Christie’s New York has announced the spring sale of Fine American Paintings, Drawings, and Sculptures that will offer an assortment of works by including many coming from the collection of Dr. Mark Kauffman and Irene Kauffman, prominent collectors who live in Florida. The sale, which is expected to bring in over $3.7 million, features 210 lots from the 19th and 20th centuries covering a wide range of artistic periods such as Abstraction and American Modernism.
Notable works for sale include Jack Levine’s six foot tall oil on canvas painting On the Block, which is a commentary the New York City art scene. It was created over a period of six years between 1986 and 1992 and estimated to sell between $150,000 and $250,000. Ben Shahn’s watercolor and gouache painting Hamilton Fish Park depicts three elderly men sitting together on a bench at a local New York City Park during the Great Depression. The painting is based on two photographs taken by the artist, both of which are also included. The painting is expected to sell between $25,000 and $35,000.
Ben Shah’s Apotheosis is a maquette the artist created in 1956 when commissioned by the Board of Education to create a mural for the William E. Grady Vocational School in Brooklyn. The piece is composed of several vignettes depicting the fall of man, and destruction caused by war. The final part of Shahn’s piece illustrates a rebirth of man with help of philosophy, art, and music. It is expected to sell between $30,000 and $50,000.
Another major highlight is Max Weber’s sculpture Figure in Rotation, which was completed in 1915 and established Weber’s status as a prominent force of the avant-garde movement. In this piece, Weber incorporates his cubist style with a primitive African art style by giving the figure a disproportioned face, and an exaggerated curvy body. It is expected to sell between $200,000 and $300,000. The auction will take place March 1st from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. at Christie’s New York, 20 Rockefeller Plaza, (212) 636-2000. There will be public viewings prior to the auction beginning Feb. 25.
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