Degas Le Tub

Gray’s Auctioneers is pleased to announce the sale of a rare Hébrard foundry bronze sculpture by Edgar Degas, known as Le Tub.

Deba Gray, auctioneer and owner of Gray’s Auctioneers, immediately recognized the sculpture when she first discovered it in a warehouse in New York. What intrigued her was the fact that the sculpture’s base had been violently removed and it seemed to have evidence of fire damage.  Here begins the mystery that Ms. Gray set out to solve. She immediately thought that the piece may have been stolen during wartime, and as such she consulted Art Lost Registry, who informed her that the piece had not been reported as stolen or missing. Further research revealed that the owner had inherited the piece from his father, who had purchased it from a New York City antique dealer 40 years earlier for $25.00. Neither the father nor the dealer were aware the piece was by Edgar Degas because of the missing base, where the signature and foundry marks were located. The father was told that the damaged sculpture had belonged to famed Broadway producer Billy Rose, and that it was damaged in a fire at his Mount Kisco estate in the late 1950’s. Billy Rose had an extensive art collection which was donated to the Israel Museum upon his death in 1966.

Despite the damage, the most important Degas elements remained- that being the girl in the bathing tub.  The problem was the part of the base which was now missing contained all the information needed to authenticate the work. It includes the Degas signature, the foundry stamp and all the other important identification marks on the bronze. After researching various experts that could help authenticate the sculpture Ms. Gray found that Walter Maibaum is the leading authority on the subject and she contacted him. Mr. Maibaum has recently made a tremendous discovery in France; he has uncovered a great number of lifetime plaster sculptures by Degas which were completely unknown to previous scholars and experts. When learning of his discovery, the heirs of Edgar Degas authorized bronze castings from the plasters, and exhibitions of the bronzes will begin in Europe this November. Mr. Maibaum is currently writing a book on the discovery, DEGAS: Sculptures Uncovered-History Revealed which will be published in the spring of 2010.

Mr. Maibaum generously proposed that Deba Gray bring the sculpture to New York so that he and his colleague could examine the bronze side by side with another bronze which was known to be authentic. Much to her surprise, he told her that his colleague is Mrs. Clare Vincent, curator of European Sculpture at Metropolitan Museum of Art who has overseen the Degas bronzes in the museum’s collection for over 40 years. Ms. Gray was even happier to learn that he was able to arrange a side by side comparison of Gray’s bronze with the bronze in the Metropolitan’s collection. A few weeks later Ms. Gray brought the bronze to New York and the two experts made the comparison together. They consulted amongst themselves and agreed the bronze appeared to be an authentic cast made by the Hebrard foundry. Ms. Gray and her consignor were thrilled.

Now that the mystery was solved, another question remained- what is it worth? In November of 2008, Sotheby’s auctioned off a Le Tub bronze in perfect condition for $ 3,778,500.00. Gray’s will be offering this Le Tub bronze for $20,000 to $25,000 on Saturday,  February 27^th at its 27^th Fine Arts, Antiques and Decorations Auction.

Here is the link to the Le Tub sold at Sotheby’s

Here is a link to the Le Tub sold at Christies in 2002 for $1,989,500

Here is a link to the Le Tub at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York on permanent exhibit.

Degas, 'Le Tub' side view

Nicolai Cikovsky (1894-1987, Russian/American)

December 13 Auction, Lot 70

Nicolai Cikovsky (1894-1987, Russian/American)
Forest Scene,
Oil on Canvas Laid on Panel,
Signed lower right.
Note condition: Minor cracks to painted surface under UV light.
h:11.50 w:14.50 in.
Estimate $ 500-600

Through Frank Duveneck’s career he was not only an artist, but, he was an art teacher as well. Duveneck taught in Munich and Florence from 1878 -1888, where he taught American Artists like William Merritt Chase and J. Fran Currier. From 1903 until the remainder of his life, Frank Duveneck was also chairman at the Art Academy in Cincinnati Ohio.

Attributed to Frank Duveneck (1848-1919, Ohio)

Auction December 13, Lot 85

Attributed to Frank Duveneck (1848-1919, Ohio)
Figural Study of a Woman,
Graphite on Paper,
Monogram lower center “FD”
h:12 w:16 in.
Estimate $ 600-800

After Rudolf Koppitz (1884-1936) Bewegungsstudie (Movement Study no. 1)

Rudolf Koppitz, a Czechoslovakian photographer, worked with nudes to compose his images. Often posed in nature, his style was more in the fashion of pictorialism as his contemporaries moved on to the modernist movement. Bewegungsstudie is one of his most recognized images depicting three cloaked women with a nude draped in front of them. The avant-garde composition reflects a leaning towards modernism, and creates a sense of mystery and sensuality.

Lot 74: After Rudolf Koppitz
(1884-1936)
Bewegungsstudie (Movement Study no. 1),
A Re-take by Lionel Heymann, Silver Gelatin Print
ESTIMATE: $200 to $400

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John Teyral (1912-1999, Ohio) Still Life with Fish

An acclaimed Cleveland artist, John Teyral exhibited works nation wide and won awards throughout his career in the arts. Russian born, his family emigrated to Lakewood, an inner ring suburb of Cleveland, when he was only one year old. He took to the arts at a young age and won an award to study at the Cleveland Museum of Art. After graduating from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1934, he acquired the Agnes Gund scholarship to study at the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts.

Through grants, Teyral studied further in Paris and Italy, then returning to Cleveland to teach advanced painting at the Cleveland Institute of Art for 40 years.

Lot 1: John Teyral
(1912-1999, Ohio)
Still Life with Fish,
Oil on Canvas
ESTIMATE: $200 to $400

Emil Eugene Holzhauer (1887 - 1986) Logging Scene

In Germany, Emil Holzauer apprenticed in a silver and metalware factory where he learned design and modeling, and in the evenings, he studied art at the Staatliche Werkkunst Schule.

His works became known for their thick bold lines filled with color. After moving to New York in in 1906 and studying under Robert Henri, Holzauer adopted modernist elements of Expressionism, Fauvism and Social Realism.

He taught art at both the Chicago Art Institute and Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia.

Lot 33A: Emil Eugene Holzhauer
(1887 – 1986)
Logging Scene, Watercolor on Paper
ESTIMATE: $2,000 to $3,000

Clement Meadmore (1929-2005, Australian) Abstraction

Clement Meadmore explores long square tubes, bending and dividing into abstract forms. These shapes lunge into space, releasing a sense of physical tension, intuitively arriving at their completed forms without an idea formed in advance.

Lot 17: Clement Meadmore
(1929-2005, Australian)
Abstraction, Bronze Sculpture
ESTIMATE: $6,000 to $8,000