This March 21st at Clars Auctions, we will be featuring a curated assortment of artwork from a wide range of periods and locales.

From our own state of California, we have an oil on canvas by plein air painter Marion Kavanaugh Wachtel (American, 1876–1954). Wachtel was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and studied in Chicago before moving to California, where she studied under Scottish American master landscapist William Keith.

Keith’s influence coupled with her new surroundings inspired Wachtel to move away from portraiture and embrace landscape painting, focusing her attention on the mountains, coasts, and foliage of southern California. The painting in this month’s sale is titled Autumn, Trabuco Mountains, California, (estimate: $8,000–$12,000) and depicts the leaves changing color amidst the peak on the border of Orange and Riverside Counties.

Our Modern + Contemporary Fine Art Auction on February 20th will feature many exceptional works by renowned artists. One of the standout pieces is Vote McGovern (1972), an iconic screenprint by Andy Warhol, estimated $30,000–$50,000.

This politically charged work from 1972 reinterprets a photograph of Richard Nixon, using a vivid color palette that references First Lady Pat Nixon’s dress. The unsettling portrait, created to support George McGovern’s presidential campaign, is a striking example of Warhol’s ability to blend art with political activism.

Our Modern + Contemporary Fine Art Auction on February 20th will feature many exceptional works by renowned artists. One of the standout pieces is The Summit Conference (1986), an oil painting by John Alexander estimated at $30,000–$50,000.

Known for his atmospheric depictions of the Gulf Coast’s bayou landscapes, Alexander infuses his paintings with surrealist elements, such as skeletons in formal wear and masked figures. The work on offer features two baboons facing off against one another, with intense, expressive brushstrokes suggesting a deeper political commentary during the tense era of the Reykjavik Summit talks between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev.

Marc Chagall, revered worldwide for his ability to blend diverse artistic techniques into a distinct, dreamlike style, is particularly known for integrating his Jewish heritage into his art.

Chagall‘s vivid, often surreal compositions are alive with color, and his use of blue — which has been interpreted as symbolizing spirituality and divinity — is particularly notable. Drawing from his personal experiences and Jewish folk traditions, Chagall’s works come alive with a sense of movement and emotion, making them both fantastical and deeply personal.

Among the highlights of the auction are two rare works on paper by Chagall, L’hiver: Procession de Noël (Les quatre saisons) (1974) and Le Dimanche (circa 1939), each carrying an estimate of $300,000–$500,000.

In L’hiver, Chagall presents an enchanting scene filled with angelic figures in the sky, joyful dancers, a fantastical half-human, half-hen figure with her young, and a procession of Christmas revelers. This eclectic composition echoes Chagall’s 1974 mosaic Four Seasons in Chicago’s Chase Tower, where he similarly fused vibrant, animated figures with animals and abstract forms. This work exemplifies Chagall’s later style, where his compositions often feel spontaneous and unrestrained.

Le Dimanche, created around 1939, depicts a tranquil rural scene with a couple strolling past a goat and a chicken. The horned goat, a recurring symbol in Chagall’s work, is often linked to his childhood in the shtetl and is sometimes interpreted as an allegory for the artist himself. The piece also reflects Chagall’s connection to the innocent life he left behind, likely providing him with solace during the uncertain period of World War II. Both of these works, created with gouache, pastel, and mixed media, are rich in color and texture, showcasing Chagall’s masterful use of materials.

This January at Clars we are excited to offer unique works by the fascinating artist, Cady Wells, whose style was inspired by Southwestern desert landscapes and topography.

Wells was born in Massachusetts in 1904 and was raised in a household that valued arts education, taking music, literature, and fine arts classes in his youth. Despite his interest in cultural education, Wells did not fare well in the boarding schools he attended, and after dropping out of several New England academies, he was sent to Arizona in 1992 where he fell in love with the desert landscape. By 1932, Wells had decided on painting as his artistic path forward and was invited to stay at the artist’s colony in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which was also home to Georgia O’Keeffe, Andrew Dasburg, and a host of poets and writers at the time.

Wells began exhibiting alongside artists including Mark Tobey, Morris Graves, and Jackson Pollack while living between Taos and Santa Fe, and during this time the painter came to terms with his sexuality, entering a committed relationship with author and poet Myron Brinig. Wells’ relationship and career were interrupted by his service in World War II. While serving in Germany during the last nine months of the war, Wells worked with topographic maps, the influence of which is apparent in his subsequent work. Upon returning to New Mexico in 1945, Wells remained deeply affected by what he had seen in Europe, and by his own home’s proximity to the nuclear testing site at Los Alamos. He spent his final years traveling the world while remaining anchored in New Mexico, and finally finding national recognition with exhibitions in New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco, before his premature death from heart failure in 1953 at the age of 49.

Wells stands out among his peers for being a truly original artist whose abstract compositions emulate only the curves and colors of the Southwestern landscape and avoid recalling the techniques and styles of any other painter. His work remains a hidden gem among the swaths of artists who have flocked to Taos and Santa Fe over the years, never quite gaining the same reputation as his local contemporaries who favored traditional landscapes and figural painting over emotive and avant garde abstraction. The works in this month’s auction show a range of Wells’ stylistic variety, with examples displaying his interest in topographic maps as well as his prowess in color, form, and movement.

Two of our modern and contemporary highlights this November come from American artists who draw inspiration from their surroundings in very different ways.

First is Jim Dine (American, b. 1935), an Ohio-born multimedia artist who has been associated over the years with Neo-Dada, Pop Art, and Abstract Expressionism. Dine has often utilized found objects in his work, including sculptures influenced by classical Greece and a well-known collection of Pinocchio statues, and continued to take inspiration from the everyday in his two-dimensional pieces. Dine’s 1962 exhibition at the Pasadena Art Museum, titled New Painting of Common Objects, celebrated the ordinary with depictions of neckties, tools, and hats, displayed not as they so commonly were as background objects, but front and center, the star of the painting.

During this period, Dine landed on bathrobes while searching for a way to reinvent the self-portrait. Dine sought to depict the self without a face, and thus adopted an object most intimate and familiar with which to experiment, using different styles and methods to manipulate the mundane robe. The piece in this month’s auction is titled Kindergarten Robes and dated to 1983. This large-scale woodcut print shows two coarsely rendered robes, tied at the waist with sleeves positioned toward the hips, in large swaths of yellow, blue, red, and green. The absence of a body within the robes is notable, but their well-worn wrinkles imply that it does have a history, and its positioning (which is the most frequently seen in Dine’s robes) imbues the empty articles with their own personality. Kindergarten Robes is being offered with an estimate of $6,000–$9,000.

Brian Alfred is a contemporary artist and musician originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After earning a fine arts degrees from Penn State and Yale and attending an artist’s residency at the Skohegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Alfred held successful solo shows at galleries in Tokyo, London, and New York City. Alfred’s interest in blending mediums includes a career in music that overlaps with the visual arts, and many of his animation videos feature soundtracks from sonic collaborators.

Alfred’s paintings often depict stagnant cityscapes, skylines, and landscapes devoid of people. The precise, flat method with which Alfred applies color to canvas creates a surreal atmosphere in which the world around us is reduced to form atmosphere. The acrylic on canvas, titled Overpass, in our November sale depicts a large freeway overpass with gray bridges crisscrossing one another over a pale blue sky. Patches of grass are visible below, and tall signs hover on the right side, advertising gas, food, and lodging to the invisible passers-by. The starkness of the canvas is punctuated by the absence of even one car on the road, hovering in a place between peace and unease. Overpass will be offered with an estimate of $8,000–$12,000.

This November at Clars we are highlighting artwork by two artists active in the Low Countries during the Baroque period, Rembrandt van Rijn and Jacob Ignatius Roore.

Firstly, an etching by Dutch Golden Age master, Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669), titled Woman Reading. Most often known solely by his first name, Rembrandt found success during his own lifetime within the Dutch Republic (now the Netherlands) as both a commissioned artist and a teacher of up-and-coming young painters. In the present day, Rembrandt is known as one of the most celebrated painters of the Dutch Golden Age and one of the greatest visual artists of all time. Rembrandt was a standout among his contemporaries in the Dutch Republic at the time because of his eclectic and wide-ranging embrace of varied subject matter and styles.

Some of his most famous scenes include The Night Watch, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, and Syndics of the Draper’s Guild, but Rembrandt is perhaps best known for his self-portraits, both paintings and prints. The etching in our November sale is an earlier example of Rembrandt’s printmaking, many of which were printed by the artist’s own hand with his personal printing press. The etching in this month’s auction depicts a woman, wearing a scarf over her hair and pressing one hand to her chest, hunched over an open book. The simple and intimate scene is typical of Rembrandt’s etchings, which are often genre scenes or portraits that convey a sense of warmth and familiarity. Woman Reading is being offered with an estimate of $10,000–$15,000.

Another artist active in the Low Countries, Jacob Ignatius Roore (Flemish/Belgian, 1686–1747), also known as Jacques Ignace de Roore, was born in Antwerp in the midst of the Baroque period in Flanders. Both his mother and father were involved in the arts themselves, and during his teenage years, Roore trained with the internationally respected painter and engraver, Abraham Genoels II. After studying in several other academies and under the tutelage of well-regarded artists, Roore honed his drawing and painting skills. Rather than channeling his own creative imagination, he first found work as a copyist of popular painters at time, including Peter Paul Rubens and David Teniers II. Roore also worked for much of his career as a restorer and a painter of decorative interior works for wealthy patrons in Belgium and the Dutch Republic.

Roore’s own original works often depict scenes from mythology and history, most frequently Christian and Ancient Greek stories. The oil on canvas painting in this month’s auction is titled Bacchanalia and shows a scene filled with satyrs, putti, food, nudity, and revelry within a forested landscape. The subject matter is taken from stories of the Greek god Dionysus, renamed in Roman mythology as Bacchus, who is most well-known today as the god of winemaking and fruit. Roore’s portrayal is distinctly Baroque in form, with clear inspiration from his Flemish Renaissance predecessors in the jewel tones and detailed anatomy of the figures, alongside the classical overtones of the painting’s theme. Bacchanalia will be offered with an estimate of $6,000–$9,000.

This September 19th, in our Important Fall Fine Art Auction, Clars is thrilled to offer a rare and captivating work by William Merritt Chase — whose interiors are widely celebrated as some of the finest achievements of American Impressionism.

Collector Duncan Philips noted their evocative nature, stating, “Whether it is the sumptuous splendor of a Venetian palace, shades from the summer sun, or just perspective of rooms, in which one would like to live, the charm of a Chase interior is immediate. It is more than a trick of cool light on reflecting surfaces, mahogany tabletops and hardwood floors. It is a hint of once familiar moments, long forgotten, a sentiment of the quiet dignity of a patrician home” (quoted in R. Pisano, William Merritt Chase, New York 1982, p. 64). Works such as A Mother’s Joy, which feature the artist’s family, not only highlight Chase’s remarkable craftsmanship but also his ability to transform familiar domestic scenes into masterpieces of Impressionistic texture, color, and compositional balance.

Chase’s cosmopolitan taste and sophisticated aesthetic drew him to a diverse array of decorative arts and objects, many of which he incorporated into his paintings. D. Frederick Baker, a Chase expert, observes, “The decorative tasseled drapery hanging from the fireplace mantel is similar to that found in photographs of the dining room fireplace mantel in their Greenwich Village home. And what appears to be a small Japanese doll, wearing a red outfit of some sort, on the mantel is similar to those in several Chase still life paintings” (unpublished letter, October 2, 2023). In A Mother’s Joy, Chase skillfully integrates the pink of Alice’s skirt into the mantel, harmonizes tans and taupes throughout the curtain, blouse, and fireplace, and uses signature red accents that he considered crucial for the success of his compositions.

Many scholars have highlighted Chase’s notably warm and engaging personality. A devoted family man, he was often surrounded by his wife, Alice, and their eight children, who appear throughout his oeuvre. Many of Chase’s masterpieces depict family members, friends, students, or models in relaxed, elegant settings, as exemplified by A Mother’s Joy. This recently rediscovered gem captures a tender moment between Chase’s wife and their second daughter, Koto Robertine Chase, born January 5, 1889, likely in the dining room of their West 4th Street home in Greenwich Village. Formerly owned by New Jersey Governor Franklin Murphy, A Mother’s Joy is a rare and exceptional interior scene that celebrates both the Victorian decor of Chase’s home and the intimacy of a cherished family moment.

According to the catalogue raisonné, A Mother’s Joy is part of a series depicting mother-and-child themes, including Mother and Child (The First Portrait) circa 1887, housed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and Mother and Child (Mother’s Love) circa 1892, located at the Sheldon Museum of Art in Lincoln, Nebraska. Critics have lauded these works for their engaging subject matter, composition, technique, and color, establishing the mother-and-child motif as one of Chase’s most celebrated themes. A reviewer described Mother and Child (Mother’s Love) as “Intimate and charming is the portrait of the artist’s wife and little daughter. The mother is seated and the child’s arms clasped around her neck. In the woman’s eyes beams the true love light of motherhood” (Chicago Herald Tribune, November 28, 1897). Similarly, A Mother’s Joy captures a profound sense of maternal affection, as Alice gently leans toward Koto, their eyes meeting in a loving gaze. The composition’s circular motif, created by their outstretched arms, symbolizes the infinite and unconditional love between mother and child.

The provenance of A Mother’s Joy includes its acquisition directly from the artist by Franklin Murphy, Governor of New Jersey (1902–1905), at Fifth Avenue Art Galleries, New York, on March 6, 1891, where it was sold by the artist as lot 64. It later entered a private collection in Kentucky. The painting was prominently exhibited at the Annual Exhibition of the Society of American Artists in New York in May 1889, the 17th Annual Chicago Interstate Industrial Exposition in September 1889, and at American Art Galleries, New York, in 1890.

The work is documented in Ronald G. Pisano’s William Merritt Chase: Portraits in Oil, Vol. II (New Haven, Connecticut, 2007, p. 84, no. OP.164). It is accompanied by a letter of authenticity from D. Frederick Baker/Ronald G. Pisano, Inc., dated October 2, 2023.

This June at Clars Auctions we are thrilled to present a sale that is bursting with exceptional artwork from iconic creators. One of the most exciting pieces in this month’s Important Summer Fine Art Sale is a never-before-sold oil on canvas painting by world-renowned Spanish Surrealist, Salvador Dalí.

Over the course of the early to mid-twentieth century, Dalí established himself as perhaps the most celebrated of the Surrealist painters, famous for both his instantly recognizable visual style and for his eccentric personality and antics. The painting in this month’s sale, titled Portrait of Mrs. Luther Greene, is an oil on canvas that was commissioned by the sitter’s husband in New York City in 1942 — the year of the artist’s first retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art.

The portrait depicts the patron seated in the foreground, wrapped in a red robe. Behind her is a classic, Dalíesque desert landscape with two figures standing in the distance. An amorphous hill on the far right is dotted with buildings — resembling a forgotten ghost town — and a small boat sits beached by the shore on the far left. This exemplary piece is accompanied by the preliminary sketches done by the artist in preparation for the painting.

In addition to the aforementioned work, we are also pleased to offer abstract sculptures by Claire Falkenstein, a life-size bronze gown by Karen LaMonte, a suite of six bullfighting paintings by LeRoy Neiman, an abstract expressionist oil by Tancredi Parmeggiani, and much more in our Important Summer Fine Art Sale on June 20th.

A noteworthy piece in our Important Summer Fine Art Sale is a serigraph by American Pop art pioneer, Roy Lichtenstein. Lichtenstein was one of the most prominent figures to come out of the Pop Art movement and is most known for his comic strip-inspired paintings, prints, and sculptures.

The print featured in the June sale is titled Reverie and dates to 1965. Pictured is a young woman with blonde hair and a melancholy expression, holding a microphone while a speech bubble over her head reads the lyrics, “The melody haunts my reverie.” This lyric — taken from the song Stardust by Tin Pan Alley musicians Hoagy Carmichael and Mitchell Parish — was written in 1927 and popularized during the 1930s big band era. The retro feel of the imagery is characteristic of Lichtenstein’s work, as is the comic-style dot work, bold color, and thick, black lines. Reverie was created for a portfolio, titled 11 Pop Artists published by Original Editions, that included 2 other prints by the artist as well as prints by Andy Warhol, Tom Wesselman, and other major names in the Pop Art movement.

In addition to the aforementioned work, we are also pleased to offer abstract sculptures by Claire Falkenstein, a life-size bronze gown by Karen LaMonte, a suite of six bullfighting paintings by LeRoy Neiman, an abstract expressionist oil by Tancredi Parmeggiani, and much more in our Important Summer Fine Art Sale on June 20th.