Artists of the WPA - Paul Raphael Meltsner, "R.F.D. 36," oil on canvas. Estimate $4,000 to $6,000.
Paul Raphael Meltsner, "R.F.D. 36," oil on canvas. Estimate $4,000 to $6,000.

The current Swann Galleries auction is dedicated to the Artists of the WPA. Works in photography, cartography, printmaking, posters, and painting are all represented in this reflection on how the early twentieth century changed American culture.⁠

More from the organizers:

The economic hardships of the 1930s, as well as the drought across the North American prairie, were of great concern to lawmakers in Washington, DC. The agencies that formed as part of the New Deal, an “alphabet soup” that included the Works Progress Administration, the Farm Security Administration, and the Federal Art Project, put artists to work. These artists expressed empathy for the American farmer, as seen in Thomas Hart Benton’s romanticized vision of farm life in Missouri Farmyard, and Dorothea Lange’s tender documentation of the plight of families experiencing the Dust Bowl era.

Missouri Farmyard - Thomas Hart Benton
Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975), “Missouri Farmyard,” lithograph, 1936, 255×405 mm; 10×16 inches, full margins. Edition of 250. Signed in pencil, lower right. Published by Associated American Artists, New York. Fath 10.

The sale is a timed online auction that will begin closing on Thursday, January 30, 2025 at 12 PM EST. Bidding is available on the Swann Galleries App and on live.swanngalleries.com. Exhibition hours are 12 pm to 5 pm on Saturday, January 25, and Monday, January 27 through Wednesday, January 29.

Paintings and original works are represented by Philip Howard Evergood’s oil-on-panel Great Neck Landscape, circa 1935 ($1,200-1,800); August Mosca’s Portrait of Joseph Stella, oil on canvas, 1944 ($1,000-1,500); Cecil Crosley Bell’s Horse Auction, New York, gouache on paper, 1937 ($1,500-2,500); Doris Emrick Lee’s Early Spring Landscape, oil on canvas ($3,000-5,000); and Paul Raphael Meltsner’s R.F.D. 36, oil on canvas ($4,000-6,000).

Art Auction - Cecil Crosley Bell (1906-1970), "Horse Auction, New York," Gouache on paper, 1937. 432x560 mm; 17x22 inches. Signed, C. Bell, and dated, 37, lower right.
Cecil Crosley Bell (1906-1970), “Horse Auction, New York,” Gouache on paper, 1937. 432×560 mm; 17×22 inches. Signed, C. Bell, and dated, 37, lower right.

Prints featured in the sale include Thomas Hart Benton’s Missouri Farmyard, lithograph, 1936 ($2,000-3,000); Louis Schanker’s Jai-Alai, color woodcut, 1939 ($1,000-1,500); Peggy Brook Bacon’s The Artist, (Alexander Brook), charcoal, circa 1925 ($1,000-1,500); and Katherine Milhous’s Visit Pennsylvania / Pre-Revolutionary Costumes, lithograph poster, circa 1936 ($1,000-1,500).


Attention Art Collectors!
May 20-22, 2025: Visit the Plein Air Convention & Expo’s robust pop-up art gallery at the Nugget Casino Resort in Reno, Nevada, where hundreds of artists, including our master faculty, will have studio and plein air works on display and ready to purchase. Register for the full event at PleinAirConvention.com now.


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