A beautiful oil on canvas landscape rendering by New Orleans artist Richard Clague (1812-1873), three oil on board figural works by the iconic African American folk artist Clementine Hunter (1886-1988), and a Russian icon of the Virgin of Kazan, one of 60 icons up for bid, are expected headliners in Crescent City Auction Gallery’s May 13-14 auction.
The two-day estates auction will be held in Crescent City’s gallery, at 1330 St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, with start times of 9 am on Saturday, May 13th, and 10 am on Sunday, May 14th, both Central time. Online bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com. Absentee and phone bids will be accepted up through 1 pm Central time on Friday, May 12th.
Headlining the event will be property from the private collection of antiquarian Don Didier of New Orleans; the succession of Sidney J. Mazarat III, also of New Orleans; and numerous local and Southern estates. An online preview can be viewed now, at crescentcityauctiongallery.com.
Richard Clague was born in France and was largely trained in Europe, but he settled in Louisiana and became part of the Bayou School there. He opened a studio in New Orleans in 1862 and was an influence on artists such as William Aiken Walker. His lush landscape work titled The Back of City Park, New Orleans, done circa 1870 and signed lower right, should bring $60,000-$90,000.
Clementine Hunter was a self-taught folk artist and the granddaughter of slaves. She worked as a farm laborer and never learned to read or write, but in her 50s she began to paint and was so prolific (4,000-5,000 artworks produced), she earned the nickname “the black Grandma Moses.” Her 1980 Playing Cards (one of three paintings) comes with a photo of Hunter and should fetch $3,000-$5,000.
For more information please visit www.crescentcityauctiongallery.com
