Skip to content
Art Deco

Heritage Auctions achieves $1.2M for Art Deco, 20th century art

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
Art Deco
Charles Rollo Peters (American, 1862-1928), ‘Light Beyond the Trees,’ oil on canvas laid on board, 25 1/2 x 32 inches. Price realized: $57,500. Heritage Auctions image

 

DALLAS – An expansive collection of Art Deco pieces that spanned the time from the Jazz Age through World War II highlighted the “Art Deco and 20th Century Art Treasures, Through the Modernist Lens” auction conducted this March 17-19 by Heritage Absentee and Internet bidding was available through LiveAuctioneers.

A strong sell-through rate of 85 percent by lot and 80 percent by dollar signaled the high interest in the wide variety of paintings and sculptures accumulated over four decades by a Hollywood collector. The total price realized for the auction was $1,235,738 with a large number of lots selling for well above estimate.

The top-selling item was by American artist Charles Rollo Peters, whose Light Beyond the Trees, oil on canvas realized $57,500, more than five times the low estimate.

The catalog cover lot, an oil on canvas by Glenn O. Coleman, The Empire State Building, sold for $40,000 – almost $15,000 over the estimate. This piece also appreciated from the last sale price when it came up for auction.

 

Art Deco
Glenn O. Coleman, ‘The Empire State Building,’ oil on canvas, sold for $40,000. Heritage Auctions image

 

A nice example of the decorative objects in the sale included a Franz Hagenauer Art Deco chromed metal female head, which sold for $16,875, doubling its low estimate.

 

Art Deco
Franz Hagenauer Art Deco chromed metal female head. Price realized: $16,875, Heritage Auctions image

 

Thomas Hart Benton’s ink and pencil on paper, titled Steel Worker, realized $15,000.

 

Art Deco
Thomas Hart Benton, ‘Steel Worker,’ ink and pencil on paper. Price realized: $15,000. Heritage Auctions image

 

The rest of the top ten selling lots includes:

  • Jean Dubuffet’s La Fumée, 1966, marker on paper, selling for $23,750;
  • Clown with Beret, 1942, by Walt Kuhn, an oil on canvas laid on Masonite, reached $18,750;
  • Werner Drewes’ East River, 1946, oil on canvas, sold for $17,500;
  • Man Ray, Untitled (Abstract), 1958, oil on canvas, sold for $16,250;
  • Another piece by Man Ray, Untitled (Abstract), 1952, oil on panel, sold for $15,000;
  • Ernest Fiene’s 5th Avenue and East 54th Street at Night, oil on canvas, sold for $15,000.