Hernando Ruiz Ocampo’s final painting could set $1M record at Clars March 21

Detail of the monumental 29ft painting ‘Mga Kiti’, created in 1978 by Hernando Ruiz Ocampo and estimated at $700,000-$1 million at Clars Auction Gallery.

OAKLAND, Calif. – The last monumental canvas created by Hernando Ruiz Ocampo (1911-1978) will be offered at Clars Auction Gallery on Thursday, March 21. Dating to the last year of the artist’s life, when Ocampo has reached national treasure status in his native Philippines, the scroll painting has an estimate of $700,000-$1 million. The catalog is now open for bidding at LiveAuctioneers.

Together with contemporaries Vicente Manansala and Cesar Legaspi, Ocampo was the leader of the modernist movement in the Philippines, championing Filipino Neo-Realism in the years after the Second World War. The Neo-Realists took their inspiration from the struggles of workers, family life, poverty, and the local landscape while painting in a style influenced by the European and American avant-garde.

The monumental 29ft scroll-like work presented at Clars is one of only two pictures made by the artist in this size. Titled Mga Kiti, it is rendered in acrylic paint on Tetoron fabric with a repeating pattern of forms that echo human figures, birds, lotus pods, and cellular structures. The style is reminiscent of batik, the Indonesian technique of wax-resistant dyeing of cloth.

Commissioned by Ocampo patron Ginny Jacinto, it was the final painting the artist completed before he died in December 1978. Several earlier paintings by Hernando Ruiz Ocampo have sold in the past for more than $500,000, most at Makati City auction house Leon Gallery. However, a $1 million sale of Mga Kiti would represent a new record for the artist at auction.

Detail of the monumental 29ft painting ‘Mga Kiti’, created in 1978 by Hernando Ruiz Ocampo and estimated at $700,000-$1 million at Clars Auction Gallery.

Detail of the monumental 29ft painting ‘Mga Kiti’, created in 1978 by Hernando Ruiz Ocampo and estimated at $700,000-$1 million at Clars Auction Gallery.

Sheila Gibson Stoodley

Sheila Gibson Stoodley

Sheila Gibson Stoodley is the associate editor for Auction Central News. She has written and edited for Robb Report, Art & Antiques magazine, and Andrew Harper online. She also authored The Hot Bid, a blog devoted to intriguing and delightful lots coming up at auction.

American regional impressionism leads series of sales at Clars Jan. 18-20, 22

'Garden with Fountain,' oil on board by Paul Sawyier, estimated at $10,000-$20,000 at Clars Auction Gallery.

OAKLAND, Calif. – Paintings demonstrating the regional variation of American Impressionism lead the January series at Clars Auction Gallery. The group of sales span Sunday, January 18 through Tuesday, January 20, and also Thursday, January 22. The Monday, January 19 session includes works by leading Impressionist artists from Kentucky, Utah, and Pennsylvania.

While the majority of the American Impressionists were based in the New England area, the style spread westward in the early years of the 20th century. Kentucky’s best-known exponent is Paul Sawyier (1865-1917).

After studying under William Merritt Chase in New York City, he spent much of his career painting in watercolor close to the Kentucky River. The two oils offered here were probably painted in the last years of his life when, although changing medium and, first in Brooklyn and then in the Catskills, he continued to paint Kentucky park scenes based on photographs. Both garden scenes showing classical-style sculptures amid pastel flowers in full bloom, they have been consigned from the New York estate of Philip F. Schaefer and are estimated at $10,000-$20,000 each.

Offered at $6,000-$9,000 is a watercolor by James Taylor Harwood (1860-1940), the first artist from the territory of Utah to exhibit at the Paris Salon. Dated 1909, Birch by a Stream (Utah) was painted after Harwood’s return to the United States, during a period in which his style changed from tightly controlled Academic Realism paintings to tonalism and Impressionism.

Among the best-known names of the New Hope school is Fern Isabel Coppedge (1883-1951). Her 8 by 12in oil on canvas board of a cottage in the Bucks County spring comes with an estimate of $5,000-$7,000.

As stated above, these lots are part of a four-day series in Oakland that begins with Fine European Furniture & Decorative Arts on January 18 and ends with a selection of Winter Fine and Rare Wines on January 22. Bidding is available through Liveauctioneers.com.

Among the primary consignors are Stephen and Lynette Schwartz of Steven’s Antiques of Tiburon, California. This selection of revivalist French furniture, 19th-century bronzes, ormolu mounted marble clocks and KPM porcelain plaques is led by a Louis XVI-style gilt bronze three-piece mirrored plateau or surtout-de-table, estimated at $18,000-$25,000.

'Garden with Fountain,' oil on board by Paul Sawyier, estimated at $10,000-$20,000 at Clars Auction Gallery.

'Garden with Fountain,' oil on board by Paul Sawyier, estimated at $10,000-$20,000 at Clars Auction Gallery.

'Springtime (Bucks County),' oil on canvas board by Fern Isabel Coppedge, estimated at $5,000-$7,000 at Clars Auction Gallery.

'Springtime (Bucks County),' oil on canvas board by Fern Isabel Coppedge, estimated at $5,000-$7,000 at Clars Auction Gallery.

'Birch by a Stream (Utah),' a watercolor by James Taylor Harwood, estimated at $6,000-$9,000 at Clars Auction Gallery.

'Birch by a Stream (Utah),' a watercolor by James Taylor Harwood, estimated at $6,000-$9,000 at Clars Auction Gallery.

Louis XVI-style gilt bronze and mirrored three-piece mirrored plateau or surtout-de-table, estimated at $18,000-$25,000 at Clars Auction Gallery.

Louis XVI-style gilt bronze and mirrored three-piece mirrored plateau or surtout-de-table, estimated at $18,000-$25,000 at Clars Auction Gallery.

Roland Arkell

Roland Arkell

Roland Arkell is editor of Auction Central News and deputy editor at Antiques Trade Gazette. He has been writing about all aspects of the art and antiques market for more than 25 years.

Henry Moret Dutch coastal scene graces Fall Modern and Contemporary Art sale at Clars Sept. 14-15

Henry Moret, 'Maisons a Volendam, Hollande,' estimated at $50,000-$70,000 at Clars Auction Gallery.

OAKLAND, Calif. — A textbook oil by the French Impressionist Henry Moret (1856-1913) leads the field at Clars Auction Gallery this week. The Dutch coastal scene dating to the year 1900 has an estimate of $50,000-$70,000 and is part of a two-day series set for Thursday, September 14 and Friday, September 15 (Day 1, Day 2).

Moret is best known for his involvement in the Pont-Aven artist colony and his richly colored landscapes of Brittany. He enjoyed a particularly fruitful relationship with the influential dealer Paul Durand-Ruel, who maintained a number of galleries in Paris, London and New York and sold an estimated 600 paintings this way.

Moret only infrequently traveled away from Pont-Aven, but a number of his works dated 1900 depict Holland. Maisons à Volendam, Hollande is a strong example of his bold palette choices and forceful and short brushstrokes, a style he credited much to Claude Monet.

From the other end of the 20th century is a late work by Andy Warhol (1928-1987). Sitting Bull, derived from an archival photo of the Sioux chief, was originally part of the Pop artist’s Cowboys and Indians portfolio completed in 1986, but was later replaced by another subject. There was no published edition. It is estimated at $40,000-$60,000.

The Fall Modern + Contemporary Art Auction on September 14 features prints by a number of blue-chip names including Francis Bacon, Salvador Dali, Wayne Thiebaud and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

Leading a fine selection of 20th-century photographs is Fayel Tall by artist and writer Peter Beard (1938–2020). This 1995 image of the Kenyan model posing in a mudcloth skirt relates to The End of the Game, the photo book documenting the issues facing wildlife in Kenya that brought him fame in the 1960s. An inscription on the left of the photograph quotes a passage from book. The unique gelatin silver print has an estimate of $20,000-$40,000.

The following day’s Collectors Auction includes one of the famous elephant folio prints from John James Audubon’s The Birds of America. Canvas Backed Ducks or Fuligula vallisneria formed part of the classic 1836 Robert Havell edition and carries the watermark for J Whatman Turkey Mill. It is estimated at $10,000-$15,000.

Henry Moret, 'Maisons a Volendam, Hollande,' estimated at $50,000-$70,000 at Clars Auction Gallery.

Henry Moret, 'Maisons a Volendam, Hollande,' estimated at $50,000-$70,000 at Clars Auction Gallery.

Andy Warhol, 'Sitting Bull' from the 1986 Cowboys and Indians portfolio, estimated at $40,000-$50,000 at Clars Auction Gallery.

Andy Warhol, 'Sitting Bull' from the 1986 Cowboys and Indians portfolio, estimated at $40,000-$50,000 at Clars Auction Gallery.

John James Audubon, 'Canvas Backed Ducks' (Pl. CCCI) from 'The Birds of America,' estimated at $10,000-$15,000 at Clars Auction Gallery.

John James Audubon, 'Canvas Backed Ducks' (Pl. CCCI) from 'The Birds of America,' estimated at $10,000-$15,000 at Clars Auction Gallery.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 'Mademoiselle Marcell Lender, en Buste,' estimated at $7,000-$10,000 at Clars Auction Gallery.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 'Mademoiselle Marcell Lender, en Buste,' estimated at $7,000-$10,000 at Clars Auction Gallery.

Roland Arkell

Roland Arkell

Roland Arkell is editor of Auction Central News and deputy editor at Antiques Trade Gazette. He has been writing about all aspects of the art and antiques market for more than 25 years.

Aug. 10-11 sales at Clars span Asian art, jewelry and furniture

Chinese Ming dynasty cloisonne enameled gilt bronze meiping vase, estimated at $6,000-$9,000. Image courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery
Chinese Ming dynasty cloisonne enameled gilt bronze meiping vase, estimated at $6,000-$9,000. Image courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery

Chinese Ming dynasty cloisonne enameled gilt bronze meiping vase, estimated at $6,000-$9,000. Image courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery

OAKLAND, Calif. – Clars Auction Gallery will hold back-to-back sales in August: a Summer Fine Jewelry & Timepieces auction on Thursday, August 10, and a Design + Art + Fine Asian Art sale on Friday, August 11. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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Clars to host Tribal Arts, Interiors, Art & Jewelry Auction, July 14

Herb Jackson, ‘Ancient Cycles,’ estimated at $8,000-$12,000. Image courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery
Herb Jackson, ‘Ancient Cycles,’ estimated at $8,000-$12,000. Image courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery
Herb Jackson, ‘Ancient Cycles,’ estimated at $8,000-$12,000. Image courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery

OAKLAND, Calif. – On Friday, July 14, Clars Auction Gallery will conduct a sale titled Tribal Arts, Interiors, Art & Jewelry Auction. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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William Keith’s Yosemite Valley landscape coming up in Clars’ June 16-17 series

William Keith, ‘Into the Yosemite Valley,’ estimated at $100,000-$120,000. Image courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery and LiveAuctioneers
Left, William Keith, ‘Into the Yosemite Valley,’ estimated at $100,000-$120,000; Right, Kawase Hasui, ‘Winter Moon at Toyama,’ estimated at $2,000-$4,000. Images courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery and LiveAuctioneers
Left, William Keith, ‘Into the Yosemite Valley,’ estimated at $100,000-$120,000; Right, Kawase Hasui, ‘Winter Moon Over Toyama Plain,’ estimated at $2,000-$4,000. Images courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery and LiveAuctioneers

OAKLAND, Calif. – On Friday, June 16, and Saturday, June 17, Clars Auction Gallery will conduct a Fine Interiors and Collections sale and an Asian Art & European Decor Auction, respectively. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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Laverne table, Hockney photo-collage, and more at Clars, June 15

Philip and Kelvin Laverne Marriage Whirl table, estimated at $15,000-$20,000. Image courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery
Philip and Kelvin Laverne Marriage Whirl table, estimated at $15,000-$20,000. Image courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery
Philip and Kelvin Laverne Marriage Whirl table, estimated at $15,000-$20,000. Image courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery

OAKLAND, Calif. – On Thursday, June 15, Clars Auction Gallery presents its Modern + Contemporary Art + Design sale, which includes 318 lots of exceptional pieces by esteemed artists spanning the Modern and Contemporary periods. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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Anthony Liggins paintings bring color and verve to Clars, May 12-13

Anthony Liggins, ‘Blue Angel,’ estimated at $4,000-$6,000. Image courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery
Anthony Liggins, ‘Blue Angel,’ estimated at $4,000-$6,000. Image courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery
Anthony Liggins, ‘Blue Angel,’ estimated at $4,000-$6,000. Image courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery

OAKLAND, Calif. – Clars Auction Galleries will present two sales on subsequent days. Its Fine Collectors Auction will occur on Friday, May 12, and its Fine Asian Works of Art and Collectibles sale is set for Saturday May 13. Both sessions will begin at 9:30 am Pacific time. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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