Art History News: Phillips’ February 14 Auction

Phillips’ February New York Editions and Works on Paper auction will showcase nearly 120 lots, including 18 complete sets and 19 works from the Robert Bechtle and Whitney Chadwick Trust. On view from 1 to 14 February at 432 Park Avenue, the live sale is scheduled for 14 February at 11am EST. Notable highlights include a complete set of Damien Hirst’s The Virtues, Banksy’s Toxic Mary and Jack and Jill (Police Kids) prints, and select Roy Lichtenstein works ranging from 1968 – 1995. A dedicated auction of Works from the James Rosenquist Estate will follow the Various Owners sale in the afternoon. For comprehensive details about the Rosenquist works, the press release can be read here and the full sale details here.

The collection of Robert Bechtle and Whitney Chadwick, assembled over their nearly forty-year marriage, reflects Bechtle’s legacy as a preeminent Photorealist along with Chadwick’s expertise as a historian and scholar. With works by Wayne Thiebaud, Ed Ruscha, and Leonora Carrington, among others, their extensive collection of editions and works on paper represents many of Bechtle’s fellow Bay Area artists, notable names in Pop, and female figureheads of Modernism and Surrealism whom Chadwick championed through her writings and teachings.

Leonora Carrington

The Transparent Hen, 1969

Estimate $2,000 - 3,000

Known for his tightly detailed renderings of suburban landscapes and vintage cars, Robert Bechtle is considered one of the founding Photorealists. Such interest in notions of realism permeate the works on offer, presenting a multitude of the artistic methodologies for interpreting the world: a visual interpretation of the musicality and movement of a ballet, postmodern representations of landscape, a surreal childhood home, and even different artists’ renditions of Bechtle himself are among the group’s offerings. Following his passing at the age of 88 in 2020, Bechtle’s legacy persists through his collection, inspiring the continued search for unexpected beauty in the everyday.

The auction will feature six lots from the collection of master printer and publisher Jacob Samuel. Driven to prove that etching could be a successful and relevant contemporary medium, Jacob Samuel made a name for himself with his unconventional and often portable workshop that enabled him to bring the rigor and depth of old master etching to spaces beyond his printshop. This was further accomplished through his publishing company Jacob Samuel Editions, which produced a range of collaborative projects with over 60 diverse and influential contemporary artists. Recently retired following an illustrious 48-year career, the master printer and publisher created deeply beautiful, spectral, and detailed etchings that reflect Samuel’s overall practice.

Sanford Biggers

Afropick, 2005

Estimate $3,000 - 5,000

Samuels is the subject of the current exhibition New Ground: Jacob Samuel and Contemporary Etching at the Museum of Modern Art, an institution which holds Jacob Samuel Editions’ entire catalogue. On view through March 23, 2024, the exhibition draws from Samuel’s expansive body of work to highlight his innovative approach to collaborating with contemporary artists, his career-defining commitment to etching, and the resulting works that push the limits of the traditional medium.

Scott Kahn

Spring Moon, Grant Street, 2021

Estimate $1,000 - 2,000

From classic etchings to elaborate 21 color screenprints, the February auction has a contemporary focus with about 40% of the sale dated from 2000 onwards by artists who have embraced a variety of printmaking mediums. Some of these artists revisit tradition like Sanford Biggers, who utilized Japanese woodcut techniques to inform his monumental print, Afropick. Meanwhile Austin Lee embraced cutting edge technology in his 2021 photogravure Rendered Birds, where he drew birds in virtual reality, ‘photographed’ them in the three-dimensional space, then collaborated with Pace Prints to translate the digital image into an intaglio print. With the development in technology and process, artists like Raymond Pettibon, Scott Kahn, and Danielle Orchard continue to relish the importance of unique touches and the presence of the artist’s hand, embellishing their prints with detailed hand-coloring to add depth and texture. The sale additionally represents more than 15 contemporary female artists such as Allison Zuckerman, Claire Tabouret, Jenny Holzer, Kara Walker, Christina BanBan, and Ewa Juszkiewicz.