Wonderful eclectic mix at Gray's January 25 auction Gray’s Auctioneers kick off 2011 with a diverse and eclectic Furniture, Paintings and Decorative Arts Auction on January 25 at 1pm. Preview starts Jan 17. The fully illustrated catalogue is now online
News-Antique.com - Jan 17,2011 - Gray’s Auctioneers kick off 2011 with a terrifically eclectic Furniture, Paintings and Decorative Arts Auction on January 25. This auction features paintings & drawings from the 17th century to the 20th century, furniture from Charles II to mid-century modern, antique rugs, runners and carpets and a number of delightful decorative lots including a collection of Chinese and Japanese bronzes and porcelains.
Notable lots include Lot 28, a gloriously evocative oil, “A Hunting Morning” by the renowned British sporting artist Heywood Hardy (1842-1933). Capturing the excitement of gathering for the meet this painting is very similar to Hardy’s “The First of November” which sold at Christies in London in 2010 for £34,850. Gray’s has conservatively estimated lot 28 at $12,000 – 18,000. Lot 6 is a beautiful, gilt-framed 19th century oil of ‘serenissima’, Venice, the city of canals, at sunrise by American/Italian artist Nicholas Briganti (1861-1944). Briganti’s views of Venice and its waterways are among his most venerated works of art. Clearly inspired by the city he captures the transformative light of the sunrise, bathing the lagoon and sky with a majestic glow. This stunning work of art is estimated at $2,000 – 4,000. Lot 27 is a delightfully impressionist view of Central Park in the summertime by Russian/American artist William Meyerowitz. David Hall writing in the American Art Review in 2001 quotes Meyerowitz, “Art expressed for us the fundamental rhythms and harmonies that are craved by our souls. A work of art is a creation more in harmony with the essence of nature than the haphazard array of things actually about us.” His work is represented in collections including the Phillips Collection, Washington; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Brooklyn Museum; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Smithsonian American Art Museum; the Library of Congress; the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris; the Whitney Museum of American Art; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York to name but a few. The estimate is $3,500 – 5,500.
Two important drawings offered by Gray’s on January 25, are lots 29 & 30. Lot 29 is an allegorical scene by Johann Evangelist Holzer (Germany, 1709 – 1740). This drawing is one of his largest still in existence. Primarily known as a fresco painter, few of his works still remain. His last and largest works are frescos for Münsterschwarzach Abbey. He died when he was 31 on his way to Bavaria where he had been commissioned by Clemens August of Bavaria to paint frescos in the Hofkirche of Clemenswerth. Lot 30 is a study of birds of prey, unsigned but attributed to the 17th century Dutch master draughtsman and painter of animalia, Melchior de Hondecoeter. His life-like depictions of birds were much in demand by the European nobility. He was patronized William III (William of Orange), King of England, and his masterpieces are in the Hague, The Wallace Collection, Belton House and The Hermitage in St. Petersburg to name but a few. Gray’s has conservatively estimated this magnificent charcoal drawing on paper at $2,000 –
