NEW YORK, NY.- On Thursday, March 6,
Swann Galleries will conduct a large and diverse auction of 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings that offers exceptional 19th- and 20th-century works of art by American and European masters.
The sale opens with more than 200 19th-century prints, highlights of which include an extremely scarce lifetime impression of Rodolphe Bresdin’s Le Bon Samaritaine, lithograph on chine appliqué, 1861 (estimate: $25,000 to $35,000); a run of works by James A.M. Whistler featuring Venice scenes such as The Balcony, etching and drypoint, 1879-80 ($15,000 to $20,000) and figural works including Nude Model, Reclining, lithograph, 1893 ($10,000 to $15,000); several prints by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, among them Les Deux Baigneuses, etching, 1895 ($18,000 to $22,000); Camille Pissarro’s Le Pont de Pierre, à Rouen, etching and drypoint, 1887 ($15,000 to $20,000); and two woodcuts by Paul Gauguin, Mahna no Varua Ino, 1893-94 and Femme Cueillant des Fruits et Oviri, 1896-97 ($20,000 to $30,000 each).
In the American Art section are early modernist examples, such as three very scarce 1913 etchings by John Marin depicting the Brooklyn Bridge ($15,000 to $20,000 and $20,000 to $30,000 each) in addition to George Bellows’s The Street, lithograph, 1917 ($5,000 to $8,000); Childe Hassam’s The Lion Gardiner House, Easthampton, etching, 1920 ($15,000 to $20,000); luminous city views by Martin Lewis, including Relics (Speakeasy Corner), drypoint, 1928 ($25,000 to $35,000); and Thomas Hart Benton’s rare, early lithograph Strike, 1933 ($6,000 to $9,000).
Compelling unique works are a watercolor over pencil by Ethel Mars of Provincetown, circa 1916-17, ex-collection of the artist ($20,000 to $30,000) and George Grosz’s New York Scene, watercolor, gouache and pencil, circa 1950 ($5,000 to $8,000).
Among the exceptional European examples is a rich and varied selection of prints by Pablo Picasso, including Tête de femme, de profil, drypoint on Japan paper, 1905 ($25,000 to $35,000); Groupe de Trois Femmes, etching and drypoint, 1922-23 ($15,000 to $20,000); Garçon et Dormeuse a la Chandelle, aquatint and etching, 1934 ($25,000 to $35,000); Corrida en Arles, aquatint, 1952 ($15,000 to $20,000); examples of his faience ware designs; and after prints such as Intérior Rouge avec un Transatlantique bleu, color aquatint, circa 1960 ($12,000 to $18,000).
Additional desirable after prints include Henri Matisse’s Odalisque au coffret rouge, color aquatint and etching, circa 1952 ($30,000 to $50,000); Carmen, color lithograph after Marc Chagall, 1967 ($40,000 to $60,000); and Hommage à J.S. Bach after Georges Braque, color aquatint and etching, 1950 ($5,000 to $8,000).
Rounding out the print highlights are Käthe Kollwitz’s Krieg, with seven woodcuts on Japan paper, 1923 ($30,000 to $50,000); Wassily Kandinsky’s Kleine Welten IV, color lithograph, 1922 ($20,000 to $30,000); Paul Klee’s Nicht ended, etching, 1930 ($10,000 to $15,000); Salvador Dalí’s St. George and the Dragon, etching, 1947 ($15,000 to $20,000); several lithographs by Alberto Giacometti, among them L’Homme qui marche, 1957 ($8,000 to $12,000); and M.C. Escher’s Ascending and Descending, 1960 ($25,000 to $35,000).
There are also fine drawings, such as George Grosz’s Gegan Kommunismus sind sie einig, pen and ink and brush and wash, 1922-23 ($12,000 to $18,000); Fernand Léger’s Composition (pour Arthur Rimbaud Illuminations), gouache on paper, 1950 ($30,000 to $50,000); Tsuguharu Foujita’s Le Jardin, pen and ink with white gouache heightening ($5,000 to $8,000); and Serge Charchoune’s In Mont Salvat Gennannt N°6, oil on canvas, 1955 ($15,000 to $20,000).
The first session of the auction—consisting of 19th century prints and drawings—will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 6. The sale will continue after a lunch break at 1:30 p.m. with American and European prints and drawings. The works will be on public exhibition on Saturday, March 1, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.; and Monday, March 2 through Wednesday, March 5, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
