Saturday Evening Post Covers Pop In Swann Illustration Sale
Original Artwork “College Football” By Joseph F. Kernan Sets New Record
February 19, 2021
Swann Galleries held a robust sale of Illustration Art on Jan. 28. The auction saw record prices for several works, as well as auction debuts from artists. Original artwork from the collection of Richard Dick McDonough brought excitement from buyers, and covers for The Saturday Evening Post and The New Yorker, Sunday comics, and story illustrations sparked widespread interest. The McDonough collection of golf illustration featured a selection of 63 golf and sports-themed works of art, including original illustrations and rare printed posters and graphics. Most notable was College Football by Joseph F. Kernan, which led the sale at $75,000, a record for Kernan. The 1932 oil-on-canvas served as a cover for The Saturday Evening Post and was likely the inspiration for the iconic Heisman trophy designed by Frank Eliscu in 1934. The collection brought additional artist records with two more covers for The Saturday Evening Post, Conference on the Mound, 1912, by Leslie Thrasher ($37,500), and Hitting the Links of Palm Beach, ca. 1920s, by Ruth Eastman, which was acquired by the USGA Museum and Library ($11,875). Further highlights included Joseph Leyendeckers Golfer Lighting a Cigarette, a 1920 oil-on-canvas study for an advertisement, that sold for $30,000, and Michael Browns Levin Links, an early-20th century oil-on-canvas scene of a golf course, that brought $8,125. Story illustrations included Edmund Dulac, with a 1910 watercolor from The Sleeping Beauty and Other Fairy Tales featuring a scene from the tale of Bluebeard, which earned $18,750. A run of pen-and-ink works by N.C. Wyeth from The Courtship of Miles Standish by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow found success, with each of the three pen-and-ink drawings earning spots in the top 20. The auction boasted excellent prices for market newcomers Johanna Stewart Mapes, Honi Werner, and Clement Hurd. Mapes found success with A Fairy Book, an illustration for a poem of the same name featured in St. Nicholas Magazine in 1907, at $4,000; Werners cover of the 1995 book Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman garnered competitive interest from buyers, with the work selling for $2,750, well over its $600 high estimate. Sunday comics performed well with an original 1960 four-panel Peanuts comic strip featuring Linus and Lucy earning $15,000 and original Felix the Cat comics by Otto Messmer for Pat Sullivan Studios bringing $11,250 and $9,375, respectively. The New Yorker section continued to be a favorite among buyers. Noteworthy lots included Family Tree, a watercolor for the Feb. 12, 1938, cover by Constantin Alajalov, which crossed the block at $11,875, and A Day at the Beach, the cover for the Aug. 5, 1944, issue by Barbara Shermund, a record for Shermund at $9,375. Christine von der Linn, the houses director of illustration art, noted, The nearly six-hour-long auction was a testament to the amount of active bidding in the sale and the continuation of the robust art market from 2020. We were especially thrilled to see high prices and records set for a number of female illustrators who spanned the 20th century. It was also heartening to see Swanns literary tradition shining through in record prices set for iconic cover art by major American artists. And, the Dick McDonough collection of golf illustration had a fine follow-through with high prices, several new bidders, and a number of artworks going to private collections and institutions. For further information, visit www.swanngalleries.com.
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