This drawing by Winslow Homer could be a study for one of his larger oil compositions that included boats. A Pennsylvania buyer prevailed to take it for $6,000, the highest price of the day.
Review by Madelia Hickman Ring; Photos Courtesy Art Haz
NEW YORK CITY — Art Haz, which was established in 2005 by environmental artist and curator Suzanne C. Nagy, has been conducting regular auctions on LiveAuctioneers since 2013. The auction house’s most recent auction — a sale of just 211 lots of American and European artwork and sculpture — took place on December 28 when it featured works by some of the most well-known artists in the art history canon.
“It was a good sale,” said a representative for the auction house sale, who confirmed they welcomed lots of new bidders and buyers to the sale.
Earning a top spot at $6,000 was a drawing of a man in a boat by Winslow Homer (American, 1836-1910), who frequently depicted boats in his artwork. The composition was rendered in pen and ink on a sheet of paper that was signed lower left, measured 19 by 15½ inches and was foxed and featured multiple tears to its edges and corner. It found a new home with a buyer in Pennsylvania.
Another American bidder — this time on the West Coast — was the happy winner at $960 of Charles Burchfield’s (American, 1893-1967) pencil drawing of pine trees that was unsigned but neatly matted and framed.
A buyer in California paid $960 for this pencil drawing of pine trees by Charles Burchfield. It measured 24¼ by 20¼ inches and was unsigned.
Taking second place at $5,400 was a study of Native Americans by Rosa Bonheur (French, 1822-1899). Best known for her paintings of animals, the small ink drawing, which depicted the busts of five figures, included hand-written notations and her signature, partially obscured in the lower right corner by the mat. It will be returning to France to its new owner.
Also going to a buyer overseas was Giulio Cesare Procaccini’s (Italian, 1574-1625) drawing of a seated male nude. It was glued to another paper and demonstrated losses to the corners, some surface soiling and blemishes characteristic of its age. Rather than return to the country of its origin, it sold to a buyer in Germany, for $1,800.
American sculptor Selma Burke (1900-1995) was represented by the bronze bust of a woman with a bird that stood 20 inches tall. Signed on the back and numbered 2/2, it brought $4,800 and sold to a buyer in Canada. It was one of about a dozen bronzes in the sale, from artists like Pierre-Jules Mêne (French, 1810-1879), Emmanuel Fremiet (French, 1824-1910), Elie Nadelman (Polish American, 1882-1946), Alfred Boucher (French, 1850-1934) and Francis Barone (American, 1926-2013).
Heading the bronze sculpture category at $4,800 was this bust of a woman with a bird by Selma Burke. The 20-inch-tall bronze sold to a buyer in Canada.
The sale offered two dozen lots of lithographs for bidders to compete for and included works by artists of varying regions and periods. An abstract still life by Georges Braque (French, 1882-1963) led the category, bringing $960 from a buyer in Massachusetts.
Paintings in oil — on canvas, board, wood or other support — often fetch the highest prices of the day. In the case of this sale, the top oil painting was an abstract portrait of a man by Ben-Zion (Russian American, 1897-1987), which exceeded expectations and sold to a buyer in Florida for $480.
The same price of $480 was achieved by a Joan Miró (Spanish, 1893-1983) poster for a 1960 exhibition at the Galerie Beyeler in Basel. It will be going to a new home in Arizona.
The next sale for Art Haz has not yet been scheduled.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house.
For information, 212-752-0995 or www.arthaz.com.
