American Art | Lots 1-69

AMERICAN ART

LOTS 1-69

OPPOSITE Lot 12

*1 Wolf Kahn

(American/German, 1927-2020) Scene with Barn, 1972 pastel on paper signed W. Kahn (lower left); dated, and inscribed For David (lower right) 10 ½ x 13 inches.

Property from the Collection of the Terrence J. Dimoff Trust, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Provenance: David Barnett Gallery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

$2,000 - 4,000

*2 Wolf Kahn

(American/German, 1927-2020) No One Lives There Anymore (Study for Deserted Farm House), 1972 pastel on paper signed W. Kahn (lower right) 8 ¾ x 11 ½ inches.

Property from the Collection of the Terrence J. Dimoff Trust, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Provenance: Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

$2,000 - 4,000

*3 Wolf Kahn

(American/German, 1927-2020) The Deserted Farm House oil on canvas signed W. Kahn (lower left); titled (stretcher) 30 x 40 inches.

Property from the Collection of the Terrence J. Dimoff Trust, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

$15,000 - 20,000

*4 Wolf Kahn

(American/German, 1927-2020) Off Route #5, Guilford, VT, 1975 oil on canvas signed W. Kahn (lower right) 24 x 34 inches.

Property from the Collection of the Terrence J. Dimoff Trust, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Provenance: David Barnett Gallery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

$15,000 - 20,000

*5 Wolf Kahn

(American/German, 1927-2020) Cupola Barn, 1974 pastel on paper signed W. Kahn (lower right) 10 ½ x 13 inches.

Property from the Collection of the Terrence J. Dimoff Trust, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Provenance: David Barnett Gallery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

$3,000 - 5,000

*6 Wolf Kahn

(American/German, 1927-2020) Foggy Ridge in Vermont, 1968 pastel on paper signed W Kahn (lower right) 13 ½ x 16 inches.

Property from the Collection of the Terrence J. Dimoff Trust, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Provenance: David Barnett Gallery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

$3,000 - 5,000

*7 Wolf Kahn

(American/German, 1927-2020) The Winchester Farm II, 1975 pastel on paper signed W. Kahn and dated (lower left) 11 x 16 ½ inches.

Property from the Collection of the Terrence J. Dimoff Trust, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Provenance: David Barnett Gallery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

$3,000 - 5,000

8 Orville Bulman

(American, 1904–1978) Late For Duty oil on canvas signed Bulman (lower left); signed and titled (verso) 16 x 14 inches.

$15,000 - 20,000

9 Orville Bulman

(American, 1904–1978) Á toute allure, 1972 oil on masonite signed Bulman (lower left); signed, dated, and titled (verso) 8 x 10 inches.

10 Robert Vickrey

(American, 1926-2011) Wanderer Butterfly, 1984 egg tempera on board signed Robert Vickrey (lower right) 10 x 7 ¾ inches.

Provenance: The Harmon Gallery, Naples, Florida

$3,000 - 5,000

11 Jack Keijo Steele

(American, 1919-2003) The Picnic, c. 1960 oil on masonite initialed S (upper left); signed indistinctly (lower right) 48 x 60 inches.

$5,000 - 7,000

12 Aaron Bohrod

(American, 1907-1992) Football, 1932 oil on board signed Aaron Bohrod and dated (lower right) 18 ½ x 22 ¾ inches.

$6,000 - 8,000

13 Aaron Bohrod

(American, 1907-1992) The Traffic Light, 1934 oil on masonite signed Aaron Bohrod and dated (lower left) 19 ¼ x 24 inches.

$6,000 - 8,000

14 Aaron Bohrod

(American, 1907-1992) Superior Street, Chicago oil on panel signed Aaron Bohrod (lower right) 13 ½ x 9 ½ inches.

Provenance: Everett Oehlschlaeger Galleries, Chicago

$3,000 - 5,000

15 Aaron Bohrod

(American, 1907-1992) The Box, 1949 oil on board signed Aaron Bohrod (lower right) 9 x 9 inches.

Provenance: Everett Oehlschlaeger Galleries, Chicago

16 Alfred Sessler

(American, 1909–1963) 50₵ Minus 37₵ an Hour for County Aid, 1933 oil on canvas signed A. Sessler and dated (lower right) 20 x 17 inches.

Exhibited: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Milwaukee Art Institute, 20th Annual Exhibit of Wisconsin Art, March 30 - April 30, 1933

$2,000 - 4,000

*17 Clarence Holbrook Carter

(American, 1904-2000) Caribbean Cargo Lighter Approaching Alcoa Polaris, 1944 oil on board signed Clarence H. Carter and dated (lower left); titled (verso) 23 x 28 inches.

Property from the Estate of Bernita Buncher, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

$7,000 - 9,000

*18 Clarence Holbrook Carter

(American, 1904-2000) Island Street, 1945 oil on masonite signed Clarence H. Carter and dated (lower left) 23 x 28 inches.

Property from the Estate of Bernita Buncher, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

$7,000 - 9,000

*19 Clarence Holbrook Carter

(American, 1904-2000) Island Gate, Island Market, 1945 oil on canvas signed Clarence H. Carter and dated (lower right) 23 x 28 inches.

Property from the Estate of Bernita Buncher, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

$7,000 - 9,000

20 Mitchell Siporin

(American, 1910-1976) End of an Era, 1946 oil on canvas signed Mitchell Siporin and dated (lower right) 52 x 40 inches.

Provenance: The Artist Downtown Gallery, New York, acquired directly from the above Sold: Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, May 16, 1973, Lot 71 Dr. Robert Atkins, New York Acquired by the present owner, 2003

Exhibited: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Painting in the United States, October 10 - December 8, 1946, no. 180 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, One Hundred and Forty Second Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture, January 26 - March 2, 1947, no. 107 Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, 51st Annual Exhibition by Artists of Chicago and Vicinity, June 5 - August 17, 1947, no. 149, pl. 1, illus. New York, Downton Gallery, Mitchell Siporin: I’ll Be Home Soon, October - November 1947 (the painting also exhibited at Downtown Gallery in 1954 and 1957) New York, American Federation of Arts, A Collector’s Choice: Selections by William H. Lane, September 1957 - September 1958, no. 20 Waltham, Massachusetts, Brandeis University, Rose Art Museum, Mitchell Siporin: A Retrospective, May 11 - June 30, 1976, no. 29, pp. 7-8; 14; 30, illus.

Literature: C.H. Bonte, “Modernism in Art is Strongly Stressed in 142nd Annual Exhibition at Academy,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 26, 1947, p. 58 Ivan Le Lorraine Albright, “Chicago Art Exhibition Shakes Provincialism,” Chicago Herald-American, June 4, 1947 C.J. Bulliet, “Army Artist Wins in Chicago Show,” Chicago Daily News, June 14, 1947 Judith Hansen O’Toole, Mitchell Siporin, The Early Years: 1930-1950, New York, 1990, p. 8 Andrew Hemingway, Artists on the Left: American Artists and the Communist Movement: 1926-1956, pp. 233; 235 Elizabeth Maynard, ‘Monster’ Masculinity: The Veteran-Artist and Figural Representation in Postwar Chicago, 1946-1959, 2014, PhD dissertation, McGill University, pp. 161-162; 228 Maggie Taft, Robert Cozzolino, Judith R. Kirshner, and Erin Hogan, Art in Chicago: A History from the Fire to Now, Chicago, 2018, fig. 4.1, pp. 138-39

$15,000 - 25,000 A politically active artist committed to social justice, Mitchell Siporin’s 1946 End of an Era celebrates the end of Fascism in Italy and commemorates his experiences as an artistwar correspondent during World War II, where he was assigned to North Africa and Italy from 1942-1945. Born to a union organizer father and artist mother, Siporin’s parents instilled in him a lifelong commitment to human rights. Before the war, he studied at Chicago’s School of the Art Institute from 1928 to 1932 and worked with the politically active Jewish American artist Todros Geller. Siporin also contributed drawing and cartoons throughout the ‘30s to left-leaning publications such as the New Masses. From 1937 to 1942 he painted public murals for the Works Progress Administration (WPA), including a mural for Lane Tech College Prep High School in Chicago and for the St. Louis central post office, which was the largest single government commission of the WPA. In these works, Siporin understood and recognized the influence of the Mexican muralists Jose Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, and David Alfaro Siqueiros, who fused a mural style inspired by frescos of the Italian Renaissance with contemporary subjects and issues to express strong political views.

Exhibited in 1947 at the Art Institute of Chicago’s 51st Annual Exhibition by Artists of Chicago and Vicinity, End of an Era won the exhibition’s most prestigious prize, the Logan Medal. It was also well received in the 1947 Downtown Gallery’s exhibition, Mitchell Siporin: I’ll Be Home Soon. A reviewer succinctly described the work, which also applied to others by the artist during this period: “In oil or casein, Siporin’s rigidly controlled art, influenced by such Renaissance artists as Benozzo Gozzoli, is geared to tell us a story, most often the story of war and its aftermath in Italy. As he feels that the people, the wars, and the history of Italy are all of a piece, so he fuses quattrocentro composition, with modern distortion and almost surrealistic juxtaposition of imagery. Built up from countless glowing glazes, his pictures are elaborate, fascinating mosaics from which no section can be removed” (“Siporin,” ARTnews, October 1947, p. 27).

End of an Era is less real than surreal, with subdued color and minimal surface handling. A multitude of somber figures populate the composition, with several mournfully gazing out at the viewer. Fragments of scenes combine to recreate the turmoil of war, including funerals, congregants venerating the Virgin Mary, groupings of military figures, and the hanging figures of dictator Benito Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci, who were executed by Italian partisans in 1945. The word “Avanti” can be seen painted in the upper right of the canvas and may allude to Avanti!, an Italian newspaper that was the official voice of the Italian Socialist party. The frieze-like presentation harks back to Siporin’s socio-historical murals of the 1930s, while the expressionistic style explores the war’s physical and psychological after math.

During his time as a correspondent, Siporin witnessed the chaos and devastation caused by the war, and this trauma continued to echo in his work after his return to the United States. End of an Era “…was a public statement of mourning for what he had seen in Europe. It attempted to conjure an image of hope through closure, laying to rest a period that resulted in unprecedented destruction” (Robert Cozzolino, “Raw Nerves, 19481973,” Art in Chicago: A History from the Fire Until Now, Chicago, 2018, p. 138). Although it garnered criticism from some, the painting struck a chord with exhibition jurors who held similar political views as the artist. It is panoramic in scope and open-ended in interpretation. It shows the past and holds the artist’s hope of a society that chooses to build a brighter, better future.

21 William Samuel Schwartz

(American/Russian, 1896–1977) Island Church oil on canvas signed William S. Schwartz (lower right); signed, titled, and numbered #547 (stretcher); titled (left stretcher edge) 30 x 22 inches.

Property from a Private Chicago Collector

$5,000 - 7,000

22 William Samuel Schwartz

(American/Russian, 1896-1977) The Plower, 1925 oil on masonite signed William S. Schwartz (lower center); signed, dated, titled, and inscribed Chicago (verso) 13 ½ x 16 inches.

Property from a Private Chicago Collector

$2,000 - 4,000

23 William Samuel Schwartz

(American/Russian, 1896–1977) Still Life with Black Hat oil on canvas signed William S. Schwartz (lower left); signed and titled (stretcher); titled (bottom edge) 20 x 36 inches.

Property from a Private Chicago Collector

$3,000 - 5,000

*24 Ivan Albright

(American, 1897–1983) Troubled Waves (Silence), 1952 oil on canvas signed Ivan Albright and dated (lower right); signed (lower left) 15 x 10 ¼ inches.

Property from the Collection of Daniel Weinberg, Highland Park, Illinois

The present oil painting bears a Newcomb-Macklin frame.

Provenance: The Artist Dr. & Mrs. Jack Weinberg, Glencoe, Illinois, acquired directly from the Artist Thence by descent to the present owner

Exhibited: Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, Retrospective: Ivan Albright, October 30 - December 27, 1964 (also traveled to New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, February 3 - March 21, 1965), no. 38, p. 48 Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, Ivan Albright, February 20 - May 11, 1997, no. 49, illus.

Literature: Michael Croydon, Ivan Albright, New York, 1978, pl. 72, p. 165, illus.

$30,000 - 50,000 An uncompromising artist with an unwavering vision, Ivan Albright’s Troubled Waves (Silence), 1952, reveals his quest for the abstract while attending to the minutest detail of the real. Already widely traveled, after his 1946 marriage to Josephine Patterson, Albright went on more far-flung adventures, including to Russia, China, Japan, Iran, Kenya, Alaska, and England. The present painting was likely inspired by a trip to Greece the Albrights took in the summer of 1952. While there, the artist was impressed by the marble kouroi and korai of the Archaic period. Produced from roughly 650 to 500 BCE, these life-size or larger freestanding figures were carved with abstract, idealized features. To an artist preoccupied with the depiction of the transience of matter, these statues, with their austere simplicity, may have expressed an appealing immutability.

Upon his return to the United States, Albright executed Trouble Waves (Silence) as a reaction to the kouroi. With the smooth handling of the skin and monochromatic palette, this artwork appears almost to be a portrait of a sculpted head. The volumetric character of the figure is emphasized by deep shadows and bright highlights. For Albright, light was a tool to be manipulated, made to dance along the contours and fill the spaces within and around his painted forms. As Michael Croydon so aptly put it, he was a master of the “choreography of chiaroscuro.” (Ivan Albright, New York, 1978, p. 40) Here, the light seems to flutter along the surfaces of the head and coiled hair and penetrates the deep ravines and gorges of the eyes and neck. This use of light suggests the flickering illumination that characterizes the art of El Greco, an artist Albright greatly admired. Albright was also particularly interested in how time would impact flesh, wood, and even statuary, as he reflected on their future states. This was not a macabre interest, but a view on life itself:

“’A face is a soul looking out at one who… will be dead tomorrow,’ Albright once wrote. As these figures dwell on their own mortality they also stand as mirror images for us to meditate upon. Appropriately though curiously, Albright’s figures must face this challenge alone…Individuals are represented as solitary souls caught between the harsh light of reality and an enveloping darkness. Those who inhabit these bodies must come to terms with their own decay and mortality. Yet Albright clearly felt there was hope in even the most horrific of these visions and summarized his attitude as such, in any part of life you find something either growing or disintegrating. All life is strong and powerful, even in the process of dissolution’” (Robert Cozzolino, Ivan Le Lorraine Albright (1897-1983), Illinois Historical Art Project, illinoisart.org/ivan-albright-c1mnq, accessed 13 August 2021).

To the artist, time especially was a dimension that allowed him to see his models from every viewpoint in the search for the absolute. In Troubled Waves (Silence), time seems to have stopped in the luminous shadows of the figure, capturing the unchanging power of the eternal.

An independently wealthy man, Albright felt no pressure to sell his work. As a result, he kept the majority of his paintings, most of which are now housed in various museums. The present artwork, which bears a Newcomb-Macklin frame, is one of the few still in private hands and the first oil painting of this caliber to ever be offered at auction.

*25 Ivan Albright

(American, 1897–1983) Into the World Came a Soul Called Ida, 1940 lithograph on stone signed, dated, and titled in pencil; edition of ten 16 ½ x 14 inches.

Property from the Collection of Daniel Weinberg, Highland Park, Illinois

Provenance: The Artist Dr. & Mrs. Jack Weinberg, Glencoe, Illinois, acquired directly from the Artist Thence by descent to the present owner

$2,000 - 4,000

*26 Ivan Albright

(American, 1897–1983) Three Love Birds, 1941 lithograph on zinc signed, dated, and titled in pencil; edition of ten 18 x 11 ¼ inches.

Property from the Collection of Daniel Weinberg, Highland Park, Illinois

Provenance: The Artist Dr. & Mrs. Jack Weinberg, Glencoe, Illinois, acquired directly from the Artist Thence by descent to the present owner

$2,000 - 4,000

*27 Ivan Albright

(American, 1897-1983) Maine Landscape (Schoodic Point), 1940 watercolor and gouache on paper signed Ivan Le Lorraine Albright and dated (lower right) 13 x 19 inches.

Property from the Collection of Daniel Weinberg, Highland Park, Illinois

Provenance: The Artist Dr. & Mrs. Jack Weinberg, Glencoe, Illinois, acquired directly from the Artist Thence by descent to the present owner

Literature: Michael Croydon, Ivan Albright, New York, 1978, pl. 57, p. 151, illus.

After the death of his mother in 1938, Alvin, his twin Malvin, and their father, Adam Emory Ablright, escaped to Maine, turning to their art to deal with the grief. Alvin continued to visit Maine thereafter throughout his life. In 1940, he visited Corea, Maine, where he worked mainly in gouache. The mood in the present work is one of mediation and calm reflectiveness.

$1,500 - 2,500

*28 Ivan Albright

(American, 1897-1983) Boat in Seaside Harbor, c. 1940-41 watercolor and gouache on paper signed Ivan Le Lorraine Albright and dated (lower right) 13 ½ x 19 ½ inches.

Property from the Collection of Daniel Weinberg, Highland Park, Illinois

The present watercolor bears a Newcomb-Macklin frame.

Provenance: The Artist Dr. & Mrs. Jack Weinberg, Glencoe, Illinois, acquired directly from the Artist Thence by descent to the present owner

$1,000 - 2,000

*29 Ivan Albright

(American, 1897–1983) We Are Gathered Here, 1948 gouache on paper signed Ivan Le Lorraine Albright and dated (lower right) 22 x 30 inches.

Property from the Collection of Robert Varde Kuenzel, Ashland, Oregon

Provenance: C.M. Varde, Kenilworth, Illinois, by 1955

Exhibited: Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, 58th Annual Exhibition by Artists of Chicago and Vicinity, June 2 - July 4, 1955, no. 4

Literature: Michael Croydon, Ivan Albright, New York, 1978, pl. 127, p. 285, illus.

$5,000 - 7,000

*30 Adam Emory Albright

(American, 1862–1957) Two Boys in a Boat, 1916 oil on canvas signed Adam Emory Albright and dated (lower right) 20 ½ x 36 ¼ inches.

Property from the Collection of Robert Varde Kuenzel, Ashland, Oregon

$2,000 - 4,000

*31 Thomas Hart Benton

(American, 1889-1975) Planting (Spring Plowing), c. 1939-40 watercolor and graphite on paper signed Benton (lower left) 18 x 21 ¾ inches. Property from the Collection of Lon and Wilmia Ramsey, Winnetka, Illinois

We would like to thank the Thomas Hart Benton Catalogue Raisonné Foundation for authenticating this lot. The work will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné being prepared by The Thomas Hart Benton Catalogue Raisonné Foundation. Committee Members: Dr. Henry Adams, Jessie Benton, Anthony Benton Gude, Andrew Thompson, and Michael Owen.

This watercolor is accompanied by two letters written by Thomas Hart Benton to Lon Ramsey, as well as a photograph showing the artwork and which bears an inscription by the artist on the verso.

Provenance: Lon and Wilmia Ramsey, Winnetka, Illinois, by 1968 By descent to the present owner

$200,000 - 300,000 Thomas Hart Benton, painter of American life and history, was a restless man with seemingly endless energy for travel. As a child, he grew up listening to stories of his maternal grandfather, Pappy Wise, and his affliction with “foot itch” that led him to ramble throughout Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri and Texas. His own father, a U.S. representative for Missouri, likewise nostalgically reminisced of his travels during his Ozark campaigns. After his father’s death in 1924, Benton was inspired to go on his own journeys to see for himself the variety and picturesqueness of the people of America. He traveled throughout the Ozarks and Texas during the 1920s and 1930s. On these trips, Benton sketched scenes in pencil that he would then go over with pen and wash in the evenings, in order to make the designs more durable and enhance the sculptural effect. He would then use the works as materials for his paintings.

Planting (Spring Plowing), c. 1939-40 is one such watercolor. According to a 1968 letter written by the artist to Lon Ramsey, there are three known versions of this picture: the present watercolor, an oil tempera (location unknown), and a lithograph. The lithograph was published in 1939 by Associated American Artists as part of its plan to make fine art prints affordable to the upper and middle classes, with a focus on the “American Scene” in order to appeal to a broad audience. In the note that accompanies the print of Planting (Spring Plowing) in Creekmore Fath’s book on Benton lithographs, Benton states that he based the lithograph on a drawing he made in southern Arkansas in 1938. He goes on to say, “The man plows, the woman sows. Common enough theme up until lately—maybe it is still to be found. Old ways don’t die easily” (Creekmore Fath, The Lithographs of Thomas Hart Benton, Austin, Texas, 1969, p. 76).

In both the print and present watercolor, the artist has captured a traditional farm scene and imbued it with a uniquely Southern flavor. He also realized he was witnessing and recording a disappearing way of life. Life in the Deep South had been dominated by “King Cotton” for generations, resulting in isolated communities and rural areas entombed in social patterns from the 19th century. This way of life was gradually changing in the 1920s and 1930s, but as Benton noted for the print, “old ways don’t die easily.” In the present watercolor, the red soil roils up as if it is a wave of earth and the two figures brace their bodies in response. In contrast, the mule, a distinctly American draft animal, plods on, unperturbed. The artist had a particular affection for mules, once commenting, “You know, the mule is a damned dramatic animal.” The dynamism of the scene is further emphasized by the sweeping clouds in the sky and curved logs in the foreground.

Although the man and woman are clearly living a hardscrabble life, the bold, sculptural composition monumentalizes them and the land they on which they work. Benton’s sensitive portrayal emphasizes the self-reliance and strength of the farmers and made them into distinctly American heroes.

*32 Marvin Cone

(American, 1891-1964) Cook’s Barn No. 2 oil on canvas signed Marvin Cone (lower left) 16 x 34 inches.

Property from the Collection of Lon and Wilmia Ramsey, Winnetka, Illinois

This painting will be included as no. 1940.001 in Joseph S. Czestochowski’s forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist’s work to be published by International Arts® at www.catrais.org.

We wish to thank him for his assistance cataloguing this lot.

Cook’s Barn No. 2 is in a frame crafted by Marvin Cone.

Provenance: The Artist Lon and Wilmia Ramsey, Winnetka, Illinois By descent to the present owner

Exhibited: Davenport, Iowa, Davenport Municipal Art Gallery [now Figge Art Museum], First Exhibition of the Art and Artists along the Mississippi, April 4 - 30, 1940, no. 21

Literature: Joseph S. Czestochowski, Marvin D. Cone: Art as Self Portrait, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1989, no. 398

$50,000 - 70,000 Barns were among Cone’s most popular subjects, constantly sought after by friends and the general public well into the 1950s. When he began to paint the barns surrounding Cedar Rapids, Iowa in the late 1930s, these iconic structures were already around about a hundred years old, in a state of decline, and rapidly being replaced by modern, more efficient buildings. These scenes were usually devoid of the transient distraction of any human presence and are carefully structured and geometrically ordered.

Though Marvin Cone’s work is often described as Regionalist in the tradition of his lifelong friend Grant Wood, Cone avoided the cultural implications often found in the work of his contemporaries. He instead focused on subjects, including barns, that captivated his interest and presented a compositional challenge, and the potential for an interesting design that displayed his technical skill. He sought to express the essence of his surroundings, rather than an accurate copy.

Cone spent his entire life as an artist working in Cedar Rapids, where he grew up, raised a family, and taught painting at the local Coe College for over forty years. Joseph S. Czestochowski writes, “… Cone concentrated on the landscape of the Midwest, capturing the special nuances of mid-western light and the complex formations of land and sky. These scenes, which rarely include people, are reminiscent of the Iowa countryside, but without topographic precision. To the artist, the landscape had a poignant reality that was nonetheless unpredictable and elusive. Nature’s sublimity, greater than its mere physical qualities, was Cone’s principal pursuit” (Marvin D. Cone: An American Tradition, New York, 1985, p. 1).

Another version of the present painting, titled Cook’s Barn No. 1, was painted in 1939-40, and was a wedding gift to his daughter and son-in-law in 1947. Cook’s Barn No. 1 was sold at Sotheby’s New York in May 2004.

33 Dale Nichols

(American, 1904–1995) Early Risers, 1949 oil on canvas signed Dale Nichols and dated (lower right); titled (verso) 30 x 40 inches.

Provenance: The Artist Private Collection, Omaha, Nebraska, acquired directly from the Artist Thence by descent through the family Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

$20,000 - 30,000

34 Dale Nichols

(American, 1904–1995) Red Barn in Snow, 1938 watercolor on paper laid to board signed Dale Nichols and dated (lower left) 6 x 7 ¾ inches (sight).

Property from a Private Collection, Chicago, Illinois

Provenance: The Artist C.H. Hos**** (last name illegible), acquired directly from the above, 1938 Betty Ryan, gifted from the above, 1948

$3,000 - 5,000

35 Norman Rockwell

(American, 1894-1978) Portrait of John P. Orendorff, 1921 graphite on paper laid to board signed Norman Rockwell (lower right) 10 x 8 inches.

The drawing at hand is listed as number P104 in the Normal Rockwell Museum - Digital Collection. https://collection.nrm. org/#details=ecatalogue.13969

According to a handwritten note that accompanies the drawing, this portrait was executed in Saranac, New York in 1921. It is unclear how the sitter and artist met, but it may have been when Rockwell acted as art director for Boys’ Life Magazine. The Boy Scouts have a large chapter in Saranac and it is possible that Orendorff was in the area at the same time as Rockwell and they crossed paths. Later in life, John P. Orendorff was the President and Secretary of the Simonson Lumber and Supply Co. in St. Paul, Minnesota.

(American, 1882-1971) Study for Seagull, c. 1939 graphite on paper bears artist’s estate ink stamp (lower right) 9 ¼ x 18 ½ inches.

Property from the Estate of Peter Bergh, Edwards, Colorado

$800 - 1,200

37 Stanley Massey Arthurs

(American, 1877-1950) Early Steamboat Days - Midstream Passenger oil on canvas laid to board signed S.M. Arthurs (lower right) 24 ¾ x 37 inches.

Exhibited: Wilmington, Delaware, Delaware Art Museum, Stanley Arthurs, May 3 - June 16, 1974, no. 10, p. 24, illus.

Literature: Charles A. and Mary R. Beard, The Making of American Civilization, New York, 1948 Walt and Roger Reed, The Illustrator in America, 1880-1980, A Century of Illustration, New York, 1984, p. 50, illus.

$8,000 - 12,000

38 Stanley Massey Arthurs

(American, 1877-1950) Mrs. Greenhow Attempts to Escape oil on canvas signed SM Arthurs (lower left) 36 ¼ x 24 inches.

$6,000 - 8,000

38A Benjamin Stahl

(American, 1910–1987) Circus Family, 1947 oil on canvas signed Stahl (lower right); titled, dated, and inscribed (verso) 72 x 35 inches.

Property of a Lady, Sarasota, Florida

$3,000 - 5,000

39 Benjamin Stahl

(American, 1910–1987) Rosin Back oil on canvasboard signed Stahl (lower left) 11 x 16 ½ inches.

Property of a Lady, Sarasota, Florida

$2,000 - 4,000

40 John Bradley Storrs

(American, 1885-1956) Untitled (Female Bust) stoneware inscribed STORRS and numbered II (verso) Height: 4 inches.

$2,000 - 4,000

41 Frederick William MacMonnies

(American, 1863–1937) Bacchante and Infant Faun, 1890 bronze inscribed F. MacMonnies and dated; stamped with H. Rouard foundry mark (base) Height: 16 inches.

Provenance: Henry Hottinger, Brooklyn Heights, New York Faber Donoughe, New York Acquired directly from the above by the present owner, October, 15, 1981

Literature: E. Adina Gordon and Mary Smart, A Flight with Fame, the Life and Art of Frederick MacMonnies, 1863-1937, Madison, Connecticut, 1996, p. 292 (another cast illustrated) E. Adina Gordon, Ph.D., The Sculpture of Frederick William MacMonnies: A Critical Catalogue, Ph.D. dissertation, New York University, 1998, no. 30.3, p. 183, (another cast referenced)

42 Jo (Joseph) Davidson

(American, 1883-1952) Will Rogers, 1936 bronze inscribed Jo Davidson and dated, and stamped with Valsuani foundry mark (base) Height: 28 inches.

Property from the Estate of a Denver Business and Community Leader, Denver, Colorado

$4,000 - 6,000

(American, 1885-1965) Seated Nude (Alert Nude), c. 1938 graphite on paper signed Milton Avery (lower right); inscribed with artist’s name and titled (verso) 8 ½ x 11 inches.

Property from the Collection of Noel and Kathryn Dickinson Wadsworth, Atlanta, Georgia

This lot is accompanied by a letter from The Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, New York.

Provenance: Sally Avery Pauline and Sam Klein, Woodstock, New York, acquired directly from the above Conner Rosenkranz, New York, by 1993 Acquired directly from the above by the present owner, March 2003

Exhibited: New York, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Milton Avery in Black and White: Drawings 1929-59, September 28 - December 31, 1990, p. 35, illus.

$1,500 - 2,500

44 Milton Avery

(American, 1885-1965) Slim Girl, c. 1945 ink and graphite on paper signed Milton Avery (lower right); titled and inscribed (verso) 16 ¾ x 13 ¾ inches.

This lot is accompanied by a letter from The Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, New York.

Provenance: David Barnett Gallery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Acquired directly from the above Thence by descent to the present owner

$5,000 - 7,000

45 Louise Nevelson

(American, 1899-1988) Untitled (Standing Nude), 1932 graphite on paper signed Nevelson and dated (upper center) 15 x 4 ¼ inches.

*46 Nicolai Fechin

(American, 1881-1955) Study of a Woman (Portrait of Elena Konstantinovna Luksch-Makowsky), c. 1906-08 oil on canvas signed N. Fechin (upper right) 41 ½ x 28 inches.

Property from the Collection of Homer E. Noble, Denver, Colorado

We would like to thank Galina Tuluzakova for her assistance with the cataloguing of this lot.

Provenance: Saks Galleries, Denver, Colorado Acquired directly from the above by Homer E. Noble, March 29, 1978 Thence by descent to the present owner

Literature: Galina Tuluzakova, Nikolai Fechin, St. Petersburg, Russia, 2007 (reprints 2010, 2012, 2015, 2018), p. 14, illus. Galina Tuluzakova, Nicolai Fechin: The Art and the Life, San Cristobal, New Mexico, 2012, p. 42, illus.

$600,000 - 800,000 In 1907, the student artist Niсolai Feсhin exhibited for the first time at the St. Petersburg Imperial Academy of Art’s annual Spring Academic Exhibition. He showed Study of a Woman, an alluring work of art that left a lasting impression amongst art critics (Spring exhibition in the halls of the Imperial Academy of Arts 1907, SPb., p. 20, no. 397). In a review of the exhibition, the authoritative art magazine Zolotoye Runo (Golden Fleece), marked the study as “bold” (Const. Sunnerberg. “Artistic life of St. Petersburg, At the Spring Exhibition,” Golden Fleece, 1907. no. 3, p. 72).

Although the dimensions of the painting are not listed (in accordance with the then tradition) and no reproduction is included in the exhibition catalog, it can be assumed that Study of a Woman is the same portrait that appeared on the American art market in the 1970s under the name Portrait of Elena Konstantinovna Makovskaya, dated circa 1907-1908. As evidenced by a label on the canvas verso, the model’s name and the circa date of the painting were supplied to the transport company that delivered the artwork from Paris to New York. Comparison with photographs of Elena Makowsky, the daughter of the successful Russian artist Konstantin Makowsky, further reinforces the identity of the sitter.

Elena Konstantinovna Luksch-Makowsky (1878-1967) was a brilliant artist who worked in a variety of mediums. She lived mainly in Germany and often visited Austria and Russia. It is most likely that the present portrait was painted on one of her visits to her homeland, as it is known she visited St. Petersburg in 1906 and 1908. In 1906, Elena Makowsky was 28 years old, which corresponds with the age of the sitter in the portrait. This was also the time when Fechin’s individual style crystallized. He loved to combine the rational, precise construction of the natural form, especially the face and hands, with the freedom of spontaneous, wide brushstrokes in the background and clothing. Stylistically, the portrait can be included among other the works that date from this period, including portraits of the poet Fyodor Sologub (1906, whereabouts unknown), architect Sergei Ovsyannikov (1907, The Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia), Lady in Lilac (1908, The Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia), and Nadezhda Sapozhnikova (1908, private collection, formerly San Diego Museum of Art, California). The 1906 date is also supported by the application of the signature, which was only just being developed by the artist.

The portrait of Elena Makowsky is one of the early works of the artist, where his technical virtuosity, emotional expression, elegance of the coloristic constructions of the restrained ocher-brown scale, and subtlety of the sensual perception of the personality were already manifested in full force.

The portrait was reproduced in books about the artist (see related literature) and will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné.

-Galina Tuluzakova

*47 Martha Walter

(American, 1875-1976) At the Beach oil on canvas signed Martha Walter (lower right) 21 ¼ x 26 inches.

Property from the Estate of R. Lawrence Dunworth, Palm Beach, Florida

Provenance: Sold: Sotheby’s, New York, May 23, 1991, Lot 51

$25,000 - 35,000

*48 James Roy Hopkins

(American, 1877-1969) Nude oil on canvas signed James R. Hopkins (lower right) 26 x 32 inches.

Property from the Estate of R. Lawrence Dunworth, Palm Beach, Florida

$7,000 - 9,000

*49 George Hitchcock

(American, 1850–1913) Two Children by a Shop Window, 1890 pastel on paper signed G. Hitchcock and dated (lower left) 18 ¼ x 13 ¼ inches.

Property from the Collection of James Griffel, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

$3,000 - 5,000

50 Arthur Watkins Crisp

(Canadian, 1881-1974) Birth of Cain oil and gilt on wood signed Crisp (lower center) 21 x 29 inches.

*51 William Samuel Horton

(American, 1865-1936) Sunflowers, c. 1919 oil on canvas signed Williams S. Horton and indistinctly dated (lower right) 41 x 32 ½ inches.

Property from the Collection of Homer E. Noble, Denver, Colorado

Provenance: W. Gray Horton, the artist’s son (possibly) Saks Galleries, Denver, Colorado

Exhibited: Paris, Galerie R. Creuze, May 1947, no. 11

$2,000 - 4,000

*52

Guy Carleton Wiggins

(American, 1883-1962) New York Park oil on panel signed Guy Wiggins (lower left) 6 x 9 ½ inches.

Property from the Collection of Leonard Stark, Chicago, Illinois

53 Alson Skinner Clark

(American, 1876–1949) Tour Saint Jacques, Paris oil on canvas signed Alson Clark and indistinctly inscribed (lower right); signed, titled, and inscribed (verso) 13 x 16 inches.

$4,000 - 6,000

54 George Gardner Symons

(American, 1863–1930) Trees in Bud oil on canvas signed Gardner Symons (lower left) 18 x 24 inches.

$2,000 - 4,000

55 John Frost

(American, 1890-1937) Eastern Snow Scene oil on canvas 24 ½ x 29 ½ inches.

Property from the Collection of a Gentleman, Atlanta, Georgia

Provenance: Private Collection, Pasadena, California Sold: John Moran Auctioneers, Pasadena, California, October 20, 2015, Lot 41

Literature: Phil Kovinick, John Frost: A Quiet Mastery, The Irvine Museum, Irvine, California, 2013, p. 182, illus.

$4,000 - 6,000

56 James McDougal Hart

(American, 1828–1901) The Cattle Seek the Cooling Shade, 1877 oil on canvas signed James M. Hart and dated (lower left) 60 x 40 inches.

Property from a Private Collection, Chicago, Illinois

*57 Pauline Palmer

(American, 1867–1938) Street in French Village oil on canvas laid to board signed indistinctly (lower left) 24 x 20 inches.

Property from the Estate of Marilyn and James Scott, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

$4,000 - 6,000

58 Charles G. Dyer

(American, 1851-1912) The Acropolis From the Altar of Zeus, c. 1900-01 oil on canvas signed C. Gifford Dyer, dated, and inscribed Athens, St. Louis (lower left) 41 x 54 ½ inches.

Provenance: Private Collection, New York Sold: Trinity International Auctions & Appraisals, Avon, Connecticut, October 15, 2016, Lot 183 Acquired directly from the above sale by the present owner

59 Wilson Henry Irvine

(American, 1869-1936) Misty Landscape oil on canvas signed Irvine (lower right) 24 x 27 inches.

Provenance: Dana Tillou Fine Arts, Buffalo, New York

$4,000 - 6,000

60 Julian Alden Weir

(American, 1852–1919) Landscape with Trees and Hills oil on canvas signed J. Alden Weir (lower left) 12 x 16 inches.

$5,000 - 7,000

61 Jonas Lie

(American/Norwegian, 1880–1940) Frosty Morning oil on canvas signed Jonas Lie (lower left) 40 x 50 inches.

$10,000 - 15,000

62 George Ames Aldrich

(American, 1872-1941) Mill in Winter oil on canvas signed G. Ames Aldrich (lower right) 26 ¼ x 30 inches.

$2,000 - 4,000

63 Charles Vickery

(American, 1913–1998) Clipper Ship oil on canvas signed Vickery (lower right) 18 x 24 inches.

$2,000 - 4,000

64 Peter Ellenshaw

(American/Irish, 1913-2007) Killabuonia, Skelligs in Distance oil on canvas signed Peter Ellenshaw (lower left) 20 x 34 inches.

Provenance: Hammer Galleries, New York

$4,000 - 6,000

*65 Charles Morris Young

(American, 1869-1964) Harbor Scene (Possibly Somes Sound, Near Mt. Desert, Maine), 1914 oil on board signed Chas. Morris Young and dated (lower left) 9 x 12 inches.

Property from the Estate of Margaret Ludwig, Oakland, California

$2,000 - 3,000

66 LeRoy Neiman

(American, 1921-2012) Jockey, 1969 oil on board signed LeRoy Neiman and dated (lower right) 23 ¾ x 12 inches.

$6,000 - 8,000

67 LeRoy Neiman

(American, 1921-2012) The Lineup, 1960 oil on masonite signed Leroy Neiman and dated (lower left); titled (verso) 10 x 11 ½ inches.

Provenance: Frank J. Oehlschlager Gallery, Chicago Acquired directly from the above Thence by descent to the present owner