Some of the brightest stars in the fine art galaxy – names such as Marc Chagall, Raoul Dufy, David Hockney, Pablo Picasso, Ludwig Bemelmans, Carlos Nadal and Georges Braque – will be represented, sometimes multiple times, at the auction of the Bridget and Jerome Dobson collection slated for Thursday, May 16th, by Ahlers & Ogletree, online and live at the Atlanta gallery.
“Since the 1970s, the dynamic duo of Bridget and Jerome Dobson has written award-winning episodes of several iconic daytime TV soap operas, including General Hospital, Guiding Light, As the World Turns and Santa Barbara,” said Robert Ahlers of Ahlers & Ogletree. “Between writing sessions, the couple collected incredible art on their travels around the world. Now, it will all be sold at auction.”
The auction’s undisputed headliner is the French/Russian artist Marc Chagall (1887-1985), whose signed 1980 tempera on Masonite titled Peintre, Ange et Amoreaux (Painter, Angel and Lover) is expected to realize $200,000-$300,000. The Dobsons purchased the work at a Sotheby’s auction in 1998. It comes with a COA from Jean-Louis Prat, an agent of the Comité Marc Chagall (ref. 92005).
Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal) was an early modernist painter, associated with the École de Paris as well as several major artistic styles. He created artworks in a wide range of formats, including painting, drawings, book illustrations, stained glass, stage sets, ceramics, tapestries and fine art prints. The art critic Robert Hughes referred to Chagall as “the quintessential Jewish artist of the 20th century.”
There are several artworks in the sale by Carlos Nadal (1917-1998), the French-born Spanish painter of the Fauvist school. They include a 1992 oil on canvas work titled Salon Rojo, signed lower left and titled, signed and dated to verso. The painting has a label on verso for The Bruton St. Gallery and measures 35inches by 45 ¾ inches (canvas, less the frame). The work should change hands for $25,000-$35,000.
An oil on canvas laid to board by Ludwig Bemelmans (1898-1962), the Austrian-born American artist best known as the illustrator of the iconic Madeline children’s book series, is titled Oh, Genevieve, Where Can You Be? The painting is tall and thin, at 66 ¾ inches by 22 ½ inches, and is unframed and apparently unsigned. The Dobsons purchased it at a Sotheby’s auction in 1999 (est. $20,000-$30,000).
There are three paintings in the sale by Bemelmans. In 1953, Aristotle Onassis commissioned Bemelmans to paint fifteen mural panels for the playroom on his yacht The Christina, named for his daughter. The murals were painted after illustrations that appeared in several of the author’s Madeline books, adaptations from originals in Madeline’s Rescue and Madeline and the Bad Hat.
Another artist whose name will be chanted more than once is Raoul Dufy (French, 1877-1953). His gouache and watercolor on paper titled La Plage d’Etretat (Etretat Beach) is titled lower center and signed lower right. It’s included in the supplement to the Catalog Raisonne of Watercolors, Gouaches, and Pastels by Raoul Dufy, reference As-0270. It has an estimate of $20,000-$30,000.
Dufy was associated with the Fauvist movement. He gained recognition for his vibrant and decorative style, which became popular in various forms, such as textile designs, and public building decorations. Dufy is most remembered for his artwork depicting outdoor social gatherings. He was also skilled in drawing, printmaking, book illustration, scenic design, furniture design and in planning public spaces.
A black and white lithograph on Arches paper by David Hockney (British, b. 1937), titled Big Celia #2 (1981), is #82 from an edition of 100 (est. $18,000-$26,000). The sheet is 52 ½ inches by 57 ¼ inches (the frame is 62 ¾ inches by 67 ½ inches). As an important contributor to the Pop Art movement of the 1960s, David Hockney is considered to be one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century.
Stepping briefly away from fine art for a moment, a circa 2nd century Roman marble trapezophorus (or table support), modeled as a lion with stylized mane, open fanged mouth, rounded chest, and rising on a monopedia paw foot with plinth base, apparently unmarked, has a pre-sale estimate of $8,000-$16,000. It was last purchased at Christie’s in 1996 and is 33 inches tall by 10 inches wide.
A large, circa 4th century BCE attic red figure terracotta bell krater (vessel for mixing water with wine) with Dionysus god of fertility, wine, and pleasure, having a rolled rim above an inverted bell shape body, flanked by lug handles, the whole rising on a pedestal foot, decorated on one side with a scene of a seated nude Dionysus holding a long staff, 16 inches tall, should hit $8,000-$12,000.
A pair of 19th century Italian walnut and mixed wood veneer commodes in the Neoclassical taste, having marquetry and parquetry inlay with bird and floral roundels to the top, three drawers with urn roundels, and rising on tapering feet, apparently unmarked, is expected to bring $6,000-$8,000.
Several artworks by Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973) will cross the auction block. A Chope visage (A.R. 434) painted earthenware ceramic jug (or pitcher), #94 from an edition of 300 that was conceived in 1959, decorated with a blue face, stamped ‘Edition Picasso’ and ‘Madoura Plein Feu’, with painted marks ‘Edition Picasso’ and ’94/300′, 8 ¾ inches tall, has an estimate of $5,000-$7,000.
Also carrying an estimate of $5,000-$7,000 is a 1966 etching with drypoint on paper, a Picasso artist’s proof of 15 titled Venus Foraine, pencil signed lower right and ink stamped on verso ‘Succ. Pablo Picasso Coll. Marina Picasso’. The etching was acquired from the Fay Gold Gallery in Atlanta. It measures 12 ½ inches by 16 ¼ inches (paper; the frame is 32 inches by 35 ½ inches).
There are seven original greeting card artworks by Georges Braque (French, 1882-1963) in the sale. An example is a mixed media and gouache on paper, titled Carte de Voeux (1958), inscribed ‘Mes Bon Voeux’ and signed and dated (est. $4,000-$6,000). The 3 ¾ inch by 5 ¾ inch card (paper, minus frame) was previously in the Douglas Cooper collection and purchased at Christie’s in 1992.
An 18th or 19th century Italian walnut refectory dining table in the Renaissance taste, having an egg and dart and dentil apron, and rising on a trestle base with volutes, now having a larger glass top, apparently unmarked, acquired on a trip to Europe and originally installed at a monastery refectory, overall 31 ½ inches tall by 128 ¼ inches wide by 45 ½ inches deep, should sell for $4,000-$6,000.
An ancient Greek bronze votive lamp from around the 5th century BC, cast in the form of a ship with dolphin, a pierced hole near the front perhaps for a wick, 1 ½ inches tall and 5 ¼ inches long, with a later stand, acquired from Christie’s New York in 1996, has an estimate of $4,000-$6,000.
An ancient, circa 400-200 BCE Greek Hellenistic terracotta figural sphinx ewer, the seated sphinx having a woman’s head, a lion’s body with fully unfurled wings with applied pierced button punts at each apex, and a high arching strap handle, the whole resting on a circular base, should command $3,000-$5,000. The piece was acquired from the Royal Athena Galleries in Beverly Hills in 1990.
The auction has a start time of 10 am Eastern, with the live auction taking place in the Ahlers & Ogletree gallery located at 1788 Ellsworth Industrial Boulevard NW in Atlanta. Online bidding will be provided by the Ahlers & Ogletree website (AandOAuctions.com), as well as Bidsquare.com, LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com. Telephone and absentee bids will also be accepted.
Previews will be held Monday, May 13th, from 10am-5pm; Tuesday, May 14th, from 10am-5pm (with extended evening hours from 5pm-7pm); and Wednesday, May 15th, from 10am-5pm, in Ahlers & Ogletree’s Atlanta gallery. All times quoted are Eastern. The public is invited; no appointment needed.
To learn more about Ahlers & Ogletree and the auction of the Bridget and Jerome Dobson collection slated for Thursday, May 16th, online and live at the Atlanta gallery, visit www.aandoauctions.com. You can also follow Ahlers & Ogletree via social media on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.