Autumn Fine Art Auction at Shapiro Auctions

With regards to the American art being offered during the October 25th auction, the standout lot is certainly Norman Rockwell’s The Sampler, an oil on canvas from 1923, which was the cover to the Saturday Evening Post, March 1st, 1924 issue.  Estimated at $200,000-300,000, The Sampler depicts a girl from 1824, knitting a cross-stich sampler, while shown in an especially beautiful pose and dress.  Many of Rockwell’s most celebrated paintings have included children, and they all demonstrate his deep and abiding respect for childhood.   The painting, consigned by the family of the girl who posed for The Sampler, Carolina Ciancio, was previously listed as “whereabouts unknown” in the catalogue raisonné for Rockwell, and is a rediscovered treasure of American Art.

Carolina Ciancio would feature in at least four Rockwell paintings: The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter, which appeared on the cover of the July 28, 1923 issue of The Literary Digest; Bobbing for Apples, an advertisement for Valspar paints; The Model, which appeared on the cover of the May 3, 1924 issue of The Saturday Evening Post; and The Sampler. 

Other American works of note in the auction include a series of paintings by the celebrated outsider-artist Ralph Fasanella.  His paintings, which have achieved exceptional results at auction, are celebratory expositions of the human condition.  Fasanella was a self-taught artist, whose vibrant compositions rivalled those of Grandma Moses in detail.  Four separate paintings by Fasanella are included in the October sale, including Lawrence 1912 / Working the Night Shift #2, from 1978.  The painting, which Fasanella, known for his respect for working people and labor movements specifically, alludes to the 1912 “Bread and Roses” strike in 1912, where over 25,000 textile workers, predominantly immigrant women, walked off the job in protest of wage cuts following a reduction in working hours by the state. Another work by Fasanella in the auction, Love Goddess, is an unapologetic tribute by Fasanella to the sexual revolution.

A highlight of the auction that is certain to be of interest to collectors is Pedro Friedeberg’s Masturbación Colectiva de Unos Relojeros Persas (1982), a gem of international surrealism.  Estimated at $3,000-5,000, the painting exemplifies Friedeberg’s love of repeating forms, symmetry, and intimate allusions. At a higher price point, estimated at $75,000-100,000, is Maurice Utrillo’s Eglise de Saint-Bernard (Ain), from 1933. A superlative example of the cityscapes painted by one of Montmartre’s most famous artists, the painting exudes color, warmth, and atmosphere.

Shapiro Auctions has long been known for its eclectic offerings and access to global markets, including those of Russian and Eastern European artists. The October 25th auction includes a plethora of Russian works as well, from 19th Century icons to works by the non-conformist Soviet artists of the 1960s and beyond.  Two works in the sale merit a special mention: Nikolai Roerich’s XIII Day, Ak-Tagh from 1925-26, and Mikhail Chemiakin’s monumental bronze sculpture Grand Carnaval. 

Roerich painted Ak-Tagh during his second Asian expedition to the Himalayas, and the painting vibrates with his trademark otherworldly colors, perfectly capturing the spirituality which he imbued into his works, and for which he was so well known and venerated. Another émigré artist, Mikhail Chemiakin, is included in the auction with his large-scale sculpture Grand Carnaval, from his Carnival in St. Petersburg series.  Cast at Valsuani Foundry, another edition of this same sculpture greeted visitors in the lobby of the famous art-nouveau Hotel Lutetia in Paris, now the Mandarin Oriental Lutetia, on the Left Bank.  

Burmese art is also represented in the October 24th auction, with works by the most well-known Burmese artists of the 20th Century, including U Ngwe Gaing, U San Win, U Ba Nyan, and U Lun Gywe.  Their works, along with those of other internationally known artists, make the October 25th auction a survey of artistic talent around the world.

Shapiro Auctions is located at 183 Route 117 Bypass Road in Bedford Hills, New York, and the catalog for the auction can be viewed at www.shapiroauctions.com. Previews are available by appointment, and the auction itself will be held live, with opportunities to bid in person, by telephone or absentee bid, or directly online.  The auction house can be contacted at +1 (212) 717-7500 or info@shapiroauctions.com.