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Jackson Pollock ‘lost’ landscape paces Freeman’s auction

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock (American, 1912–1956), ‘Pennsylvania Landscape.’ Sold for $87,500. Freeman’s image

PHILADELPHIA — Freeman’s is delighted to announce the results of the single-owner sale of the Collection of Dr. Henry & Mrs. Fannie Levine. The 46-lot sale achieved a sell-through rate of 100% and realized $942,315, well surpassing its low estimate, with 95% of bidding taking place online. Absentee and Internet live bidding was available through LiveAuctioneers.

As Philadelphia’s auction house, Freeman’s is proud to have brought the collection of prominent Philadelphians Dr. Henry and Mrs. Fannie Levine to the market.

The sale was led by the highly anticipated Pennsylvania Landscape (above) by Jackson Pollock (Lot 14), an early landscape painting once thought to be lost, which realized $87,500 — comfortably within the high end of its estimate of $60,000-$100,000.

The work is one of a group of landscapes that Pollock created in the mid to 1930s, when he was employed by the New York City WPA Federal Art Project, for which he was required to turn in a painting every six to eight weeks.

Jackson Pollock
Karel Appel (Dutch, 1921–2006), ‘Two Heads in Grey Landscape.’ Sold for $45,500. Freeman’s image

Competitive bidding was seen for the 11-lot section of works by American artist Paul Jenkins. With more than 10 bidders competing for most of the lots, both online and by phone, the works achieved a collective $248,125, led by Medusa (below) which realized $43,750, more than doubling its high estimate.

Jackson Pollock
Paul Jenkins (American, 1923-2012), ‘Medusa.’ Sold for $43,750. Freeman’s image

Strong prices were also achieved for works by Dutch CoBrA artist Karel Appel, with the 12-lot section realizing a collective $288,000. Notably, Big Boy Blue (below) achieved $75,000, surpassing its pre-sale low estimate; and Two Heads in a Grey Landscape (Lot 20) which exceeded its low estimate to achieve $45,500.

Jackson Pollock
Karel Appel (Dutch, 1921–2006), ‘Big Boy Blue.’ Sold for $75,000. Freeman’s image

Another notable highlight from the auction included a gouache on paper by American artist Sam Francis, Untitled (SF73-095) (Lot 46), which attracted spirited bidding and achieved $53,125, nearly $20,000 over its high estimate.

Jackson Pollock
Sam Francis (American, 1923–1994), ‘Untitled (SF73-095).’ Sold for $53,125. Freeman’s image

“Freeman’s was honored to bring this treasured family collection to the market and to present such exceptional and fresh examples from some of the 20th century’s most sought after artists.  We are delighted with the results of the sale, which saw enviable prices achieved and all but one lot sold in the auction. The final lot was subsequently sold in a private transaction, achieving a 100% sell-through rate overall,” said Dunham Townend, head of sale.

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View top auction results on LiveAuctioneers here: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/pages/recent-auction-sales/

 

 

Jackson Pollock