| Savannah, GA– Everard Auctions announces its sale of Important 19th and 20th Century Fine Art, American and European Decorative Arts, Art Glass and Asian Art exclusively on iGavelAuctions.com now live through October 7, 2014.
Included in the auction are two paintings by German Expressionist, Gabriele Munter (1877-1962). Munter was Wassily Kandinsky’s student at the Phalanx School in Munich and later became his lover. The two were founding members of the Blaue Reiter, a group of artists united in their rejection of the Neue Kunstlervereinigung Munchen, that included Franz Marc, August Macke, Alexej von Jawlensky, Lyonel Feininger and Albert Bloch. Although very different, these artists shared a common goal, to express spiritual truths through their art.
Munter and Kandinsky often painted alongside each other in Munich and in Murnau, a  Bavarian village just outside of Munich. Munter loved Murnau and purchased a house there, where they stayed from 1908 until 1914. They were both fascinated by the local tradition of Hinterglasmalerei (glass painting). Munter was influenced by the jewel-like colors and simplified forms of this folk art, which can be seen in her painting Der Blaue Berg (The Blue Mountain) of 1908 (Estimate: $200,000-300,000) and clearly seen in the flat color application and outlined forms of Im Uhrmacherladen (The Watchmaker’s Shop) of 1916 (Estimate: $100,000-150,000).
Both artists suggested a vision not bound by the rules of ocular logic, but where Kandinsky projected a monumental abstraction of apocalyptic visions, Munter provided visionary poetry of the prosaic, the diminutive and the private, gleaned from the environment she inhabited and to which she was confined.’ (R. Heller, Gabriele Munter: the Years of Expressionism 1903-1920, exh. Cat. Milwaukee, 1997, p. 110)
Says Amanda Everard, founder of Everard Auctions: “Munter was a woman painting in a man’s world but her work was taken seriously. She was a major player in a progressive movement which reinvented the use of color, form and meaning in painting. Although eventually left by Kandinsky, she managed to save many of his paintings during the war years. It is a fascinating story”. Adds Everard, “It is a privilege to handle such significant and historical works of art that tell the story of their time, fresh to the market after 30 years”.
 Also included in the auction is an oil on paper work by American Abstract Expressionist, Franz Kline (1910-1962). A master colorist, his bold juxtapositions of color lead the viewers eye across the page through his masterful and intricate fusion of brush strokes and colors (Estimate: $120,000-180,000).
From the 19th Century comes a work by Hudson River School painter Sanford Gifford (1823-1880), titled The Camp on Mansfield Mountain (Estimate: $50,000-100,000). Gifford, known as a luminist painter, depicts an early evening scene of men gathered by a campfire, with wonderful rock forms in the background.
Everard Auctions sale is currently posted on iGavel, the online international network of independently-owned regional auction salesrooms, specializing in the sale of fine and decorative arts. The sale concludes on Tuesday, October 7th, 2014. For further information, please contact [email protected], www.everard.com, or phone: (912) 231-1376.
Captions:
(Top) Gabriele Munter(German, 1877-1962), Der Blaue Berg (The Blue Mountain), Oil on Board, 1908, Height 10 1/8 in. x Width 13 5/8 in., Estimate $200,000-300,000
(2) Franz Kline (New York, 1910-1962), Untitled, Oil on Paper, Height 18 1/2 in. x Width 23 3/4 in., Estimate $120,000-180,000 |
