Sigmund Menkes (1896- 1986),
’Figures in a Forest,’
oil on canvas, signed lower right, 24 inches high x 20 inches wide. Estimate $15,000-$20,000. Image courtesy of Gray’s Auctioneers.
Highlights from this auction include Lot 23, a luminous oil on canvas titled Figures in a Forest by Sigmund Menkes, a Polish-American 20th-century expressionist painter. Menkes studied in Krakow, Berlin and Paris, but eventually settled in New York. His work was exhibited widely and is in collections at several museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
The world renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly created Lot 189, a seven-piece glass sculpture in 1988 as part of his Persian Series. Robert Hobbs writes in the catalog from Chihuly’s Dia Art Foundation 1988 exhibition, “The compositions of the Persians look as if they occurred by happenstance, while the fragility of glass itself lends a special poignancy to these pieces because they appear to have survived time and pillaging.”
Two 19th-century Russian silver cake or bread baskets, Lot 202, have survived time and travel. Created by the silversmiths Andrey Kovasky (1812-1856) and Nikolay Dubrovin (1822-1855) they elegantly portray muscular mythological figures together with a delicate acanthus motif.
In contrast to the Chihuly glass sculpture pieces, Lot 190, is a Steuben Mobius Prism, a glass sculpture by Peter Drobny inspired by the mathematical symbol for infinity. In 1993 the Steuben Mobius Prism was presented by President Clinton to Japan’s Crown Prince and Princess Hirohito as a royal wedding gift.
At Lot 26 is Marc Chagall’s whimsical La Grande Corniche from the Album Nice et La Cote d’Azur on Arches paper, signed and numbered 32/50 in pencil. It was originally purchased from the Sindin Harris Gallery, whose label remains on the back.
Of the myriad objets d’art featured at Gray’s on Jan. 26, two of the most fascinating lots relate to Count Alexis de Santa Eulalia, the Portugese nobleman, diplomat and artist who married Sarah Elizabeth Stetson, widow of John B. Stetson, head of the famous Stetson Hats and Co. Consigned by his heirs, Lot 211 is a magnificent bronze bust titled Romain. This powerful bronze was cast in 1893 and is stamped with the Thiebault Fereses foundry mark on base together with the artist’s signature. It was exhibited in 1893 in the Salon Des Champs-Elysees to great acclaim. Lot 210 is a portrait of the count by Jose Valso Salgado (1864-1945) signed and dated 1895. The count was a larger than life colorful character and is said to have died in 1917 from a fall from his horse. A number of other interesting lots from the family include a collection of the Count’s medals, the document of his appointment signed by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 and his imperial dress sword sword.
Gray’s will be open for preview at their spacious showrooms, 10717 Detroit Ave., from Jan. 19-25, 11 a.m-6 p.m. The auction will take place at 11am EST on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2011. Gray’s also accepts absentee bids and telephone bid registration on their website. The complete illustrated catalog for this auction can be found on Gray’s web site at www.graysauctioneers.com and also on LiveAuctioneers.com
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
Sigmund Menkes (1896- 1986),
’Figures in a Forest,’
oil on canvas, signed lower right, 24 inches high x 20 inches wide. Estimate $15,000-$20,000. Image courtesy of Gray’s Auctioneers. Marc Chagall (1887-1985), ‘Le Grande Corniche,’
lithograph in colors, signed in pencil lower right, edition 32/50, 19 inches high x 16 3/4 inches wide. Estimate: $12,000-$15,000. Image courtesy of Gray’s Auctioneers. Dale Patrick Chihuly (b.1941), ‘Seven-Piece Glass Sculpture from the Persian Series,’ largest piece signed and dated 1988, 14 inches high by 15 inches by 10 inches deep. Estimate $ 8,000-$10,000. Image courtesy of Gray’s Auctioneers. Steuben Mobius Prism glass sculpture by Peter Drobny, signed, designed by Drobny in 1993, 11 3/4 inches high. Estimate $ 5,000-$6,000. Image courtesy of Gray’s Auctioneers. Pair of Russian silver cake or bread baskets, Moscow, 1844, 10 1/2 inches high by 10 inches wide by 7 1/2 inches deep. Estimate $ 3,000-$5,000. Image courtesy of Gray’s Auctioneers. Jose Valso Salgado (1864-1945),
portrait of Alexio De Queiroz Ribeiro,
oil on canvas, signed and dated 1895 lower right, 29 inches high by 24 inches wide. Estimate: $1,000-1,500. Image courtesy of Gray’s Auctioneers. Aleixo De Queiroz Ribeiro, aka Alexis de Santa Eulalia (1868-1917),’Romain,’ bronze, signed and dated 1893, Thiebault Fereses foundry mark, 24 inches high by 20 inches wide by 13 inches deep. Estimate $3,000-$5,000. Image courtesy of Gray’s Auctioneers.
