On Tuesday, August 29th at noon PDT, John Moran Auctioneers will present their Summer Art + Design sale. The auction, having more than 300 lots, will feature an array of styles and aesthetics from luminaries including Raimonds Staprans, Keith Haring, Alice Baber, James Siena, Richard Serra, Henrietta Berk, Max Klinger, Frederick Hammersley, Tarmo Pasto, and Invader. The decorative offerings boast works by Harrison McIntosh, Salvador Dali, James Nowak, and a favourite of the Los Angeles MidMod crowd, Malcolm Leland. Fabulous furniture designs by George Nakashima, Sam Maloof, Philip and Kelvin LaVerne, Paul Evans, Eames, Charles Hollis Jones, and multiple one-of-a-kind pieces by John Nyquist will round out the sale.
Raimonds Staprans (b. 1926) “A Study of Down-Rolling Oranges with a Staid Neon Apple,” 1995. Oil on canvas, 42″ H x 46.75″. Photo – courtesy of John Moran Auctioneers ©
Moran’s has been given another opportunity to offer works by Alice Baber (1928-1982), a major female figure of the Abstract Expressionist movement. In the past year, the auction house has continuously achieved phenomenal results for the artist—including her top three world auction records! Featured in this collection are three works by Baber, with the collection’s highlight, “The Door To The Gate To The Bridge,” 1975, being offered at $50,000-70-000. “Blue Leaf to Shell” from the “Tragedy of Color Series,” 1975, and “Red + Blue Deluge,” both watercolours, will add to the breadth of Baber offerings with estimates ranging from $3,000-6,000.
Raimonds Staprans (b. 1926), describes his paintings as “purely Californian.” They each carry his signature palette of saturated blues, oranges, greens, and yellows, and all convey his style of colour, light, geometry, and perception. This sale will feature, “A Study of Down-Rolling Oranges with a Staid Neon Apple,” 1995, estimated $40,000-60,000. The painting exemplifies Staprans’s distinctly Californian sensibility. His mastery as an artist has also been compared to Paul Cézanne, whose well-known still lifes emphasize the underlying geometric structure of objects arranged in compositions with slightly skewed perspectives.
In the design category, collectors will definitely show enthusiasm for the multiple George Nakashima chairs. Come auction day, Moran’s will offer a group of three “Conoid Lounge” chairs, originally designed in the early 80s, with a $8,000-12,000 estimate. There will also be a set of four Nakashima “New Chair” dining chairs, estimated $4,000-6,000, from his 1956 design.
