Sale 2576 - Lot 105

Sale 2576 - Lot 105
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June 30, 2021

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Sale 2576 - Lot 105

Estimate: $ 1,000 - $ 2,000

Sherman, Beatrix (1894-1975)
Archive of her Silhouette Work and Related Art, Manuscript Material, & Ephemera.

This large group of personal material formerly belonged to the artist herself, and contains approximately 600 handcut silhouettes, including full-length portraits and scenes, the vast majority by Sherman herself; approximately twenty original pencil sketches and watercolors; seven photographs of Sherman; two signed checks; several original drawings and caricatures of Sherman by other artists; a small collection of silhouettes cut by her mother Josephine [aka Josette], including a trove of approximately twenty-five signed exhibitor's ID cards (including five with photos) from various fairs and exhibitions including the Panama-Pacific Expo 1915, New York World's Fair 1939, and others, signed ephemera, including approximately nineteen photos of their booths at the different fairs, and other material; [together with] a typed working copy of Sherman's unpublished autobiography, Shadows of the Great, with numerous handwritten edits and additions throughout; [and] a small group of historic silhouettes from Sherman's own collection, including some by Isaac Cruikshank, Cottu, and Mary Delany; and other material; three over-sized binders, a thick 3-ring binder, and the manuscript.

Sherman attended the Art Students League of New York, and began selling silhouettes in 1915 at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. Although this archive demonstrates her mother's influence, as she was also a silhouette artist, this fact seems to be omitted from Sherman's biography. The work in the archive is substantial, and represents her career quite fully, including some vignettes, and many full-length cut portraits. Letterhead, advertisements, business cards, and other ephemera punctuate the collection by documenting her career. A charming group of colored animal silhouettes sent by a young fan is also found in this archive, along with a newspaper article describing the boy's work. Sherman doesn't confine herself to humans. She also cut charming silhouettes of dogs and a horse or two. The unpublished autobiography promises to reveal more of the details of the artist's career and life.

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Sale 2576 - Lot 105

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Sale 2576 - Lot 105
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