Wendell Castle, Le Pho, Claude Venard deliver at Neue
Claude Venard still life, which sold for $15,990
BEACHWOOD, Ohio – An important dining table custom designed by Wendell Castle soared to $70,110, and vibrant still-life oil paintings by Le Pho and Claude Venard sold for $20,910 and $15,990, respectively, in Neue Auctions’ online-only Modernism sale, held on May 15.
The Wendell Castle dining table sailed past its pre-sale estimate of $30,000-$50,000 to earn top lot honors. It featured an oval top in holly veneer, inlaid with purpleheart triangles and inlaid dots spelling “The Check’s in the Mail,” which is the table’s title. Castle created a similar table for his own residence titled Never Complain, Never Explain, in 1981.
Wendell Castle dining table, which sold for $70,110
The oil on canvas still-life by Le Pho, titled Fleurs (Flowers), blew past its $6,000-$9,000 estimate to attain the five-figure sum. Le Pho was born in Hanoi, but he studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he later taught, and called Paris his home from 1937 until his death. The oil on canvas Still Life with Sculpture on Table by Claude Venard was boldly executed with heavy impasto.
Le Pho, ‘Fleurs,’ which sold for $20,910
Modern furniture pieces were led by a mid-century wingback chair by Arturo Pani, which sold for $9,225, and a circa 1960s Odyssey coffee table by the American design team of Philip and Kelvin Laverne. The etched, patinated, polychromed bronze and pewter coffee table went to a determined bidder for $7,380.
Marc Sijan, ‘Standing Barefoot,’ which sold for $7,995
Standing Barefoot, a 1990 sculpture of a nude woman by Marc Sijan, achieved $7,995. Also, Cocheta, a 1980 bronze statue of a nude woman by R. C. Gorman, rose to $2,829.
Kenneth Francis Bates, ‘Peacock Box,’ which sold for $3,998
Several diminutive boxes by the American craftsman Kenneth Francis Bates came up for bid, including a 1930 enamel over gold leaf box titled Peacock Box, which sold for $3,998. Salome’s Comforter, an enamel box with cover created in 1977, found a new owner for $3,690. In addition, a 22in tall, rounded cylindrical form stoneware vessel by the noted Cleveland School artist Claude Conover realized $5,228.
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