Important Texas Art Featured in Upcoming Heritage Auction!

DALLAS, TEXAS: On December 2, 2006, Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries will present an auction of important early Texas art, featuring some of the Lone Star State's most significant artists.

"With each of our Texas art auctions, the offerings just get better and better," said Larry Boettigheimer, Director of Early Texas Art Auctions for Heritage, "There's some exquisite work presented in this catalog, which I'm sure will prove very attractive to discerning collectors."

"The star lot of this auction," Boettigheimer said, "is certainly Julian Onderdonk's masterful painting, The Wood Gatherers. In this tour-de-force Texas landscape painting, Onderdonk pays homage to and links the great tradition of the Barbizon School landscape painters with the then-emerging tradition of Texas landscape painting. In the last twenty years, only a handful of comparable Onderdonk paintings, in terms of magnitude and quality, have been offered at public auction, making this an extremely significant event."

"Of the ten major Robert Wood paintings offered in this auction," Boettigheimer said, "the most important is probably Hill Country Bluebonnets, painted in the late 1930s and presented to Texas Governor W. Lee 'Pappy' O'Daniel on the occasion of his 50th birthday on March 11, 1940. It's signed 'G. Day,' short for 'Good Day,' a pseudonym that Wood used early in his career."

"Porfirio Salinas, a highly regarded and very desirable artist, is also well-represented in this auction," said Boettigheimer. "His Irish Flats - San Antonio is a wonderful depiction of one of the old historic areas of that storied city."

Boettigheimer continued, "Also included are a number of paintings by Rolla Taylor, passed down in his family from the estate, including a rare Depression-Era painting of the Tower Life Building, a major San Antonio landmark, noted for decades as being one of the tallest buildings west of the Mississippi since its construction in 1929.

"One of the first generation of 'homegrown' Texas artists, Lloyd Goff perfectly captures the fury and intensity of the hurricane known as 'The Long Island Express' in his painting entitled Storm Hits Long Island," Boettigheimer explained. "One of the worst natural disasters in American history, the storm destroyed over 75,000 buildings and claimed more than 600 lives! The power and the fury of nature unleashed almost leaps off the canvas in this masterful work which was exhibited in the 1939 New York World's Fair"

"The Works Progress Administration, formed during the Depression of the 1930s, resulted in the creation of many fabulous works of art," Boettigheimer stated. "Tom Lea submitted several studies for a proposed mural that was to adorn the St. Louis Post Office, and, although he did not win the commission, the studies survive as a testament to his great artistic skill. The one offered here, The Americans from the East, was one of nine that Lea submitted, each one telling a different part of the St. Louis story. The other eight are in the collection of the El Paso Museum of Art, this work being presumed lost."

"Last but not least, I'd like to mention Fannie B. Shaw's exquisite woodcarving, 1936 Texas Centennial Carving," Boettigheimer said, "which, for the last five years, has been on loan to the Bob Bullock Texas Historic Museum in Austin. The central part of the carving is a map of the state of Texas, surrounded by the six flags under which the state has been governed. Additional elements include important and significant Texans, an early schoolhouse, the Pony Express, the three state capitols, and more. It's an important and compelling piece, one that perfectly reflects the rich history of this great state."

"This auction is a wonderful representation of the great artistic talent and vision that has blessed Texas over the years," Boettigheimer said. "From the natural beauty of the Texas Bluebonnet to the courage and bravery of our founding fathers, all that is great about the Lone Star State is reflected in this auction. I'd encourage everyone to visit our website at www.HA.com, where they can view enlargeable, full-color images of each lot, read our complete and thorough catalog descriptions, and even place bids online. It's going to be a very exciting auction, one that I'm very proud to be a part of."

Heritage Auction Galleries' Early Texas Art Auction will be held on Saturday, December 2, 2006, in Heritage's world headquarters, 3500 Maple Avenue, Dallas, Texas, 75219. For more information, visit www.HA.com, or call 1-800-872-6467.

JULIAN ONDERDONK (1882-1922)
The Wood Gatherers
Oil on canvas
25in. x 30in.
Signed lower left
ESTIMATE: $60,000 - $90,000

ROBERT WOOD (G. DAY) (1889-1979)
Hill Country Bluebonnets, late 1930s
Oil on canvas
22in. x 32in.
Signed lower left
ESTIMATE: $20,000 - $30,000

PORFIRIO SALINAS (1910-1973)
Irish Flats San Antonio
Oil on canvas
16in. x 20in.
Signed lower left
ESTIMATE: $8,000 - $12,000

ROLLA TAYLOR (1871-1970)
Tower Life Building
Oil on burlap
24in. x 20in.
Signed lower left
ESTIMATE: $3,000 - $4,000

LLOYD GOFF (1908-1982)
Storm Hits Long Island, 1938
Oil on canvas
24in. x 36in.
Signed and dated lower right
ESTIMATE: $20,000 - $30,000

TOM LEA (1907-2001)
The Americans from the East
Design for Mural - St. Louis Post Office, 1939
Tempera
5in. x 15in.
Signed and dated lower left
Titled lower center
ESTIMATE: $20,000 - $30,000

FANNIE B. SHAW (1894-1991)
1936 Texas Centennial Carving, 1935-1936
Ink and oil paint on carved wood
54.5in. x 51.5in.
Signed and dated lower right
Signed and dated verso
ESTIMATE: $20,000 - $40,000

For more information about Heritage's auctions, and a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit www.HA.com.

Prospective consignors and sellers of fine art, antiques, decorative arts, silver and art glass are invited to www.HA.com and click on the "Sell Now" tab. Or simply email Larry Boettigheimer at LarryB@HA.com.

To reserve your copy of any Heritage auction catalog, please contact Nicole Jewell at 1-800-872-6467, ext. 272, or visit www.HA.com to order by email.