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self-taught masterpieces

Slotin Auction presents many self-taught masterpieces Nov. 9-10

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
self-taught masterpieces
Howard Finster, ‘Vision of George on Planet Loraleon, #2,603,’ 1982, tractor enamel on board, rare 4 ft. x 4 ft. example. Estimate: $30,000-$40,000. Slotin Auction image

BUFORD, Ga. – For 25 years, Slotin Auction has been the premier auction house bringing self-taught art, outsider art and folk art to the market. This fall edition, to be sold Nov. 9-10, is sure to pique the interest in any collector looking for exceptional examples by the who’s who of self-taught art as well as introducing an amazing breadth of new discoveries and uncommon offerings. Absentee and Internet live bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.

Slotin Auction reads like an encyclopedic offering of museum-quality examples of self-taught art. A rare 4-foot by 4-foot Howard Finster masterpiece, Vision of George On Planet Loraleon, 1982, #2,603, exhibited in “Passionate Visions” and featured on page 241 in the book of the same title, graces the cover of the catalog and is sure to attract serious attention (est. $30,000-$40,000).

William Hawkins’ Elk with Human Eyes, 1987, 48 inches wide by 39½ inches high, provenance Phyllis Kind Gallery, Ricco/Maresca Gallery, is also sure to impress (est. $30,000-$50,000).

self-taught masterpieces
William Hawkins, ‘Elk with Human Eyes,’ 1987, enamel on Masonite with cutout paper magazine eyes, 48in wide x 39½in high. Provenance: Phyllis Kind Gallery, Ricco/Maresca Gallery. Est. $30,000-$50,000. Slotin Auction image

Collectors of all stripes will be vying for Penn Drummer Boy by Sam Doyle, purchased directly from the artist’s Gullah environment, 23 inches wide by 46 inches high (Lot 188, est. $15,000-$20,000), an intricate masterpiece by Georgia Memory painter Mattie Lou O’Kelley, The Country Store, 1982, 32 inches x 24 inches, (est. $8,000-$12,000) and a spectacular surreal landscape by Art Brut artist Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, 1955, 26 inches square (Lot 191, est. $5,000-$8,000).

self-taught masterpieces
Mattie Lou O’Kelley, ‘The Country Store,’ 1982, 32in wide x 24in high. Est. $8,000-$12,000. Slotin Auction image

Also keep an eye peeled for heavy hitters, Joseph Yoakum (Lots 194 and 195 from the Collection of Gerald C. Wertkin, former director of the American Folk art Museum), works by master carver Elijah Pierce (Lots 197-200) and amazing gems by Sister Gertrude Morgan, Clementine Hunter, Purvis Young, Minnie Evans, Thornton Dial, Herbert Singleton, Vestie Davis, S.L. Jones, Jon Serl, Scottie Wilson, Justin McCarthy, Edgar Tolson, J.B. Murray, Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Wesley Willis, Lee Godie, David Butler, Ted Gordon, Alex Maldonado, Lanier Meaders and a wonderful jewel by the eccentric Eddie Owens Martin, aka St. EOM of Pasaquan.

self-taught masterpieces
Anonymous, shoeshine and repair business mechanical window display, circa 1900s. Carved and painted figures with period clothing. Early wooden box houses mechanical moving parts. 38in long x 40in high x 22in wide. Estimate: $3,000-$5,000. Slotin Auction image

Some rare and intriguing offerings include Circus Banners by Fred Johnson (Lots 110-113). Fantastic examples of Judaica (Lots 123-125), Mechanical Window Displays, Sioux Ledger Drawings, c. 1890, with a Morning Star Gallery, Santa Fe, provenance (Lots 127-130). Cherokee Baskets from the Museum of The American Indian, Cherokee, NC, a striking Easter Island Starvation Figure (lot 140), as well as Contemporary works by Andy Warhol, Banksy, Steve Heyman, Ford Crull, Tarleton Blackwell, and Cletus Johnson. A large grouping of Slave Tags from Charleston, SC., Free Slave papers for Henry Bledford, and a Thomas Day Fireplace Mantle from The Old Slave Mart in SC.

self-taught masterpieces
Sioux ledger drawing, ‘Attack on Horseback’ (shown) & ‘Gifting a Horse,’ c. 1890, double-sided work, colored pencil and graphite on paper, 14¾in x 6in, the frame is 22in x 14in. Estimate: $4,000-$6,000. Slotin Auction image

Also, of note is a spectacular work by French artist Dominque Lagru, which is simultaneously gorgeous and gruesome, titled Civilization, 1957, 19 inches wide by 24 inches high (Lot 190, est. $10,000-$20,000), a rare futuristic work by Valton Tyler, Pollination, provenance Valley House Gallery, 1990, 48 inches by 36 inches, oil on canvas (Lot 193, est. $3,000-$5,000) and a pair of works by Antoine Blanchard, Lots 152-153, provenance Marshall Field & Co., estimated at $5,000-$8,000 each.

Take special note of the new discoveries in this sale. Works by Roman Golla, a Nazi work camp survivor, chess master and Naïve painter, lots 252-255, are noteworthy. His works have exhibited in “Finding Roman Golla – A Vernacular Master Rediscovered: 2018” at the Crisp Visual Art Center in Indiana. This is the first time they have been offered for sale.

self-taught masterpieces
Roman Golla, ‘The Maiden Dziewona,’ circa 1977, oil on canvas. 48in wide x 23in high. Estimate: $2,000-3,000. Slotin Auction image

Midcentury self-taught phenom Earl L. Snyder painted a series of works in 1947. Although an architecture student, not an artist, eight of his works were selected to display at Indiana University Art Center. A New York gallery was so impressed by the selection that they organized a one-man show featuring his works. The entire body of his works remained with the family until coming to Slotin Auction (Lots 317-322).  Lots 452-467 feature newly discovered masterpieces by the Rev. Joel Hewlett, an African American (1921-1994). The works were on display at the Evansville Museum of Art in 2018 and are coming to the market for the first time at Slotin Auction. Especially spectacular, lot 452, Adam and Eve in the Garden, graces the back cover to the Slotin Auction catalog.

For more information contact Slotin Auction at 770-532-1115 or 404-403-4244 or auction@slotinfolkart.com.

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