Important African American Fine Art to be Sold at Auction in Oak Park

Submitted by John Toomey Gallery, Inc.

Treadway Toomey Auctions announces its Dec. 5 auction will feature a session of African American artwork curated by specialist Thom Pegg.

This important grouping of fine art includes 20th century works in various mediums, including paintings, prints, sculpture, collage, assemblage, and photographs.

A highlight of the session is a major work titled Entombment by Bob Thompson, whose art has been the subject of numerous museum shows and is collected by private collectors and institutions alike. The oil on board, depicting colorful abstracted figures, is expected reach $60,000-$80,000.

Several sculptures by celebrated African American artist, Hayward Oubre will also be included in the session. These works, from the 1950s, won awards at the Atlanta University Annuals when exhibited by the artist. Executed in various mediums, from painted plaster to carved wood, the works range in estimate from $15,000-$18,000.

The Graduate, by pro-football-player-turned-artist, Ernie Barnes, holds a pre-auction estimate of $20,000-$30,000. The painting, depicting an African American teenager walking proudly through the ghetto, diploma in hand, was once in the collection of Motown legend Gwen Gordy.

Other artists included in the session are Beauford Delaney, Ossawa Tanner, Charles White, Betye Saar, Benny Andrews, Barkley Hendricks, John Biggers, Louis Delsarte, Norman Lewis, Joseph Delaney, James McMillan, Skunder Boghossian, Sam Gilliam and Mitchell Caton, among others.

The African American Fine Art session will be presented as part of the wider December 5th Treadway Toomey 20th Century Art & Design auction, comprised of nearly 900 prominent fine and decorative artworks including furniture, paintings, pottery, sculpture and lighting. Other highlights of the auction include Arts & Crafts works by Gustav Stickley, Teco, and Rookwood, fine art by Gertrude Abercrombie, LeRoy Neiman and Yaacov Agam, as well as modern design by Val Bertoia, Charles & Ray Eames and Hans Wegner.

Preview exhibition for this auction is open to the public and will be held at the John Toomey Gallery, 818 North Boulevard, Oak Park, Ill., from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 30 to Dec. 4, with extended hours on Dec. 3 until 7 p.m.

For more information on all of the works to be included in the auction, please visit treadwaygallery.com

Photos:

• Ernie Barnes, Jr., (American, 1938-2009), The Graduate, 1972, oil/canvas, signed, 14” x 18”
  Provenance: Gwen Gordy (Fuqua) of Motown fame bought the painting directly from the artist.
  Gwen Gordy Fuqua (1927-1999) was a legendary businesswoman, songwriter and composer, and the sister of Berry Gordy. She wrote hit songs, like “Lonely Teardrops”, “All I Could Do Was Cry”, and “Distant Lover”. She was a highly successful manger and record producer. The Graduate hung in her mansion in Beverly Hills, CA Exhibitions: The Beauty of the Ghetto, various venues. Barnes created this exhibit, which included 35 paintings, and lasted from 1972-1979, hosted by celebrities, athletes, and dignitaries Catalogue Note: This work is housed in its original distressed wood frame. Barnes visited his parents in 1966, shortly before his first solo exhibition. His father had recently had a stroke and the usually well-maintained yard of his parents had fallen into disrepair. After inspecting the well-worn picket fence, he placed one of his recent works against it, and realized how much he liked the contrast of the old and new. He used the wood from the fence as frame molding for his New York show. Barnes commented, “In tribute...Daddy’s fence would hug all my paintings..That would have made him smile.”
  $20,000 - $30,000

• Hayward Oubre, (American, 1916-2006), Eternal Woman, c. 1956, plaster, 30” x 9.4”x 8.4”, Provenance: the estate of the artist
  Exhibitions: Exhibition of Paintings, Sculpture, and Prints, by Negro Artists, Atlanta University Annuals, 1957
  $16,000 - $18,000

• Bob Thompson, (American, 1937-1966), Untitled, (Entombment), 1961, oil on board, signed and dated; signed and inscribed, “Paris” verso, 27.5” x 40.75”
  $60,000 - $80,000