Mee “Shimmers” On Saturday Night’s Fine Art Auction

By Thomas Leturgey

It was an illuminating first night for Lisa Mee in Atlanta. The popular New York painter returned to the Fine Art Auction Saturday for the first time in four years to promote some of the largest and most unique paintings in her revered catalog.

Described as “beloved” by host Richard English, Mee was happy to be among old friends and new, most notably Leif Rydfors. Along with mainstays English and Ray Taylor, Rydfors has been a more frequent in-house host. This was he and Mee’s first in-person meeting, and they easily found art as a shared interest.

Mee talked with English about how her art has evolved over the years. She explained that she tries to infuse an “orchestra” of colors into her work, and it shows. Uplifting and balanced, her work is instantly recognizable. English called it “like a stained glass window, but on canvas.” He said she is “always surprising me.”

Mee’s “Vermillion Red Still Life with Cobalt Blue Accents 2025” is a mixed medium painting on canvas that drew immediate attention from viewers and bidders from all over the country. The bidding was quick from an initial stroke of $500 to $1,600 and $2,000. Rydfors called the work “modern poetry.”

English then offered one of two Printer’s Proof paintings as a gift to the winning buyer. One of the extraordinary aspects of her appearance was Mee’s explanation of the procedure of spending time embellishing the proofs by hand. “You don’t hold back easily,” she said with an easy chuckle. “It’s difficult to stop.” She compared the work of getting into the rhythm of the piece to jazz music.

This spurned bidding from $2,600 to $3,000 in a matter of moments.

Rydfors explained that similar mixed media works in online auction houses can go for $42,000 to $50,000.

She called his piece “opulent and elegant.” Rydfors called her an “innovator.” This painting and the proof sold to someone in Georgia for $3,300. Artist Proof #1 (of 5) was offered by English and bidding went to $1,100. As a special offering English offered two other Artist Proofs (meaning numbers 2, 3, 4, or 5) for $475.

Another of Mee’s signature works was Homage to “Klimt’s Sleeping Figures”. A personal subject thanks to her late husband Wayne Ensrud, Gustav Klimt and Oskar Kokoschka, the piece presented “mystery and intrigue” to the painter as well as the audience. Mee explained that the “challenging” painting was a nod to Asian artwork with minimal lines and an “ebb and flow.”

A delightful conversation over the piece between Mee, English and Rydfors all helped the painting’s intrigue as bids soared from $1,700 to $3,300 for a buyer from Texas. Like the other originals from the evening, a Printer’s Proof was included.

Artist Proof #1 went for $1,000 and two others from a familiar lot of five sold for $475.

“Color is energy,” she said. “It emits a radiance.” She once again credited her adoring husband, who “trained her eye” and would give reassuring words of approval.

Next was the “Rose Pink Clouds Above Makena Beach in Maui” from 2025. “Lush and tropical,” she talked of how there was “softness in the air” in “recreating a movement.” This painting, she declared, featured paint imported from Japan.

English talked of how the work “shimmers.” Bidding was fast on this painting and the Printer’s Proof as the price went from $1,200 to $3,800 for a collector in Georgia. Artist Proof #1 sold for $900 and two of five Artist Proof paintings went for $475.

Mee talked about the “Allure of Marilyn”. “She was an icon,” she said of the former Norma Jean Baker. “She was a girl/woman of great intellect,” she complimented.

As bidding for that unique portrait took place, English wheeled out another (most likely to make up for lost time), “Sunflower Bouquets on a Striped Tablecloth”, to entice bidders. He explained that the highest bidder would chose from one of the paintings.

Mee said the paintings allowed for her to “play with patterns.” Sunflower sold for $2,600 and Marilyn for $2,500. Artist Proofs were also available for both.

“Polka Dots and Moonbeams”, the premier painting of the evening, was inspired by a fanciful chance glimpse of a woman as well as Tommy Dorsey’s song of the same name. “She held my capture for so long,” she said of the woman. “An internal conversation.” The romantic song made famous by Dorsey, Frank Sinatra and others, is a perfect title and song for Mee’s largest painting here to date. “Thank you very much, Tommy Dorsey,” she said.

The complex 910mm by 1215mm painting was “tightly interconnected” and “easy breezy” she said. Rydfors compared her work to Marc Chagall.

As time ran out on the live auction, a New York buyer was in the lead at $3,200 but a bidder from Georgia was not yet confirmed at $3,300. Perhaps host Ray Taylor will update the final bid on tonight’s Fine Art Auction as Mee returns with another lot of paintings, including “Elegant Woman in Quiet Contemplation,” “Sunflowers in Robust Bloom,” “A Kiss to Build a Dream On,” “Lush Trees Near Cap Ferrat Along the French Riviera,” “Amazing Grace” and “Mediterranean View From The Jardin Exotique (French Riviera).

The Fine Art Auction with Lisa Mee begins tonight at 7 p.m.