William Gear painting with solid provenance to sell Nov. 25

CRANSTON, R.I. – An oil on canvas landscape painting by the Scottish-born abstract modernist William Gear (1915-1997), titled Paysage, Mai 50 (May Landscape, 1950), is the expected headliner in a 436-lot Estate, Antiques, Fine & Decorative Art Auction planned for Saturday, Nov. 25, by Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers, in their gallery at 63 Fourth Ave. Absentee and Internet live bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.

The auction will begin promptly at noon Eastern time. The auction will feature furniture, fine art, sculptures, modern design, art pottery, Waterford crystal, Baccarat chandeliers and additional lighting, fine Oriental rugs and carpets, and unusual items from all over New England.

“This is one auction that will hold great appeal for the modern art collector, with many different styles being offered, including pop art from Red Grooms and James Rizzi to Mexican muralists Francisco Zuniga and Manuel Herrera,” said Kevin Bruneau, company president and auctioneer of Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers. “More and more we are seeing these works rise greatly in value.”

The William Gear painting depicts an amalgamation of abstracted naturalistic forms in an earthly palette, over a gray background, and is housed in a 33-inch by 26 ½-inch frame. It’s signed and dated in the lower right corner and on verso and is a fine example of Gear’s work embodying his long and stellar career. Bruneau & Co. has assigned it an estimate of $10,000-$20,000.

The painting has a compelling backstory and provenance. In 1950, the same year Gear painted Paysage, Mai 50, he left Paris, where he had been living, for New York, to take part in a joint exhibition with Jackson Pollock. It would be his only American exhibition. While in the U.S., he met his future wife, Deborah Chertok, and he gifted this very painting to her sister.

“Sometimes the story can be just as interesting as the item itself,” said Travis Landry, Bruneau & Co. specialist and auctioneer, “and the provenance of the William Gear painting is certainly that. For an artist who only exhibited once in the United States, and very briefly at that, it’s very rare to find one of his works stateside. It’s an unusual offering I’m sure collectors will appreciate.”

A large (50 inches by 80 inches framed) oil on canvas maritime seascape work of a brigantine ship at sea by Wesley Elbridge Webber (American, 1841-1914) carries an estimate of $8,000-$12,000.

 

Other artworks in the sale will include a 23 ½-inch-tall figural bronze sculpture of a woman by the aforementioned Mexican muralist Francisco Zuniga (1912-1998), on a marble plinth (est. $2,000-$3,000); and an oil on canvas board impressionist harbor scene by Rhode Island painter Frederick Usher DeVoll (1873-1941), depicting a dry-docked vessel and laborers, is expected to hit $3,000-$5,000.

Another artwork of sorts – a circa-1935 General Motors/United Motor Service double-sided ovoid porcelain sign – a should make $1,500-$2,500.

A Chinese Qing Dynasty (Guangxu Period, 1875-1908) famille rose porcelain baluster form vase, 17 ½ inches tall, decorated with lotus flowers, warriors, elders and more, should realize $2,000-$3,000.

A circa-1850 Turkish ultra-fine weave silk carpet, 6 feet 9 inches by 4 feet 10 inches, decorated with stylized flowers and tendrils against a dark blue central field, has an estimate of $3,000-$5,000; while a 17th century hand-woven wool tapestry, most likely Flemish, large at 8 feet 5 inches by 6 feet 2 inches, showing a hunting dog and game bird, should sell for $2,000-$3,000.

For details contact Bruneau & Co. via e-mail at info@bruneauandco.com.