INDIANAPOLIS – Antique Helper is holding boutique auctions beginning April 21, 2012 with an important selection of historically-significant art by African-Americans (1900-2000).
‘Gamin,’ circa 1930, by Augusta Christine Fells Savage (1892 – 1962) may bring $25,000 to $30,000 April 21, 2012.
Managed by Thom Pegg, of Tyler Fine Art in St. Louis, each boutique auction will be comprised of 20-30 lots that relate to a common theme. The sales will be part of the company’s monthly art and antiques events.
The earliest painting featured among the lots of African American art was completed circa 1910. It is an elegant still life, titled, Mountain Laurels, by Charles Ethan Porter, a highly collected artist from Connecticut.
Several of the artists represented worked at the Southside Community Center in Chicago in the 1940s. This was a hub for African American artists and intellectuals in the Midwest.
One such work, Eldzier Cortor’s Interior with a Woman, is a steamy interior with one of the artist’s stunningly beautiful African American female figures depicted as the central subject.
Pegg believes this painting will likely exceed its pre-sale estimate of $30,000 to $50,000.
Painted circa 1900, this Charles Ethan Porter work titled ‘Mountain Laurels’ measures 15 inches by 19 inches. It is expected to sell for $18,000 and $22,000.
Augusta Savage, an important African-American woman artist from the Harlem Renaissance, is represented with her most well known sculpture, Gamin, circa 1930. Gamin depicts a young savvy street urchin beaming with street smarts and innocence. A similar example is part of the permanent collection at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
Artworks by Abstract Expressionist Norman Lewis and Magic Realist, Hughie Lee-Smith have recently sold for well in to six figures. A large work on paper done in 1964 by Lewis seems very attractive with an estimate of $3,500 to $4,500. Lee-Smith’s Monarch, an oil depicting a young African American boy is expected to bring between $8,000 to $10,000.
Other important African-American artists featured in the sale include Romare Bearden, Charles Alston, Walter Williams, Charles Sebree, Elizabeth Catlett, Claude Clark, Benny Andrews, and J.W. Hardrick.
The auction will take place on April 21, 2012. A preview reception is planned for April 20, 2012. A online preview catalog will be posted online.