Dedham , MA-  Albers, Mapplethorpe, Avery, Picasso, Hundertwasser and Poons are just a few of the Modern masters to be offered at Grogan and Company’s upcoming May 20th auction.  The auction, which will include American and European Paintings, Prints and Sculpture of the 18th, 19th and 20th  century, will also include a large collection of Old Master Drawings from a Wellesley, Massachusetts estate, as well as Furniture, Decorative Works of Art, Jewelry, Silver and Oriental Rugs and Carpets.  

      The featured lot is Josef Alber’s Homage to the Square, ‘Late Sound’, a 40 x 40 inch oil on masonite created in 1964 by the venerated modern master of color.  The painting of a black square over a gray square over a blue square is estimated at $200,000-400,000 and is one of more than a thousand works in a series Albers created over a period of twenty five years to study the effect of color and shape to create illusion.   Milton Avery’s Bird in Bay, a 22 x 28 inch oil on canvas, which hails  from the same Grosse Pointe, Michigan family as the Albers, is estimated at $50,000-10,000; while a massive mixed media acrylic on canvas (89 x 131 inch) by contemporary American artist Larry Poons, titled Cat’s Eye, bears a $15,000-25,000 estimate.  Two provocative Black and White Photographs by New York artist and AIDS activist Robert Mapplethorpe include Ron Simms and Formal Cock, and are estimated at $3,000-5,000 and $8,000-12,000 respectively.  A sale of modern art would not be complete without at least one work of art by Pablo Picasso, hence, two Picasso Glazed Ceramic Chargers, Visage and Jaqueline, will be available at $15,000-20,000 each.  Still Life of Fruit by important Austrian modernist pioneer, Anton Faistauer (1887-1930), is estimated at $30,000-40,000 and Japanese painter Shikanosuki Oka’s Paris Street Corner, an oil on board is estimated at $5,000-10,000.

     In addition to the Modern and Contemporary offerings, the auction will feature several fine American and European 19th century paintings.  Highlights include Robert Koehler’s At the Café, a 19 x 15 inch oil on panel that was first exhibited at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 and later at the National Portrait Gallery’s Exhibition of American Art from the 1893 World’s Fair Exposition held in 1993.  The impressionistic painting has a presale estimate of $10,000-20,000 and has descended within the same family since it’s acquisition from the World’s Fair.  A 26 x 36 inch oil on canvas Sunset Over Baltimore Harbor by Italian artist Nicolino Calyo depicts a rare and dramatic view of Baltimore Harbor in the first half of the 19th century.  Calyo better known for his finely painted gouache’s, also became famous for painting the Great Fire of New York in 1835.  The Baltimore view is estimated at $10,000-15,000.  Young Woman Playing Harp, a recently discovered 43 x 25 inch oil on canvas by Frederick Henrik Kaemmerer (1839-1902) emerged from its yellow varnish during a cleaning to sparkle as one of the auction’s potential leaders.  With a pre sale estimate $6,000-8,000 the painting is possibly the same one listed in Benezit as having been exhibited at the 1897 Salon under the title Juene Fille Jaunt de la Harpe. A rare to the market work by Hartford born artist Luther Terry (1813-1869), Mother and Child, a 36 x 36 inch oil on canvas in its original carved gilt wood frame is estimated at $7,000-9,000. Terry moved to Italy in 1838 and never returned, however, this painting found it’s way back to a Massachusetts private collection. 

      A large collection of Old Master drawings from a Wellesley, Massachusetts estate includes works in the Manner of Guercino, Hubert Robert, Guido Reni, Nicolino Bambino and Francesco Mancini, while a selection of fine European sculpture includes works by Hippolyte Moreau,  Louise Albert Lefeuvre, Eugene de la Planche and Albert Carrier Belleuse. 

    The auction will take place at Grogan and Company’s Dedham Gallery located at 22 Harris Street, Dedham, Massachusetts.  The exhibition is open to the public and begins Thursday, May 17th.  Hours:  Thursday, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m – 6 p.m. and Sunday, 10 a.m. – 12 noon.  A fully illustrated catalogue can be found online at www.groganco.com.  For more information regarding upcoming auctions, consigning or appraisal services, please call the gallery at 781-461-9500.