Heritage to Offer Rare Decker Oil Painting!

Dallas, Texas: Heritage Galleries and Auctioneers (HGA) will offer a beautiful oil painting, entitled "Butch," by famed American artist Joseph Decker in their upcoming Fine Arts auction, to be held May 11, 2005, in their Dallas, Texas headquarters.

"Joseph Decker was born in Germany in 1853, but moved to America with his parents in 1867," said Lucas Rigby, Consignment Director for HGA. "He spent most of his life in Brooklyn, and studied for several years at night at New York's National Academy of Design while working as a sign painter during the day."

"In 1879, Decker returned to Germany where he studied under Wilhelm Lindenschmidt at the Munich Academy," said Rigby. "It was during this time that he learned the dark toned, bravura style of the day. When he returned to America, he quickly incorporated this style into his still life and landscape work, resulting in a bold, vibrant look that few of his contemporaries could match."

"The piece offered here," Rigby continued, "is from a later period in the artist's life, when his style had developed a softer, more classical edge, as opposed to the harsh, more closely focused and emotionally detached feeling of his earlier paintings. This later period owes more to the emerging Impressionist style than to the earlier, almost photo-realistic style that he employed previously."

"Decker died in poverty in 1924 and his work, which had not been exhibited on a regular basis since the 1880s, slipped into an undeserved obscurity," Rigby added, "but he became newsworthy again several years ago when a painting of his was sold in a garage sale for $5. The buyer, suspecting there might be more to the painting than at first seemed to be the case, researched the piece and soon after sold it to the National Gallery in Washington, DC for $1 million!"

This piece carries a pre-auction estimate of $80,000 - $100,000.

Also offered in the same auction is a smaller painting by Decker entitled "Hammer and Nuts." This stunning still life has a pre-auction estimate of $30,000 - $50,000.

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 HeritageGalleries.com.

Prospective consignors and sellers of top-end illustration and fine art are invited to call Lucas Rigby at 1-800-872-6467, ext. 483 or Ed Jaster at 1-800-872-6467, ext. 288 to discuss their material. Or simply e-mail Lucas Rigby at LucasR@HeritageGalleries.com or Ed Jaster at EdJ@HeritageComics.com today!

To purchase this catalog please contact Nicole Jewell at 800 872 6467 x 272 or write her at 3500 Maple Avenue, 17th Floor, Dallas, TX., 75219.