FRANKLIN, Mass. – A collection of 25 limited edition prints, all signed and numbered by the legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and all 25 from his Drawn Blank Series of artworks based on drawings done between 1989 and 1992, will be sold Wednesday, Sept. 20, online-only, by Woodshed Art Auctions, at 11 am Eastern. A Prestige Collection sale will follow at 12 noon. 

Each giclee carries a pre-sale estimate of $2,000-$3,000, although the sky could be the limit for a signed print from a man with the star power and cache of Bob Dylan. The circa 2013 prints are from the heirs of a private estate in London, England and all are framed in silver-finish wooden molding, with deep mats and glass glazing. They’re large (42 inches by 32 ¾ inches, framed).

“Last year I saw an exhibition of Bob Dylan’s paintings at the New Orleans Museum of Art,” said Bruce Wood, the owner of Woodshed Art Auctions. “It was my first introduction to his work and I was impressed by the directness of his technique. When I was approached by the inheritor of his collection, my first thought was to mix them into auctions over several months.”

But when he saw the print collection en masse, Mr. Wood had a change in strategy. “It was obvious that the strength of the images obviated the need for dilution among better-known artists,” he observed. “We decided to give Mr. Dylan’s works the spotlight, as a ‘back-up act’ to our next Prestige Signature Collection sale. I’m confident the group will perform quite well.”

Dylan the musician became Dylan the artist during the three-year period. The resulting collection was published in a book titled Drawn Blank, which became the moniker for the collection as a whole. They were expressive drawings, capturing Dylan’s chance encounters and observations on tour. They were a blend of portraits, interiors, landscapes, still lifes, nudes and street scenes.

At the time, Dylan said producing art helped him to “relax and refocus a restless mind.” It was a personal exercise more than anything, but in 2006 Ingrid Mossinger, the curator of a German art museum, came across Drawn Blank (published in 1994) during a visit to New York. She got in touch with Dylan’s team about exhibiting his art in public, something that had never been done.

Much to Mossinger’s amazement and elation, Dylan said yes. When Dylan told Mossinger it was always his plan to eventually create paintings based on the drawings in Drawn Blank, she made the suggestion that he do just that for the exhibition, working in watercolor and gouache. The paintings, which formed a collection titled The Drawn Blank Series, were expressive and vibrant.

Dylan said at the time, “I was fascinated to learn of Ingrid’s interest in my work, and it gave me the impetus to realize the vision I had for these drawings many years ago.” Dylan painted several versions of the same image for The Drawn Blank Series, using different colors and tones, which resulted in a dynamic variety of impressions, feelings and emotions, on display in the exhibition.

The choice and skill in applying different color arrangements to the same original drawing enabled Dylan to express his feelings and perceptions of an idea or a view, continually evoking different feelings and reactions and thereby creating evolving works of art. This technique, as it turns out, is intrinsic to Dylan in all aspects of his creative life, both as a musician and an artist.

After World War II, when the epicenter of printmaking shifted from Europe to America, many artists began to dedicate their entire oeuvres to print, as it came to be viewed as being on the same level as painting and sculpture. Artists such as Andy Warhol were committed to the medium – repeating an image in many different colors and ways. That’s what Dylan has done.

As part of this tradition, a carefully selected collection of Dylan’s paintings was chosen to be published as signed limited edition graphics (or prints), giving collectors and art lovers around the world instant access to Bob Dylan’s works of art. Each edition was published in a limited number of 295 copies worldwide. All are printed on soft texture paper and come with a COA.

Woodshed Art Auctions’ Prestige Collection sales are so-named because they are smaller events focused on modestly priced works by big-name artists. Already consigned for the September 20th sale, starting at noon, are paintings and drawings attributed to Franz Kline, Joan Mitchell, Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Roy Lichtenstein and others.

The catalog will be posted online in early September. Bidders can register on the Woodshed Art Auctions website (www.woodshedartauctions.com) and online bidding will be facilitated by Invaluable.com and Auctionzip.com. Telephone and absentee (or left) bids will also be accepted.

Woodshed Art Auctions is a family-owned art gallery specializing in oil painting restoration and live and online art auctions, celebrating its 50th anniversary. The firm is always accepting quality artworks for future auctions. To inquire about consigning a single piece or an entire collection, you may call Bruce Wood at 508-533-6277; or, e-mail him at bruce@woodshedartauctions.com.

For more information about Woodshed Art Auctions and the Bob Dylan signed limited edition prints collection auction and the Prestige Collection sale, both planned for Wednesday, Sept. 20, please visit www.woodshedartauctions.com.

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