Records & Results: Old Master Through Modern Prints

Picasso Tops Old Master Through Modern Prints Auction at Swann

Scarce Rembrandt Etching Draws Major Interest

Our sale of Old Master Through Modern Prints opened with lively bidding in the room, online, and on the phones bringing over $1.7M. The November 1 sale set six auction records as well as earning top prices for both old master and modern artists.

Pablo Picasso

The top lot in the sale was Pablo Picasso’s early drypoint, Le Repas Frugal, 1904, won for $125,000.

Lot 332: Pablo Picasso, Le Repas Frugal, etching and drypoint, 1904. Sold for $125,000.

An iconic color linoleum cut, La Femme au Chapeau, 1962, featuring the artist’s second wife, Jacqueline Roque, brought $81,250.

Lot 343: Pablo Picasso, La Femme au Chapeau (Portrait de Jacqueline à la Fraise et un Chapeau), color linoleum cut, 1962. Sold for $81,250.

Also available by Picasso was the 1956 color aquatint, La Corrida, which garnered $17,500.

Lot 347: Pablo Picasso (after), La Corrida, color aquatint, 1956. Sold for $17,500.

Rembrandt van Rijn

Rembrandt van Rijn drew significant interest with seven works by the old master earning top prices. His etching Bust of an Old Bearded Man, Looking down, Three Quarters Right, 1631, saw its auction debut with a price realized of $37,500 after a brief bidding war.

Lot 84: Rembrandt van Rijn, Bust of an Old Bearded Man, Looking down, Three Quarters Right, etching, 1631. Sold for $37,500.

Records for Rembrandt’s work included the etching Head of Saskia (Three Heads of Women, One Lightly Etched), circa 1637, with $37,500.

Lot 95: Rembrandt van Rijn, Head of Saskia (Three Heads of Women, One Lightly Etched), etching, circa 1637. Sold for $37,500.

The 1631 etching, Bust of a Bearded Old Man with a High Forehead, sold over the high estimate for $33,750; and the etching The Statue (Image Seen by Nebuchadnezzar: Four Illustrations to a Spanish Book), 1655, was won for $22,500.

Lot 81: Rembrandt van Rijn, Bust of a Bearded Old Man with a High Forehead, etching and drypoint, 1631. Sold for $33,750.

Lot 114: Rembrandt van Rijn, The Statue (Image Seen by Nebuchadnezzar: Four Illustrations to a Spanish Book), etching and drypoint, 1655. Sold for $22,500.

Old Masters

Additional old masters included Albrecht Dürer with the 1514 engraving, Melencolia I, and Four Naked Women, 1497, ($47,500 and $18,750, respectively).

Lot 25: Albrecht Dürer, Melencolia I, engraving, 1514. Sold for $47,500.

Lot 9: Albrecht Dürer, Four Naked Women, engraving, 1497. Sold for $18,750.

Martin Schongauer’s The Madonna and Child with an Apple, circa 1475, performed well, earning $27,500.

Lot 4: Martin Schongauer, The Madonna and Child with an Apple, engraving, circa 1475. Sold for $27,500.

Nineteenth-Century & European Prints

A selection of nineteenth-century and European prints brought record figures. Édouard Vuillard’s colorful lithograph, La Pâtisserie, 1899, reached $32,500, above the high estimate of $18,000, a record for the work.

Lot 237: Édouard Vuillard, La Pâtisserie, color lithograph on Chine Volant, 1899. Sold for $32,500.

The 1893-94 color woodcut Maruru, by Paul Gauguin, sold for $19,500.

Lot 246: Paul Gauguin, Maruru, color woodcut, 1893-94. Sold for $19,500.

Joan Miró’s color etchings with aquatint, Le Pitre Rose, 1974, and Le Chef des Équipages, 1973, each sold for $35,000 and $30,000, respectively.

Lot 397: Joan Miró, Le Pitre Rose, color etching and aquatint, 1974. Sold for $35,000.

Lot 396: Joan Miró, Le Chef des Équipages, color etching and aquatint, 1973. Sold for $30,000.

Salvador Dalí’s complete set of 25 lithographs, Les Chevaux Daliniens, 1972, earned $30,000.

Lot 405: Salvador Dalí, Les Chevaux Daliniens, complete set of 25 color lithographs, 1972. Sold for $30,000.

American Artists

Standout prices for American artists included Thomas Hart Benton’s 1939 lithograph, Departure of the Joads, which set a record with $17,500.

Lot 285: Thomas Hart Benton, Departure of the Joads, lithograph, 1939. Sold for $17,500.

Martin Lewis was available as well with the circa 1915-16 etching and drypoint, Madison Square, Rainy Night, and Winter on White Street, a drypoint from 1934 ($22,500 and $18,750, respectively).

Lot 277: Martin Lewis, Madison Square, Rainy Night, etching and drypoint, circa 1915-16. Sold for $22,500.

Lot 278: Martin Lewis, Winter on White Street, drypoint, 1934. Sold for $18,750.

Complete Results.

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