Modern & Post-War Art: Featuring Alma Thomas & the Washington Scene
Officers
Harold Porcher
Director
hporcher@swanngalleries.com
(212) 254-4710 ext. 67
Leah Fletcher
Administrator
lfletcher@swanngalleries.com
(212) 254-4710 ext. 21
George S. Lowry
Chairman
Nicholas D. Lowry
President, Principal Auctioneer
924899
Andrew M. Ansorge
Vice President & Controller
Alexandra Mann-Nelson
Chief Marketing Officer
2030704
Todd Weyman
Vice President & Director, Prints & Drawings
1214107
Nigel Freeman
Vice President & Director, African American Art
Rick Stattler
Vice President & Director, Books & Manuscripts
Administration
Andrew M. Ansorge
Vice President & Controller
aansorge@swanngalleries.com
Ariel Kim
Client Accounting
akim@swanngalleries.com
Diana Gibaldi
Operations Manager
diana@swanngalleries.com
Kelsie Jankowski
Communications Manager
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Shannon Licitra
Shipping Manager
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Pioneers of Modernism
Maximilien luce (1858 - 1941, french)
Untitled.
Oil on board. Signed, Luce, lower right. 524x650 mm; 20⅝x25⅝ inches.
Provenance: [Quinn's Auction Galleries, Falls Church, VA, September 15, 2012, lot 231]; Private collection.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Albert marquet (1875 - 1947, french)
Untitled, (Nude).
Charcoal on paper, laid to secondary paper and mounted on card. Initialed, am, lower right. 216x158 mm; 8½x6¼ inches, primary support.
Estimate
$800 – $1,200
Aristide maillol (1861 - 1944, french)
Nabis.
Pencil on ledger paper. Signed with artist’s mark, lower right. 273x216 mm; 10¾x8½ inches.
This work is accompanied by a Photo Certificate signed by Dina Vierny, numbered 2164, and issued April 19, 1996.
Estimate
$600 – $900
Aristide maillol (1861 - 1944, french)
Ramasseuse D’Herbes Sauvages.
Pencil on paper, 1930. Signed with artist’s mark, bottom center. 228x356 mm; 9x14 inches.
This work is accompanied by a Photo Certificate signed by Dina Vierny, numbered 1898, and issued October 1, 1988.
Estimate
$600 – $900
Jacques lipchitz (1891 - 1973, lithuanian)
Untitled, (Embracing Figures).
Ink and gouache on brown paper, 1941. Signed, Lipchitz, and dated, 1941, upper right. 324x248 mm; 12¾x9¾ inches.
Provenance: The Artist; Varian Fry; Thence by descent to the current owner.
Exhibited: The Jewish Museum, NY, Assignment: Rescue, The Story of Varian Fry and the Emergency Rescue Committee, November 23, 1997 - March 29, 1998; The Mona Bismarck Foundation, Paris, Varian Fry a Marseille (1940 - 1941), Les artistes et l'exil, April 13 - May 27, 2000.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
John piper (1903 - 1992, british)
Top of the Glyders.
Gouache on paper laid to board, c. 1946. Signed, John Piper, lower right. 356x495 mm; 14x19½ inches.
Provenance: Buchholz Gallery, NY; Private collection, NY; Thence by descent to the current owner.
Estimate
$6,000 – $8,000
Claude venard (1913 - 1999, french)
Untitled, (Still Life).
Oil on canvas. Signed, C. Venard, lower left. 750x750 mm; 29½x29½ inches.
Estimate
$8,000 – $12,000
Claude venard (1913 - 1999, french)
Les Phares.
Oil on canvas. Signed, C. Venard, lower right. Signed, Claude Venard, inscribed, A M. James A. Schoke, and as titled on verso. 500x500 mm; 19½x19½ inches.
Provenance: The artist; Mr. and Mrs. James Schoke; Thence buy descent to the current owner.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Marlow moss (1889 - 1958, british)
Untitled.
Ink, pencil, and tempera on Bristol board, 1950. Signed, Marlow Moss, and dated, 50, lower right. 317x385 mm; 12½x15¼ inches.
Provenance: Carus Gallery, NY; Sid Deutsch Gallery, NY; Private collection, VA.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
John marin (1870 - 1953, american)
Untitled, (Brooklyn Bridge).
Pencil on paper laid to card, c. 1913. Signed, Marin, lower left. 5¼x4 inches, sheet size. 5¾x4¾ inches, mount.
Provenance: Richard York Gallery, NY; Private collection.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Abraham walkowitz (1878 - 1965, russian/american)
Untitled, (Bathers).
Ink and pencil on paper. Signed, A. Walkowitz, and dated, 1900, lower right. 190x127 mm; 7½x5 inches.
Estimate
$700 – $900
Abraham walkowitz (1878 - 1965, russian/american)
Untitled, (Bathers).
Ink and pencil on paper. Signed, A. Walkowitz, lower center. 190x140 mm; 7½x5½ inches.
Estimate
$700 – $900
William zorach (1887 - 1966, american)
Untitled, (Tree).
Pencil and watercolor on paper, 1918. Signed, William Zorach, and dated, 1918, lower right. 215x280 mm; 8½x11 inches.
Provenance: Sid Deutsch Gallery, NY; Private collection, VA.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
Alexander calder (1898 - 1976, american)
Large Crest.
Gouache on paper, 1973. Signed, Calder, and dated, 73, lower left. 750x1092 mm; 29½X43 inches.
Provenance: Perls Gallery, NY; Ronald Brick, NY; Private collection.
This work is registered in the archive of the Calder Foundation under number A06679.
Estimate
$50,000 – $70,000
Stanton macdonald wright (1890 - 1973, american)
Fudo.
Oil on wood, 1963. Signed, S. Wright, lower right. Signed, S. Wright, dated, 1963, inscribed, Kyoto, and as titled on verso. 610x508 mm; 24x20 inches.
Provenance: Heritage Gallery, Los Angeles; David Barnett Gallery, Milwaukee, WI; F. B. Horowitz Fine Art Ltd., Hopkins, MN; Private collection, CA.
Estimate
$7,000 – $9,000
James daugherty (1887 - 1974, american)
i) Ascending Thoughts, and ii) References of Infinity, (Pair).
i) Pastel on paper, 1967. Signed, James Daugherty, and dated, 12-67, lower right. 432x356 mm; 17x14 inches.
ii) pastel on paper, 1971. Signed, J.D., upper left. 356x279 mm; 14x11 inches, sheet size.
Provenance: Sid Deutsch Gallery, NY; Private collection, VA.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
Philip evergood (1901 - 1973, american)
Untitled.
Oil on canvas. Signed, Philip Evergood, lower left. 350x267 mm; 13¾x10½ inches.
Provenance: Private collection, NY; Private collection.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Joseph meierhans (1890 - 1980, swiss/american)
Untitled, (Still Life).
Pencil and pastel on paper. 305x407 mm; 12x16 inches. Provenance: Estate of the artist; Private collection.
Estimate
$700 – $900
Joseph meierhans (1890 - 1980, swiss/american)
Untitled, (Landscape with Farm).
Charcoal and watercolor on paper, c. 1930. 355x508 mm; 14x20 inches.
Provenance: Estate of the artist; Private collection.
Estimate
$700 – $900
Joseph meierhans (1890 - 1980, swiss/american)
i)Untitled, (No 73 S), and ii) Untitled, (No 16 P), (Pair).
i)Pastel on paper, 1949. Signed, J. Meierhans, lower left. dated, 9/14/49, and inscribed, No 73 S, on verso. 11x13¾ inches.
ii) Pastel on paper, 1946. Signed, J. Meierhans, and dated, 46, lower right. Inscribed, No 16 P, on verso. 273x375 mm; 10¾x14¾ inches.
Provenance: Estate of the artist; Private collection.
Estimate
$800 – $1,200
Joseph meierhans (1890 - 1980, swiss/american)
i) Untitled, (No 69 S), and ii) Untitled, (No 7 S), (Pair).
i) Pastel on paper, 1946. Signed, J. Meierhans, and dated, 46, lower right. Inscribed, No 69 S, on verso. 273x375 mm; 10¾x14¾ inches.
Pastel on paper. Signed, J. Meierhans, and dated, 46, lower right. 273x375 mm; 10¾x14¾ inches.
Provenance: Estate of the artist; Private collection.
Estimate
$800 – $1,200
Jose decreeft (1884 - 1982, spanish/american)
i) La Hevrta, and ii) Cactus Garden, (Pair).
i) Ink and gouache on tan paper, 1927. Estate stamp on verso. 457x610 mm; 18x24 inches.
Ink and gouache on tan paper, 1927. Estate stamp on verso. 457x610 mm; 18x24 inches.
Provenance: Princeton Gallery of Fine Art, Princeton, NJ; Private collection.
Estimate
$700 – $900
Jose decreeft (1884 - 1982, spanish/american)
i) High in the Mountains, and Falls at White Creek, (Pair).
i) Ink and watercolor on paper, 1943. 560x635 mm; 22x25 inches.
Watercolor on paper, c. 1950. Signed, Jose de Creeft, lower right. Estate stamp on verso. 483x660 mm; 19x26 inches.
Provenance: Princeton Gallery of Fine Art, Princeton, NJ; Private collection.
Estimate
$700 – $900
John edward costigan (1888 - 1972, american)
Mother and Child in Landscape.
Oil on board, 1946. Signed, Costigan, lower right and again, lower left. Signed, John E. Costigan, and dated, 1946, on verso. 254x305 mm; 10x12 inches.
Provenance: Sotheby's Arcade, NY, Jan. 1, 1990, lot 204. Sid Deutsch Gallery, NY; Private collection, VA.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
Geometric Abstraction
Hilla rebay (1890 - 1967, german/american)
Untitled.
Gouache on paper. Inscribed, Rebay / 29H, and stamped, H.R., on backing. 153x950 mm; 6x3¾ inches.
Provenance: Estate of Hilla Rebay, CT; Sid Deutsch Gallery, NY; Private collection.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
Hilla rebay (1890 - 1967, german/american)
Untitled.
Ink and collage on paper. Signed, vR, lower right. 292x216 mm; 11½x8½ inches.
Provenance: Estate of Hilla Rebay; Private collection.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Hilla rebay (1890 - 1967, german/american)
Untitled.
Watercolor and collage on paper. 254x216 mm; 10x8½ inches.
Provenance: Estate of Hilla Rebay; Private collection.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
John ferren (1905 - 1970, american)
Le Chauve Souri.
Oil and sand on canvas, 1932. Signed, Ferren, dated, 32, and inscribed as titled on verso. 718x590 mm; 28¼x23¼ inches.
Provenance: Galerie 1900-2000, Paris, France; Gary Snyder Fine Art, NY.
Exhibited: Snyder Fine Art, NY, John Ferren's Paris Paintings: (1931 - 1939), March 12 - May 2, 1998.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Jean xceron (1890 - 1967, greek/american)
Untitled.
Ink on paper. 4½x3 inches.
Estimate
$700 – $900
Irene rice pereira (1902 - 1971, american)
Untitled.
Oil on animal parchment. Signed, I. Rice Pereira, lower right. 464x565 mm; 18¼x22¼ inches.
Irene Rice Pereira experimented with many medium and created two and three dimensional works. Her earliest use of parchment is documented in a 1974 publication, Van Wagner, Judith K., GEOMETRIC ABSTRACTION. Sheldon Museum of Art Catalogues and Publications. Here van Wagner states, She used parchment in 1941. In Pereira's own words, she describes her use of various materials as follows: I employ the abstract idiom in painting rather than more traditional forms of expression because it offers me a wider range for experimentation. In these pictures I have endeavored to explore the formal possibilities of painting, with special emphasis on constructional ways of expressing space and experimenting with new use of materials, such as glass and parchment and new pigments.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
Rolph scarlett (1889 - 1984, canadian/american)
Untitled.
Gouache on paper, c. 1940. Signed, RS, on verso. 216x216 mm; 8½x8½ inches.
Provenance: [Wright Auctions, Chicago Ill., November 9, 2003, Lot 234]; Private collection.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Rolph scarlett (1889 - 1984, canadian/american)
Untitled.
Monoprint on paper, c. 1940. 763x527 mm; 30x20¾ inches.
Provenance: The Estate of Hilla Rebay, CT; Portico New York, Inc., NY; Private collection.
Estimate
$800 – $1,200
Rolph scarlett (1889 - 1984, canadian/american)
Untitled.
Charcoal on paper. 95x95 mm; 3¾x3¾ inches.
Estimate
$800 – $1,200
Rolph scarlett (1889 - 1984, canadian/american)
Untitled.
Pencil on rag paper. 140x172 mm; 5½x6¾ inches.
Estimate
$800 – $1,200
Rolph scarlett (1889 - 1984, canadian/american)
Untitled.
Pencil on paper. 114x114 mm; 4½x4½ inches
Estimate
$800 – $1,200
Rolph scarlett (1889 - 1984, canadian/american)
Untitled.
Ink and gouache on paper. Signed, Scarlett, lower left. Inititaled, R.S., on verso. 280x375 mm; 11x14¾ inches.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rolph scarlett (1889 - 1984, canadian/american)
Untitled.
Ink and gouache on gray paper, c. 1938. Signed, Scarlett, lower left and again, upper right. 400x355 mm; 15¾x14 inches.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rolph scarlett (1889 - 1984, canadian/american)
Untitled.
Pencil, ink, and gouache on paper, c.1938. Signed, Scarlett, lower left. 254x324 mm; 10x12¾ inches.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Medard klein (1905 - 2002, american)
ai)Untitled, and ii) Abstract Composition, (Pair).
i) Pencil on paper. Signed, KLEIN, lower right. 254x355 mm; 10x14 inches.
ii) Pencil on paper, c. 1940. Signed, KLEIN, lower left. 254x355 mm; 10x14 inches.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Medard klein (1905 - 2002, american)
Untitled, (Pair)
i) Pencil on paper. Signed, Klein, lower right. 254x355 mm; 10x14 inches.
ii) Pencil on paper. Signed, Klein, lower right. 248x355 mm; 9¾x14 inches.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Medard klein (1905 - 2002, american)
Untitled, (Abstraction).
Ink on Bristol board, 1946. Signed, KLEIN, and dated, '46, lower right. 355x280 mm; 14x11 inches.
Provenance: Richard Norton Gallery, Chicago; Private collection.
Estimate
$800 – $1,200
Anthony lapaglia (1897 - 1993, american)
Untitled.
Gouache and pencil on yellow paper, 1950. Signed, A. LaPaglia, and dated, 1950, lower right.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Anthony lapaglia (1897 - 1993, american)
Untitled.
Gouache and colored pencil on illustration board, 1950. Signed, A. LaPaglia, and dated, 50, lower right. 133x165 mm; 5¼x6½ inches.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Anthony lapaglia (1897 - 1993, american)
Untitled.
Colored pencil and gouache on illustration board. Signed, A. laPaglia, and dated, 50, lower right. 242x184 mm; 9½x7¼ inches.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Anthony lapaglia (1897 - 1993, american)
Untitled, (Abstraction).
Watercolor on paper, 1951. Signed, A. La Paglia, and dated, Mar. 4, 1951, lower left. 331x457 mm; 13x18 inches.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Anthony lapaglia (1897 - 1993, american)
Untitled.
Colored pencil on paper, 1967. Signed, A. LaPaglia, and dated, 1967, lower right. 190x254 mm; 7½x10 inches.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Rudolph weisenborn (1881 - 1974, american)
Untitled, (Still Life).
Oil on masonite laid to canvas and stretcher, c. 1929. Signed, Weisenborn, lower left. 953x610 mm; 37½x24 inches.
Provenance: Sid Deutsch Gallery, NY; Private collection, VA.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
Louis k. stone (1902 - 1984, american)
Untitled.
Oil on masonite. 508x407 mm; 20x16 inches.
Provenance: Estate of the artist; Private collection.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Werner drewes (1899 - 1985, german/american)
Untitled.
Pencil on paper, 1935. dated, 35, and with artist’s mark, lower right. 178x228 mm; 7x9 inches.
Provenance: Princeton Gallery of Fine Art, Princeton, NJ; Private collection.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Werner drewes (1899 - 1985, german/american)
Redwood Forest.
Watercolor on paper, 1956. Signed, Drewes, dated, 1957, and numbered, 492, lower right. Inscribed, No.492 / Redwood Forest, on verso. 781x559 mm; 30¾x22 inches.
Provenance: Princeton Gallery of Fine Art, Princeton, NJ; Private collection.
Estimate
$800 – $1,200
Werner drewes (1899 - 1985, german/american)
i) The Queen of Hearts Extending Her Hand, (Collage #266), and A Tent of Friendship, (Pair).
i) Collage on illustration board, 1976. dated, 1976, and inscribed, Coll. #266, on verso. 203x172 mm; 8x6¾ inches.
ii) Watercolor and collage on illustration board, 1975. Signed, Drewes, lower left. Dated, 75, lower right. 197x140 mm; 7¾x5½ inches.
Provenance: Princeton Gallery of Fine Art, Princeton, NJ; Private collection.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
Werner drewes (1899 - 1985, german/american)
Growning Instability.
Oil on canvas, 1974. Signed, Drewes, lower left. Dated, 74, lower right. Inscribed, 1286, and dated, 74, on verso. 762x864 mm; 30x34 inches.
Provenance: The Artist: Private Collection, NY.
Estimate
$6,000 – $8,000
Werner drewes (1899 - 1985, german/american)
Momentum.
Oil on canvas, 1981. Signed, Drewes, lower left. Dated, 81, lower right. Signed, Drewes, on the stretcher. Inscribed, 1446, and dated, 81, on verso. 762x1118 mm; 30x44 inches.
Provenance: The Artist; Gary Snyder Fine Art, NY; Private collection, NY.
Estimate
$8,000 – $12,000
Hananiah harari (2012 - 2000, american)
Watt’s Steam Watch.
Gouache on paper, 1941. Signed, Harari, and dated, 41, upper right. Signed, Hananiah Harari, dated, 1941, and inscribed as titled, on verso. 140x190 mm; 5½x7½ inches.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
Ralph rosenborg (1913 - 1992, american)
Moonlight.
Oil on canvas, 1938. Signed, Rosenborg, and dated, 38, upper right. 610x864 mm; 24x34 inches.
Provenance: Princeton Gallery of Fine Art, Princeton, NJ; Private collection.
Bears exhibition labels for A Painting Prophecy, San Francisco Museum of Art, and David Porter Gallery. Also bears a label for Willard Gallery, NY.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Ralph rosenborg (1913 - 1992, american)
Figures in Forest.
Oil on canvas, 1947. Signed, Rosenborg, and dated, 47, upper right. Signed, Rosenborg, and dated, 47, on verso. 560x1016 mm; 22x40 inches.
Provenance: Princeton Gallery of Fine Art, Princeton, NJ; Private collection.
Estimate
$1,200 – $1,800
Ralph rosenborg (1913 - 1992, american)
Autumn Hills.
Oil on board, 1953. Signed, Rosenborg, and dated, 1953, upper right. 254x190 mm; 10x7½ inches.
Provenance: Princeton Gallery of Fine Art, Princeton, NJ; Private collection.
Estimate
$700 – $900
Surrealist Influences
John opper (1908 - 1994, american)
Untitled.
Oil on canvas, 1955. Signed, Opper, lower right. Signed, John Opper, and dated, '55, on verso. 1423x1168 mm; 56x46 inches.
Provenance: Martha Jackson Gallery, NY; Anderson Gallery, Buffalo, NY.
Estimate
$7,000 – $9,000
Ward lockwood (1894 - 1963, american)
Talpa Valley.
Polymer on canvas. 1270x1651 mm; 50x65 inches. Signed, Lockwood, lower right.
Provenance: Estate of the artist; Kansas University, Lockwood Collection; Private collection.
Exhibited: University of Texas Art Museum, Austin, Texas, Ward Lockwood: A Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings, Prints and Drawings, October 1 - November 12, 1967, continuing on to five other venues.; Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, Ward Lockwood Retrospective, November 22, 1967 - January 14, 1968, loan number ACM WL 99.
Estimate
$5,000 – $7,000
Leon kelly (1901 - 1982, american)
Portrait of a Moon Girl.
Pencil and crayon on paper, 1957. Signed, Leon Kelly, and dated, 1957, lower right. Signed, Leon Kelly, dated, 1957, and inscribed as titled on verso. 305x228 mm; 12x9 inches.
The artist; Paula M.L. Kelly; Washburn Gallery, NY.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
William fett (1918 - 2006, american)
Rain Cloud and Anxious Plants.
Gouache on paper, 1946. Signed, Wm Fett, dated, 1946, and inscribed as titled on verso. 337x508 mm; 13¼x20 inches.
Estimate
$700 – $900
Peter busa (1914 - 1985, american)
Untitled.
Pencil and charcoal on paper, c.1945. Signed, Busa, lower right. 381x502 mm; 15x19¾ inches.
Estimate
$1,200 – $1,800
Howard daum (1918 - 1988, american)
Exterior.
Oil on canvas, 1956. Signed, H. Daum, and inscribed as titled on verso. dated, 1956, on stretcher. 1016x610 mm; 40x24 inches.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Howard daum (1918 - 1988, american)
Untitled.
Oil on canvas laid to masonite, 1963. Signed, H. Daum, lower center right. Signed, Howard Daum, and dated, MCMLXIII, on verso. 203x1207 mm; 8x47½ inches.
Estimate
$1,200 – $1,800
Helen demott (1920 - 1997, american)
Salty.
Oil on canvas, 1946. Signed, DeMott, and dated, June 46, on verso. Inscribed as titled on the stretcher. 457x508 mm; 18x20 inches.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Helen demott (1920 - 1997, american)
The Fleet’s In.
Oil on masonite, 1949. Signed, DeMott, lower left. Signed, Helen DeMott, dated, 1949, and inscribed as titled on a label affixed to verso. 343x432 mm; 13½x17 inches.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Helen demott (1920 - 1997, american)
Full Fathom Five.
Oil on masonite, 1949. Signed, DeMott, lower right. Signed, Helen DeMott, dated, 1949, and inscribed as titled on verso. 943x457 mm; 13½x18 inches.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Alma Thomas & the Washington Scene
Essay: Alma Thomas and the Washington Scene
Laura Wheeler Waring, Portrait of a Lady, 1947, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Vincent Melzac, 1977.121
Born in Columbus, Georgia in 1891, Alma Thomas was the eldest of four daughters in a family immersed in art and culture. The Thomas family moved to 1530 15th Street, NW, Washington, DC in 1907 - a smart brick townhouse where Thomas would live the rest of her life. She first attended art classes while studying at Armstrong Manual Training High School where she graduated in 1911. After teaching in Delaware, Thomas entered Howard University in 1921. Switching from the home economics department to Professor James V. Herring’s new fine art department, Thomas became the university’s first art major graduate in 1924. She went on to have a distinguished thirty five year career teaching art at Shaw Junior High School in Washington, organizing popular marionette and extracurricular art clubs for its students.
Thomas was an early supporter of Washington’s Barnett-Aden Gallery, and the gallery’s first vice president. Founded by partners Professor Herring and curator Alonzo J. Aden in 1943, it was only the second private African American owned gallery, and the first to exhibit black and white artists together. There her painting was later exhibited alongside Gene Davis, Richard Dempsey, Lois Mailou Jones, Jacob Kainen, Jacob Lawrence, Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, Irene Rice Pereira, Theodoros Stamos, and many others. Thomas was also connected to the African American artist community as an active member of Lois Mailou Jones and Celine Tabary’s “Little Paris Studio”. The studio hosted painting and drawing sessions with live models and met on the top floor of Jones’s Washington home – other members included Richard Dempsey and Delilah Pierce.
Alma Thomas focused on her painting practice in earnest in the early 1950s. She enrolled in painting classes taught by Jacob Kainen and Robert Gales while studying art and art history at American University in the 1950s. She first exhibited her painting in the 8th Annual Exhibition of Paintings, Sculptures and Prints by Negro Artists at Atlanta University in 1952, and then in Six Washington Painters at the Barnett-Aden Gallery in 1954. Thomas also exhibited her painting in the group Contemporary American Painting at Howard University Gallery of Art in 1958; by the next year, Thomas’s painting had shifted from modernist still life and figurative paintings to primarily abstract compositions inspired by nature.
In 1960, she retired from Shaw Junior High, and began a full-time dedication to her art at the age of 69. The Dupont Theatre Art Gallery, a non-commercial contemporary art space where Gene Davis had his first solo exhibition in 1952, gave Thomas her first solo exhibition in 1960 of her watercolors. With such a popular response, she was awarded solo exhibitions there for two more years. Thomas also participated in the March on Washington on August 28, 1963, which made a lasting impression, as she briefly returned to figuration to paint her impression of the historical event. In 1964, her abstract period of painting was interrupted by a severe attack of arthritis – an interval that led to her “mature” style and her first retrospective at Howard University in 1966.
The retrospective marks the beginning of her iconic series of vertical stripe abstractions, and her shift to painting in acrylic. She exhibited these paintings in a critically acclaimed solo exhibition at the influential Franz Bader Gallery in Washington in September of 1968, her first at a major commercial gallery. Alma Thomas began her Space Series of abstract paintings in 1969 inspired by the NASA space program and the televised images of the Apollo missions and moon landings. In 1970, she exhibited both her Earth and Space paintings at the Franz Bader Gallery, Washington, DC, and the following year, at the Carl Van Vechten Gallery of Fisk University, Nashville. She then painted her color field Atmospheric Effects series of paintings in 1971.
Alma Thomas finally achieved national recognition in April of 1972 with her celebrated solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, its first for an African American woman, while a retrospective of her work was held later that year at The Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. By 1976, her works were acquired by more than a dozen institutions and included in several important exhibitions, including the hugely influential Two Centuries of African American Art organized by David C. Driskell at LACMA.
Alma w. thomas (1891 - 1978, american)
Carousel.
Gouache on wove paper, 1946. 457x406 mm; 18x16 inches.
Provenance: collection of the artist; thence by descent, private collection, Washington, DC.
Exhibited: Alma W. Thomas: Everything is Beautiful, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, July 9, 2021 - October 3, 2021, The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, October 30, 2021 - January 23, 2022, Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN, February 25 - June 5, 2022.
Illustrated: Seth Feman and Jonathan Frederick Walz, Alma W. Thomas: Everything is Beautiful, 2021, p. 260.
Estimate
$12,000 – $18,000
Loïs mailou jones (1905 - 1998, american)
Untitled (Cabris).
Watercolor on Whatman drawing board, 1953. 762x558 mm; 30x22 inches. Signed Löis Mailou Jones and dated ‘53, lower right.
Provenance: acquired directly from the artist, private collection.
Löis Mailou Jones painted many colorful landscapes around the sunny hills of this picturesque medieval town. This large watercolor typifies her postwar approach to landscape. Cabris is a picturesque village in the Alpes-Maritimes department of southeastern France, and was the hometown of her close friend Céline Tabary. Jones first visited the town in 1937 during her first year of studies in Paris, and returned numerous times over a period of some 50 years. Jones and her husband Pierre-Noël also were married there in 1953.
Estimate
$6,000 – $9,000
Richard dempsey (1909 - 1987, american)
S & K House, Long Beach, North Carolina.
Watercolor and ink on wove paper, circa 1960. 483x635 mm; 19x24¾ inches. Signed Dempsey and inscribed North Carolina, lower left.
Provenance: Bill Hodges Gallery, New York, with the label on the frame back; private collection.
This colorful abstracted landscape is an excellent example of the mid-career work of Richard Dempsey. In 1951, Dempsey became associated with the Washington, DC color field school with his inclusion in the first Annual Exhibition of the Loïs Mailou Jones & Céline Tabary Studio Group. Alongside Delilah Pierce and Alma Thomas, Dempsey showed at the Barnett-Aden Gallery in Washington, DC through the 1950s. These watercolors are organic abstractions of the local color and scenery that Dempsey encountered on his travels to Haiti, Jamaica, and North Carolina in the late 1950s. His work today is found in the Atlanta University Collection of Afro-American Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Harriet and Harmon Kelly Collection of African American Art, San Antonio.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Loïs mailou jones (1905 - 1998, american)
Untitled (Still Life Abstraction).
Watercolor on wove paper, 1964. 469x569 mm; 18½x23½ inches. Signed Lois M. Jones and dated ‘64, lower right.
Provenance: acquired directly from the artist, private collection.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Thomas downing (1928 - 1995, american)
Untitled, (Abstraction, Paris).
Gouache on paper, c. 1950. Signed, Downing, lower center. 483x711 mm; 19x28 inches.
Provenance: The artist; Ann McDowell; Private collection.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Alma w. thomas (1891 - 1978, american)
Reflections.
Oil on cotton canvas, 1960. 1016x762 mm; 40x30 inches. Signed AW Thomas and dated 60, lower right recto. Signed Alma W. Thomas and inscribed 1530 15th St. NW, Washington, DC, upper right verso.
Provenance: the James K. Hill Collection.
Exhibited: Alma W. Thomas: Everything is Beautiful, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, July 9, 2021 - October 3, 2021, The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, October 30, 2021 - January 23, 2022, Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN, February 25 - June 5, 2022; Early Alma Thomas, Hemphill Gallery, Washington, DC, February 4 - April 1, 2017; Alma W. Thomas: Retrospective Exhibition, Gallery of Art, Howard University, Washington, DC, April 24 - May 17, 1966. (The painting is dated 1963 in the catalogue.
Illustrated: Seth Feman and Jonathan Frederick Walz, Alma W. Thomas: Everything is Beautiful, 2021, p. 202.
Reflections is a beautiful and important early abstraction by Alma Thomas, painted at the cusp of her brilliant painting career. In 1960, Thomas had just resigned from her position at Shaw Junior High School, ending a thirty five year art teaching career, beginning a full-time dedication to painting at the age of 69. Thomas had been painting for decades prior - developing a body of work from modernist portraits and still lifes towards abstraction in the late 1950s. This painting shows Thomas's embrace of abstraction by 1960, and the rich inspiration she found in nature - interests that would continue over the next nineteen years. Reflections' inclusion in both her first and most recent retrospectives, the 1966 Howard University exhibition and the 2021-22 traveling exhibition at Alma W. Thomas: Everything is Beautiful, organized by curators Seth Feman and Jonathan Frederick Walz, signifies this work's significance and how it defines this important formative period of Thomas's practice Alma Thomas papers, circa 1894-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
From left to right: David C. Driskell, Professor James V. Herring, Alma W. Thomas and Albert Carter, director of Howard University's Museum.
Alma Thomas papers, circa 1894-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Reflections' modernist composition is an excellent representative of Thomas's abstract painting from the early 1960s. Her abstractions from nature at this moment are characterized by saturated blue or red colors and punctuated by rapid brushstrokes and sgraffito or palette knife markings. This elegant composition is centered on a representation of color and light reflected in a river or pond, but is also punctuated with passages of early fall colors and suggestions of branches at the edges. Thomas had an affinity with the deep hue of ultramarine blue. Several paintings of the period, from The Stormy Sea, 1958, collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum to Blue Abstraction, 1961, Howard University Gallery of Art are centered on this expressive color.
Reflections is also an important precursor to Thomas's later body of work centered on reflections found in nature. In 1964, this period of painting was interrupted by a severe attack of arthritis--an interval that led to her "mature" style and first retrospective at Howard University in 1966. Alma Thomas achieved unparalleled critical success and national public recognition in 1972 with her solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, a first for an African American woman. Her interest in natural reflections of color continues in such later works as Late Night Reflections, 1972, the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Pond - Spring Awakening, 1972, the Akron Art Museum and Snow Reflections on Pond, 1973, Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Estimate
$450,000 – $650,000
Alma w. thomas (1891 - 1978, american)
Untitled.
Watercolor on wove paper, circa 1970. 205x280 mm; 8x11 inches. Initialed AWT, lower right.
Provenance: gift from the artist, private collection, Washington, DC; private collection, California.
Estimate
$35,000 – $50,000
Thomas downing (1928 - 1995, american)
Fold Ten.
Acrylic on canvas stretched over masonite and wood shaped panel, 1968. Signed, Thom. Downing, dated, 10/68, and inscribed as titled on verso. 1048x2286 mm; 41¼x90 inches.
Provenance: The artist; Private collection.
Exhibited: A.M. Sachs Gallery, NY, Thomas Downing, October 15 - November 7, 1968; The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, CT, Highlights of the 1968–1969 Art Season, June 22 - September 14, 1969, no. 24.; Chief of Mission Residence, (Art in Embassies), Yaounde, Camaroon, 1983
Estimate
$15,000 – $20,000
Kenneth victor young (1933 - 2017, american)
Untitled (Composition in Orange).
Acrylic on Arches paper, 1971. 755x565 mm; 29¾x2214 inches. Signed Kenneth V. Young and dated '71 in pencil, lower right.
Provenance: private collection, New Jersey.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
Sam gilliam (1933 - 2022, american)
Glyph #1.
Mixed media on cast paper, 1975. Signed, Sam Gilliam, dated, 1975, and inscribed as titled at bottom center. 528 mm; 20¾ inch diameter.
Provenance: The artist; Kirk Lockhart.
Estimate
$5,000 – $7,000
Jacob kainen (1909 - 2001, american)
i) Two Gun Gabriel, and, ii) Red Flash, (Pair).
i) Oil stick on paper, 1990. Signed, Kainen, and dated, 90, lower right. 787x665 mm; 31x22¼ inches.
ii) Oil stick on paper, 1988. Signed, Kainen, and dated, 88, lower center. Inscribed as titled, lower left margin. 700x915 mm; 27<1/2>x36 inches.
Provenance: Estate of the artist; Private collection.
Estimate
$1,800 – $2,200
Delilah w. pierce (1904 - 1992, american)
Nebulae.
Watercolor on Arches paper, 1982. 730x565 mm; 28¾x2214 inches. Signed Delilah W. Pierce, lower right.
Provenance: the Evans-Tibbs collection, Washington, DC; private collection, California.
Exhibited: African-American Artists, 1880-1987, Selections from the Evans-Tibbs Collection, SITES, Smithsonian Institute Traveling Exhibition Service, traveling exhibition, including Vassar College Art Gallery, April 1 - May 14, 1989, with the museum label on the mount back.
Illustrated: Guy McElroy/Richard J. Powell/Sharon F. Patton. African-American Artists, 1880-1987, Selections from the Evans-Tibbs Collection, fig. 52, p. 91.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Delilah w. pierce (1904 - 1992, american)
Morning Calm, Portal to the Sky.
Acrylic on cotton canvas, 1979. 762x610 mm; 30x24 inches. Signed Delilah W. Pierce and dated '79, lower right recto. Signed Delilah W. Pierce, titled, dated 1979 and inscribed 1753 Verbena Street, N.W. DC 20012 and acrylic on the upper stretcher bar, verso.
Provenance: the estate of the artist; private collection, Maryland.
Estimate
$12,000 – $18,000
Post-War Art
Sally michel avery (1902 - 2003, american)
Sailboat.
Oil on canvas, 1966. Signed, Sally Michel, and dated, 1966, lower right. 40x30 inches.
Provenance: Private collection, Southampton, NY.
Estimate
$15,000 – $20,000
David smith (1906 - 1965, american)
Untitled.
Oil, watercolor and India ink on paper, 1957. Signed, David Smith, and dated, 9 14 57, lower left. 400x521 mm; 15¾x20½ inches.
Provenance: The artist; Carl Maas, NY.
Estimate
$7,000 – $9,000
Conrad marca-relli (1913 - 2000, american)
Untitled.
Newsprint and burlap collage on canvas, c. 1974. Signed, Marca-Relli, lower right. 658x508 mm; 25¾x20 inches.
Provenance: [Lempertz, Cologne, Germany, May 29, 2008, lot 630]; Galleria l'Elefante Treviso, Treviso, Italy; Private collection.
This lot is accompanied by a Photo Certificate issued by Archivo Marca-Relli, Galleria d'Arte Niccoli, Parma Italy, (archive numer MR 9958).
Estimate
$12,000 – $18,000
Jimmy ernst (1920 - 1984, german/american)
Untitled.
Watercolor and gouache on Arches paper, 1979. Signed, Jimmy Ernst, and dated, 79, lower right. 26x39¾ inches.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Esteban vicente (1903 - 2001, spanish/american)
Blue.
Oil on canvas. Signed, Esteban Vicente, dated, 1970, and inscribed as titled on verso. 70x80 inches.
Provenance: Andre Emmerich Gallery, NY; Private collection; Thence by descent to the current owner.
Estimate
$50,000 – $70,000
Giorgio cavallon (1904 - 1989, american)
Untitled, #139.
Watercolor on paper, 1948. 381x546 mm; 15x21½ inches. Signed, g. c., and dated, 48, lower right.
Provenance: Gruenebaum Gallery, Ltd., NY.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Ernest briggs (1923 - 1984, american)
Untitled, (#220).
Oil on canvas, 1959. Signed, e. Briggs, and dated, 59, lower right. Signed, e. Briggs, and dated, 7/13/59, on verso. Inscribed, #220, on stretcher. 1258x1003 mm; 49½x39½ inches.
Provenance: Howard Wise Gallery, NY; Vanderwoude Tananbaum Gallery, NY; Private collection.
Estimate
$40,000 – $60,000
Giorio cavallon (1904 - 1989, american)
Untitled.
Oil on canvas, 1984. Signed, Giorgio Cavallon, and dated, 84, lower right. Signed, Giorgio Cavallon, and dated, 1984, on verso. 1220x1524 mm; 48x60 inches.
Provenance: Gruenebaum Gallery, Ltd., NY; Private collection; Thence by descent to the current owner.
Estimate
$30,000 – $50,000
Jack roth (1927 - 2004, american)
Rope Dancer #28.
Acrylic on canvas, 1980. Signed, Roth, dated, 80, and inscribed as titled on the overlap. Stamped with the estate stamp and numbered, JR-166-80, on the overlap. 1372x1372 mm; 54x54 inches.
Provenance: Estate of the artist.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Jack roth (1927 - 2004, american)
Burrow’s World.
Acrylic on canvas, 1975. Signed, Roth, and dated, 75, on verso. Stamped with the estate stamp on stretcher. Inscribed with estate number, JR-314-75, and as titled on stretcher. 1524x1676 mm; 60x66 inches.
Provenance: Estate of the artist.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Jack roth (1927 - 2004, american)
Untitled.
Acrylic on canvas. Signed, Roth, lower center. Signed, Roth, dated, 78, and stamped with the estate stamp on verso. Numbered, 2959, on lower right side. 457x914 mm; 18x36 inches.
Provenance: Estate of the artist.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Jack roth (1927 - 2004, american)
Untitled.
Acrylic on canvas, 1978. Signed, Roth, and dated, 78, on verso. Signed, Roth, and dated, 78, on upper left side and numbered, 2934, on lower right side. . Stamped with estate stamp on stretcher. 432x889 mm; 17x35 inches.
Provenance: Estate of the artist.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Jack roth (1927 - 2004, american)
Untitled.
Acrylic on canvas, 1978. Signed, Roth, and dated, 78, lower left. Signed, Roth, and dated, 78, and numbetred 2924, on overlap. Stamped with the estate stamp on overlap and on stretcher. Numbered, JR3917, on stretcher. 470x965 mm; 18½x38 inches.
Provenance: Estate of the artist.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Jack roth (1927 - 2004, american)
Untitled.
Acrylic on canvas, 1982. Signed, Roth, and dated, 82, on verso. Stamped with the estate stamp and inscribed, JR-362-82, on overlap. 305x457 mm; 12x18 inches.
Provenance: Estate of the artist.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
John little (1907 - 1984, american)
Diver.
Acrylic and paper collage on canvas, 1983. Signed, John Little, and dated, 83, lower left. Signed, John Little, dated, 1983, and inscribed as titled on verso. 965x1270 mm; 38x50 inches.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
John little (1907 - 1984, american)
Castillo.
Acrylic on paper laid to linen, 1972. Signed, John Little, lower left. Signed, John Little, dated, 1972, and inscribed as titled on verso of linen. 915x584 mm; 36x23 inches, linen. 876x559 mm; 34½x22 inches, paper.
Provenance: Estate of the artist.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Edith schloss (b. 1919, american)
Untitled, (of Myth and Gods).
Oil and crayon on canvas, 1995. Dated, 95, on verso. 953x851 mm; 37½x33½ inches.
Provenance: The artist; Sundaram Tagore Gallery, NY; Private collection.
Exhibited: Sundaram Tagore Gallery, NY, Edith Schloss, A Retrospective, February 26 - March 28, 2015.
Literature: Andrew, Jason, Edith Schloss Still Life, Myths and Mountains, A Retrospective, illus. color, p. 73.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,000
Samuel lawrence feinstein (1915 - 2003, american)
UNTITLED.
Oil on canvas. Stamped, Estate of Samuel Feinstein, and numbered, 94, on verso. Inscribed, SF22, on verso. 1220x864 mm; 48X34 Inches.
Provenance: McCormick Gallery, Chicago; Private collection.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Seymour boardman (1921 - 2005, american)
Untitled.
Oil on canvas. Signed, Boardman, on verso. 730x597 mm; 28¾x23½ inches.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
John von wicht (1888 - 1970, german/american)
Newton’s Law.
Oil on rice paper laid to linen board, 1957. 629x864 mm; 24¾x34 inches. Signed, V. Wicht, lower left. Signed, John von Wicht, dated, 1957, and iscribed as titled on verso of mount.
Provenance: Passedoit Gallery, NY.
Estimate
$800 – $1,200
Mario garcia (b. 1927, american)
Untitled, (Barn Series).
Oil on canvas, 1959. 1500x1500 mm; 59x59 inches.
Provenance: Snyder Fine Art, NY.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Alexander liberman (1912 - 1999, russian/american)
Untitled.
Charcoal and acrylic on Strathmore paper. Signed, Alexander Liberman, and dated, 76, lower right. 762x559 mm; 30x22 inches.
Provenance: Andre Emmerich Gallery Inc, NY; Collection of a prominent NY physician; Private collection.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
David hayes (1931 2013, american)
i) Untitled, (Vermont Valley) and ii) Untitled, (Pair).
i)Gouache on paper, 2002. Signed, David Hayes, and dated, 2002, lower right. Inscribed as titled on verso. 558x762 mm; 22x30 inches.
ii) Ink and gouache on paper, 2006. Dated, 2006, lower right. 558x762 mm; 22x30 inches.
Provenance: Noah Burke collection.
These works have been authenticated by the Hayes Estate.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
Seymour fogel (1911 - 1984, american)
Untitled, (Mural Study).
Mixed media with collage on illustration board. Stamped, Estate of Seymour Fogel, on verso. 54x486 mm; 2⅛x19⅛ inches.
Provenance: Estate of the Artist; [Charles and Faith McCracken]; Collection of Larry and Trish Heichel; Private collection.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Seymour fogel (1911 - 1984, american)
Untitled, (Mural Study).
Pencil and tempera on paper laid to illustration board. Stamped, Estate of Seymour Fogel, on verso. 54x470 mm; 2⅛x18½ inches.
Provenance: Estate of the Artist; [Charles and Faith McCracken]; Collection of Larry and Trish Heichel; Private collection.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Seymour fogel (1911 - 1984, american)
Untitled.
Oil on illustration board construction. 254x190 mm; 10x7½ inches.
Provenance: Estate of the Artist; [Charles and Faith McCracken]; Collection of Larry and Trish Heichel; Private collection.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
O. louis guglielmi (1906 - 1956, egyptian/american)
Composition: Ave.
Oil on canvas, 1953. Inscribed as titled on overlap. 915x515 mm; 36x20¼ inches.
Provenance: Washburn Gallery, NY; Sid Deutsch Gallery, NY; Private collection, VA.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Judith rothschild (1921 - 1993, american)
Boatworks.
Oil on canvas, 1958. Signed, J. Rothschild, lower left. 915x1270 mm; 36x50 inches.
Provenance: The Artist; Private collection, New York, NY.
This work is registered with the Judith Rothschild Foundation (no. 58.04).
Estimate
$12,000 – $18,000
Judith rothschild (1921 - 1993, american)
Provence.
Oil on canvas, 1967. Signed, Rothschild, lower left. Signed, Rothschild, and dated, '67, on verso. 457x914 mm; 18x36 inches.
Provenance: The Artist; Private collection, New York, NY.
This work is registered with the Judith Rothschild Foundation (no. 67.09).
Estimate
$6,000 – $8,000
