Attempted Bloggery: Adam Baumgold Gallery

Showing posts with label Adam Baumgold Gallery. Show all posts

Sunday, November 1, 2020

Peter Arno: Party Line Writers

A Peter Arno illustration from the 1930s depicts writers who toil in support of the policies of the two major political parties. Their work is viewed in a positive light as they build up their respective political brands. You might almost think there was no such thing as negative campaigning. This image appeared in the "Books" section of the Herald Tribune.

https://www.adambaumgoldfineart.com/peter-arno

April 26, 2024 Update: Peter Arno's nonpartisan artwork has come to the market again. It is no longer available from the Adam Baumgold Gallery. This time around it is listed by Heritage Auctions. It was sold in the April 23 Mainstream Illustration sale. We even get to have a look at the verso, with Arno's preliminary drawing which he scribbled through.

Verso

Peter Arno
Heritage Auctions sale of April 23, 2024

https://fineart.ha.com/itm/mainstream-illustration/peter-arno-american-1904-1968-books-new-york-herald-tribune-circa-1930-s-ink-and-watercolor-on-paper-8-x-12/a/8161-71235.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515

Peter Arno
Heritage Auctions item description

Note: Does any reader know precisely when this illustration was published or better still have an image of the newspaper page from the New York Herald Tribune which featured it? Adam Baumgold Fine Art listed this and one other Peter Arno work that appeared in the Herald Tribune; does anyone have access to more?

Attempted Bloggery reminds its American readers to vote.

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Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Saul Steinberg: Two Landscapes

Two watercolor landscapes by Saul Steinberg were sold yesterday at Doyle in New York. For Mombasa (1969), Steinberg has chosen some fairly unremarkable white structures and boldly emblazoned them with contrasting black windows and doorways. The landscape colors are muted, although the watercolor technique is quite dramatic in the upper image. The composition is unified with a series of vertical poles, and rubber stamp images of standing figures and crocodiles. Present also are Steinberg's trademark fanciful inscriptions and official-appearing rubber stamp imprints.

By comparison, Ten Sunsets (1970) is more colorful, more fanciful, and overall less unified. Gold foil adds a prominent collage element. This is clearly the more desirable of the two Steinberg works, but it is not necessarily the better value. It sold for five times what Mombasa brought.

Both these works were included in the 2009 show "Saul Steinberg Landscapes" at the Adam Baumgold Gallery in New York. At this exhibition, Ten Sunsets appeared with the title The Postcard Theory.