1936
See also : Early Magritte Belgium II O'Keeffe Women artists US painting < 1940 Spain II Cars 1930s Cars 1936-37 Mercedes-Benz Alfa Romeo
1936 O'KEEFFE
1
Black Iris
2023 SOLD for $ 21M by Christie's
In 1923 Georgia O'Keeffe famously shocked her avant-gardist surrounding with the audacity of her oversized paintings of views inside flowers.
Black Iris III, oil on canvas 91 x 76 cm painted in 1926, is an early example. The curves and depths of the petals and their gradual shift of color from flesh to black are nearly zoomorphic and invite for an interpretation as a female human sex.
The artist nevertheless denied such titillating connotations,. She was considering with no nonsense that her feat had been to make her hand on the flower when it was just blooming as it was so available only two weeks per spring. She provided an unprecedented representation of the natural beauty.
O'Keeffe's husband Alfred Stieglitz considered that specific example as "the greatest picture in the world". This masterpiece is currently owned by the Met Museum.
O'Keeffe came back to her successful bloom. The version VI, oil on canvas 91 x 61 cm, was painted in 1936 with tonal changes from purple and pale pink to black on a background of soft grays, not fully cancelling the green stem. Compared with the earlier version, the botanical details are sharper and more voluptuous. The dark center is repositioned in the middle of the composition.
The VI belonged to Paul G. Allen who was a great admirer of anything O'Keeffe. From that collection, it was sold for $ 21M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Christie's on May 11, 2023, lot 36A.
Black Iris III, oil on canvas 91 x 76 cm painted in 1926, is an early example. The curves and depths of the petals and their gradual shift of color from flesh to black are nearly zoomorphic and invite for an interpretation as a female human sex.
The artist nevertheless denied such titillating connotations,. She was considering with no nonsense that her feat had been to make her hand on the flower when it was just blooming as it was so available only two weeks per spring. She provided an unprecedented representation of the natural beauty.
O'Keeffe's husband Alfred Stieglitz considered that specific example as "the greatest picture in the world". This masterpiece is currently owned by the Met Museum.
O'Keeffe came back to her successful bloom. The version VI, oil on canvas 91 x 61 cm, was painted in 1936 with tonal changes from purple and pale pink to black on a background of soft grays, not fully cancelling the green stem. Compared with the earlier version, the botanical details are sharper and more voluptuous. The dark center is repositioned in the middle of the composition.
The VI belonged to Paul G. Allen who was a great admirer of anything O'Keeffe. From that collection, it was sold for $ 21M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Christie's on May 11, 2023, lot 36A.
2
Red Hills
2022 SOLD for $ 12.3M by Christie's
Georgia O'Keeffe is skilled in finding geometries and symmetries in flowers, landscapes and cityscapes. From 1918 to 1934, she found inspiration in the open landscapes in the surroundings of Stieglitz's estate along Lake George in New York state.
Much farther from New York, she first visited Taos in 1929. A 45 x 61 cm view of sandy hills painted in that year was sold for $ 2.65M by Christie's on May 9, 2018, lot 406.
She was convinced by the beauty of the desert and made almost annual trips to New Mexico. A panoramic view in bright colors of the mountain range near Abiquiu, oil on canvas 41 x 91 cm painted in 1931, was sold for $ 8.4M by Christie's on May 9, 2018, lot 404. The dazzled Georgia rented her new home base in Abiquiu from 1934.
Red Hills with Pedernal, White clouds is a view from Ghost Ranch, a cottage that she will later purchase. This oil on canvas 51 x 76 cm painted in 1936 is a symphony of vibrant hues with a beautiful waving parallel between the top of the red sandy hills and the dark blue Pedernal, a mystic Navajo mesa 8 km away on the horizon. She will say with a great deal of humor : "It's my private mountain, it belongs to me, God told me if I painted it enough, I could have it".
It was sold by Christie's for $ 4.5M on May 19, 2016, lot 10, and for $ 12.3M on November 9, 2022, lot 28.
Much farther from New York, she first visited Taos in 1929. A 45 x 61 cm view of sandy hills painted in that year was sold for $ 2.65M by Christie's on May 9, 2018, lot 406.
She was convinced by the beauty of the desert and made almost annual trips to New Mexico. A panoramic view in bright colors of the mountain range near Abiquiu, oil on canvas 41 x 91 cm painted in 1931, was sold for $ 8.4M by Christie's on May 9, 2018, lot 404. The dazzled Georgia rented her new home base in Abiquiu from 1934.
Red Hills with Pedernal, White clouds is a view from Ghost Ranch, a cottage that she will later purchase. This oil on canvas 51 x 76 cm painted in 1936 is a symphony of vibrant hues with a beautiful waving parallel between the top of the red sandy hills and the dark blue Pedernal, a mystic Navajo mesa 8 km away on the horizon. She will say with a great deal of humor : "It's my private mountain, it belongs to me, God told me if I painted it enough, I could have it".
It was sold by Christie's for $ 4.5M on May 19, 2016, lot 10, and for $ 12.3M on November 9, 2022, lot 28.
3
1936 Pink Spotted Lily
2021 SOLD for $ 6.8M by Sotheby's
A flamboyant pink spotted lily viewed in full front with its stamens and leaves against a light blue background, oil on canvas 30.5 x 25.4 cm painted by Georgia O'Keeffe in 1936, was sold for $ 6.8M from a lower estimate of $ 3M by Sotheby's on November 16, 2021, lot 4.
1936 La Vengeance by Magritte
2021 SOLD for € 14.6M by Christie's
In every work René Magritte invites the viewer in a dreamlike world where the juxtaposition of familiar objects becomes paradoxical. His limitless fantasy integrates a reflection about the deep nature of the images, which must be considered by themselves and not as a trial to reconstitute a reality or a truth.
Some artifacts get a major role in his surrealistic demonstration, especially when they mingle together. The world of the artist is a confusion between outside and inside, still enhanced by the role of the door which loses its separation role. The image within the image provides also a major role to the easel.
In 1931 in La Belle Captive, a continuous pastoral landscape incorporates an easel so that the viewer cannot know whether the frame on the easel is empty or includes a picture in the exact continuity of the landscape. In 1933 La Condition Humaine brings a further confusion between the easel and a porch.
On June 30, 2021, Christie's sold for € 14.6M from a lower estimate of € 6M La Vengeance, oil on canvas 55 x 65 cm painted in 1936, lot 108.
The easel is inside an empty room. It supports a landscape painting with a cloudy blue sky. The white clouds escape on the wall around the easel. A single grelot (jingle bell) on the floor is a signature artifact by the artist as a frequently used alternative to his baluster bilboquet.
The ultimate compositions from that trend are painted in 1939. A single white cloud is stuck in a half opened transparent door that stands alone in a seaside landscape, in La Victoire, or in a door embedded within a wall, in Le Poison (not to be confused with another Poison which is a precursor to L'Empire des Lumières).
Some artifacts get a major role in his surrealistic demonstration, especially when they mingle together. The world of the artist is a confusion between outside and inside, still enhanced by the role of the door which loses its separation role. The image within the image provides also a major role to the easel.
In 1931 in La Belle Captive, a continuous pastoral landscape incorporates an easel so that the viewer cannot know whether the frame on the easel is empty or includes a picture in the exact continuity of the landscape. In 1933 La Condition Humaine brings a further confusion between the easel and a porch.
On June 30, 2021, Christie's sold for € 14.6M from a lower estimate of € 6M La Vengeance, oil on canvas 55 x 65 cm painted in 1936, lot 108.
The easel is inside an empty room. It supports a landscape painting with a cloudy blue sky. The white clouds escape on the wall around the easel. A single grelot (jingle bell) on the floor is a signature artifact by the artist as a frequently used alternative to his baluster bilboquet.
The ultimate compositions from that trend are painted in 1939. A single white cloud is stuck in a half opened transparent door that stands alone in a seaside landscape, in La Victoire, or in a door embedded within a wall, in Le Poison (not to be confused with another Poison which is a precursor to L'Empire des Lumières).
1936 Marie-Thérèse is too Sweet
2012 SOLD 17.2 M$ including premium
Picasso's sentimental life is complicated at the beginning of 1936. His married life is more simple: his separation from Olga is irreversible.
If he had the time, Pablo would love all women. The proof: the sweet Marie-Thérèse and the seething Dora have opposite temperaments.
In April, Pablo spends a few happy days in Juan-les-Pins with Marie-Thérèse and baby Maya. Again becoming a lover of his beautiful friend, he makes a sensual portrait of her which is a successful example of cubist art.
Compared to a photograph, the facial lines are distorted, as if Pablo, insatiable in the admiration of his model, had wanted to see her as close as possible. It is an oil on canvas, 55 x 46 cm, but the material is so thick that various angles can reconstruct a more plausible view.
Marie-Thérèse is leaning on the window. Her gaze is loving, and colors are soft. It is a delicate homage of the most emotional artist to the most beautiful woman.
This small painting is estimated $ 15M, for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 5. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
This thoughtful portrait was sold $ 17.2 million including premium.
If he had the time, Pablo would love all women. The proof: the sweet Marie-Thérèse and the seething Dora have opposite temperaments.
In April, Pablo spends a few happy days in Juan-les-Pins with Marie-Thérèse and baby Maya. Again becoming a lover of his beautiful friend, he makes a sensual portrait of her which is a successful example of cubist art.
Compared to a photograph, the facial lines are distorted, as if Pablo, insatiable in the admiration of his model, had wanted to see her as close as possible. It is an oil on canvas, 55 x 46 cm, but the material is so thick that various angles can reconstruct a more plausible view.
Marie-Thérèse is leaning on the window. Her gaze is loving, and colors are soft. It is a delicate homage of the most emotional artist to the most beautiful woman.
This small painting is estimated $ 15M, for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 5. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
This thoughtful portrait was sold $ 17.2 million including premium.
1936 Self Portrait with Crystal Ball by Beckmann
2005 SOLD for $ 16.8M by Sotheby's
Max Beckmann does not accept that his art is described as degenerate by Hitler.
Painted in 1936, his self-portrait with a crystal ball is a poignant message : he would like to react but does not have the solution. He is only 52 but he certainly appreciates that his premature aging and his surly attitude will not help him. The shadow over the eyes does not encourage dialogue.
This oil on canvas 110 x 65 cm was sold for $ 16.8M by Sotheby's on May 3, 2005, lot 27. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Painted in 1936, his self-portrait with a crystal ball is a poignant message : he would like to react but does not have the solution. He is only 52 but he certainly appreciates that his premature aging and his surly attitude will not help him. The shadow over the eyes does not encourage dialogue.
This oil on canvas 110 x 65 cm was sold for $ 16.8M by Sotheby's on May 3, 2005, lot 27. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
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1936 Nécrophilique Friendship from Gala Salvador
2012 SOLD 16.3 M$ including premium
Spring 1936 is a threat. The Spanish Civil War is now inevitable. Its "premonition" by Salvador Dali is famous.
Dali was appreciating that he must not any more belong to an artistic movement. Any of them, including surrealism, has the risk to curb his genuine hallucinatory passion. This is the time of the full development of his "paranoiac-critical method".
On May 2 in New York, Sotheby's sells an oil on canvas, 55 x 65cm, entitled Printemps Nécrophilique, estimated $ 8M.
This artwork is primarily an extraordinary juxtaposition of hyper-realism and imagination. It is designed in two distinct areas. On the left, occupying one third of the image, a village near Figueras with its beach. On the right, the sand up to infinity. In between, a cypress escaped from Böcklin's Isle of the Dead justifies the threat and the title.
In front of the tree, a woman is standing. Her shadow enters the region of dreams. She is a long dress, altogether fabric and flesh. The head is replaced by a tuft of flowers.
This work is a tribute to Elsa Schiaparelli, who will be its first owner. She will be inspired by the painting to create a real dress.
The painting is signed Gala Salvador Dali, as if it was a postcard sent by the couple to Elsa, with the tuft of flowers as a bouquet, but where the words of friendship are replaced by the image and title announcing war and death.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's.
POST SALE COMMENT
Dali can be alternately extremely annoying or extremely fascinating as his message is more or less decipherable. The decoding of this painting makes it a masterpiece of the master: $ 16.3 million including premium.
Dali was appreciating that he must not any more belong to an artistic movement. Any of them, including surrealism, has the risk to curb his genuine hallucinatory passion. This is the time of the full development of his "paranoiac-critical method".
On May 2 in New York, Sotheby's sells an oil on canvas, 55 x 65cm, entitled Printemps Nécrophilique, estimated $ 8M.
This artwork is primarily an extraordinary juxtaposition of hyper-realism and imagination. It is designed in two distinct areas. On the left, occupying one third of the image, a village near Figueras with its beach. On the right, the sand up to infinity. In between, a cypress escaped from Böcklin's Isle of the Dead justifies the threat and the title.
In front of the tree, a woman is standing. Her shadow enters the region of dreams. She is a long dress, altogether fabric and flesh. The head is replaced by a tuft of flowers.
This work is a tribute to Elsa Schiaparelli, who will be its first owner. She will be inspired by the painting to create a real dress.
The painting is signed Gala Salvador Dali, as if it was a postcard sent by the couple to Elsa, with the tuft of flowers as a bouquet, but where the words of friendship are replaced by the image and title announcing war and death.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's.
POST SALE COMMENT
Dali can be alternately extremely annoying or extremely fascinating as his message is more or less decipherable. The decoding of this painting makes it a masterpiece of the master: $ 16.3 million including premium.
1936 The Von Krieger Mercedes
2012 SOLD 11.8 M$ including premium
In the sale of 18 and 19 August in Pebble Beach, Gooding has a wonder: a car from the most beautiful German model of the 1930s, owned and driven by one of the most elegant young ladies of the time, retaining its original equipment.
In 1936, Mercedes-Benz unveil their new high-end model, the 540K, offered with a variety of bodywork according to the custom of the time.
The 540K Spezial Roadster, a two-seater convertible, was then the supreme elegance regarding automobiles. It can still claim the title: the specimen of the Mann collection was sold $ 9.7 million including premium by RM Auctions on August 20, 2011, an exceptional price for a road car.
This variant is the masterpiece of the designer Hermann Ahrens. Its tapered shape, with the door in alignment of the covers, gives an illusion of lightness that fully compensates the large dimensions of its 5.15 m long chassis.
Known as a lover of beautiful cars, a Prussian aristocrat named von Krieger bought this Spezial Roadster as early as 1936 to his two children, but it was to his daughter Gisela, 23, to monopolize it for supporting her social life.
Then came the war. Baroness Gisela hid her car and then went to a reclusive life. After her death in 1989, her wonderful car was retrieved intact, with driving maps, lipstick-stained cigarette butts and silk gloves used by its owner four decades earlier.
The car is illustrated in the article shared by Sports Car Digest.
POST SALE COMMENT
In recent years, the Mercedes 540K Spezial Roadsters prance at the highest level of pre-war cars at auction. On October 31, 2007, at a time when the pound was strong, one of them was sold £ 3.9 million including premium by RM Auctions and Sotheby's.
I already mentioned above the unit sold for $ 9.7 million last year.
The Mercedes of the Baroness had been a time capsule during four decades, and benefited of a careful pre-sale presentation to the media. It had all the qualities to become the best. It is done: $ 11.8 million including premium.
In 1936, Mercedes-Benz unveil their new high-end model, the 540K, offered with a variety of bodywork according to the custom of the time.
The 540K Spezial Roadster, a two-seater convertible, was then the supreme elegance regarding automobiles. It can still claim the title: the specimen of the Mann collection was sold $ 9.7 million including premium by RM Auctions on August 20, 2011, an exceptional price for a road car.
This variant is the masterpiece of the designer Hermann Ahrens. Its tapered shape, with the door in alignment of the covers, gives an illusion of lightness that fully compensates the large dimensions of its 5.15 m long chassis.
Known as a lover of beautiful cars, a Prussian aristocrat named von Krieger bought this Spezial Roadster as early as 1936 to his two children, but it was to his daughter Gisela, 23, to monopolize it for supporting her social life.
Then came the war. Baroness Gisela hid her car and then went to a reclusive life. After her death in 1989, her wonderful car was retrieved intact, with driving maps, lipstick-stained cigarette butts and silk gloves used by its owner four decades earlier.
The car is illustrated in the article shared by Sports Car Digest.
POST SALE COMMENT
In recent years, the Mercedes 540K Spezial Roadsters prance at the highest level of pre-war cars at auction. On October 31, 2007, at a time when the pound was strong, one of them was sold £ 3.9 million including premium by RM Auctions and Sotheby's.
I already mentioned above the unit sold for $ 9.7 million last year.
The Mercedes of the Baroness had been a time capsule during four decades, and benefited of a careful pre-sale presentation to the media. It had all the qualities to become the best. It is done: $ 11.8 million including premium.
1936 The Treachery of the Mirror
2016 SOLD for £ 7.3M including premium
La Trahison des images, featured by Magritte in 1929, is a manifesto or a guide of his vision concerning the artistic language. The image of the pipe is opposed by the writing : this is not a pipe. This statement is wrong, but it is also true: it is not a pipe but a painted canvas. Truth does not exist.
Paul Delvaux discovers in 1934 the surrealism in the manner of Magritte and De Chirico. He finds thereby the thread of his entire career. In the silence of the canvas, without a need for words, the reflection in the mirror and the shadows know how to lie.
Delvaux beautifully draws the nude women. Their psychology is not visible in their static attitude but through their surrounding. They face their double, who can be a dressed woman or a reflection or a dummy.
Le Miroir, oil on canvas 110 x 136 cm painted in 1936, demonstrates the creativity of the artist in the early days of his approach.
The woman turns her back to us, sitting on a stool in an interior. Her beautiful evening dress contrasts with the wall paper that peels into a misery which is certainly the truth that she wants to escape.
She watches her desire in the mirror. Her reflection is in the same seated position but now she is naked within a gate that opens onto a sunny courtyard with trees. The reflection of the shabby paper is also visible. The new angle reveals her smile of hope. The light remains logic with shadows that do not contradict it.
The doubt arises from the opposition between the inside and the outside. The title appeals for a mirror but does that woman look at her reflection or at a painted image which in this case would be a painting in the painting ? This question shall remain unanswered, both without truth and without lie.
Le Miroir was sold for £ 3.2M including premium by Christie's on December 8, 1999. It is estimated £ 5.5M for sale by Sotheby's in London on February 3, lot 48.
Paul Delvaux discovers in 1934 the surrealism in the manner of Magritte and De Chirico. He finds thereby the thread of his entire career. In the silence of the canvas, without a need for words, the reflection in the mirror and the shadows know how to lie.
Delvaux beautifully draws the nude women. Their psychology is not visible in their static attitude but through their surrounding. They face their double, who can be a dressed woman or a reflection or a dummy.
Le Miroir, oil on canvas 110 x 136 cm painted in 1936, demonstrates the creativity of the artist in the early days of his approach.
The woman turns her back to us, sitting on a stool in an interior. Her beautiful evening dress contrasts with the wall paper that peels into a misery which is certainly the truth that she wants to escape.
She watches her desire in the mirror. Her reflection is in the same seated position but now she is naked within a gate that opens onto a sunny courtyard with trees. The reflection of the shabby paper is also visible. The new angle reveals her smile of hope. The light remains logic with shadows that do not contradict it.
The doubt arises from the opposition between the inside and the outside. The title appeals for a mirror but does that woman look at her reflection or at a painted image which in this case would be a painting in the painting ? This question shall remain unanswered, both without truth and without lie.
Le Miroir was sold for £ 3.2M including premium by Christie's on December 8, 1999. It is estimated £ 5.5M for sale by Sotheby's in London on February 3, lot 48.
1936 Alfa Romeo's Reply to the Silver Arrows
2013 SOLD 5.9 M£ including premium
In 1936, Germany and Italy are politically allied but are rivals for technology. The Grand Prix single-seater car is one of the symbols by which the Reich wants to show its strength. With the financial resources granted to them, Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union were no longer allowed to lose.
Clearly the acceleration of the German technological effort is annoying Alfa Romeo and the team sponsored by that brand, the Scuderia Ferrari. Fortunately for the greatness and excitement of sport, the skill of a great driver can reverse the situation. The public enjoys the feats of Tazio Nuvolari.
Nuvolari is the leader of the Scuderia Ferrari in a lesser annual race named the Coppa Ciano. His car, an Alfa Romeo 12C36, broke its transmission in the second lap. What follows is incredible when comparing with the conditions and constraints of today's competitions.
Nuvolari will not give up. He stops one of his teammates and takes his car, an Alfa Romeo Tipo C 8C-35. Despite the triple handicap of the time lost during the change, of the lower power of his new car and of a seat adjustment not suitable for this little man, Nuvolari wins the race.
The car used in this extraordinary sporting achievement is estimated £ 5.5 million, for sale by Bonhams at Goodwood on September 14. Here is the link to the press release shared by Sports Car Digest.
POST SALE COMMENT
The estimate was ambitious but this racing car of the 1930s is exceptional. It was sold for £ 5.9 million including premium.
Clearly the acceleration of the German technological effort is annoying Alfa Romeo and the team sponsored by that brand, the Scuderia Ferrari. Fortunately for the greatness and excitement of sport, the skill of a great driver can reverse the situation. The public enjoys the feats of Tazio Nuvolari.
Nuvolari is the leader of the Scuderia Ferrari in a lesser annual race named the Coppa Ciano. His car, an Alfa Romeo 12C36, broke its transmission in the second lap. What follows is incredible when comparing with the conditions and constraints of today's competitions.
Nuvolari will not give up. He stops one of his teammates and takes his car, an Alfa Romeo Tipo C 8C-35. Despite the triple handicap of the time lost during the change, of the lower power of his new car and of a seat adjustment not suitable for this little man, Nuvolari wins the race.
The car used in this extraordinary sporting achievement is estimated £ 5.5 million, for sale by Bonhams at Goodwood on September 14. Here is the link to the press release shared by Sports Car Digest.
POST SALE COMMENT
The estimate was ambitious but this racing car of the 1930s is exceptional. It was sold for £ 5.9 million including premium.
