Christie’s Outsider Art Auction

January 17th, 2020

Christie’s, New York City

Photos courtesy Christie’s

Christie’s January 17 Outsider art auction, held the morning after the opening of the Outsider Art Fair, was a celebration for collectors and dealers and for curator Cara Zimmerman, head of sale.

The sale, which offered 129 lots, totaled $3,312,125 (including buyers’ premiums), with a 98% sell-through rate. Auction records were made for eight artists.

The young curator made a discovery last fall (on her birthday!) when she unframed a painting by Bill Traylor consigned to Christie’s by Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple. The work, Man on White, Woman on Red, gifted to Walker by Steven Spielberg in 1985 at the conclusion of the filming of the movie based on Walker’s book, was double-sided. “The rediscovery of the work’s second side, Man with Black Dog, firmly establishes this work in the top tier of Traylor’s output for both rarity and exceptional imagery,” according to an entry in the auction catalog.

Commenting in the lot description in the catalog, Alice Walker said, “I’ve enjoyed having this extraordinary artwork by Bill Traylor on my wall; but my spirit tells me that it is time for it to find a new home.”

The lot was the top seller of the sale and achieved an auction record for Traylor, who was born into slavery in 1853 or 1854. Collector Jerry Lauren, bidding in the packed salesroom, purchased the tempera and graphite on paper for $507,000 (est. $200,000/400,000), bringing his collection of works by Traylor to 21.

The top lot of the sale was this double-sided work by Bill Traylor (1853/54-1949), Man on White, Woman on Red / Man with Black Dog, which went to collector Jerry Lauren for $507,000. The 18?" x 24" tempera and graphite on paper had an estimate of $200,000/400,000. The painting was a gift to Alice Walker in 1985 from Steven Spielberg upon completion of the filming of the movie based on her book The Color Purple. Two other room bidders besides Lauren vied for the work, as did a bidder on the phone. This is Lauren’s 21st work by Traylor. “I buy real and authentic work by the artist at its best. It’s the innocence,” Lauren said two days after the auction, adding that he had already placed this newest Traylor on his wall.

“I’ve already placed it,” the collector said two days later when M.A.D. spoke to him at the Outsider Art Fair. “Traylor was a genius. This one, with four pictures on one piece of paper, is quirky. He was doing what came to mind. It’s amazing.”

The underbidder for the double-sided work was American art dealer Jonathan Boos of New York City, bidding in the salesroom. Boos was the successful bidder for several other lots in the sale, including works by Traylor, Purvis Young, Judith Scott, William Hawkins, and others.

Enthusiasm for works by Outsider artists was palpable during the auction, with clapping and yelps of joy when room bidders were successful. Christie’s has offered works by Outsider artists over the last 20 years, albeit in folk art sales, but the arrival of Zimmerman five years ago has injected the department with energy and knowledge.

“Cara Zimmerman has elevated the sale,” stated Jerry Lauren before the start of the auction, which was held in the James Christie Room, also referred to as “the big room.” Porters needed to add more chairs to accommodate the audience right before the start of the 10 a.m. auction.

Commenting after the sale, Zimmerman said, “The Outsider art market is thriving, and collectors from across the globe demonstrated that there is interest in the talented and diverse artists within this field. We are especially gratified by multiple records set in today’s sale, led by the magnificent Bill Traylor....”

“I fought for that pillar!” said Cara Zimmerman, head of the Outsider art sale, pointing to the work by Bill Traylor gracing the entryway in Christie’s Rockefeller Center headquarters. Adell photo.

Lots 5 through 33 were a new tranche of works consigned to Christie’s from the William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation and the Louis-Dreyfus family collections. Proceeds from the sale of the foundation’s works will benefit the foundation, Mt. Kisco, New York, and the Harlem Children’s Zone.

Auction records were also made for works by Purvis Young, Minnie Evans, Raymond Materson, Willie Young, Laura Craig McNellis, Charles Wysocki, and Acharya Vyakul.

Further information is available at (www.christies.com).

Auctioneer John Hays announced to the audience that this work by Bill Traylor was his “personal favorite” in the sale. Running Deer, 1939-42, tempera and graphite on a repurposed Mounds advertisement, sold for $97,500 (est. $30,000/50,000) to an online bidder. “Congratulations, Internet,” Hays said when he hammered the 7" x 12¾" work, which was chased by bidders in the room and on the phones. The work has provenance of Ricco/Maresca Gallery, New York City, and the William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation.

Holding Tight, 1994, by Thornton Dial (1928-2016), property from the William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation, sold for $10,000 to a phone bidder. The charcoal and pastel on paper, initialed “TD” lower right, 41¼" x 29½", was acquired by Louis-Dreyfus in 1995 from Ricco/Maresca Gallery, New York City. The collector gifted it to his foundation in 2016. Lots 5 through 33 of the sale were from the William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation and the Louis-Dreyfus family collections. Proceeds from the sale of the foundation’s works will benefit the foundation and the Harlem Children’s Zone.

An auction record was made for Purvis Young (1943-2010) when People with Halos Above City, 1973, sold for $43,750 (est. $10,000/20,000). The buyer was dealer Jonathan Boos of New York City, who was bidding in the salesroom. Signed and dated “Young 73” upper right, the work, paint on repurposed wood, measures 46" x 70". It was property of the William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation.

Eagle and Serpent by William Hawkins (1895-1990), one of four variations painted by the artist, sold to a bidder in the room for $43,750 (est. $30,000/50,000). Property from the collection of Lenore and Stephen Blank, the 47½" x 59½" enamel on board, circa 1982, had sold at Christie’s on January 22, 2016, for $37,500 (est. $30,000/50,000).

Redbones Tavern (St. Louis), 1994, by Raymond Materson (b. 1954) sold to a bidder in the salesroom for $4000 (est. $1500/3000). The work, unraveled sock threads embroidered on fabric, measures 4?" x 3?" overall. It is initialed and dated “RM ’94” and has provenance of American Primitive Gallery, New York City, and the William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation.

This limestone birdbath by William Edmondson (1874-1951) sold to a bidder on the phone with head of sale Cara Zimmerman for $150,000. An addendum to the sale noted a change in the estimate from $250,000/500,000 to $100,000/150,000. The 39" x 19" x 16¾" figural birdbath descended in the family of Alfred and Elizabeth Starr, two of Edmondson’s earliest and strongest supporters and collectors. The work has provenance of Ricco/Maresca Gallery, New York City, and was property from a “distinguished private collection.”

This drawing by Joseph Yoakum (1890-1972), Mt. Lizard Head in San Juan Mtn Range near Silverton Colorado, 1970, elicited bids from the Internet and two phones. Estimated at $6000/9000, the 11¾" x 18¾" ink, colored pencil, and chalk on paper sold to a phone bidder for $18,750.

The same “distinguished private collection” that consigned a William Edmondson birdbath, consigned this pair of limestone vessels from the 1930s by Edmondson. Room bidders and phone bidders were active, bringing the hammer price to $130,000. With buyer’s premium, a phone bidder paid $162,500 (est. $7000/10,000) for the pair, each 16½" x 13" x 8¼".

Green Horse by Nellie Mae Rowe (1900-1982) sold to a bidder in the salesroom for $20,000 (est. $5000/10,000). Signed and dated “Nellie Mae Rowe 1980” lower right, the work in crayon, pastel, and graphite on paper, 16" x 19?", was from the William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation.

This untitled work by Minnie Evans (1892-1987), signed twice, sold to a phone bidder for $32,500 (est. $5000/7000), achieving an auction record for the artist. The untitled work (Faces, Serpents, Animals, Angels), 1966, dated and inscribed “August 1966, Made at Airlie Garden” on reverse, oil, gold paint, graphite, and crayon on card, 14?" x 20", elicited bids from two phones, an online bidder from Pennsylvania, and one in the salesroom. “This work by Minnie Evans is not symmetrical, making it dynamic,” commented curator Cara Zimmerman while previewing the exhibition with M.A.D.

Uncle Tom in the Garden by Clementine Hunter (1886/87-1988) was painted in 1979. The oil on canvasboard, 18" x 24", initialed “CH” on the right edge, sold for $15,000 to a bidder in the room (est. $3000/5000). The same buyer bought the previous lot, Hunter’s Melrose Complex #2, 1981, for $21,250 (est. $5000/10,000). Both were property from the William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation.

Masquerade by Jon Serl (1894-1993), estimated at $2000/4000, sold to a phone bidder for $8750. The oil on fiberboard, 20" x 16", signed “Jon” lower right, is titled on the reverse. It has provenance of Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York City, which had acquired it directly from the artist, and an East Coast collection, which had acquired the work in 2000 from Cavin-Morris Gallery.

This untitled work by Madge Gill (1882-1961) sold to a bidder in the salesroom for $23,750. Dated and signed “November 25-51 Madge Gill” on reverse, the ink drawing on thin card, 25" x 20", had an estimate of $5000/7000. An East Coast collection had acquired it in 2001 from Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York City.

Peacock by Charles Kinney (1906-1991), watercolor and graphite on paper, signed “Charly Kinney” lower right, 22" x 28", sold to one of several phone bidders for $2125 (est. $300/500).

Originally published in the March 2020 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2020 Maine Antique Digest