Fine Art & Decorative Arts at Auction this Autumn at Shapiro Auctions

Oct 10, 2023

MAMARONECK, N.Y. - Oct. 10, 2023 - PRLog -- Shapiro Auctions is thrilled to present its Fine & Decorative Art Auction, spanning over 450 lots from the 18th century to the contemporary moment. The sale will begin on October 21st, 2023 at 10:00 AM EDT. In addition to the live auction event, interested clients also have the convenience of participating by phone, absentee, or online bidding.

The auction is truly global in scope, with remarkable works by artists from the Americas, Europe, and Asia. A top lot among the 20th century Asian art in the catalogue is Balinese Dancer by Filipino artist Antonio Maria Blanco, expected to fetch $15,000-$20,000. Depicted mid-dance, the performer's figure is set against an unpainted white canvas punctuated by a flurry of colors. Southeast Asia is also the subject of works by contemporary Dutch artists Auke Cornelis Sonnega and Adrianus 'Arie' Smit. In addition, paintings by Fikret Mualla Saygi and Salah Taher, modern masters of Turkish and Egyptian art respectively, command attention.

The upcoming auction is set to feature an outstanding array of fresh-to-market works by contemporary Polish artists, a category in which Shapiro Auctions proudly holds numerous artist records. Leading the lineup is Rafal Olbinski, a key figure of the Polish School of Posters that broke away from Soviet-mandated conventions of Socialist Realist art in favor of bold, expressionistic and highly symbolic compositions. Recognizable for an illustrative style often compared with that of Rene Magritte, Olbinski engages the playful and mysterious spirit of Surrealism in works like the evocatively titled Taste of Inquisitive Optimism. The painting is estimated at $20,000-$25,000 and presents an excellent opportunity to collect a work exhibited at the artist's 2001 retrospective at Berlin's Willy-Brandt-Haus, "Art at the Turn of the Century".

Offered at auction for the first time are two 'matter' paintings by Aleksander Kobzdej hailing from a private New England collection and accompanied by an impressive museum exhibition history from the Muzeum Narodowe, Muzeum Sztuki, and the Royal College of Art. Representing the artist's highly collectable mature period, both works were completed in 1967, following Kobzdej's abandonment of Socialist Realism in the early 1950s for densely layered mixed media compositions on canvas. Fissure in Vibrating Greyness and Hollow in Warm Gray carry estimates of $15,000 – $20,000 and $10,000 – $15,000, respectively. Pieces by iconic abstract painters Zbigniew Makowski and Zofia Artymowska round out the selection of Post-War Polish art.

Noteworthy at the October sale are American modernists. One of the major highlights is a watercolor circa 1930 by Charles Demuth, one of the founders of the Precisionist art movement. Balancing delicate pencil linework with washes of purple, blue and yellow, Bathers is a stunning composition expected to bring between $18,000 - $25,000. Exhibited at the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, the work also carries provenance from three premier galleries. Other important 20th-century painters in the sale include Joseph Stella, Hayley Lever and Emile Gruppe.

Those looking to expand their blue-chip art collections will find a variety of iconic prints and multiples under $5,000 by Christo, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist and Andy Warhol, among others. Meanwhile, patrons interested in cutting-edge works by U.S.-based artists should look no further to find original pieces from the 1990s–2020s by America Martin, Chroma, Yanbo Huang, Kathryn Lynch, and Serena Bocchino.

Collectors in the market for European masterworks will be pleased to find a large selection of portrait and landscape painting from the 18th and 19th centuries. One of the most significant paintings on display is a sunset view of the Caucasus mountains by Polish-born artist Ilya Zankovsky, offered at auction for the first time in over twenty years, with an estimate of $6,000-$8,000. Monumental paintings by contemporaries Julius von Klever, Bogdan Willewalde and Pierre Bonirote are not to be missed.

The sale also brings a chance to collect exquisite sculptural compositions in a variety of media, such as: an elegant bronze pair of a walking lion and tiger by famed animalier sculptor Antoine-Louis Barye, estimated at $3,000-$4,000 each; porcelain Lladro figural groups, and mid-century glass from French and Italian makers, including Lalique and Gio Ponti.

Visit https://www.shapiroauctions.com/ to view the catalogue and register for bidding.