The sale includes a fantastic selection of works from private collections sold for philanthropic initiatives; including property of the William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation, seeend benefiting the Foundation and the Harlem Children's Zone, and the William A. Fagaly Collection property, sold to benefit the William A. Fagaly Memorial Fund for Social Impact of Prospect New Orleans. Internationally renowned curator William Fagaly (1938-2021) dedicated his decade-long career at the New Orleans Museum of Art to strengthening the institution's representation of African art, Outsider art, and contemporary art. He was an early advocate of marginalized artists, making a concerted effort to acquire work within the category in NOMA's permanent collection. When Fagaly began his career at the museum in the 60s, the museum owned fewer than 10 works of African art. It now includes around 600. Fagaly developed close relationships with a number of the artists he collected, most notably Sister Gertrude Morgan and David Butler. An ardent supporter of Morgan's career, Fagaly has curated several exhibitions of her work, including the 2004 posthumous survey The Tools of Her Ministry: the Art of Sister Gertrude Morgan at the American Folk Art Museum in New York. In 1976 you were the first curator to show Butler; Butler was later included in the landmark Black Folk Art in America 1930-1980 exhibition, which opened at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington DC in 1982. Walking Stick with Figure, one of Butler's sculptures illustrated in the Black Folk Art in America catalog, will be featured in the sale (estimate: $4.000-8.000).
The sale also features incredible artwork from the Gene and Judy Kohn Collection of Outsider Art, including the top lot of the sale, Untitled (Man and Woman) by Bill Traylor (estimate: $80.000-120.000). Boston couple Gene and Judy Kohn were early collectors of Outsider art, amassing a wonderful selection of work within the category long before the field became more widely known and appreciated.
Estimate USD 80,000 – USD 120,000
Highlights from the sale will be on view at Christie's New York Galleries at 20 Rockefeller Plaza January 13-20, 2022, and the entire sale will be on display January 29-February 3, 2022. Viewing is by appointment only. Click here to make a reservation.
Cover:
MARTÍN RAMÍREZ (1895-1963) Untitled, Estimate USD 30,000 – USD 50,000
