Auctions | July 31, 2020
Courtesy of RR Auction

Franz Joseph Haydn’s VI Original Canzonettas, c. 1794. Estimate: $20,000

Boston — RR Auction's August Fine Autographs & Artifacts sale features over 1,300 items, led by outstanding classical music pieces: autographs of Chopin, Haydn, Schubert, Strauss, Dvorak, and Brahms are among the items offered.

Highlights from the classical music section include; a scarce, beautifully signed Frédéric Chopin copyright document for a Scherzo, Piano Concerto, Grand Polonaise, and Mazurkas. The extremely rare one page manuscript in French signed "F. F. Chopin," August 7, 1835. Significant document recording the sale of the French copyright to the Parisian publisher Maurice Schlesinger for some of his most celebrated works.

Chopin signed this agreement just as he prepared to leave Paris to visit his parents in Karlsbad for the first time since leaving Poland, a departure that marked the end of a prolific phase in his musical career. The composer here acknowledges receipt of advance payment from Maurice Schlesinger, who led one of the most important musical publishing firms in Paris. (Estimate: $30,000+)

Franz Joseph exceptionally rare signed music score for 'Dr. Haydn's VI Original Canzonettas. The score for the ‘Voice with an accompaniment for the Piano-Forte,' includes a dedication to Mrs. John Hunter, 'Printed for the Author, & Sold by him at No. 1 Bury Street, St. James's, at Mess' rs Corri, Dussek & Co., Music Sellers to her Majesty, No. 67, Dean Street, Soho, & Bridge Street, Edinburgh,' no date but circa June 1794, 31 pages, signed in the lower right of the title page in bold ink, "Haydn." The score contains six songs—I. 'The Mermaids Song,' II. 'Recollection,' III. 'A Pastoral Song,' IV. 'Despair,' V.' Pleasing Pains,' and VI. 'Fidelity.' Lavishly bound with the unsigned "Second Sett of Dr. Haydn's Original Canzonettas" in quarter dark brown calf with marbled blue boards, and the spine titled in gilt. (Estimate: $20,000+)

Franz Schubert extremely rare signed music score for 'Die Sterne von Leitner,' printed in Vienna in 1828, 17 pages, signed in the lower right corner of the title page in ink by Franz Schubert with his paraph, adding the opus number, "Op. 96," below the printed title. Handsomely bound in half calf with marbled green boards and the spine titled in gilt. (Estimate: $2,500+)

Richard Strauss sketchleaf for 'Hymne an die Liebe' signed on his 60th birthday. The large and extensively worked autograph manuscript sketchleaf for the first of the Drei Hymnen, Op. 71, accomplished in pencil on both sides of a trimmed sheet of printed musical manuscript paper, signed and dated in ink on the composer's sixtieth birthday, "Richard Strauss, Garmisch, 11.6.24." The sketchleaf comprises approximately 56 measures, with vocal line and short score and unidentified scoring. Numbered "7" in the corner of the inscribed side, with additional (apparently mathematical) notations in two locations. (Estimate: $3,500+)

Antonín Dvorák handwritten letter to the copyist at Prague's National Theatre. The one-page postcard in Czech signed "Ant. Dvorak," no date. Untranslated letter to Jan Elsnic, a copyist at the National Theatre in Prague (Národní Divadlo). Accompanied by a color postcard portrait. (Estimate: $2,500+)

Johannes Brahms letter to his close friend, the music critic Max Kalbeck. Famed German composer (1833-1897), whose works in the Classical spirit, written in the midst of the Romantic era, take a place among the most enduring music of the 19th century. Among his best-known works are four symphonies, numerous concerti, all manner of chamber and keyboard works, and the large-scale choral masterpiece German Requiem. A one-page postcard in German signed "J. Brahms," no date. Untranslated letter to his close friend, the music critic Max Kalbeck. (Estimate: $2,000+)

Other top lots include a signed photograph of Sun Yat-sen, a fully signed Beatles program from 1964, two George Washington letters, and a dress worn by Jennifer Lopez at the 1999 Oscars.

Over 400 items come from the diverse collection of Stephen Adamson, representing a lifetime of curiosity, reverence, knowledge-seeking, and love of all things critical to our history.

The Fine Autographs and Artifacts featuring The Stephen Adamson Collection from RR Auction began on July 24 and will conclude August 12 at 7:00 PM ET. For more information, go to www.rrauction.com.

Exhibit | July 30, 2020
Courtesy of the artist; Photo by Paco Vergachette

Lucha Rodriquez’s Knife Drawing XX, 2018. Watercolor on paper.

Washington, D.C. — Cut, folded, torn, glued, burned or embossed, paper becomes a transformational art medium in Paper Routes—Women to Watch 2020, on view at the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) from October 8, 2020 through January 18, 2021. Presenting the work of 22 emerging and underrepresented contemporary women artists from around the world, Paper Routes highlights the versatility of paper well beyond its traditional role as support for drawings, prints and photographs with works that range in scale from intimate to immersive. Some featured artists highlight the delicate properties of paper through thousands of meticulous cuts, while others create surprisingly dense and monumental sculptures.

Paper Routes is the sixth installment in NMWA’s Women to Watch exhibition series, which results from an innovative collaboration between the museum and its national and international outreach committees. The 22 committees participating in Women to Watch 2020 selected curators in their regions who created shortlists of contemporary artists working with paper. The curators who participated in the selection of artists for Paper Routes are from major institutions such as the Brooklyn Museum, New York; The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.; High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and Musée des Arts Decoratifs et du Design, Bordeaux. From these nominations, NMWA curators selected one artist from each committee whose work will be included in the exhibition. The artists are represented by 12 states and ten countries: Argentina, Arizona, Arkansas, Northern California, Southern California, Canada, Chile, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, the Greater Kansas City Area, Massachusetts, the Mid-Atlantic Region, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Texas and the United Kingdom.

The artists in Paper Routes are: Jen Aitken, Elizabeth Alexander, Natasha Bowdoin, Mira Burack, Elisabetta Di Maggio, Oasa DuVerney, Mary Evans, Rachel Farbiarz, Dolores Furtado, Angela Glajcar, Dalila Gonçalves, Julia Goodman, Joli Livaudais, Annie Lopez, Paola Podestá Martí, Echiko Ohira, Luisa Pastor, Sa’dia Rehman, Natalia Revilla, Lucha Rodríguez, Georgia Russell and Hyeyoung Shin.

“The Women to Watch program offers an unprecedented opportunity for women artists to show their work, often for the first time, on a national and international level,” said NMWA Director Susan Fisher Sterling. “No other museum outreach effort is so targeted in its commitment to discovering and promoting women artists working today. We are delighted to welcome such a talented group to the museum.”

ART AND ARTISTS

In cultures around the world, artists have explored paper as a medium in and of itself. Perhaps the best-known example is Japanese origami, whose practitioners deftly fold paper into myriad forms. Other traditions include intricately cut paper like papel picado in Mexico and wycinanki in Poland. The first documented papermaking process took place in China more than 2,000 years ago, but mass-produced paper—created cheaply from cellulose fibers converted into pulp—has been a staple since the 19th century. Today, paper art is a thriving and diverse genre in its own right.

Many artists who work with paper emphasize its ephemeral quality. For Jen Aitken (Canada, b. 1985), paper enables her to create volume without mass. She makes architectural constructions for each new exhibition space, as they respond specifically to their surroundings. The work of Mary Evans (United Kingdom, b. 1963) is also site-specific; she composes large-scale scenes from cutout silhouettes that exist only for a specified timeframe. The disposability of the brown packing paper in her work carries meaning, as Evans likens it to the way in which Black bodies have historically been commodified, used and discarded.

In large quantities, paper can be heavy, unyielding and compact, a property some artists choose to exploit. The monumental sculptures of Angela Glajcar (Germany, b. 1970), created with multiple sheets of heavyweight white paper, demonstrate the inherent beauty of the material. Her hanging work’s feathered edges result from the artist’s tearing process, and the layers of paper create light caverns that contain a play of shadows. Sculptures by Dolores Furtado (Argentina, b. 1977) also rely on the density of material. Inspired by the transformation that paper undergoes from liquid to solid during manufacture, Furtado molds handmade paper pulp into tactile sculptures.

Artists Sa’dia Rehman (Ohio, b. 1980) and Julia Goodman (Northern California, b. 1979) allude to paper’s role in recording the weight of history to reinforce the importance of their subjects. In Rehman’s life-size Family (2017), she uses newsprint to portray her Pakistani American Muslim family, highlighting the discrepancy between her ordinary subject and the imagery of war and violence with which Muslims frequently appear in the media. Goodman plumbs the history of rag sorters to highlight the invisible labor of women who were part of the rag-based paper industry. Taking discarded material from the factory in San Francisco where these women, mostly Italian immigrants, labored until the 1960s, Goodman makes her own paper pulp, onto which she impresses their names.

Paper cutting is a longstanding tradition in paper art and includes silhouettes, developed in 18th-century France, and the art of scherenschnitte, or “scissor cuts,” brought to colonial America by German immigrants. Georgia Russell (France, b. 1974) meticulously slices, slashes and reconstructs old books, music score sheets, maps and other printed materials into lush, tendrilled sculptures and latticed cutouts. Paola Podestá Martí (Chile, b. 1969) re-creates large ornamental façades using thousands of individual laser-cut pieces in the shape of insects to comment on nature’s reclamation of untended historical sites. Likewise, Elisabetta DiMaggio (Italy, b. 1964) uses a surgical scalpel to cut precise and intricate designs on large panels of fragile tissue paper that cover the walls of an entire room.

Paper’s adaptability allows a multitude of techniques in addition to cutting. Applying the art of origami to her practice, Joli Livaudais (Arkansas, b. 1968) prints photographs of personal subjects—family, friends, artwork and objects of beauty—and shapes them into beetles that appear in her work frequently as symbols of spiritual transformation. The time-consuming physical process of folding each photograph fosters introspection and reflection on past experiences. Hyeyoung Shin (Greater Kansas City, b. 1973) draws on Jiho-gibeop, a traditional Korean method of paper casting from objects. In Tide (2019), inspired by the worldwide Women’s March rallies in early 2017, Shin casts individuals’ feet to reflect on the distinct and collective paths that people take as a result of personal and political values.

One of paper’s distinguishing characteristics is its malleability, providing rich fodder for artistic innovation. Annie Lopez (Arizona, b. 1958) uses a cyanotype process to print personally relevant images and texts on tamale paper, sometimes stitching together as many as 40 sheets to fashion her blue vintage-style garments. Inspired by textures and forms found in nature, Echiko Ohira (Southern California, b. 1949), twists, tears, stacks, nails and sews layers of untreated, tea-stained or vibrantly dyed paper for her evocative abstract sculptures.

Paper Routes—Women to Watch 2020 is organized by the National Museum of Women in the Arts and sponsored by participating committees in Argentina, Arizona, Arkansas, Northern California, Southern California, Canada, Chile, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, the Greater Kansas City Area, Massachusetts, the Mid-Atlantic Region, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Texas and the United Kingdom. The exhibition is made possible by Northern Trust with additional funding provided by the Clara M. Lovett Emerging Artists Fund and the Sue J. Henry and Carter G. Phillips Exhibition Fund. Further support is provided by Bayer AG, the Council for Canadian American Relations, and Luso-American Development Foundation. The museum extends appreciation to the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Embassy of Italy with the Italian Cultural Institute in Washington, D.C.; and the Embassy of Peru in the U.S. Special thanks to the Mississippi State Committee and San Francisco Advocacy for NMWA for their support of the Paper Routes catalogue.

PUBLICATION

Published by NMWA, the 92-page exhibition catalogue features works by and statements from each Paper Routes artist, as well as an introductory essay by co-curators Virginia Treanor and Orin Zahra.

Auctions | July 30, 2020
Courtesy of Potter & Potter

An archive of letters from magician Faucett Ross realized $4,560.

Chicago — Potter and Potter's midsummer magic sale - the fourth and concluding sale of the vast magic collection of Jim Rawlins - proved good things come to those who wait! After a long day of spirited bidding, 78 lots realized between $750-2,000; 20 lots realized between $2,001-5,000; and 6 lots broke the $5,001 mark. Prices noted include the company's 20% buyer's premium.

Magic apparatus from highly respected prewar manufacturers took several of the top slots in this exciting sale.
o    Lot #188, a working aluminum spirit lock, made $9,600 on its $5,000-10,000 estimate. This entirely mechanical prop was made by engineering expert Jon Martin in the 1940s and is one of a handful exant.    
o    Lot #56, a giant card wheel from c. 1940, traded hands at $7,200. This provenanced and oversized apparatus, believed to be a unique example, was a feature of magician Chuck Vance’s shows for decades.
o    Lot #152, a Victorian nest of boxes, realized $4,800 on its $2,000-4,000 estimate. This set of six wooden boxes was produced by Hamley’s Grand Magical Saloons in the 1880s and is one of a handful of surviving props marked with the Hamley’s tag.
o    Lot #4, a c. 1900 color changing ball vase sold for $1,440, over seven times its low estimate. This lidded, turned wooden vase changed the color of the solid ball inside from black to white and back again, or caused the white ball to vanish.
o    Lot #309, a camouflaged tabletop servante made by F.G. Thayer in the 1940s, was estimated at $100-200 and landed at $1,320. This device, disguised as a patterned handkerchief, was draped over the edge of the magician’s table to ditch, switch, or secure items.

Postwar magic apparatus also delivered impressive results.
o    Lot #281, a c. 1955 nest of boxes made by Carl Owen, realized $9,000 on its $1,500-2,500 estimate.  This set of seven wood chests was fitted with brass hardware and was only one of two seven-box sets constructed by Owen.
o    Lot #23, Harry Blackstone Sr.’s Vanishing Birdcage used at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium's 1960 It's Magic show, delivered $4,800 on its $1,500-2,500 estimate. Blackstone shared the stage with Billy McComb and five other acts at this event; at the conclusion of the performance, he presented this cage to McComb, whose handwriting on the cardboard tube containing the cage indicates its provenance.

Fully provenanced Harry Houdini used props and apparatus continue to attract the imagination, attention, and wallets of enthusiasts worldwide.
o    Lot #384, Houdini’s large wooden wagon wheel, came full circle at $5,040. This was possibly the last escape device to come out of Houdini’s historic home in NYC.
o    Lot #423, a set of handcuffs from the Houdini-Dunninger Collection, made $5,040.These Cummings handcuffs were patented in 1899 and were accompanied by two keys.
o    Lot #424, an early 20th century German bell padlock from the Houdini-Wresch Collection, sold for $4,080. This lot included a key which made a dinging sound when turned in the lock.

Bidders were also captivated by this sale's fine collection of images featuring Harry Houdini.  
o    Lot #396, a c. 1920 photo of Houdini lying face-down on the ground, his neck, wrists, and ankles bound together with leg irons, cuffs, and possibly a large lock, realized $3,840 on its $600-900 estimate.
o    Lot #428, c. 1910 photo of Houdini and Ching Ling Foo outside the Brighton Beach theatre, where Foo was appearing, scored $2,640 on its $400-600  estimate.
o    Lot #430, a portrait photograph by Apeda of Houdini staring intensely at the viewer made $1,800 -  nine times its low estimate.

This memorable sales event came full circle with collections, albums, unexpected ephemera, fine antiques, and other top-tier magicana.
o    Lot #433,  an engraved bookplate bearing a bust portrait of Houdini, sold with a trimmed and mounted Houdini Hippodrome Vanishing Elephant advertisement, was estimated at $50-100 and turned the page at $360.
o    Lot #166, an archive of 90+ letters from magician Faucett Ross (American, 1900-1987) from the 1960s – 80s, was estimated at $1,500-2,500 and sold for $4,560. These were written to fellow magician John Bowery and included lengthy discussions of magic methods and the passing scene of the day, among other topics.
o    Lot #421, a leather-bound autograph album filled with magician's signatures - including Houdini, and Chung Ling Soo - was estimated at $2,500-3,500 and made $5,040. These were principally obtained at theatrical venues of the 1900s-10s, mostly in Glasgow, Scotland and Bath, England.

According to Gabe Fajuri, President at Potter & Potter Auctions: "This, the fourth sale from my friend Jim Rawlins' collection, was a resounding success. I'm thrilled with the results of all four auctions, which brought in over $1.25 million in all. Never in a million years did I think that - some twenty-five years ago, when I first met Jim - that I would be the one to handle the sale of his treasures. Built up over decades of steady, considerate, and careful collecting, Jim amassed a truly great gathering of rare, historically significant, and finely made magic props, posters, books, and ephemera. As the introduction he wrote to the final of our auction catalogs, hopefully some of the joy of ownership goes along for the ride with each of the objects offered in these auctions."

Auctions | July 29, 2020
Courtesy of Nate D. Sanders Auctions

Los Angeles – A rare 1775 receipt signed by Paul Revere for his horseback ride from Boston to New York will be auctioned by Nate D. Sanders Auctions on July 30, 2020. The receipt is dated 15 February 1775 just two months before his Midnight Ride warning colonists that ''The British Are Coming'' before the Battle of Lexington & Concord. As official courier for the Boston Committee of Public Safety, Revere was tasked with riding from Boston to Philadelphia and New York, with historians documenting 18 such rides from December 1773 to November 1775. This was likely the last of the rides before the Revolutionary War began, and is only one of two receipts for the rides ever to appear at auction, with the other selling at Christie's for $140,000 in 2002. Composed entirely in the hand of Revere, the receipt documents expenses ''from Boston to N. York'' in the amount of 4 pounds, 3 shillings, and additional expenses for his Horse, and his time, all totaling 13 pounds, 19 shillings. Dated 15 February 1775 by Revere. Document measures 7.5'' x 2.25'', framed with an engraving of Revere on horseback to a size of 15.75'' x 18''. Uneven edges, clean vertical separation and light chipping at lower left edge. Overall very good plus condition with legible and strong handwriting. With Profiles in History COA.

Bidding began at $20,000.

Additional information on the receipt can be found at: https://natedsanders.com/LotDetail.aspx?inventoryid=58435.

Auctions | July 29, 2020
Courtesy of Heritage Auctions

Dallas, TX – The Invisible Man made his presence known during Heritage Auctions’ Movie Posters event held July 25-26, with a scarcely seen teaser for the 1933 horror classic scaring up $228,000 to help lead the weekend’s sale past the $2.3 million mark.

The weekend’s auction was a blockbuster event, with more than 1,700 bidders on HA.com vying for the chance to own some of cinema’s most elusive and cherished advertisements for itself.

“The sale was very active,” said Grey Smith, Heritage Auctions’ Director of Vintage Posters. “A large number of bidders participated, there were strong results overall – and some records set.”

Most of the weekend’s offerings exceeded pre-auction estimates – among them the Swedish one sheet for Casablanca, which nearly tripled its pre-event estimate when it sold for $55,000. Indeed, Casablanca’s enduring appeal resulted, too, in the sale of two chairs from Rick's Café Américain for $78,000 – more than 10 times estimate.

And a record was set for the most ever paid for a Casablanca lobby card: $33,600.

Director Fritz Lang’s masterpieces garnered some of the weekend’s highest bidding – and frantic action. The German poster for Lang's 1931 noir M, in which Peter Lorre gave his greatest performance, opened bidding at $31,000 and, after a spirited back-and-forth between online bidders, closed at $108,000, a record price for this piece.

Another Lang masterpiece, 1927’s Metropolis, likewise proved a big hit at our Movie Posters event: An incredibly rare poster from its initial U.S. release – when the film was dramatically truncated, before its eventual restoration and ascension to masterpiece – opened at $21,000. But heavy bidding lifted the poster, depicting the film’s towering skyscrapers, to a realized price of $66,000.

One of the event’s biggest surprises, and another record-setter, was the Italian 2-fogli for 1958’s Horror of Dracula, starring Christopher Lee. This Hammer Films offering opened bidding at a mere $9,000, just under its pre-auction estimate. But by the time it finally sold, after a breakneck back-and-forth, the final price was a staggering $84,000.

A far less frightening offering was the stunning poster for F.W. Murnau’s Oscar-winning 1927 film Sunrise – an early noir starring George O'Brien and Janet Gaynor, whose visage adorns the one sheet. Befitting the only known copy of this visually stunning one sheet, it sold for $48,000, far above its pre-auction estimate – and deservedly so.

And this was no illusion: a one sheet for 1919’s The Master Mystery, featuring Harry Houdini and cinema’s first robot, sold for $43,200 – well over initial estimates. It was the first time Heritage Auctions had ever offered the poster for this serial featuring Houdini.

Movie posters weren’t the only things setting records at Heritage Auctions’ Movie Posters auction: “Never Was So Much Owed by So Many to So Few,” a World War II poster so named for a Winston Churchill speech, sold for $45,600. That’s the most paid for a World War II propaganda piece. Even more startling: Its pre-auction estimate was a mere $1,500-3,000.

But it wasn’t just the higher-priced pieces smashing and setting records: A withdrawn Pulp Fiction poster, showing Uma Thurman and a smoldering Lucky Strike, sold for $6,600. That’s the same price for which one bidder bought a first-printing of a Star Wars poster, significant because it was a First Printing Printer's Proof One Sheet.

“I was very pleased with the outcome,” Smith said. Clearly, he wasn’t alone.

Auctions | July 29, 2020
Courtesy of Catawiki

Amsterdam — Catawiki is proud to present a lovely copy of the world view of Ortelius, from his Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. The piece has a nice contemporary colouring and minimal wear. Ortelius, who hailed from Brabant, in the south of the Netherlands, was one of the founders of Dutch cartography. His Orbis Terrarum, or “Theatre of the World” is recognised as the first true modern atlas. Many consider it to be a summary of 16th-century cartography, and the start of the Golden Age of Dutch cartography.

Catawiki’s Exclusive Cartography auction will this month feature over 40 of the most sought after maps and views, offered by sellers from throughout Europe. The auction will be online from the 24th July 2pm CET to the 31st July 8pm CET and it is visible at the link: https://www.catawiki.com/a/366719

Harald Fredriks, cartography expert: “This is a very nice example of this scarce world map. Its charming colouring makes it a favourite with collectors.”

Auctions | July 29, 2020

Amsterdam — Nearly every book collector loves an early text.  This early French text, which explains the meaning and symbolism of the clothing a priest wears, is particularly fascinating to all those interested in the medieval church or the symbolism of garments. It is hard to find this document as a complete text, particularly in such good condition. The Latin can still be easily read today.

Courtesy of Catawiki

Written by Hugh of Saint Cher (In Latin Hugo de Sancto Charo) the document contains all 10 leaves and is entitled Expositio missae. A popular work, the text was first printed in 1475, and there were 14 editions by the year 1500. This particular edition was printed between 1481 and 1487.

The work describes the priest's garments and the symbolic, mystical meaning of each, followed by the parts of the holy mass with an explanation and a reference to a corresponding biblical text. Thus, this book in its concise form is a summary of the most important element of Catholic worship.

Bibliographies: Goff cf. H518. ISTC 00517200. GW 13585.

Hugh of Saint-Cher was one of the first Dominicans. Born in Dauphiné, he entered the order in 1225 (the Dominicans had only been founded in December 1216). He rose rapidly through the order, becoming a Cardinal Priest, and later a Cardinal Bishop. As well as an author, he was active in establishing orthodoxy in the Church. He died in Orvieto, in Italy, in 1263.

The auction will be online from Friday 24 July 2020 at 10:00 (CET) until Tuesday 04 August 2020 at 18:00 CET and will be visible at the following link: https://www.catawiki.com/a/366413

Marc Harrison, category manager Books, Manuscripts & Cartography at Catawiki: “To hold an early printed work is to hold a piece of history. This is even more significant when one considers the importance that the Catholic Church held in many people’s lives at the time this incunabula was printed.”

Auctions | July 28, 2020
Courtesy of Swann Galleries

JEB, Audre Lorde in Her Home Study, Staten Island, NY, RC print, 1981, printed later. Estimate: $1,000-1,500

New York — The second annual offering of a specialty sale of LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History is set to come across the block at Swann Galleries on August 13. The auction will feature fine art and ephemera from notable figures across genres including artists, writers and activists. Ephemera from the downtown New York scene from the 1960s through the 1990s forms a cornerstone of the sale, which had initially been scheduled for June but was postponed to August as a result of New York City’s PAUSE. A portion of the sale will benefit NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project.

The auction begins with items from nineteenth century literary figures, including Oscar Wilde autographs, one an autograph quotation: “The secret of life is in Art,” signed and dated May 1882 ($4,000-6,000), and a circa 1867-69 albumen print of Walt Whitman by William Kurtz ($600-900). Also of note is an 1883 account of more than 240 Parisian female sex workers, many involved in same-sex relationships, or who did not adhere to binary gender expression, and made their identity clear to all ($1,000-2,000).

The sale reaches into the twentieth century with exceptional material from fine artists including Richmond Barthé, with Quo Vadis, a cast bronze sculpture estimated at $10,000 to $15,000, also by Barthé is Untitled (Man Playing a Mandolin), a 1936 woodcut expected to bring $1,500 to $2,500. (Swann Galleries set a new auction record for the Barthé in June of this year when the sculpture Feral Benga sold for $629,000.) Toyen is present with two 1935 watercolors: Untitled Surrealist Beach Scene ($3,000-5,000), and Untitled Portrait with Nude ($2,000-3,000); as well as Erotic Illustration from Marquis de Sade: Justina cili prokleti stnosti, a 1932 pen and ink drawing ($8,000-12,000). David Hockney is featured with Portrait of Henry Geldzahler, four black and red pen and ink drawings, circa 1980 ($5,000-8,000).

A run of rare works by David Wojnarowicz that span the artist’s most popular mediums come to auction through the artist’s brother, as well as the estate of friend and fellow bandmate Brian Butterick. Highlights include Stoned Sketchbook, early 1970s, with 31 pen and ink drawings ($10,000-15,000); Rimbaud in New York, a 1978–79 silver print ($3,000-4,000); a group of 14 circa late-1970s to early-1980s photocopies ($2,000-3,000); Untitled (Genet with Dog), a mixed media collage that reflects the artist’s influence of Jean Genet’s writings ($8,000-12,000); and a maquette for the installation for Lazaretto: an installation about the state of the AIDS crisis, 1990 by Wojnarowicz and Paul Marcus ($10,000-15,000).

From 1960s and 1970s New York City comes Manhattan Gay Scene Guide 1969, Summer Edition. Issued weeks before the Stonewall Uprising, the printed pamphlet provides a detailed and honest assessment of the bars, baths, clothing and coffee shops and LGBTQ+ spots prior to the launch of Gay Liberation Movement ($3,000-4,000). A run of works by Andy Warhol includes the artist’s polaroid portraits: Gilbert & George, 1975, the pair offered at $10,000 to $15,000, and bodybuilder Keith Peterson and Warhol’s studio assistant Mike Walsh, together estimated at $6,000 to $9,000.  

The west coast is represented by a 1970 flier for San Francisco’s first Pride parade ($1,000-1,500); and a pair of real photo postcards from the 1977 San Francisco Gay Day Parade by Marie Ueda ($400-600). Two autograph letters signed by Harvey Milk to Pat Mormon are present at $3,000 to $4,000. Written during Milk’s time serving in the Navy, the letters contrast gay life in Norfolk, VA compared to that in San Diego, and mention Milk going on leave to meet someone in Texas and his hopes that the trip will end in a “gay marriage.” A small archive of pioneering Los Angeles gay rights activist Don Amador is estimated at $3,000 to $4,000. The archive includes personal papers relating to the 1979 March on Washington among other items.

Photography features throughout the sale with images of and by prominent members of the LGBTQ+ community. Images of women from the gay liberation and feminist movements by Joan E. Biren (JEB) include Audre Lorde in her home study, Staten Island, NY, RC print, 1981, printed later ($1,000-1,500), and Barbara Love, Ti-Grace Atkinson, and Kate Millett at The Forum on the Future, NYC, RC print, 1978, printed later ($800-1,200). A small group of five intimate silver prints of writer and activist James Baldwin, circa 1965, by John Paignton, are available at $2,000 to $3,000. Fine art photography features Peter Hujar’s silver print portrait of Ethyl Eichelberger, 1981 ($10,000-15,000); a 1971 mixed-media silver print by Robert Mapplethorpe ($10,000-15,000); and Horst P. Horst with Noël Coward, Paris, silver print, 1936 ($5,000-7,500).

Zines and comics, vintage posters from the 1990s, illustration art, and works from PaJaMa and Tom of Finland round out the sale.

Limited previewing (by appointment only) will be available from August 10 through August 12, to be scheduled directly with a specialist in advance and conforming to strict safety guidelines. Swann Galleries staff will prepare condition reports and provide additional photographs of material on request. Advance order bids can be placed with a specialist for the sale or on Swann’s website, and phone bidding will be available. Live online bidding platforms will be the Swann Galleries App, Invaluable, and Live Auctioneers. The complete catalogue and bidding information is available at www.swanngalleries.com and on the Swann Galleries App.
 
Additional highlights can be found here.

Exhibit | July 28, 2020
Collection of The Eric and Barbara Carle Foundation © Penguin Random House LLC

Eric Carle's Homage to Paul Klee 6, 2016.

Amherst, MA — Four years ago, at the age of 87, picture book artist Eric Carle began creating a series of cardboard and found object collages depicting angels. He dedicated these abstract assemblages to the artist Paul Klee (Swiss, 1879-1940), who created over 70 drawings and paintings of angels during his lifetime. The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is pleased to present Eric Carle’s Angels: An Homage to Paul Klee, which opened on July 22 and will be on view until November 29, 2020. The Museum reopened to its members on July 22 and will open to the general public on August 1. See reopening guidelines and new hours here.
 
“Klee and his angels have become my strange and mysterious passion,” says Carle. “Several years ago I began to feel the need to honor Klee’s angels in visual form.” Carle created 20 artworks in a spirit of playful improvisation, unbound from the restraints of the picture book. Exhibited for the first time in the United States, the angels reveal his artistic interests beyond children’s books and affirm his love of collage.
 
Carle’s angels—singular, bold, three-dimensional—are a testament to the expressive power of collage in the hands of a master. His primary material is cardboard, cut from old shipping boxes and the mats on which he paints his tissue papers. The cardboard fragments show the colorful brushstrokes of Carle’s past creations, and he integrates logos and bar codes into the compositions. He mines his studio for other objects—crayons, fabric, aluminum, carpet, and empty tubes of paint—to adorn his angels. Constructed of everyday materials, Carle’s angels are earthbound meditations on art, process, and temporal beauty.
 
“When Eric showed me his angels, I knew I wanted to present them in a special exhibition,” says Ellen Keiter, the Museum’s chief curator. “The intimacy of our smaller Central Gallery seemed the perfect setting. We painted the walls a celestial blue and designed a reading area with books about Eric and Paul Klee. I think guests will find Eric’s angels as fascinating as I do. They are deeply personal and so different from his picture book illustrations.”
 
While the Museum has been closed, the staff posted online content featuring artwork in its collection. Keiter created a short video introducing Carle’s angels. In it, she describes Angel #6: “One of the early works in the series, Angel #6 is constructed of simple geometric shapes cut from the old cardboard mats on which he paints his tissue papers. The forms bear thick and feathery brushstrokes, the colorful remnants of past creations. In contrast to some of Carle’s more abstract works in the series, this angel’s form is clearly delineated with two large metallic wings.”
 
A new publication, Eric Carle’s Angels: An Homage to Paul Klee by H. Nichols B. Clark, was printed for this exhibition. It is available in The Carle Bookshop. $18.95

Events | July 27, 2020
Courtesy of the Library of Congress

The 2020 National Book Festival poster was designed by Rodrigo Corral Studio and Tyler Comrie with illustration and animation by Justin Metz.

Washington, D.C. -- The 2020 Library of Congress National Book Festival will connect with audiences across the country for an interactive, online celebration of "American Ingenuity" for the festival's 20th year, featuring new books by more than 120 of the nation's most-renowned writers, poets and artists. The festival will also showcase the many ways our national library embraces all subjects in its unparalleled collection.

During the weekend of Sept. 25-27, virtual stages at loc.gov/bookfest will offer on-demand videos, live author chats and discussions, options to personalize your own journey through the festival with particular themes, and book buying possibilities through the festival's official bookseller, Politics & Prose, with a limited number of commemorative book plates signed by authors. The Library is also in discussion with broadcast partners to ensure broad access to the festival. Subscribe to the festival blog for updates on plans for the festival.

New to this year's festival is an opportunity for festivalgoers to take a deeper dive into timely topics engaged by many books across the festival's stages. Attendees are invited to follow three newsworthy threads that weave through the festival and offer a more profound appreciation for the subjects. They are:

  • "Fearless Women" – books by and about strong women and resolute trailblazers.
  • "Hearing Black Voices" – books that showcase Black voices across all genres, affirming their contributions to American culture.
  • "Democracy" – books that assess the state of democratic principles here in America and around the globe.

Another new feature added to the 2020 festival is a new virtual stage called Family, Food & Field, which will include authors whose books cover such topics as food, home, sports, television and current issues, such as the Me Too movement.

More information on the authors whose books are part of these timely topic threads will be found on the festival website in the weeks before the event.

Highlights of the 20th National Book Festival: Celebrating American Ingenuity

  • Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead will receive the Library's Prize for American Fiction and discuss his lifelong career in writing.
  • Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on her memoir, "Hell and Other Destinations."
  • National Ambassador for Young People's Literature Jason Reynolds on his book "Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You," which he co-wrote with Ibram X. Kendi.
  • "Today" show co-host Jenna Bush Hager on "Everything Beautiful in Its Time," a collection of stories about her grandparents, Barbara and George H.W. Bush, and her book club "Read With Jenna."
  • Chelsea Clinton on her new book for young readers, "She Persisted in Sports: American Olympians Who Changed the Game."
  • John Grisham, master of the legal thriller, on his latest books, "Camino Winds" and "The Guardians."
  • Melinda Gates on her new book, "The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World."
  • Mo Willems, creator of "The Pigeon" books, "Because" and other bestsellers for children, on his work and creative process.
  • Parker Curry and her mother, Jessica Curry, on their book, "Parker Looks Up: An Extraordinary Moment," recounting a visit to the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery and viewing a portrait of first lady Michelle Obama.
  • Dan Brown, author of "The Da Vinci Code," makes his children's book debut with "Wild Symphony."
  • Ibram X. Kendi and Saeed Jones on ways to confront racism and bigotry, as described in Kendi's book "How to Be an Antiracist" and Jones' memoir, "How We Fight for Our Lives."
  • Rebecca Boggs Roberts and Lucinda Robb on their new book, "The Suffragist Playbook."
  • Veronica Chambers on her children's book "Finish the Fight!: The Brave, Unruly, and Radical Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote."
  • Thomas Frank and Christopher Caldwell on "The Road to Populism" and their related books.

Full Festival Lineup of Participants by Stage:

For Adults

History & Biography: Madeleine Albright, Peter Baker, Sarah Broom, Christopher Caldwell, Erica Armstrong Dunbar, Eric Foner, Thomas Frank, Susan Glasser, Jenna Bush Hager, Harold Holzer, Nicholas Lemann, Jon Meacham, George Packer, Rick Perlstein, Heather Cox Richardson, David Rubenstein, Ted Widmer, Gene Luen Yang

Understanding Our World: Jared Diamond, Peter Florence, Melinda Gates, Robert M. Gates, Barton Gellman, Haben Girma, Richard Haass, David Ignatius, Walter Isaacson, Saeed Jones, Mitch Kaplan, Ibram X. Kendi, Lois Kim, Cristina Fuentes La Roche, Daniel Markovits, Jason Reynolds, Thomas Rid, James A. Robinson

Fiction: Ishmael Beah, Sandra Cisneros, Kali Fajardo-Anstine, Kate DiCamillo, John Grisham, Marlon James, James McBride, Mazaa Mengiste, Ann Patchett, Salman Rushdie, Emily St. John Mandel, Amy Tan, Téa Obreht, Jeff VanderMeer, Colson Whitehead

Genre Fiction: Tomi Adeyemi, Leigh Bardugo, N.K. Jemisin, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Walter Mosley

Poetry & Prose: Franny Choi, Mark Doty, Rita Dove, Joy Harjo, Juan Felipe Herrera, Carmen Maria Machado, Susan Minot, Robert Pinsky, Karen Russell, Jennifer Shapland, Danez Smith, Tracy K. Smith, Elizabeth Tallent

Family, Food & Field: Bill Buford, Gail Collins, Jesse Dougherty, Bruce Feiler, David Kamp, Roland Mesnier, Mark Ramsdell, Megan Twohey, Judith Warner, Esther Wojcicki

Science: Ann Druyan, Katherine Eban, Mario Livio, Edward Melillo, Leland Melvin, Sarah Scoles, Wendy Williams

For Young People

Children: Sophie Blackall, Dan Brown, Veronica Chambers, Chelsea Clinton, Jerry Craft, Jessica Curry, Parker Curry, Angela Dominguez, K.A. Holt, Deborah Hopkinson, Kwame Mbalia, Megan McDonald, Connie Schofield-Morrison, Frank Morrison Peter H. Reynolds, Barb Rosenstock, Pam Muñoz Ryan, Jon Scieszka, Nic Stone, Don Tate, Steven Weinberg, Mo Willems, Kelly Yang

Teens: Becky Albertalli, M.T. Anderson, Tonya Bolden, Mike Curato, Jo Rioux, Lucinda Robb, Rebecca Boggs Roberts, Aisha Saeed, Nic Stone, Sabaa Tahir

The National Book Festival is made possible by the generous support of private- and public-sector sponsors who share the Library's commitment to reading and literacy, led by National Book Festival Co-Chair David M. Rubenstein. The Washington Post is a Charter sponsor; Patron sponsors are the Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Endowment for the Arts and the Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission; Friends include the American Psychological Association, Booklovers Circle Members, Buffy Cafritz, Capital Group, Marshall B. Coyne Foundation Inc., Joseph and Lynn Deutsch, Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction administered by The University of Alabama School of Law, the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress, Library of Congress Federal Credit Union, George Washington's Mount Vernon, National Endowment for the Humanities, Timothy and Diane Naughton, Dwight D. Opperman Foundation, Rancho Mirage Writers Festival, Poetry Foundation, Skoll Foundation and Youth Speaks. C-SPAN2's Book TV, The New Republic and NPR are Media Partners.

Those interested in supporting the National Book Festival can contact the Library at devofc@loc.gov.

Follow the festival on Twitter @librarycongress with hashtag #NatBookFest, and subscribe to the National Book Festival Blog at loc.gov/bookfest/.