It was my brother who introduced me to Simon Winchester'sKrakatoa, a marvelous book which tells the fascinating story of the great volcano. I am always pleased to find an author like this, one who can present science as well as history and culture, and make it all utterly captivating.
Now Winchester has decided to tell the story of the vast Atlantic Ocean, a task too broad for most of us even to contemplate. He has chosen to organize this information using Shakespeare's Seven Ages of Man, a device that seems to work well enough in its offbeat dramatic way. Winchester's Atlanticis quite up to date and includes some major geologic news events of 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico and in Iceland. His discussion of global warming is reasonable, maybe too reasonable, but he's trying to stay out of the political circus surrounding this topic. The book is by it's very nature not quite as focussed as Krakatoa, but it does cover a lot more ground--or rather, sea.
J. M. W. Turner, The Wreck of the Minotaur
Note: And don't forget my brief review of Winchester's Krakatoa (2003) here.
John Held, Jr. was the most popular and highest-paid illustrator of the jazz age. Two of his travel posters were featured in the Swann Galleries sale of November 15, 2010. The sales results show that he still retains quite a bit of appeal. "The Enchanted Isle" is Martha's Vineyard which was and still is accessible by ferry from Cape Cod. At the time, the sensible way to get to the Cape was by train. In 1935, the year after this poster was published, the Sagamore and Bourne bridges were opened, allowing passenger cars access to the Cape over the Cape Cod Canal and everything changed. By 1937, passenger train service to the towns east of Dennis was ended forever. Today the tracks have been removed and the Cape Cod Rail Trail accommodates bicycles and riders on horseback.
Sale 2230 Lot 179
JOHN HELD, JR. (1889-1958) THE ENCHANTED ISLE / MARTHA'S VINEYARD. 1934.
41 3/4x28 inches, 106x71 cm. Plampin Litho Co., N.Y.C. Condition A-: repaired tear through bottom margin.
"In 1924, [The New Haven Railroad] commissioned New York City artist John Held, Jr. to design a series of posters selling New England resorts and vacations . . . Held, a well known delineator of eastern establishment culture whose Vanity Fair and Life magazine illustrations and cartoons introduced two of the era's defining caricatures--the happy-go-lucky flapper and her straw-hatted guy, Joe College-- proved a prescient choice. His New Haven designs talked to the new, jazzy cultural elite" (Zega p. 63). Zega p. 66. Estimate $5,000-7,500
Sold for $4,200
Sale 2230 Lot 178
JOHN HELD, JR. (1889-1958) THE NEW HAVEN R.R. / NORTHWARD. Circa 1930.
41 3/4x28 inches, 106x71 cm. Plampin Litho Co., N.Y.C. Condition B+: repaired tears at edges, some affecting image; minor restoration in margins.
In his classic cartoon form, Held shows golfers, flappers and others, all heading "northward," much like migrating ducks, which he also presents. The New Haven Railroad was an essential means of transportation in New England, and "at its peak in 1929, the railroad owned and operated 2,131 miles of track throughout New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island." Held p. 91, Zega 65. Estimate $1,500-2,000
The Belvedere Torso, a profoundly influential Hellenistic sculpture by Apollonius the Athenian, is on display in the Vatican Museums:
Apollonius the Athenian,The Belvedere Torso, The Vatican Museums
Here is Study of the Belvedere Torso byPeter Paul Rubens from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art:
Study of the Belvedere Torso, ca. 1601–2
Peter Paul Rubens(Flemish, 1577–1640)
Red chalk
15 1/2 x 10 1/4 in. (39.5 x 26 cm)
Inscribed at lower left: P Rubens, 342
Recto:The Virgin Adored by Saints, pen and brown ink, ca. 1627
Purchase, 2001 Benefit Fund, 2002 (2002.12b)
NOT ON VIEW Last Updated August 25, 2011
This drawing was made by Rubens as a young man on his first trip to Rome, in 1601–2. It is a study of the back view of the Belvedere Torso, an antique sculpture dating to the first century B.C., which belonged to the Colonna family in the seventeenth century and is today in the Vatican Museums. Using red chalk and a technique of soft overlapping hatching, Rubens produced lifelike results that belie the marble material of his subject.
Apollonius the Athenian,The Belvedere Torso, The Vatican Museums
Rembrandt's etching technique is second to none. See how exquisitely he renders the different textures of fur, hair, and velvet, while using sophisticated shading techniques to indicate the light source on the sitter's left. This rather fine 17th century print "Old Man with Beard, Fur Cap, and Velvet Cloak" can be traced back to the legendary collection of Mary Jane Sexton Morgan, cousin by marriage to the great collector J. Pierpont Morgan. As these things go, that's a pretty good provenance.
Lot 129Rembrandt van Rijn(Dutch, 1606-1669) Old Man with Beard, Fur Cap, and Velvet Cloak, c.
1632, second state of three, a 17th century impression
(Bartsch/Hollstein, 262, ii/iii; Hind, 92). Monogrammed in the plate,
collectors' stamps (see below) to the reverse. Etching on laid paper,
plate size 5 7/8 x 5 1/8 in. (14.8 x 12.8 cm), framed. Condition: Trimmed nearly to not within the plate mark, thin spots to sheet, pencil and ink annotations verso.
Provenance: An unidentified collector of early Dutch prints (Lugt,
2169) through to Mary Jane Sexton Morgan Collection (Lugt, 1879) No.
2104, March 15, 1886 sale, NYC, American Art Galleries, to the estate of
Helene K. Sargeant, Wellesley, Massachusetts.
N.B. Mary Jane Sexton Morgan was a cousin of J. Pierpont Morgan by
marriage. The sale of her extensive collections of prints, paintings,
silver, and decorative arts was highly publicized, and according to a New York Times article
published March 16th, 1886, the entire sale brought $1,205,090.42, an
extraordinary sum for the sale of an art collection in the 19th century. Estimate $6,000-8,000 Update 9/21/2011: Sold for$11,258 on September 9, 2011.
Further
information on Mary Jane Sexton Morgan may be accessed at the Frick
Library Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America:
http://research.frick.org/directoryweb/browserecord.php?-action=browse&-recid=7040
Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883(2003) Simon Winchester
An early 19th century image years before the great eruption.
I came to this book knowing almost nothing ofKrakatoa except that it was east of Java. I now realize that Hollywood misled me on that rudimentary fact and the great volcano is actually situated west of Java.
I don't think I've ever before come across a volume that can be termed a work of popular geology, but this is surely it, a superb example of a genre I didn't dream existed. I missed out on geology in college, where the introductory course was supposedly geared only to allowing athletes to meet their science requirement. Earth science was mostly overlooked in my high school as well, and while I certainly had heard of continental drift, I don't believe the relatively new notion had made its way into any of our science texts.
Simon Winchester, then, has done his best to relieve my ignorance of plate tectonics and subduction zones. His book also provides keen insights into the spice trade, the Wallace Line, 19th century science, the evils of Dutch colonial rule, the rise of Islamic militancy in Indonesia, and the enduring mysteries of ecological succession. In other words, Krakatoa is not merely about the powerful volcano exploding; it is about the complex world that volcano tore asunder.
"The Band Concert" (1935) was Walt Disney's first full-color short that featured Mickey Mouse. The Walt Disney Studios had been producing spectacular color cartoons ever since "Flowers and Trees" (1932), but Mickey himself remained in old-fashioned black and white for a few more years because he was already exceedingly popular and people would happily see his cartoons even without color. In other words, new technology was expensive even back then, so you used it sparingly where you needed it most.
For me, "The Band Concert" remains one of the best Disney animated cartoons ever, and I suspect most collectors and fans would go along with this assessment. That sly phrase in the lot description, "For advanced collectors," is meant to entice. It suggests just how exclusive this item is, and it implies not very subliminally that whoever purchases it will have moved up to the exalted rank of a truly elite collector. Indeed.
The cel set-up is just gorgeous, showing the entire band on stage taking a bow at the beginning of the cartoon. This restored artwork sold at Heritage Auctions on February 25 for $44,812.50, a lofty price, but if the lot description is accurate, the successful internet bidder snagged it for less than half what collector Kerby Confer had paid for it. So it goes.
Mickey Mouse The Band Concert Production Cel Animation Art (Walt Disney, 1935).... (Total: 1)
Mickey Mouse The Band Concert Production Cel Animation Art (Walt Disney, 1935). For advanced collectors focusing on early Walt Disney material, here is one of the most important Mickey Mouse items you could ever hope to acquire. The Band Concert was the very first color cartoon to feature Mickey and his gang, save for an earlier promotional appearance, and has long been cherished by Disney fans worldwide. It is a intensely funny short, crammed with colorful gags involving Mickey's ragtag orchestra (who never stop, no matter what is happing around them), and the efforts of soft drink salesman Donald Duck to subvert the program by playing "Turkey in the Straw" on his piccolo. The film climaxes with an intense windstorm, just as the band plays "The William Tell Overture."
This charming and beautiful cel set-up shows Mickey and company at the beginning of the cartoon, greeting their audience. It's the "pie-eye" Mickey at his best, and this incredible scene has never looked better. Professional restoration has been done by Ron Stark of S/R Laboratories. The image area measures approximately 12" x 9.5", professionally matted and framed to an overall size of 26.75" x 22.75". Please note that the areas of white visible in our image are not defects, but light reflected from the acetate, which has warped a little along the edges. The set-up looks fine in person.
This piece is thought to be the only production setup in existence from the first Mickey cartoon that features Mickey and the entire band. It was the cover lot for the December 4, 1985 Christie's East auction. Between that time and its acquisition by Kerby Confer circa 2001 it reportedly changed hands more than once, commanding a six-figure sum each time.
The most notable animation art item that Heritage has offered to date. From the Kerby Confer Collection.
Walt Disney Studios, Cel Set-Up from "The Band Concert" (1935)
Maybe you think you'll never be able to own a bather by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. If you're after nothing less than a sumptuous Renoir oil painting you're probably right, but if you're willing to buy a print from the master's hand, you could be in business. Here is an original etching of a standing bather byRenoir which is being offered at Skinner on September 9. Renoir etched the plate himself, creating this image which exists in no other medium. A century later, it's still affordable to many.
Lot 128Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French, 1841-1919)
Baigneuse debout, mi-jambes, c. 1910,
possibly a later impression (Stella, 23). Unsigned. Etching on paper, plate size 6 1/2 x 4 1/4 in. (16.2 x 10.7 cm), framed. Condition: Margins over 1 1/4 inches, not examined out of frame. Estimate $300-500
September 21, 2011 Update: Unsold
Note:My post regarding Whistler's etching Upright Venice is here.
The Jerry Weist collection of science fiction and fantasy art will be sold at Heritage Auctions on September 12 in Beverly Hills, with internet bidding ending the night before. The cover lot is this evocative painting by Frank Frazetta which served as the cover art for the paperback edition of the E.C. comic book adaptation of Ray Bradbury's Tomorrow Midnight. Heritage refers to Frazetta as "the greatest fantasy artist of all time." I won't dispute that since I can't think of anyone better.
I didn't ever read these E.C. adaptations from the sixties and I'm not familiar with the Bradbury story. I know I've seen this well-known illustration somewhere, but right now I'm not feeling any sort of emotional connection to the artwork. But somebody clearly is. Bidding is already at $28,000.
FRANK FRAZETTA(American, 1928-2010)
Tomorrow Midnight, paperback cover, 1966
Oil on board
19.5 x 14.75 in.
Signed and dated lower left
For many fans, their first exposure to the magic of EC's evocative comic
book adaptations of Ray Bradbury's short story classics came courtesy
of two sixties Ballantine Books paperback reprints, Tomorrow Midnight and The Autumn People.
The legendary fantasy master Frank Frazetta was the obvious choice as
cover artist for these titles, and this was the last in the series. This
superb cover scene captures perfectly the haunting poetry of Ray
Bradbury's vision, and is one of the finest Frazetta masterpieces we've
ever had the pleasure to offer-it's not only a stunning, peak period
painting by the greatest fantasy artist of all time, it's also got the
added appeal of EC and Bradbury, encompassing three of Weist's lifelong
passions. From the Jerry Weist Collection. Estimate: $40,000 - $60,000.
For many fans, their first exposure to the magic of EC's evocative comic
book adaptations of Ray Bradbury's short story classics came courtesy
of two sixties Ballantine Books paperback reprints, Tomorrow Midnight and The Autumn People.
The legendary fantasy master Frank Frazetta was the obvious choice as
cover artist for these titles, and this was the last in the series. This
superb cover scene captures perfectly the haunting poetry of Ray
Bradbury's vision, and is one of the finest Frazetta masterpieces we've
ever had the pleasure to offer-it's not only a stunning, peak period
painting by the greatest fantasy artist of all time, it's also got the
added appeal of EC and Bradbury, encompassing three of Weist's lifelong
passions. From the Jerry Weist Collection. Estimate: $40,000 - $60,000.
Note: My brief book review of Al Capp's Li'l Abner: The Frazetta Years: Volume 4 (1960-1961) can be foundhere.
No, this is not the famous but extremely rare Beatlesposter of which no more than a handful exist. Rather, it is a more common facsimile edition from the 1970's. It is signed by promoter Sid Bernstein, but I doubt whether this enhances its value. The Beatles's legendary first and most famous concert at Shea Stadium was on August 15, 1965. Forty-five years ago today, the Beatles performed their second concert at Shea which the original of this poster promoted, part of their North American Tour. This was one of their last concerts anywhere. Where were you on August 23, 1966? And if you're too young to answer that question, there's really no need to let me know.
Sid Bernstein Presents the Beatles in Person
Shea Stadium Tuesday Aug. 23 (1966)
1970's Facsimile
247. A Vintage BeatlesPoster, ca. 1970's "Sid Bernstein Presents the Beatles". A poster, ca. 1970's, publicizing a performance at Shea Stadium on Tuesday, August 23, (1966) autographed near the top by Sid Bernstein, approx. 28" x 20-1/4", not framed. There are four known copies of the original edition; this is from a second edition published by Sid Bernstein. Printed in yellow and black inks on glossy paper by Murray Poster Printing Co., New York, including a photo screen printed image of the Fab Four. On 15 August 1965, The Beatles performed the first major stadium concert in the history of rock 'n' roll at Shea Stadium in New York to a crowd of 55,600. The 1966 North American Tour ran from August 12-29 including Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Toronto, Boston, Memphis, Cincinnati, St. Louis, New York, Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco (the last ever public performance). Sid Bernstein imported the British Invasion to the shores of New York City and helped build the dreams of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits, the Moody Blues, the Kinks, James Brown, Ray Charles, John Denver, Joan Baez, Miles Davis, the Rascals, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Elvis Presley, Barbara Streisand, ABBA, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and the list goes on and on...www.sidbernstein.com 800/1,200 Sold $575.00
So the Boss is a fan of Pete Seeger.Who knew? Pete Seeger has recorded scores of memorable folk songs and it must have been quite a task for Bruce Springsteen to make selections for this tribute album. Right off the bat, the album hits you with a rollicking rendition of "Old Dan Tucker" and--surprise!--Springsteen is totally in his element. Not only that, the musicians are just great. Many of Seeger's recordings seem spare to me, with just a guitar or a banjo to accompany Seeger's great voice. This album is beautifully produced with an absolutely splendid band.
Ultimately, though, Pete Seeger seems quite absent from this disc. Seeger has a sonorous voice and he clearly articulates every phrase. Springsteen's voice isn't as versatile or as clear. Often he sounds hoarse or nasal. Sometimes he has a bit of a drawl or twang. Sometimes the singing just seems forced ("John Henry"). But that band Springsteen assembled always sounds amazing!
Bruce Springsteen-- Old Dan Tucker
Bruce Springsteen & The Seeger Sessions Band -
Live @ LSO St. Lukes
John Henry, Oh Mary Don't You Weep, How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times
And Live?, Mrs. McGrath, My Oklahoma Home, Jacob's Ladder, We Shall
Overcome, Pay Me My Money Down
On May 4 at Heritage, Peter Arno's1952 New Yorker cover artwork of a distracted farmer sold for $4,481.25. It's not at all bad, something I can take pleasure in even if I don't think its Arno's finest work. Somehow this 60-year-old image can at least still bring on a smile, something that can't readily be said of most of today's New Yorker covers.
Peter Arno, Original cover art, The New Yorker, August 2, 1952
PETER ARNO (American, 1904-1968) Ready to Run, New Yorker magazine cover, August 2, 1952
Watercolor and ink on board
16.5 x 12 in.
Signed lower right
Arno, Peter:. American cartoonist, 1904-1968
Condition Report*:
Board is glued to mat; otherwise in good condition. Mattted to an overall size of 19.75 x 16 inches.
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