This fall season’s New York online sale of Master Paintings and Drawings includes an exciting group of property spanning several centuries, subjects and genres with a large selection offered without reserve. Old Master Drawings from the Cleveland Art Museum and Old Master Paintings from the New-York Historical Society are also included. From portraits to mythological scenes, this auction brings together a variety of appealing property to both seasoned and new Old Master collectors alike. Online bidding will open October 15th and close on October 22nd beginning at 10 am.
The timeless quality of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa has endured for centuries. Easily one of the most recognizable images in the world, this Renaissance portrait has captivated artists and collectors well into the modern era. Copies of Leonardo’s original have existed since first few decades of the 16th century, some of which were thought to have been painted in the artist’s workshop. The countless replicas that appeared in the generations to follow were painted by followers who aimed to record that captivating impression, the soft atmospheric haze, and the enigmatic smile of Leonardo’s model. In recent auction seasons, some of these later copies, which have ranged in date from the 17th to the 20th centuries, have been met with enthusiastic demand among a strong collecting base. Such copies offer modern audiences access to this iconic image at an approachable price and allow the opportunity to add a Mona Lisa to their own collections.
The drawings section of the Master Paintings and Drawings sale will be led by 36 lots, all offered without reserve and sold to Benefit the Acquisition Fund of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Assembled by Muriel Butkin, for the most part in the 1970s, the Cleveland group is made up predominantly of French art of the 19th Century, with a handful of outliers, including Thomas Rowlandson’s Moderns Reflecting on the Works of the Ancients and Gabriel-Jacques de Saint-Aubin’s Study of a seated man reading, with a cat on his lap. With estimates starting at just $500 and many lots made up of multiple drawings, this sale will provide drawings lovers with the opportunity to compete for works from the 17th through to the early 20th Century, by the likes of Antoine Louis Barye, Louis Gauffier and Jean-Louis Forain.
| $10,000-15,000 |
| $20,000-30,000 |
| $20,000-30,000 |
