Bon ton roulet: Louisiana artists add bayou flavor to May 4 auction

Britney Penouilh, ‘Providence Mountains,’ est. $4,500-$5,500

NEW YORK – Works by Murrell Butler, Britney Penouilh and Franco Alessandrini will draw strong attention at Jasper52’s Fine Prints, Paintings, and Decorative Arts auction, which will be held on Wednesday, May 4 at 8 pm Eastern time. Other lots in the sale include a LeRoy Neiman serigraph of a Parisian outdoor cafe scene; a circa-1885 painting by Martin Coulaud of a girl tending geese; a photorealistic painting of a large, rusted steakhouse restaurant sign by Jim Thomson; a model of a clipper ship rendered in exceptionally high-quality silver by Japanese master silversmith Seki Takehiko; several depictions of nudes, both painted and sculpted, distinguished by Louis Braquet’s Nymph 2020; an original drawing by famed American modernist Joseph Stella; a well-observed pastel by Barbara Geldermann Hails, portraying horse harness racers; and a wealth of landscapes, ranging from a serene Lake Como scene by Deborah Newman, to a highly vertical oil on canvas on hardboard panel upon which John Hawkins liberally wielded his palette knife, to a panoramic sunset by Boris Garibyan, thick with impasto. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

All three highlights are by artists who have clear connections to Louisiana. First among them is Bayou Sunset, a 2009 work by the late Louisiana native artist Murrell Butler. The naturalist and ardent fan of birds resided on a 350-acre property in Saint Francisville, where he might have painted this work. The lot notes state it is “Hard to find originals by this painter – almost all of what you see are prints.” Bayou Sunset is estimated at $4,000-$5,000.

Murrell Butler, ‘Bayou Sunset,’ est. $4,000-$5,000

The work of New Orleans-born artist Britney Penouilh is deeply and profoundly influenced by geology and natural environments. In 2010, she earned a degree from New Orleans University, having double-majored in Geology and Fine Art Studio, and she makes full use of her knowledge. Her 2019 plaster and acrylic work Providence Mountains meditates on a California mountain range that stretches 50 miles long and more than 7,000 feet high, and is, according to the lot notes, a “result of recent uplift along the East Providence Fault, over 10 million years.” The Penouilh work is estimated at $4,500-$5,500.

Franco Alessandrini, ‘Pirogue on the Mississippi,’ est. $3,500-$4,000

Italian-born artist Franco Alessandrini has spent substantial time in New Orleans, where, in 1967, he painted a watercolor scene that couldn’t be more classic Louisiana: a pirogue with a Mississippi river shack. This work, a relatively rare subject in his oeuvre, is estimated at $3,500-$4,000.

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