Shapiro Auctions Announcing Important Fine & Decorative Art Auction in New York

NEW YORK - Feb. 23, 2018 - PRLog -- Shapiro Auctions
Fine and Decorative Art & Antiques Auction
March 7, 2018, 10am EST

NEW YORK, NY— Shapiro Auctions is pleased to announce the Fine and Decorative Art & Antiques Auction taking place on March 7^th, 2018. The auction will include nearly 400 lots of fine and decorative art from a wide variety of genres and stylistic periods including American and European fine art, Polish modern art, Latin American contemporary art, Asian art and antiques, and Russian art.

Shapiro Auctions will once again display their expertise in the field of Russian fine art with the magnificent Meditation in the Desert by Franz Roubaud, executed in 1887, soon after the artist's return from his extended travel through the Caucasus region. This calm painting portrays a peaceful and very personal moment of reflection in the daily life of a traveler in the Central Asian desert, as he initiates part of his daily prayer, Salat al-maghrib, performed just after sunset. Islamic calligraphy carved into the monumental frame of this lot repeats Moorish design of the Alhambra palace in Granada, Spain, and reads "There is no God but Allah". The work is included in the artist's catalogue raisonné and was presented upon its completion in 1887 at the exhibition-sale Kunsthandlung Wimmer in Munich, where it was sold to Ph. Lewisohn from New York. It is possible, that the work was also exhibited at the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts in St. Petersburg two years later.

Asian works of fine and decorative art and antiques cover an important facet of the March 7^th Auction, but a special grouping of lots from the collection of Dr. Victor Chi-tsai Hoo and his brother, Ambassador Hu Shi Xi, shines a spotlight on the important accomplishments and influence these diplomats had on the course of Chinese history.

One of the important lots from this historic collection is Lot 13, a Personal Autograph Book of Ambassador Hu Shi Xi, which includes letters, signatures, drawings, and calligraphy, circa 1941-1958 (est: $2,000-3,000.) Several ink drawings by Hu Shi Xi himself are also available in this sale, each estimated $1,000-2,000. Other important items from the collection include several orders awarded to U.N. Under-Secretary General Victor Chi tsai Hoo, such as a first class set of the Chinese Order of the Brilliant Jade (est: $3,000-5,000,) among others.

The March 7^th Auction will bring attention to American modern and contemporary art with works like Wayne Thiebaud's Portrait of Artist's Wife, Patte ($60,000-80,000,) depicting his first wife Patte Thiebaud. The painting was acquired by a private collection directly from Patte herself, with a certificate of authenticity. A cut-out steel portrait by Tom Wassermann will be offered for $25,000-35,000, as well as a line drawing by Louise Nevelson ($5,000-7,000,) and an invitation to Andy Warhol's retrospective in 1981, signed by Warhol himself ($3,000-5,000.) A work by Ludwig Bemelmanns, the illustrator and writer of the Madeline children's picture books, takes his sense of style and color into a more adult-oriented realm with Venus of New York ($12,000-15,000,) which alludes to both Manet's Olympia and Titian's Venus of Urbino.

A large portion of the March 7^th Auction is dedicated to European fine art, with highlights including Jean Metzinger's Jeune Femme Pensive aux Roses Rouges, estimated $80,000-100,000. Metzinger's Femme will be in the company of Moise Kisling ($70,000-90,000,) Andre Lhote ($3,000-4,000,) and works by Maurice de Vlaminck. Two prints by M.C. Escher are being offered, each one sold with a signed letter by Escher that accompanied the prints when he sold them to the current owner. The lithographs, Belvedere and Ascending and Descending, both classic works of his, are each estimated at $15,000-20,000.

Growing upon their exceptional sales records for Polish modern art, Shapiro Auctions continues to expand their selection of artists available to collectors. This includes artists Aleksander Kobzdej, Ana Guntner ($8,000-10,000,) Jan Cybis ($2,00-3,000,) and Tadeusz Brzozowski ($25,000-35,000,) among others. Boleslas Biegas, the important sculptor with works in collections such as the Musee d'Orsay, Paris, France, will be offered on March 7th as well. His bronze work, Burza (Storm) is estimated at $9,000-12,000.

Other significant offerings with Russian origin consist of a quintessential Philip Maliavin painting, The Laughing Village Baba ($40,000-60,000.) To contrast, two large paintings by Vasily Shulzhenko are being offered for $10,000-15,000 each. Additionally, Mordivinian Girl by Fedot Sychkov ($25,000-35,000,) will be offered along with Vladimir Makovsky ($40,000-60,000,) and Sergei Soudeikine's Portrait of the Actress Elena Balieva-Komissarjevskaya ($35,000-45,000.) Rounding out the Russian portion of the sale will be several works by Abraham Manievich, David Burliuk, Anatoliy Zverev, as well as several Russian Nonconformists such as Mikhail Chemiakin, Leonid Purygin, Vitaly Komar.

The March sale also offers a dazzling array of antique and modern jewelry, Fabergé, and decorative art pieces with intricate silver, gold, and enamelwork. Discerning book collectors are sure to be pleased with the rare set of Kammerfurier Journals, 1853-1917 ($15,000-20,000,) which to the specialists' knowledge, have never appeared at auction before. The set of six volumes of Drevnosti Rossiiskago Gosudarstva (Antiques of the Russian State) by Solnstev and Stroganov ($20,000-30,000) is sure to grab attention, as well as Les Joyaux du Tresor de Russie (Russia's Treasure of Diamonds and Precious Stones) ($20,000-30,000.)

All of the artworks will be on view in advance of the sale during the auction preview exhibition held from February 28th through March 5th, 10am-6pm.; March 6th, 10am-1pm.; March 7^th, 9am-10am; and by appointment. Both the preview and the auction will take place at Shapiro Auctions, 506 East 74th Street, New York, NY 10021. A full catalogue of the lots offered in the sale will be available on http://www.shapiroauctions.com in the weeks preceding the sale.

Please join us on Wednesday March 7th, 2018 at 10 a.m. EST to take part in the sale of this remarkable assortment of fine and decorative arts.