Self-Taught Art Masterpieces Total $1.5 Million At Slotin – Antiques And The Arts Weekly

Review by W.A. Demers; Photos Courtesy Slotin Auction

BUFORD, GA. — Outsider artist Adolf Wolfli’s (Swiss, 1864-1930) “Bengali Firework,” circa 1926, shone the brightest in Slotin’s two-day fall Masterpiece sale on November 11-12. The dynamic graphite and colored pencil on paper exhibiting extremely vivid colors and clear writing on verso commanded $65,000. With provenance to Phyllis Kind Gallery, the 24½-by-18½-inch work was purchased by a longtime buyer from New York, who purchased it online. Totaling $1.5 million, the two days offered more than 700 lots of the best in self-taught art, Outsider art, Southern folk pottery, antique and anonymous works, contemporary art, international art and new discoveries.

Edgar Tolson’s (1904-1984) carved and assembled wood sculpture “The Crucifixion,” extraordinary for its triangularly composed figures, more than tripled its high estimate on the sale’s first day to bring $57,500. The circa 1973 piece was unsigned and in excellent condition, measuring 17 by 14½ by 6 inches. This was the second crucifixion made by the Kentucky carver. An earlier version was not as tightly composed and was less finely carved. This version was exhibited in “Folk Art of University of Kentucky,” 1975, and published in American Folk Art from the Traditional to the Naïve.

Thomas “Sam” Doyle (1906-1985) is known for his paintings on sheet metal, which he would display in his yard aka his “Outdoor World-Wide-International Gallery.” His medium comprised discarded materials — metal roofing, plywood, etc., which he would illustrate using house paint. In this sale, he was represented by “Sharing A Watermelon,” paint on found used roofing tin, which surpassed its high estimate to finish at $28,125. Initialed, the work measured 32 by 24½ inches.

There were two notable pieces by William Hawkins (1895-1990) among the top prices in this sale. “Resting With Castle,” 1987, was enamel and glitter with photo magazine collage on found Masonite. Signed with birthdate on the front, the 39½-by-48½-inch work sold for $25,625, while his rendition of “Broad and High (Broad and Third),” circa 1982, derived from an 8-by-10-inch glossy black and white photograph of an intersection of downtown Columbus, Ohio, and done with enamel on rough found plywood took $18,750.

From the collection of Eugenie and Lael Johnson came a large floral composition with colorful seed pods by Anna Zemankova (1908-1986). There was no visible signature on the oil pastel and mixed media on artist paper but the composition had the unmistakable wild botanical style and beautiful shaded colors of the Czech painter, one of the world’s most important artists of art brut. It surpassed its $10/15,000 estimate, selling for $22,500.

With vivid colors, a paint and varnish on cardstock by Eugene Von Bruenchenhein (1910-1983) also outperformed. The untitled (Number 347) evocation of a fantastical forest from September 1955, signed, dated and numbered, was expected to top out at $12,000 but was bid to $20,625. As an American self-taught artist from Milwaukee, Wis., Von Bruenchenhein was a polymath producing an expansive oeuvre of poetry, photography, painting, drawing and sculpture. One of his post-graduation jobs from high school was working for a florist, which triggered a passion for horticulture that would later show up in his art with repeated use of floral motifs and leaf patterns.

Fetching $18,125 was Felipe Jesus Consalvos’ (1891-1960) “The Magic Skin,” circa 1920s-50s, a mixed media and paint collage on cardboard. After his death, it was discovered that the Cuban-American artist had created a body of artwork based on the vernacular tradition of cigar-band collage. This unsigned piece was a riot of Americana imagery surrounding an anatomy figure labeled “The Magic Skin,” a bottle of Ballentine Ale at his lips. A masterpiece example, it had provenance to Fleisher Ollman Gallery.

Unsettling in its theme, a work by Purvis Young (1943-2010) incorporating paint and rope on found Masonite with an artist-made frame was titled “View From Prison,” signed and with dimensions of 35½ by 65½ inches. This piece, which brought $16,875, was part of the wall Young recreated for David Raccuglia’s documentary, Purvis Of Overtown. That film documented Young’s incarceration in Raiford State Prison on a charge of breaking and entering. While in prison, Young taught himself to paint and became a popular contemporary artist and icon of African American culture and history.

Two oils on canvas by Outsider art favorite Clementine Hunter (?-1983) did well. “Girl Pulling Peach Cart With Chicken,” circa late 1960s, reflecting Hunter’s self-taught folk art tradition that stemmed from her life and work on a Louisiana plantation, beat its $3/5,000 estimate, pulling in $15,250. A colorful bouquet of zinnias arranged in an orange pitcher, circa 1970, was initialed and measured 16 by 24 inches. It earned $13,750.

A run of paintings by Joseph Yoakum (1891-1972), the idiosyncratic American self-taught painter known for his landscape paintings in the Outsider art style, included “Pugget (sic) Sound Valley Near Olympia Washington,” circa 1963, pastel, color pencil and ink on paper, $16,250; “Twin Lakes Near Medford Wisconsin,” 1965, pastel, color and graphite on paper, $15,000; and “Mt Caf Maisi Near Santiago Cuba on (Guantanamo Bay),” not dated, ink and graphite on paper, $13,750.

Also notable across the block were Thornton Dial’s “Topless Yellow Woman,” watercolor and charcoal on artist paper, which went out at $13,750, and Carlo Zinelli’s “Double-Sided Blue Horse & Multi-Figures,” 1966, paint on poster, dated and possibly signed, which left the gallery at $13,125.

Prices given include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house. For information, www.slotinfolkart.com or 770-532-1115.