The offered works will span numerous movements and mediums. One major highlight of the sale will be a striking oil on canvas by Bay Area artist, Raimonds Staprans (American, b. 1926). The 1990 work, titled Blue Boats, is a strong example of his use of bold colors and geometric forms to build his composition. The presence of heavy linear division and abstraction of everyday objects makes the work a stunning example of his hallmark style. While he considers himself an abstract painter, his works were influential in the Bay Area Figurative Movement, along with colleagues Wayne Thiebaud and Robert Diebenkorn. The painting is estimated at $150,000–$200,000.
Raimonds Staprans (American/Latvian, b. 1926), Blue Boats, 1990, oil on canvas, 44″ x 48″. Estimate: $150,000–$200,000
Another important work being offered is a work on paper, titled Odalisque by Henri Matisse (French, 1869–1954). Considered the godfather of Fauvism, Matisse is renowned for his vibrant portraits, still lifes, and cut-out paper collages. After an influential trip to Morocco in the 1910s, Matisse drafted numerous examples of the Odalisque, inspired by the orient and the ideal exoticism. Clars Auction Gallery is pleased to offer a 1928 “return to order” study of the Odalisque, composed of black india ink. Previously exhibited at Delaware Art Museum and from the ex-collection of Baltimore, Maryland architect Robert Raley, the work on paper is estimated at $60,000–$80,000. Clars is grateful to George Matisse for confirming the authenticity of the drawing.
Henri Matisse (French, 1869–1954), Odalisque, 1928, black india ink on Arches paper, 10″ x 13″. Estimate: $60,000–$80,000
Other important pieces to be offered in the sale include works by Leonor Fini, Gordon Onslow Ford, Yayoi Kusama, and Ray Parker to name a few.
Leonor Fini (Argentine/French, 1908–1996), Passenger XXXVIII (Azuba), 1987, oil on paper (mounted on canvas), 17.75″ x 21.75″, (one of five to be offered). Estimate: $30,000–$50,000
Leonor Fini (Argentine/French, 1908–1996), Zorniga, 1959, oil on canvas, 31.5″ x 10″, (one of five to be offered).. Estimate: $30,000–$50,000
Leonor Fini (Argentine/French, 1908–1996), Passage IV, 1990, oil on canvas, 29″ x 23.75″, (one of five to be offered). Estimate: $30,000–$50,000
Gordon Onslow Ford (British, 1912–2003), Mountains of Desire, 1939, oil on canvas, 28.75″ x 36″. Estimate: $50,000–$70,000
Gordon Onslow Ford (British, 1912–2003), The Wish 2, 1945, oil on canvas, 29.5″ x 36″. Estimate: $40,000–$60,000
Yayoi Kusama (Japanese, b. 1939), Pumpkin, 1983, screenprint, 23″ x 19″ (one of two to be offered). Estimate: $30,000–$50,000
Ray Parker (American, 1922–1990), Untitled, 1979, oil and acrylic on canvas, 67.25″ x 153.75″. Estimate: $50,000–$70,000
Christopher Brown (American, b. 1951), Summer Rose, oil on canvas, 65″ x 65″. Estimate: $30,000–$50,000
Charles Arthur (Chuck) Arnoldi, (American, b. 1946), Pico, 1978, acrylic on canvas, 40″ x 34″. Estimate: $25,000–$30,000
Tom Wesselmann (American, 1931–2004), Cynthia in the Bedroom, 1981, screenprint, 27″ x 30.5″. Estimate: $5,000–$7,000
George Peck (Hungarian/American, b. 1941), Romantic Painting #1, 1978, oil and wax on canvas, 72″ x 69″. Estimate: $5,000–$7,000
Fraser Smith (American, b. 1958), The Cats of Morpheus, 1988, watercolor on wood, 55″ x 47″. Estimate: $4,000–$6,000
Our auction on January 16th will feature distinguished design, fine craftsmanship, and notable works by artists and artisans across cultures and periods.
Highlights begin with the early 20th century and include a rare Roycroft Sideboard, Model 1, estimated at $8,000–$12,000. There will also be a selection of Tiffany Studios items.
Roycroft, Sideboard, Model 1.
Moving along to the Mid Century, there will be a Phillip Lloyd Powell New Hope lounge chair and ottoman, circa 1960, estimated at $7,000–$9,000.
Phillip Lloyd Powell, New Hope Lounge Chair and Ottoman.
Continuing to later in the century, Clars will also feature a Jun Kaneko glazed ceramic slab, estimated at $6,000–$9,000.
Jun Kaneko glazed ceramic slab.
There will be numerous noteworthy designers including Birger Kaipiainen, Mies Van Der Rohe, Børge Mogensen, George Nelson, Charles and Ray Eames, Milo Baughman, Hans Wegner, Finn Juhl, Hans Olsen, Phillip Lloyd Powell, Raymond Loewy, Mario Bellini, Arne Vodder, Jun Kaneko, Olivier Mourgue, Peter Hvidt, and Eero Saarinen among others.
Mies Van Der Rohe, Barcelona Daybed.
George Nelson, bench.
Charles and Ray Eames, DCW chairs.
Milo Baughman, bench.
Hans Wenger stool, Model JH539.
Finn Juhl, bowl.
Eero Saarinen for Knoll Tulip chairs (part of a larger dining suite).
Eero Saarinen Womb chair.
Giuseppe Scapinelli, chair.
Mario Bellini, Cab Chairs Model 413, set of ten.
Also on offer will be a fine assortment of art glass items including a Lalique clear and frosted glass Masque de Femme.
Our auction on January 16th will feature distinguished design, fine craftsmanship, and notable works by artists and artisans across cultures and periods.
Our auction on October 17th will feature a curated selection of Furniture & Decorative Arts, Fine Art, and Fine Jewelry & Watches.
Auction
Highlights
Modern Art Sale Sets Record
Modern + Contemporary
Stories & News
Clars’ Modern Art Sale Sets Loie Hollowell Record. Review by Madelia Hickman Ring, Antiques And The Arts Weekly.
Easily surpassing its $400,000–$600,000 estimate was Point of Entry (Blood-Orange Moon Over Orange Sac) by Loie Hollowell (American), a 2017 mixed media work that attracted global attention but sold to a new American client for Clars for $1,050,000. It was the first time one of Hollowell’s works have brought that much money from a sale in the United States and is also the first work sold by the auction house to bring more than $1 million.
OAKLAND, CALIF. – On Friday, March 25, Clars Auction Gallery set a new record for Loie Hollowell (American, b 1983), when Point of Entry (Blood-Orange Moon Over Orange Sac), a mixed media work measuring 48 by 36 inches achieved $1,050,000 from a buyer in the United States who was a new client for Clars. The price was not only the artist’s highest price realized in a sale in the United States (the current overall record for Hollowell stands at $2,126,095 for Linked Lingams [yellow, green, blue, purple, pink], set in June 2021 in Hong Kong) but it was the first time in Clars’ 50-year history that a lot has surpassed the million dollar mark. It was far and away the top lot of 1,579 lots of modern and contemporary art, design, furniture, decorative and fine art, Asian art and jewelry offered March 25–27; the tally for the three days of sales was about $3 million, a total that ranks in the top three in the firms’ history and the highest sale since the company changed ownership in 2019.
Rick Unruh, chief executive officer and director of fine art at Clars, said, “Clars showed the global art world that when one has an exceptional, contemporary piece, such as our Loie Hollowell, they (the bidders) will come – and they did. We went all out with marketing, we even marketed it in Asian newspapers to get to the Hong Kong market. We had clients from all over the world interested. Many of the bidders on it were new to Clars.”
The second highest price of the sale at $150,000 was a rare drawing by Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973) titled, Etudes VII (d’apres Manet) from 1961. Well-documented in the artist’s catalogue raisonné, the lot had multiple international bidders but in the end sold to a buyer in San Francisco. Rounding out the top three at $106,250 was the double-sided oil on canvas work titled Fishing Town with Women on Beach/Seascape with Trees by Maria-Mela Muter (Polish French, 1876–1967). It received serious international attention, including from Poland and Israel and sold to a buyer in Poland.
An international buyer prevailed against other international competition to take Etudes VII (d’apres Manet), a graphite drawing by Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) to $150,000. It had extensive publication and provenance (Estimated: $100,000–$150,000).
“Works by women artists are doing much better,” Rick Unruh said. Fishing Town with Women on Beach/Seascape with Trees, a double-sided oil on canvas work by Maria-Mela Muter realized $106,250 from a buyer in Poland (Estimated: $50,000–$70,000).
Works by such iconic artists as Roy Lichtenstein, David Hockney, Wayne Thiebaud, Salvador Dali, Sol Lewitt and Richard Diebenkorn peppered the sale and brought strong results too. Particularly noteworthy was Roy Lichtenstein’s Shipboard Girl offset lithograph from 1965, which made $53,125, a price that is an improvement over the $20,000 hammer price the Napa Valley, Calif., seller paid for it when they acquired it from Clars in 2013. The seller of the Litchtenstein also sold a portfolio of 39 prints – etchings, aquatints, drypoints and soft ground etchings – by British artist David Hockney (b 1937), which nearly doubled its low estimate to finish at $34,925. Six Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm had been acquired at Sotheby’s New York in 2011 for $8,125.
The seller of Shipboard Girl by Roy Lichtenstein had acquired it from Clars in 2013 for a hammer price of $20,000. They made a profit as it brought $63,125 ($42,500 hammer price) in this sale (Estimated: $40,000–$60,000).
The seller of David Hockney’s Six Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm 39-print portfolio from 1970 paid $8,125 for it when they acquired it from Sotheby’s New York in 2011. It more than quadrupled in value, realizing $34,925 at Clars (Estimated: $18,000–$24,000).
A Palo Alto, Calif., collector paid $34,925 for Castel Mola, a 1932 lithograph by M.C. Escher (Estimated: $10,000–$15,000).
Robert Longo (American b. 1953), Gretchen, 1984, lithograph, 67.5″ x 39″. Sold: $59,375
Cristina Campion, Clars’ associate director of Twentieth Century design, was thrilled with the international response to works by American master woodworkers, like George Nakashima and Vladimir Kagan. A 1971 wall hanging cabinet by Nakashima that retained its original work card from the George Nakashima Studio topped off at $62,500, more than twice its high estimate and sold to an international buyer bidding on the phone. A contour rocking armchair from the Vladimir Kagan collection, circa 1999, had provenance to Dennis Miller Associates of New York City and found a new home with an online bidder for $16,900, more than three times its high estimate.
Another favorite among bidders was Danish designer Hans Wegner, who was represented in the sale with six lots. Leading the group at $17,500 was a valet chair, followed by a Papa Bear lounge chair that realized $13,700.
International bidders joined the fray for this wall hanging cabinet that was made in 1971 by George Nakashima. It sold to one of them, bidding on the phone, for $62,500 (Estimated: $20,000–$30,000).
“The sinuous lines of that chair are trending in furniture and design,” said Cristina Campion, Clars’ associate director of Twentieth Century design. Online interest in the piece was strong and it sold to an online bidder for $16,900 (Estimated: $3,000–$5,000).
Clars Auction Gallery will sell Asian Art, Jewelry, Furniture, Decorative and Fine Art on April 24, and Jewelry and Timepieces on May 19.Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.clars.com or 510-422-0940.
