Alphonse Mucha fans had many choice lots by the Art Nouveau master to bid on in this sale. The Arts, a rare example on silk, 1898, led the day, selling for $75,000.
Review by W.A. Demers; Photos Courtesy Poster Auctions International
NEW YORK CITY — There was a feast of Alphonse Mucha posters and art at Poster Auctions International’s 91st sale on November 12. Works by the Art Nouveau master numbered 50 out of the sale’s total of 461 lots. The artist’s “The Arts”, a rare example on silk, 1898, topped the bids at $75,000. Catalog notes described the work thusly: “When it comes to personifying abstract concepts through beautiful women, Mucha’s inventiveness never flags. Here is abundant proof in the four strikingly posed muses representing Poetry, Dance, Painting and Music. The Mucha hair is in its glory, especially on the brunette representing the uninhibited movement of the dance. Mucha’s other habitual indulgence, the circular halo, assumes in this case the shape of a crescent filled with secondary circles, and the goddess of Painting adds yet another set of rainbow-like bands. This is the exceptionally rare version of the set on silk, which imbues the images with a radiant quality.”
The sale totaled $1.6 million at press time, although after each auction the firm launches its Second Chance sale, so this number is sure to increase. Sell-through rate was 60 percent and participation was seen for 250 registered bidders.
One of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s (1864-1901) smallest posters was a rare example from 1896 that was executed on zinc plates and printed solely in the United States. The 14-by-19-inch poster depicted the actress Emilienne d’Alençon and Lautrec’s cousin, Dr Gabriel Tapié de Céleyran in a loge and was titled Au Concert. Before it was sent off to the Cincinnati printer, Lautrec printed a small edition under the title Au Concert in Paris. This rare French version before letters and executed before the plates were sent off to the United States number just 20 copies. Its rarity was rewarded with a $52,500 winning bid.
A flame-tressed sylph gliding effortlessly among the stars on the Gladiator bicycle and its winged pedals was designed by an anonymous artist. Cycles Gladiator, circa 1895, raced to $37,500.
Considered a lithographic masterpiece by an anonymous artist, Cycles Gladiator, circa 1895, raced to $37,500. Depicted is a flame-tressed sylph, gliding effortlessly among the stars by the Gladiator bicycle and its winged pedals. There are faint initials LW in the lower right corner, but remains without an artist’s attribution.
Another gem by an anonymous artist and super rare, because it was the only known copy, was Buffalo Bill / The Last of the Buffalo, which realized $47,500. Buffalo Bill posters for his Wild West show were more like large billboards. This particular poster was a six-sheet, 10 feet recreating Buffalo Bill Cody’s scouting days (“Buffalo Hunting in 1869”) and his Congress of Rough Riders of the World, who are all identified in the bottom text.
In Leonetto Cappiello’s (1875-1942) 1910 poster for Remington, a red-haired secretary is energetically typing away on her Remington typewriter as her prolific output swirls about the room. Office work, generally deemed boring, was given a frisson of excitement by the artist. A rare poster, this one left the gallery at $31,250.
David Dellepiane’s Exposition International d’Électricité, 1908, depicted a dazzling allegorical figure, the Electrical Fairy, whose theatrical pose and the hypnotic lighting effects high above the Marseilles exhibition ground gave this poster strong dramatic expressiveness. It sold for $25,000.
Fetching $32,500 was Art Deco artist Paul Colin’s (1892-1986), Champs Élysées / La Loïe Fuller from 1925. Catalog notes state, “Josephine Baker and the Revue Nègre would be a hard act to follow for anyone less noted and less experienced than ‘La Loïe,’ but the dancer who had captivated Paris for over thirty years was still up to the task. When she came to the Champs-Élysées… she was 63 years old.” “Old, but still very interesting,” the artist is quoted as observing. Colin succeeded in catching the swirling rotating motion of the dancer with his circular design and he did it with form and color.
Other notable posters in the sale included David Dellepiane’s Exposition International d’Électricité, 1908, with a dazzling allegorical figure, the Electrical Fairy, animating a physical phenomenon that by its very nature cannot be depicted. The Electrical Fairy’s theatrical pose and the hypnotic lighting effects high above the Marseilles exhibition ground give this poster by Dellepiane strong dramatic expressiveness. It sold for $25,000.
And Alphonse Mucha’s Exposition de St Louis, 1903, earned $32,500. Depicted here were the Mucha maiden holding hands with an Indian chief to promote the 1904 World’s Fair in St Louis, Mo., inviting the French tourist to journey six days by steamer and one day by train.
Prices given include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house. The firm’s next sale is Sunday, March 3. For information, 212-787-4000 or www.rennertsgallery.com.
