LOS ANGELES, CA.- Bonhams fall sale of California and Western Paintings & Sculpture to be held on November 25 will include numerous important California impressionist Plein Air works, Society of Six landscapes and cityscapes as well as two significant sculptures that rarely make appearances at auction. Simulcast between San Francisco and Los Angeles, the sale is the last in a series of three annual sales conducted by Bonhams in this increasingly competitive collecting category.
Plein Air painters such as Guy Rose, Joseph Kleitsch, Granville Redmond and John Frost, to name a few, will be represented in the sale. Bonhams is proud to be offering two important works by the preeminent California impressionist painter Guy Rose. San Gabriel Road (est. $600,000-800,000) is the top lot of the sale and according to Fine Art Director of Bonhams, Scot M. Levitt, the painting is the "best non-figurative work by Rose to be offered in many years."
The second Rose painting on offer is Spring Rain (in Giverny) (est. $150,000-250,000), which has a more "tonalist" feel with beautiful muted greens and blues. It depicts a classic impressionist scene along the Seine in France. This Rose painting comes from the same private collection in Simi Valley where a previous Guy Rose painting sold for $374,500. That work, of the same size, featured the Carmel coast and sold in the August 6th auction of California and Western paintings.
Another notable highlight of the sale is John Frost's Spring (est. $150,000-250,000). The painting is also illustrated in the newly published book entitled John Frost, A Quiet Mastery by Phil Kovinick and is considered the best work by Frost that Bonhams has ever offered. The painting illustrates an area near Pasadena, beneath Mt. Wilson. The soft colors and haze effect surrounding the mountain evokes a masterful and careful quality of the landscape.
Bougainvillea by Joseph Kleitsch is sure to be a favorite for its bright red and green hues depicting a cascade of bougainvillea adorning the walls of the San Juan Capistrano Mission. It is estimated to sell between $250,000-350,000. There are also multiple offerings by other top Plein Air artists such as Maurice Braun, Percy Gray, Edgar Payne, Charles Reiffel, Joseph Raphael and William Wendt.
Also represented in the sale are Society of Six artists August Gay, William Clapp and Selden Connor Gile. The group's market has been in high demand ever since the two-part Robert Aichele Collection sold at Bonhams last fall and spring.
Lastly, a pair of bronze pumas by Arthur Putnam (est. $20,000-30,000) will highlight the sale. The items are considered to be monumental and possibly the largest works by the artist to come up for sale in the last 30 years. One is of the proud father puma, while the other is the mother puma with their cub tucked beneath her feet. Each bronze sculpture measures about 3 feet tall.