Featured Stories – Brunk Auctions

January 29 2019

Masterpieces

ONE AUCTION

TWO EXTRAORDINARILY RARE AND IMPORTANT PAINTINGS

Until now, only twenty-two icons were known to have been signed by the artist, Angelos, the late Byzantine Master working in Crete in the first half of the 15^th century. The inscription ‘angelus pinxit’, which we read on this icon, is very rare. There is only one other icon, Christ Man of Sorrows held by the Museo Correr, Venice, which is also signed ‘ANGELUS PINXIT.’ It’s highly possible that the [Descent into Hell] was for a Venetian client, which explains why the painter’s signature is in Latin. This was common in Cretan icons at the time of the Venetian occupation of the island.

Angelos Akotantos (Cretan, 15th century) Anastasis (Descent into Hell), signed “angelus pinxit”, egg tempera primed with gesso on linen with gold leaf and laid on panel, 15-1/4 x 12-7/8 in.

Lot 989 | Estimate $10,000.00-$15,000.00 (USD) | Click here to view

The Master H. B of the Griffin Head is identified as someone working within the workshop of Lucas Cranach The Elder (1472–1553). Only two other signed and documented works by the Master H. B of the Griffin Head are known to exist, one is held by the Episcopal Cathedral and Diocesan Museum in Mainz, Germany and the other by The Louvre, Paris, France.

This large and detailed panel draws inspiration from Cranach himself, who created at least two compositions of this subject painted in 1537 and 1538 respectively. This tender subject was rarely depicted before the 16th century.

Master H.B. of the Griffin Head (German, 16th century)

Christ Blessing the Children, circa 1550, signed upper left “HB” with the griffin head, oil on panel, 42 x 36 in.

Lot 990 | Estimate $80,000.00-$120,000.00 | Click here to view

Inquires: Laura Crockett | laura@brunkauctions.com | +1-828-254-6846

January 29 2019

The Dick Button Skating Collection

Brunk Auctions Featured Stories

Dick Button is widely considered one of the premiere male figure skaters of all time. He dominated the world of figure skating for a seven-year period, winning two Olympic gold medals (1948 and 1952), five consecutive World Championships, seven U.S. National titles, and four North American and European Championships. His illustrious, fifty-year broadcasting career earned him the first ever Emmy for “Outstanding Sports Personality—Analyst” and the first induction into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame “Sports Analyst” category.

Button’s legacy in the sport extends beyond competition, performance, analysis, and production. He has built a diverse and distinguished collection of paintings, prints, posters, sculptures, costumes, and folk art that honors the long history, evolving artistry, and cultural impact of skating.

Highlights of the works up for auction include a panoramic work by the important French-American artist Regis Francois Gignoux from 1854 of “Snow Storm Threatening”, an almost five foot long ice skating scene; an 1875 Philadelphia “Skating on the Schuylkill” by the rare American artist William Willcox, showing 113 highly detailed figure skaters on the ice; important posters by Jules Cheret and Toulouse Lautrec, among others; rare skating scenes by Currier & Ives; decorative art including a rare hooked rug of figure skaters; numerous rare and historic skates, even costumes worn by Mr. Button and an Olympic Torch he carried in 2002. The collection is both highly personal and comprehensive and tells the story of both figure skating and its most important personality.

For more information on live, phone or absentee bidding, please click here.

For a private viewing prior to auction or for more information, please contact Nan Zander at 828-254-6846 or info@brunkauctions.com.

November 28 2018

An Artist’s Biggest Catch

atomic@atomicx.com Featured Stories

In 1917, John Singer Sargent was staying as a guest at Vizcaya, the work-in-progress villa being built for James Deering in Miami. It presented almost infinite opportunities for painting, which Sargent took full advantage of and had no intention of leaving for some time.

When James and his brother Charles invited Sargent on a fishing trip aboard the Nepenthe, James Deering’s 80-foot steam yacht, he somewhat reluctantly agreed. As they steamed through the Gulf of Mexico, America’s greatest watercolorist was roused from the monotony of those sultry days by a very big fish. He managed to land the only Tarpon on the three-week excursion. No amount of painting could have prepared him for the fight in a six foot 10-inch-long fish, and he complained afterwards about his aching muscles. Being Sargeant, he of course sketched and painted the 140-pound Tarpon hanging next to the yacht and sparkling in the afternoon sunlight on the Gulf of Mexico.

A pencil drawing of the subject, with notations on size and weight, is in the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England. Sargent’s important watercolor of that magnificent fish has been in private collections since 1923, and is now being offered for sale on November 17^th, by Brunk Auctions in Asheville North Carolina. Lot #1672 can be viewed at https://www.brunkauctions.com/lot/john-singer-sargent-3893710.