Lisbeth ThalbergLos Angeles – Bonhams will host a trio of auctions dedicated to American Art, California Art, Western Art, and the Art of Hawaiʻi from July 28 to August 9. The California & Western Art sale will present important works by Franz Arthur Bischoff and Guy Rose while The Art of Hawaiʻi features the work of historic and modernist artists such as David Howard Hitchcock, Hon-Chew Hee, and Betty Ecke. The American Art Online sale is highlighted by an intimately sized watercolor by Charles Demuth titled Beach.
California & Western Art
August 6
The Sea, Laguna, a dynamic scene of waves crashing into the California coastline by Guy Rose (1867-1925), estimated at $200,000 – 300,000, is a highlight of the California & Western Art on August 6 in Los Angeles. One of California’s few native-born plein-air painters, Rose, who spent time in the French art colony of Giverny with Claude Monet, applied the tenants of French Impressionism to the familiar setting of his home state. An additional highlight of the sale is a vibrant still life by Franz Arthur Bischoff (1864-1929) titled Roses and estimated at $300,000 – 500,000. Bischoff’s elegant renderings of florals would ultimately earn him the moniker – King of the Rose Painters. This particular work has been extensively exhibited and will be well known to collectors.
The department is also presenting an online auction from July 30 – August 9 from artists such as James Everett Stuart (1852-1941), John Frederick Holtzmann (1834-1906), Mary Bradish Titcomb (1858-1927), and Francis John McComas (1874-1938). Highlights of the sale include John Frederick Holtzmann’s Big Tree Valley, Calaveras County, California, estimated at $5,000 – 7,000, and Yosemite Valley by James Everett Stuart, estimated at $5,000 – 7,000.
The Art of Hawaiʻi
July 28 – August 7
Two Modernist paintings by Chinese-American artist Hon-Chew Hee (1906-1993) highlight The Art of Hawaiʻi sale from July 28 – August 7. The works include Three Artists (John Young, Pablo Picasso and Self-Portrait), 1976, estimated at $30,000 – 50,000, and Good Table, circa the 1950s, estimated at $25,000 – 35,000. Both works reflect Hee’s unique vision and training, assimilating Chinese, Hawaiian and French Cubist cultural influences and ideologies. The sale will also present Before Darkness, 1962, estimated at $20,000 – 30,000, and Infinite Threshold, 1991, estimated at $12,000 – 18,000, by Betty Ecke (Tseng Yu-Ho) (1925-2017). Ecke is best-known for her innovative dsui hua (assembled paintings) technique which incorporates handmade paper and metal leaf, as shown in the present works. Also of note in the sale is Kainalu, Kailua Bay, O‘ahu, Hawai‘i, 1930 by the Volcano School painter David Howard Hitchcock (1861-1943), estimated at $20,000 – 30,000.
American Art Online
July 29 – August 8
From July 29 – August 8, Bonhams’ American Art Online sale will feature works from notable American artists such as Wolf Kahn (1927-2020), Ernie Barnes (1938-2009), Charles Demuth (1883-1935), Herbert Haseltine (1877-1962), and Jervis McEntee (1828-1891). American Precisionist painter Charles Demuth’s Beach executed in 1916 is a highlight of the sale. Estimated at $10,000 – $15,000, this intimately sized watercolor is a charming example of Demuth’s unique stylistic approach depicting the shores of Provincetown. Additionally, the sale will present Bad Weather Brewing, Cedar Springs TX, 1985 by Wolf Kahn, an American painter known for his combination of Realism and Color Field, estimated at $12,000 – 18,000, and Study for Jockey on Horse by Ernie Barnes, known for his depictions of elongated characters in movement,estimated at $12,000 – $18,000.
