I wrote a short while back about Material Culture’s weekend of auctions dedicated solely to the superb, self-taught art collection of Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme—the March 29 and 30th sales seem to have been a success for the auction house
They sure were for us, we netted 4 of the 5 lots that we bid on, 3 Haitian and 1 American—all sculpture.
Some background on the auctions:
In an exclusive arrangement with the auction house, Demme brought to market a substantial amount of sculpture and painting totaling over 1,000 lots from his even more massive private collection.
From the auction catalog, “Direct from the Eye: The Jonathan Demme Collection of Self-Taught Art is a compendium of Demme’s travels and tastes that transcends borders, encompassing Haitian and American self-taught artists from the 1940s to the present, contemporary intuitive painters from Jamaica, as well as art from Africa, South America and Europe.”
A few of the highlights of the Material Culture auction are online.
Hi:
My name is Tom Webster and, like you, I live in the Baltimore area (Ellicott City), collect Haitian art, participated in the Demme auction, and wound up acquiring four paintings (for which I have no room). I won lot #s 477, 684, 685, and 687. Which did you win?
We bought these:
Lot 160
Untitled Vodou Spirit
Forged iron, 16″ x 5.5″ x 5″
Lot 153
Untitled Vodou Spirit
Forged iron, 10.5″ x 3″ x 8″
Lot 141
Columbus “Dude” McGriff (American/ 20th c.)
Grasshopper
Metal wire sculpture, 17.5″ x 9″ x 6″
Purchased directly from the artist, Tallahassee, 1987
Lot 84
Marassa Transformation
Painted cut-work metal, 22.5″ x 22″
It was quite an auction and we enjoyed participating.