Lot 6
  • 6

BONESTELL, CHESLEY. "FANTASY OF NEPTUNE," CIRCA 1960

Estimate
5,000 - 6,000 USD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • "Fantasy of Neptune," circa 1960
Oil on artist's board, 11 ¾ by 13 inches (sight), signed "Chesley Bonestell" lower right ink, caption in pencil to back of frame in Hulda Bonestell's hand: "Fantasy of Neptune | 1961 | Oil on artboard | [Think prob. never published]". Matted and framed to 18 by 19 ½ inches. 

Provenance

Ex Collection of Frederick C. Durant, III

Catalogue Note

Much like his early depictions of the lunar surface, Bonestell here imagines the Neptunian surface as being comprised of dramatic and mountainous peaks and valleys, albeit cast in a purple and green hue. While this depiction of solid land mass is a far cry from the gaseous nature of the planet's surface we understand today, Bonestell nods in the correct direction by painting a diffuse fog which winds throughout the landscape.