In celebration of Black History Month, Alex Cooper is offering a large selection of exceptional works by African American artists in an online auction from February 19-March 6. The auction is headlined by an outstanding work by the sculptor Richard Hunt, as well as a large selection of Nathaniel K. Gibbs artworks.
Here are the highlights of the sale:
Richard Hunt is a leading sculptor in the United States known for his abstract, large-scale works. His pieces can be found in top museums like the Met, the National Gallery of Art and LACMA. This abstract bronze that appears like a bird in flight was consigned from the private collection of Fred Lazarus, the former director of the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.
Thomas Stockett worked at the Afro-American newspaper in Baltimore where he primarily drew cartoons and illustrations. Here is one of his paintings, Her New Dress, in oil on canvas, a charming portrait of a young girl in a verdant setting.
Here is Carl Howard Greene, Jr's Portrait of a Woman, a vibrant profile in mixed media collage on canvas. He combines a stark use of color, especially the contrasting of red, black and purple, and fractured shapes to create an arresting portrait.
Commissioned to paint portraits of Thurgood Marshall and Du Burns, Nathaniel Gibbs was one of Baltimore's top artists. A number of his works are included in this upcoming auction, all consigned from his estate.
This is Gibbs' Snow Storm #8, an oil on panel work in muted tones capturing a car driving home as an abstracted figure walks along the road.
Couple on Federal Hill shows a couple sitting on a bench on Federal Hill, a neighborhood of Baltimore. Behind them rises the sculpture of Samuel Smith, a Maryland senator and the mayor of Baltimore in the 19th century.
Larry "Poncho" Brown is a contemporary artist whose work focuses on African American subjects and the themes of dance and mysticism. Here is his serigraph Natural Rhythm, part of an edition of 200, which shows the dynamic silhouette of a woman in the middle of dancing.