William Gear, Wesley Webber paintings top Bruneau auction

Oil on canvas painting by Scottish-born abstract modernist William Gear (1915-1997). Price realized: $11,875. Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers image

CRANSTON, R.I. – An oil on canvas landscape painting by the Scottish-born abstract modernist William Gear (1915-1997), titled Paysage, Mai 50 (May Landscape, 1950), sold for $11,875, and a large oil on canvas maritime seascape work of a brigantine ship at sea by Wesley Elbridge Webber (American, 1841-1914) brought $9,375 at Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers’ Nov. 25 sale. Absentee and Internet live bidding was available through LiveAuctioneers.

The 436-lot Estate, Antiques, Fine & Decorative Art Auction was held in Bruneau & Co.’s gallery, located at 63 Fourth Ave. in Cranston. About 210 people attended the sale in person, while another 11,487 registered to bid online.

As expected, the William Gear painting was the auction’s top lot, finishing ahead of an eclectic mix of merchandise. The sale grossed a rather robust $187,285.

The Gear painting(above) depicted an amalgamation of abstracted naturalistic forms in an earthly palette over a gray background, and was housed in a 33 inch by 26 ½ inch frame. The work was signed and dated in the lower right corner (and verso) and had a compelling back story and provenance.

In 1950, the same year Gear painted Paysage, Mai 50, he left Paris, where he’d been living, for New York to take part in a joint exhibition with his esteemed contemporary, Jackson Pollock. It would be Gear’s one and only American exhibition. While in the States, Gear met his future wife, Deborah Chertok, and he gifted this very painting to her sister.

The maritime seascape painting by Wesley Elbridge Webber (below) was indeed large at 50 inches by 80 inches (framed). It depicted a brigantine vessel at sea, with the bow facing the foreground and a cutter vessel trailing behind, with two steam-powered vessels in the background. The painting, signed by Webber, also showed two figures in administrative uniform and a buoy in the water.

Huge oil on canvas maritime seascape work of a brigantine ship at sea by Wesley Elbridge Webber. Price realized: $9,375 . Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers image

“The auction was a great way to end the Thanksgiving weekend,” said Bruneau & Co. President Kevin Bruneau. “It was interesting to see such heightened international interest in the William Gear landscape and the pair of James Rizzi lithographs while being offered in the United States.”

He was referring to the two cutout, three-dimensional lithograph assemblages by the noted pop artist James Rizzi (New York, 1950-2011). One, titled Sidewalk Café (1987), depicted a bustling city with a café in the foreground ($4,062). The other, titled Fall (1988), showed city dwellers in a park, observing the turning foliage ($2,500). Both lithos were artist-signed, titled and numbered.

Cutout, three-dimensional lithograph assemblage by pop artist James Rizzi (New York, 1950-2011), titled ‘Sidewalk Café,’ 1987. Price realized: $4,062. Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers image

Two artworks by Mexican muralists found their way into the list of top lots. One was a figural bronze sculpture of a woman by Francisco Zuniga (1912-1998), 23 ¼ inches tall on a beveled black marble plinth ($4,062). The woman was depicted as pregnant and dressed in a rebozo and long skirt. The work was signed (“Zuniga”), dated (“1972”) and editioned (4 of 10).

Figural bronze sculpture of a woman by Mexican artist Francisco Zuniga (1912-1998), 23 ¼ inches in height, on a marble plinth. Price realized: $4,062. Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers image

The other was an oil on canvas laid on Masonite by Manuel Herrera Cartalla (1915-1977). The painting depicted a fiddler and his son, seated and barefoot on a gray blanket, each with blank, emotionless expressions ($2,812). The signed work measured 21 ½ inches by 27 inches, framed. Cartalla was a contemporary of the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera (1886-1957).

Oil on canvas laid on Masonite by Manuel Herrera Cartalla (Mexican, 1915-1977), depicting a fiddler and his son, seated and barefoot. Price realized: $2,812. Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers image

“This auction truly exemplified the shift in antique and fine art collectors and what they collect today,” said Travis Landry, a Bruneau & Co. specialist and auctioneer. “The Francisco Zuniga sculpture and the Manuel Herrera Cartalla painting received an astounding amount of attention from onlookers in the gallery, just as if they were the two Wesley Webbers from 20 years ago.”

Two very different lots each posted an identical selling price of $2,375. One was a large, 19th- century Japanese Meiji period giltwood folding screen, consisting of six panels decorated with a rickshaw holding a twin-handled squat vessel with chrysanthemum and wisteria. Each panel measured 24 inches wide by 84 inches tall – an impressive sight at 12 feet wide when opened.

The other was an American-made, circa-1969 Schwinn Stingray Pea Picker bicycle from the Krate series, introduced in 1968. The bike featured a five-speed center Stik-shift with spring suspension fork, a spring cushion saddle seat and enhanced braking and handling (compared to the non-Krate series, standard Stingray model). The bicycle appeared to be an original survivor.

American-made, circa-1969 Schwinn Stingray Pea Picker bicycle from the Krate, featuring a five-speed center Stik-shift and spring suspension fork. Price realized: $2,375. Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers image

A large oil and acrylic on canvas abstract painting by the Dominican modernist Candido Bido (1936-2011), titled El Drama, signed and dated (1991), realized $2,000. The work depicted two opposing female busts staggered in height, with an abstract form bird in the foreground. The painting was executed in Dido’s iconic blazing yellow, turquoise blue and fiery orange palette.

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View the fully illustrated catalog with prices realized.