Elvgren's 'Bear Facts,' Martignette's favorite, on the block in about two weeks at Heritage Beverly Hills

April 21, 2010

Posted by Noah

The smile on the bear says it all...

Gil Elvgren's essential , magnificent 1962 pin-up, Bear Facts (A Modest Look; Bearback Rider), is going to find a new home in about two weeks when it occupies the centerpiece position of the May 7 Pin-Up & Glamour Art Auction taking place at Heritage Auctions Beverly Hills. It is estimated (quite conservatively, in my humble opinion) at $50,000-$75,000. It's already at $65,000, and we have a ways to go. 'Nuff said.

Perhaps of equal importance to the awesomeness of the piece itself is its enduring fame and its place in Charles Martignette's personal pantheon of Elvgren masterworks. In fact, Bear Facts was Martignette's favorite Elvgren of all. Period. It appeared as the dust jacket cover, and figure 414 of Martignette and Lou Meisel's book Gil Elvgren All His Glamorous American Pin-Ups and also as Figure 82 of The Great American Pin-up, again by the same pair.

I'll sum it up again: The single greatest Illustration Art Collector of all time, Charles Martignette, who assembled the single greatest collection of Illustration Art ever assembled, had a single favorite painting by Gil Elvgren, himself the greatest pin-up artist to ever live, and it was the one you see here, offered for the first time at public auction on May 7.

This painting is going to go big, obviously, and only the very most advanced collectors are going to be vying for this, though every single collector of the form, at every level, is going to be watching and wishing. If I had half a chance I'd buy it myself. I don't, however, have even a quarter of a chance, or an eighth. Or a sixteenth... I would, however, be more than willing to mow your lawn for a year if you buy this for me...

The truth is that, like every Illustration Art Auction here at Heritage in the last year that has featured Martignette's amazing (did I say amazing? I meant AMAZING!) collection, there is much to love and classics of the form all over the sale. There are many that I love, and many I would love to own, none of which I will be able to afford for a long time - but I will someday, and on that day the world will be mine!

Do yourself a favor and take a look through the Illustration Art catalog. Linger a little longer over the Elvgrens, the Vargas, the Armstrongs and the Morans, among the many. Choose one for yourself, one for your best friend, and one for your favorite regular Heritage Blogger whose initials are not JDB (Whoever that may be...).

To leave a comment, click on the title of this post.

-Noah Fleisher

Martignette, baby, Martignette: Part II today at Heritage

Oct. 27, 2009

Posted by Noah

As you may have sussed if you've read this blog more than once - Mom? Are you there? - I've got kind of a thing for Illustration Art. My life is nothing like Charles Martignette's life, and I am nothing like Martignette, I promise, but I understand the man on the level that - if I could - I would gladly devote my every waking hour to pursuing the very best examples of illustration and locking them away in a couple of remote warehouses that I would only access under cover of dark.

Okay, maybe a bit too dramatic, but today is the day, after all, that the second part of Martignette's epic, astonishing collection hits the auction block as part of our October Illustration Auction. And let me tell you, included in this auction is some of the tastiest American Art ever produced. Period. The thing is deep with Elvgren, steeped in Vargas and dripping with Leyendecker, Bolles, Moran, Avati, Flagg, Lovell and so many more...

What will today bear out? The first auction, in July of this year, was a stunner, with Martignette pulling down more than $3 million alone, with some amazing prices paid deep into the auction. There were many paintings in that auction that I really wanted but never had a shot at, really, because they were all going for multiples of their estimates. The sale had Heritage Auctions all over the news, with a great write-up in the New York Times and an AP story that spread across the globe. The excitement in the room, especially for the Elvgrens, was palpable.

There is not so much hype around this auction, but the word is certainly out, and you can bet that there will be people bidding, and bidding hard, for the best examples. The hardcore collectors are already vying for the top pieces, and there is no shortage of people who came in because of the PR from the first one and, like me, got hooked. The only difference is that in most cases, I presume, they can buy. I can't, yet, but I can certainly dream...

I can tell you this, too, that there are a couple paintings - two in particular - from the first auction that, if they ever come back on the market, will not escape me. Which ones, you ask?

Not telling, I say.

The painting above, Earl Moran's unabashed masterpiece Golden Hours, is my favorite in this auction. And trust me, there are about 100 more competing right next to it, but this one famous image from the 1940s is a magnificent study of form and color. Moran was known for his use of bold background colors, but if you look at the painting to the left of this graph, Evening Glow, which is another truly gorgeous portrait, you can see that Moran was, simply, a master of light. Move past the fact that he painted women, if it bothers you - he was a journeyman painter, he needed to feed his family, and it was good work.

It must also be said that I have exceedingly good taste, as the bid for Golden Hours is already at $31,000+ with buyer's premium, and - as I see it - will go even higher. Don't be surprised if it reaches $50,000 or more.

We're lucky to live in an age when we can look back, see all these paintings in context of their time, and value them as works of art. See them in person, not just in print, and you will be amazed how quickly they transform from cheesecake or kitsch to bonafide painting. The skill of the artists is undeniable.

I'll be watching closely this afternoon as this auction goes off, for sure. Martignette's provenance is one that will never lose its import; this series of auctions is the seminal event so far in the evolution of the collecting of Illustration Art. Enjoy it now. There are only about 3,300 pieces left...

To leave a comment, click on the title of this post.

-Noah Fleisher

More Moran in Martignette, lest you forget...

Aug. 11, 2009

Posted by Noah

Just in case you had finally started to get over the shivers and shakes that accompanied the abrupt stoppage of steady streams of illustration art news and images that were coming out of Heritage about a month ago with the kick-off of the Martignette Estate, never fear!

As we speak, Heritage experts are hard at work getting the next grouping of Martignette's amazing collection ready for auction this October, and you can bet there are a whole mess of absolute doozies!

Yes, there will be Elvgren and Vargas and Rockwell and Leyendecker and the parade of giants you might expect of this legendary collection, but there is also a whole host of great stuff from mid-tier artists, including a painting from Earl Moran, pictured above, that is - at least in my humble opinion - absolutely one of the most stunning paintings of any era or kind I have ever seen. Period.

I don't mean to call Moran a mid-tier artist, because he was a celebrity in his day, and his paintings were a staple of Brown & Bigelow and sold millions of copies. He was also very well loved by Hollywood celebrities, was trained by some of the best teachers of the day and, famously not only painted a young Norma Jean several times, was also a good friend of the doomed starlet. In fact, the future Marilyn Monroe said that Moran often made her look better than she actually did. That is, of course, impossible, but it's a nice thing for her to say...

This Moran painting, Evening Glow, is a singular masterpiece to be sure, and will likely well exceed its early estimate of $20,000-$25,000. It is simply pure genius. Moran's mastery of subject, form and color culminate in this superb painting. You would have to search very hard, very wide to find a comparable usage of color so in-depth, so evocative and so specific to the period from which it evolved. If I had the money it would be going home with me, no doubt...

Let this be a tease to you, then, and an anodyne to salve the hurt left by the gap between Illustration Art auctions. Never fear - and I say this more for myself than for anyone - more Martignette is on its way!

To leave a comment click on the title of this post.

-Noah Fleisher