Date: Fri 02-Jul-1999

Publication: Ant

Author: SARAH

Quick Words:

Doyle-auction-Halpern

Full Text:

Paintings And Pottery Bring Strong Prices At William Doyle Galleries' Auction

Of 20th Century Art And Design

NEW YORK CITY -- Competitive bidding by a standing room only crowd brought

strong prices for modern and contemporary paintings, as well as pottery by Lea

Halpern, at William Doyle Galleries' auction of Twentieth Century Art and

Design on June 7.

Broadcast live on the Internet by Amazon.com's LiveBid, important examples of

modern and contemporary paintings and sculpture were offered, as well as a

range of decorative arts, including furnishings, metalwork, glassware,

ceramics, rugs and lighting fixtures by the master designers of the post-war

and modern eras.

Topping the sale was an oil and canvas collage "Givre et Memoire," by French

artist Jean Dubuffet 91901-1985). The artist translated his interest in early

textures and tones into this figural work, which achieved $189,500 from a

French bidder.

"One Indiana Square," By Robert Indiana (American, b. 1928), as also a strong

seller, yielding $55,200. Other works by American artists were a colorful

autumn view of a country house, Fairfield Porter's (1907-1976) "Johnson House

-- Morning," which yielded $20,700; "Evening Encampment," by Wolf Kahn (b.

1927) which sold for $13,800; and "Bar Room Painting," a strong figural work

by Franz Kline (1910-1962), which was purchased for $10,350.

Among Central American works, Mexican artist Francisco Toledo's (b. 1940)

"Fantastical Figures" went to a French buyer for $12,650.

Louise Bourgeois' (American/French, b. 1911) bronze sculpture "Point of

Contact" highlighted sculptural pieces, selling for $24,150 to a Connecticut

bidder. "Profile Canto #3," a painted steel and bronze figural work on a

plexiglass base by Ernest Trova (American, b. 1927) brought $1,035. Another

bronze figural piece, "Child Looking Up," by Reg Butler (British, 1913-1981),

achieved $1,495. The abstract work "Hangover," by Australian sculptor Clement

Meadmore (b. 1929), also went or $1,495.

Competition from Internet and present bidders drove up the prices for a

collection of pottery by Polish-born artist Lea Halpern. From her first

exhibition in the Hague in 1931, she achieved great success and international

renown for her simple forms and complex glazing, including a great variety of

colors and surfaces such as craquele and aventurine.

The outbreak of war in Holland in 1939 prevented Halpern from returning home

after she came to the United States for an exhibition of her work in New York.

She married and settled in the Baltimore area, all the while continuing her

craft.

The Halpern pieces sold included "Firmament," a spherical vase covered in a

streaked gray and tan glaze, which went to a New York bidder for $4,600.

"Solitude," shaped in an ovoid form and covered in a matte gray craquele

glaze, yielded $3,565. A Connecticut bidder purchased the bright orange and

brown glazed vase "Gobi Desert" for $3,450. Covered with a light green

craquele glaze, the vase "Sea Nymph" brought $3,335 from a Canadian buyer.

Four pottery cabinet vases, each covered with a mottled or volcanic glaze,

were sold for $2,070, more than doubling the pre-sale estimate.

Additional works by Lea Halpern will be included in the firm's December sale

of Twentieth Century Art and Design.

Among the furniture and decorative offerings, the "Old Point Comfort" sofa

designed by Warren McArthur, circa 1935, and upholstered in brown crushed

velvet, brought $13,800 from a Maine bidder. "Old Point Comfort" armchair, en

suite with the sofa, sold for $8,050.

A New York collector bid successfully at $6,325 on a whimsical "City of Cards"

four-fold screen, designed by Piero Fornasetti, circa 1952. Two other

Fornasetti screens, "Acrobats" and "Stanza Metaphysica," each sold for $4,025.

Also from Italy, an attractive burl-wood table by Ico and Louisa Parisi raised

on three-prong legs yielded $3,737.50 from a New York bidder. A set of ten

chrome BRNO chairs, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in the early 1930s

and manufactured by Knoll, more than doubled the pre-sale estimate at $4,715.

Designed by Hans Wegner, a pair of teak lounge chairs, with striped brown and

khaki wool upholstery, achieved $3,565.

Several tapestries included a hand-woven Aubusson tapestry entitled "Green

Ball No. 9," after Alexander Calder, which more than doubled the pre-sale

estimate at $14,950. "La Courbe Grise," a vibrant abstract wool Aubusson

tapestry after Sonia Delaunay, went to a New York bidder for $8,625.

For information, 212/427-4141 (extension 235).