Clarke Rocks the Casbah, the Hamptons, and Harlem at its Fifth Annual Fine Art Auction

    LARCHMONT, NY, October 24, 2008 /24-7PressRelease/ -- As Clarke prepares to open for previews of its Fifth Annual Fine Art Auction, it becomes clear that this is destined to be the ten-year old company's best assemblage of art.

Two strong Orientalist works by Fabio Fabbi and A.T. Millar lead the list of lots gathering the most attention. The Fabbi oil on canvas is a c.1890 depiction of two dancing girls with a packed backdrop of Arab musicians, oriental carpets, inlaid furniture, and Islamic architecture. The Millar oil is probably the painting that last appeared in public in 1982, titled "At the Door of the Mosque", depicting a highly decorative mosque with traders, Arabian horses, and palm trees. A later work of interest to collectors might be a watercolor of the Alhambra by the British artist Wayne Apperley.

African-American art finds Clarke uncovering several rare pieces. A 1929 charcoal portrait of a young woman by Beauford Delaney is believed to be the earliest piece dating from Delaney's arrival in New York that year. The same estate provided a radically different Delaney - a monumental oil dated 1950 with Delaney's classic motif of abstracted city streets. An early work of Al Loving Jr in ink and and watercolor reflects the influence of Hans Hoffman. Two WPA-era gouaches by R Lindsey of African-American families and an oil on board by Purvis Young are also to be sold October 27th.

New York School paintings include a 68" x 50" oil by Larry Rivers. The painting is a provocative portrait of Rivers intimate Richard Astor joined by Rivers' mother-in-law Berdie and is dated 1951. The same theatrical estate also produced two Jane Freilicher's from the same early 1950's. A Jose Guerrero oil titled "Black Cross" with a Betty Parson label and an original price of $100 is believed to date from the same period.

A single owner collection of New York Ashcan prints includes rare images from Martin Lewis, John Sloan, Yasuo Kunioshi and Raphael Soyer. The same consignor also provided pastels by Soyer and period oils by Jacques Zucker and Lindholtz. A set of 5 New York City pastels by Leon Dolice is also available.

Modern art includes signed lithographs from Robert Motherwell, Helen Frankenthaler, James Rosenquist, Nancy Graves and Brett Whiteley; oils and monotypes by Susan Hall; rare drawings by Alexander Calder, Theodore Roszak, and Fritz Bultman, midcentury sculpture from the same estate including signed and unsigned pieces.

International art includes a large and mysterious oil by the contemporary Spanish artist Cristobal Toral; a red chalk by Aristide Maillol, Italian paintings from F. Rontini, C. Innocenti, an 1856 Italian oil, possibly of a Sicilian or North African beauty; an oversized 19th C. watercolor of Sligo by the Irish John Faulkner; and a signed 1925 lithograph of a nude odalisique by Henri Matisse. A Komar and Melamid papier mache bust of Stalin is also drawing a lot of attention.

American art includes a c.1910 Max Weber and works by Charles Gruppe the elder, Sydney Mortimer Laurence, John Folinsbee, Darrel Austin, William Edmondson, Josephine Paddock, Gladys Bates, Ralph D Miller, Benjamin Brown, Abraham Chanin, John Costigan, a mixed media by American impressionist Theodore Robinson, and a drawing by Mary Cassatt.

Ronan Clarke, founder and owner, comments "We believe that we have museum quality pieces in this sale - works that may not resurface in the market for decades - the Delaneys, the Larry Rivers, the Orientalist works, the Calder, some of the Ashcan prints, and the Rowlandson portrait of Morland." He points out "but we also know that we have fine art that awaits discovery - artists who have been overlooked and underappreciated - paintings and sculpture unidentified - that can be purchased at competitive prices and with Clarke fees vs. Manhattan costs."

Clarke Auction offers four full days of previews Friday October 24th through day-of-auction, Monday October 27th. Please visit their website at www.ClarkeNY.com or www.liveauctioneers.com for further details and the full inventory.

About Clarke Auction Gallery

Clarke Auction Gallery, Westchester's Premier Auction Gallery, conducts catalogued sales monthly featuring distinctive fine and decorative arts, antiques, exceptional furniture, oriental rugs, sterling silver and mid-century modern. For further information, please contact us at (914)833-8336 or [email protected]

Source: Clarke Auction Gallery
Website: http://www.ccauctiongallery.com

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