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Swann Galleries Showcases Art of New York City

Filed under: Art


New York City has inspired artists for many years. Swann Galleries is selling some of the most significant examples of printmaking depicting New York City in the first half of the 20th century during their Scenes of the City: Prints, Drawings & Paintings of New York 1900 -2000 on September 16. The top lot, shown above, is Edward Hopper's Night Shadows, etching,1921, a print that shows the same location near the Hudson River as his 1913 painting, New York Corner, in the Museum of Modern Art, New York. It is estimated at $30,000 to $50,000.

Etchings from the turn of the century, like Childe Hassam's Fifth Avenue, Noon, 1916 ($10,000 to $15,000), and Washington's Birthday, Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street, 1916 ($8,000 to $12,000), showcase the city during a period of massive growth. Many of the pieces in this auction aren't just art, they are history such as John Sloan's etchings, Sculpture in Washington Square, 1925 ($2,500 to $3,500), Fourteenth Street, The Wigwam, 1928 ($2,500 to $3,500), which illustrates the last physical address of Tammany Hall, and George Bellows's lithograph, Solitude, 1917 ($1,500 to $2,500), exemplify the Ash Can School, where the gritty realism of Manhattan took center stage.

Moving ahead in the time line a bit, lithographs by Raphael Soyer and Louis Lozowick represent the men and architecture of Depression-era Manhattan. Lozowick's Mural Study: Lower Manhattan, 1936 ($7,000 to $10,000), and Mural Study: Triborough Bridge, 1936 ($4,000 to $6,000), are connected to the artist's commission from the Treasury Relief Art Project for two large oil paintings to adorn the walls of the Midtown Manhattan Post office at 33rd Street and 8th Avenue. Works from the auction will be on public exhibition on September 11 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Monday, September 13 to Wednesday, September 15, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Thursday, September 16, 10 a.m. to noon.

Lehman Brothers Office Art Up For Auction

Filed under: Auctions, Art

i love libertyTasteful prints and other works of art by some of the world's biggest art names once lined the corridors of the Lehman Brothers offices. Now several hundredd pieces from the collection will be put up for auction at Freeman's in Philadelphia on November 1. The auction showcases modern and contemporary art with works by Andy Warhol, Alexander Calder, David Hockney, Roy Lichtenstein and others. The art being sold is estimated to be in the $500,000 to $750,000 range. Money realized will eventually go to Lehman's many creditors.

This is just the first of a couple of auctions. On December 6, Freeman's will sell off 30 lots of European fine paintings from the Lehman collection. Next year, on February 12, another 500 lots or so lots will go up for sale. This collection is not part of the personal collection of Dick Fuld, the former CEO of Lehman, and his wife, Kathy. The Fulds sold a group of 16 artworks through Christie's last November for around $13.5 million. The piece shown at right, Roy Lichenstein's I Love Liberty, is a 1982 colored screenprint numbered 37/250.

The Fashion Statement: Custo Barcelona's Expansion

Filed under: The Fashion Statement



Bold, graphic prints are certainly having their day in the sun. Spring 2010 is picking up where fall left off with lines such as BCBG Max Azria and Twinkle showing runny watercolor prints, Jackson Pollock-esque paint splats and all kinds of print mash ups during New York fashion week.

Designer Custo Dalmau of Custo Barcelona (pictured above) seems to be dovetailing nicely with the current look. But, since he started out in the business designing T-shirts in the '80s, he has always been obsessed with vibrant, colorful prints. A sneak peak of his line, slated to be unveiled tomorrow night, is a cocktail of peacock feathers, fringe, a bright lipstick print and a whimsical dressing table print (perfume bottles, mirrors).

"What would we be without prints?" Dalmau tells me. "We'd be jobless. To use color in fashion is kind of taboo. Prints are life. Life is in color."

Custo is also one of the few designers is this economic climate who is moving to a larger venue, rather than downsizing. Some 2,500 RSVPs are logged for tomorrow night's show.

What gives? Dalmau says the company has cut production costs to lower the retail price for customers. Changing the weight of yarn, choosing lighter materials and saving money on finishing the goods has made the difference. We can't independently confirm the private company's financial health but we do know Custo Barcelona is expanding to include childrenswear early next year.


The Fashion Statement: Everything That's Fit to Print

Filed under: The Fashion Statement

fashion by Rodarte
Sadly, the only media going to print in big numbers this fall is fashion.

Patchwork, zebra, leopard, floral, tweeds, plaids, psychedelic and Deco graphics, watercolors and paint-splattered fabrics all made a huge statement on the runways. Fait attention! This is the season to forget every rule you've learned about wearing prints. It's time to go Wild and Crazy Guys, not head-to-toe Pucci.

In other words, designers made an eye-popping show of mixing and matching multiple prints on one look. Much like Dan Aykroyd and Steve Martin's comedic get-ups on Saturday Night Live back in the late '70s, floral prints were shown with plaids. But then we saw tweeds hooking up with cougars (there must be a joke in there somewhere), leopards pairing up with stripes and stripes in primary colors working well with rich paisleys.

The Mulleavy sisters, designers of Rodarte, are perfect examples of the newest generation of print maestros. Their California-based label had catwalk models in big-cat prints, metallic and watercolor-like fabrics all pieced together on ethereal cocktail dresses (pictured above).

The Few Gallery Offers Limited Edition Prints

Filed under: Art


We generally write about expensive art on this site but art can be a more modest affair too, and a feel good one if you are supporting up and coming young artists from around the world. The Few Gallery, an online gallery that sells limited-production art prints also donates ten percent of the sale price to some great causes.

Each artist will make only one artwork for the gallery and all prints will be sold in limited quantities with a maximum of 30 prints per piece. Each Giclee print comes with a certificate of authenticity. The piece above Tourist by Lasse Skarbovik is a limited edition of just ten and sells for 450 euros.

Swann Galleries Prints Auction

Filed under: Auctions

Swann Galleries will be auctioning off  100 Important Old Master Prints and Old Master through Modern Prints on Thursday, May 4. The first part of the two-part auction includes many important prints from the16th century, including Dürer engravings such as Coat-of-Arms with a Skull,1503 (estimate $7,000 to $10,000), and St. Eustace, circa 1501 ($20,000 to $30,000) and Rembrandt etchings such as  Self Portrait with Curly Hair and White Collar: Bust, circa 1630 ($20,000 to $30,000). The afternoon session of prints includes  Manet’s Le Buveur d’absinthe, etching, 1862 ($7,000 to $10,000), the sweet and simple Cassatt’s Quietude, drypoint on Japan paper, fifth state, circa 1891 shown here ($25,000 to $35,000) and Odalisque, brasero et coupe de fruits, lithograph, 1929 ($40,000 to $60,000). You can view the art at Swann Galleries  April 29 to  May 3.

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