite having a good selection in the sale — the big names like Rockwell, Leyendecker, and N.C. Wyeth were absent. As it turns out, Heritage was not lacking offerings by these greats, they were just reserving them for a later sale. It seems that the division of illustration art from fine art is still a wall which gets smaller in an inverse relation to the estimated sale price.
In addition to Rockwell, Leyendecker, and Wyeth, Heritage’s upcoming sale of American art includes several other works by top-notch American illustrators, as well as several examples of landscape art and still lifes, and quite a few Modern works and Folk pieces. Excepting the latter two categories, it’s a rather nice sale with quite a few gems in it.
Though I’ll always be partial to Andrew Loomis — the illustrator who succeeded in defiance of the teachers who encouraged him to quit — the lots I find the most interesting are those by Thomas Kinkade. Before becoming the commercial success known as “The Painter of Light,” Kinkade was a more traditional painter set on a different path. I’ve met several artists who didn’t care for Kinkade’s later output, but admitted to admiring his younger work, and it’s nice to see some of those paintings here.
Heritage’s Signature Sale of American Art will take place on May 10th at 11:00 CST. Bids can be made in person, online, by phone, by fax, and via Heritage Live. Previews for all lots in the sale are currently on view in Dallas, but appointments are necessary. For more information, and to see the entire auction catalog, please visit the Heritage website.
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Joseph Christian Leyendecker (American, 1874-1951)
First Long Suit
The Saturday Evening Post cover, September 18, 1937
Oil on canvas
27-3/4 x 22-1/4 inches (70.5 x 56.5 cm)
Joseph Christian Leyendecker (American, 1874-1951)
Kuppenheimer Men’s Clothing Advertisement study
Oil on canvas
20-1/2 x 28 inches (52.1 x 71.1 cm)
Joseph Christian Leyendecker (American, 1874-1951)
Playing Hooky
The Saturday Evening Post cover, June 13, 1914
Oil on canvas
30-1/4 x 21 inches (76.8 x 53.3 cm)
Joseph Christian Leyendecker (American, 1874-1951)
Tramp Feeding the Birds
The Saturday Evening Post cover, November 20, 1915
Oil on canvas
26-1/2 x 20-1/4 inches (67.3 x 51.4 cm)
Joseph Christian Leyendecker (American, 1874-1951)
Arrow Collar advertisement study
Oil on canvas laid on board
17-3/4 x 11-3/4 inches (45.1 x 29.8 cm)
George Tooker (American, 1920-2011)
Un Ballo in Maschera, 1982
Tempera on gessoed board laid on board
21-7/8 x 30 inches (55.6 x 76.2 cm)
William Henry Dethlef Koerner (American, 1878-1938)
The Canyon of The Fools
The Saturday Evening Post interior illustration, November 26, 1921
Oil on canvas
36 x 29-1/2 inches (91.4 x 74.9 cm)
Jane Peterson (American, 1876-1965)
In a Café, circa 1909
Oil on canvas
50 x 30 inches (127.0 x 76.2 cm)
Joseph Francis Kernan (American, 1878-1958)
DB&M’s Royal Bohemian Beer advertisement, circa 1940
Oil on canvas
30 x 24 inches (76.2 x 61.0 cm)
Joseph Francis Kernan (American, 1878-1958)
Lost Opportunity
Gotke Calendar illustration, 1948
Oil on canvas
30-1/4 x 25 inches (76.8 x 63.5 cm)
Dean Cornwell (American, 1892-1960)
The California Forty-Niners study
Oil and pencil on board laid on canvas
19 x 13-1/4 inches (48.3 x 33.7 cm)
Don Troiani (American, b. 1949)
Union Cavalry Soldier Prisoner Being Questioned by a Confederate Officer of the Eight Texas Calvary (Terry’s Texas Rangers), 1977
Oil on Masonite
20 x 30 inches (50.8 x 76.2 cm)
Maynard Dixon (American, 1875-1946)
Trail Song, It was a Long and Tiresome Go, 1908
Watercolor and pencil on board
10 x 8-1/4 inches (25.4 x 21.0 cm)
Norman Rockwell (American, 1894-1978)
The Tavern
Poor Richard’s Almanack interior illustration study, circa 1963
Oil on board
17-1/2 x 14-3/8 inches (44.5 x 36.5 cm)
Newell Convers Wyeth (American, 1882-1945)
Mr. Campbell, The Minister of Essendean, 1913
Oil on canvas
40 x 32 inches (101.6 x 81.3 cm)
Norman Rockwell (American, 1894-1978)
Enjoyment, Swift Baby Food advertisement, 1955
Oil on canvas
14 x 15 inches (35.6 x 38.1 cm)
Maurice Sendak (American, 1928-2012)
Let the Wild Rumpus Start! (Happy Birthday Wild Things!)
Where the Wild Things Are, 25th Anniversary, 1988
Watercolor on paper
18-3/4 x 18-5/8 inches (47.6 x 47.3 cm) (sheet)
Garth Williams (American, 1912-1996)
A Director’s Meeting
Charlotte’s Web interior book illustration, 1952
Ink and pencil on paper
13 x 10-1/2 inches (33.0 x 26.7 cm) (sheet)
Chris Van Allsburg (American, b. 1949)
The Garden of Abdul Gasazi, pictoral title-page, 1978
Conté crayon on paper
14-3/4 x 18-1/2 inches (37.5 x 47.0 cm) (image)
Stevan Dohanos (American, 1907-1994)
After Church
The Saturday Evening Post cover, April 16, 1949
Oil on canvas
39 x 30 inches (99.1 x 76.2 cm)
Walter Biggs (American, 1886-1968)
On a Bench
Woman’s Home Companion interior illustration, October 1935
Watercolor, gouache, pencil, and charcoal on board
19-1/2 x 28 inches (49.5 x 71.1 cm) (image)
Eric Sloane (American, 1905-1985)
Brown Autumn
Oil on Masonite
23 x 35 inches (58.4 x 88.9 cm)
Hanson Duvall Puthuff (American, 1875-1972)
Pasture Grounds
Oil on canvas
24 x 30 inches (61.0 x 76.2 cm)
Thomas Kinkade III (American, 1958-2012)
Out to Pasture, 1983
Oil on Masonite
16 x 20 inches (40.6 x 50.8 cm)
Thomas Kinkade III (American, 1958-2012)
Aqua Caliente Rancho, 1983
Oil on canvas laid on Masonite
16 x 20 inches (40.6 x 50.8 cm)
Thomas Kinkade III (American, 1958-2012)
High Meadow, 1983
Oil on Masonite
24 x 48 inches (61.0 x 121.9 cm)
Albert E. Backus (American, 1906-1991)
Sunset on the Marsh, Florida, 1985
Oil on canvas
20 x 24 inches (50.8 x 61.0 cm)
