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A gilded wood frame with a carved oval line holds ‘Peaches and Grapes’ by Charles Baum (American, 1812-1877). The relined oil on canvas measures 29 inches by 24 inches and has a $3,000-$5,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Concept Art Gallery.

Concept Art Gallery to sell curator’s personal collection Feb. 20

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
A gilded wood frame with a carved oval line holds ‘Peaches and Grapes’ by Charles Baum (American, 1812-1877). The relined oil on canvas measures 29 inches by 24 inches and has a $3,000-$5,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Concept Art Gallery.
A gilded wood frame with a carved oval line holds ‘Peaches and Grapes’ by Charles Baum (American, 1812-1877). The relined oil on canvas measures 29 inches by 24 inches and has a $3,000-$5,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Concept Art Gallery.

PITTSBURGH – Concept Art Gallery will auction the James J. White Collection on Feb. 20, an important sale that is highlighted by botanical illustrations and prints by internationally recognized artists and exceptional 19th-century American still life paintings.

LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.

For 30 years White was Curator of Art and Senior Research Scholar at the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, a research division of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He was recently diagnosed with a debilitating neurological disease and the collection is being sold to raise funds for his long-term care.

“It’s a bittersweet experience. I hope his collection generates the interest it deserves,” said Sam Berkovitz, owner of Concept Art Gallery.

The collection is guided by White’s scholarly interests and incomparable taste, said Berkovitz. “There are a lot of beautiful America still life paintings from the 19th century,”

Representative of the collection is an unsigned close-up of a peach and pear in a landscape setting. The 19th-century American Still Life School painting, oil on academy board, has a $150-$300 estimate.

A Charles Baum (American, 1812-1877) still life titled Peaches and Grapes has a $3,000-$5,000 estimate. The oil on canvas painting is 29 inches by 24 inches and is framed in gilded wood with a carved oval liner.

Bryant Chapin, (Massachusetts, 1859-1927) painted Strawberries and Basket, a 12 1/2- by 16 1/2-inch oil on canvas, which also has a $3,000-$5,000 estimate.

Among the botanicals is a pair of 1830s color engravings of amaryllis by Mrs. Edward (Priscilla Susan) Bury and colored by Robert Havell, who was the principal engraver of Audubon’s Birds of America. The color aquatints, 19 inches by 14 1/2 inches, are in matching gold leaf frames with hand-painted French mat. The pair has a $300-$600 estimate.

Other botanicals are by contemporary international artists. One such work is from the Studio of Mahaveer Swami, which created a pair of Mughal-style paintings using natural pigments on antique paper. Dating to the mid-1980s, the pair has a $50-$150 estimate.

The collection also includes Inuit sculpture, contemporary Indian art and natural history, maps and Civil War memorabilia.

The auction will begin at 10 a.m. Eastern.

For details call 412-242-9200.

View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet during the sale at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

Click here to view Concept Art Gallery’s complete catalog.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

The Studio of Mahaveer Swami created these Mughal-style botanical paintings on antique paper circa 1985. The pair has a $50-$150 estimate. Image courtesy of Concept Art Gallery.
The Studio of Mahaveer Swami created these Mughal-style botanical paintings on antique paper circa 1985. The pair has a $50-$150 estimate. Image courtesy of Concept Art Gallery.

Fall River, Mass., still-life artist Bryant Chapin (1859-1927) dated ‘Strawberries and Basket’ ‘12.’ The oil on canvas measures 12 1/2 inches by 16 1/2 inches and has a $3,000-$5,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Concept Art Gallery.
Fall River, Mass., still-life artist Bryant Chapin (1859-1927) dated ‘Strawberries and Basket’ ‘12.’ The oil on canvas measures 12 1/2 inches by 16 1/2 inches and has a $3,000-$5,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Concept Art Gallery.

Apparently unsigned, this oil on academy board painting is of the 19th-centery American Still Life School. The 6- by 9-inch painting has a $150-$300 estimate. Image courtesy of Concept Art Gallery.
Apparently unsigned, this oil on academy board painting is of the 19th-centery American Still Life School. The 6- by 9-inch painting has a $150-$300 estimate. Image courtesy of Concept Art Gallery.

A pair of Mrs. Edward Bury amaryllis color engravings date to the early 1830s. The 32 1/2- by 24-inch prints are in matching gold leaf frames with hand-painted French mats. The estimate is $300-$600. Image courtesy of Concept Art Gallery.
A pair of Mrs. Edward Bury amaryllis color engravings date to the early 1830s. The 32 1/2- by 24-inch prints are in matching gold leaf frames with hand-painted French mats. The estimate is $300-$600. Image courtesy of Concept Art Gallery.