Skinner to Host Auction of Prints, Photographs, Paintings, and Sculpture

Boston, Mass – August 23, 2012 – Skinner, Inc. will auction prints, photographs, paintings, and sculpture on Friday, September 7^th in two sessions at its Boston gallery. The prints and photography portion of the sale will begin at 12 p.m.; the painting and sculpture portion will begin at 4 p.m.

Fine Prints

The Skinner Fine Prints department offers a broad array of fine prints, photography, and multiples spanning the 17^th to 21^st centuries. The September sale will feature an excellent assortment of works and is highlighted by Spanish artist Joan Miró’s La Fronde (lot 147, estimated between $20,000 and $30,000). Works by Roy Lichtenstein are also well represented. Highlights include Pyramids (lot 124, $7,000 to $9,000), commissioned for the Print Collectors of the Friends of Art, Kansas City, Missouri – a group associated with the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Shipboard Girl from 1965 (lot 122, $7,000 to $9,000), and the quintessential Lichtenstein cartoon pop-art piece titled . . . Huh? (lot 125, $7,000 to $9,000).

Photography

Ansel Adams’s Dawn, Autumn, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee from 1948 (lot 211, $8,000 to $12,000) is one of an impressive group of works by the artist to be featured. Others include Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Monument from 1942 (lot 210, $4,000 to $6,000), and Dead Tree, Sunset Crater National Monument, Arizona from 1947 (lot 213, $3,000 to $5,000). Adams is recognized for his magnificent use of burning and dodging techniques to create the rich look of his iconic landscapes.

 Four works by Henri Cartier-Bresson will be offered, including Abruzzo, Aquila from 1951 (lot 221, $8,000 to $10,000) and Bougival, Yvelines, France from 1956 (lot 222, $7,000 to $9,000). Cartier-Bresson sought the spontaneous and unscripted moments in life, and did so without any sort of manipulation of his images. He refused to use filters and rarely even cropped his compositions once he had taken the picture.

Fine Paintings

Fine paintings range from old masters to contemporary artists. The cover lot, Nude (Giverny) by Frederick Carl Frieseke (lot 614, $60,000 to $80,000), was painted during the artist’s first years in Giverny and demonstrates the influence of Impressionism, and, specifically, Renoir and Monet. Frieseke was a key figure of “The Giverny Group,” a cadre of American artists working in France in the early 20th century.

Willem Claesz Heda’s Still Life with Tazza, Peeled Lemon, and Roemer (lot 300, $30,000 to $50,000) is a fine example of the Dutch master’s skill at introducing a hint of disorder into the otherwise characteristically serene still life. Heda is known for keenly observed compositions rendered in delicate gray and silver tones, set against grey-green backgrounds. His works brilliantly capture the depth of textures and surfaces.