From the David B. Lawall Collection Auction on Mar 21, 2026 by Hilliard & Co. in VA
Alexander Johann Dallinger von DallingTheodore "Ted" Turner (1922-2002, Virginia)Gunter Damisch (Austrian, 1958–2016)
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Madison, VA, United States
Auction Details

From the David B. Lawall Collection

Hilliard & Co.

Hilliard & Co.

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David B. Lawall grew up in Oberlin, Ohio, where he attended Oberlin College and was introduced to the world of Art Museums by then director Ellen Johnson. He went on to write his PhD at Princeton University on the Hudson River School painter Asher Durand. Lawall joined the University of Virginia faculty in 1964, and in 1971 took on the task of resurrecting the University's Art Museum in the Thomas H. Bayly building (now the Fralin Museum of Art). First as curator and later as director, he built the Museum's diverse collection ranging from Mediterranean and Asian antiquities right through to the work of contemporary artists.

Lawall's personal collecting interests were equally wide-ranging and no less driven by the academic rigor that he brought to his work as a museum director. From the late 1950s to his death in 2025, he deliberately developed collections representative of multiple artistic traditions and genres. The earliest material in his collection dated to the Neolithic and the most recent to the mid 2020s. Particularly in the case of modern artists, Lawall sought to collect works illustrative of their careers: sketches, finished works on paper, and larger projects. The result of his efforts was a collection of art touching all corners of the globe.
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19th Century Silhouette Portrait of a Lady: Cut black paper silhouette depicting a standing woman in profile holding a letter, dressed in a full-length gown with wide sleeves and scalloped capelet secured by a small gilt-highlighted brooch.
0010: 19th Century Silhouette Portrait of a LadyEst. $100-$200$50
A Group of Eleven Academic Male Figure Studies: A cohesive group of eleven academic figure studies depicting male nude models in standing, seated, reclining, and back-view poses. Executed in charcoal and black chalk, the drawings reflect
0011: A Group of Eleven Academic Male Figure StudiesEst. $2,000-$3,000$1,000
Ferdinand Stransky (Austria, 1904-1981): Watercolor on paper, horses and bathers. Signed and dated lower right F. Stransky 48. Sheet size approx. 19 1/2" x 15 1/2". Unframed. Provenance: The Collection of David B. Lawall.Our primary
0012: Ferdinand Stransky (Austria, 1904-1981)Est. $300-$500$150
Italian School Drawing, 17th/18th C.: A vigorous and finely modeled Old Master figure study depicting a youthful helmeted warrior shown from a three-quarter rear view, advancing in dynamic contrapposto with billowing drapery and one arm
0014: Italian School Drawing, 17th/18th C.Est. $300-$500$150
Three Antique Academic Figure Studies: European School. Three academic figure studies. Graphite, comprising a large academy study of a male nude in dynamic pose after the Borghese Gladiator; a finished academic copy after Raphael’s
0014A: Three Antique Academic Figure StudiesEst. $100-$200$50
Four Antique Academic Drawings: Graphite, four 19th century studies after classical sculpture, including a bearded male head after a Zeus/Jupiter type and three studies of a classical female head after a Venus/Aphrodite type, two
0014B: Four Antique Academic DrawingsEst. $50-$100$25
Four Antique Figure Drawings: Includes two double-sided sheets of figure studies and narrative compositions and two single-sided drawings, subjects include academic figure studies and medieval and classical multi-figure scenes,
0014C: Four Antique Figure DrawingsEst. $100-$150$50
Karl Vesque von Püttlingen (1805-1887): Pen and ink with watercolor, pencil and wash on wove paper - depicting a man in early 19th-century dress struggling with a lion on a rocky hillside, dated in pencil lower right: 11 July 1824. Verso
0016: Karl Vesque von Püttlingen (1805-1887)Est. $40-$100$20
L 18th / E 19th C. Ink and Wash: Late 18th / early 19th century continental schoolclassical scene. Depicting a veiled woman attended by figures in classical dress beneath a draped canopy. Ink and wash with white heightening on laid
0017: L 18th / E 19th C. Ink and WashEst. $50-$100$50