NEW YORK, NY.- Contemporary Art is at Swann Galleries on Thursday, November 19 offering a selection of works on paper and multiples from the mid-twentieth century through the present.

Featured in the sale is a stellar collection of works from the late Stephen Poleskie, professor emeritus of art, Cornell University, and founder of Chiron Press, New York’s first fine art screenprinting studio, inaugurated in 1963 on East 11th Street in Lower Manhattan. Among the works in the Stephen Poleskie/Chiron Press Collection are paintings by Alex Katz, Rowboat, oil on paper, 1966 ($50,000-80,000), and Katz’s Maine Landscape, oil on wood panel, circa 1965 ($30,000-50,000); preparatory drawings and screenprints by Roy Lichtenstein for several Chiron Press editions, Brushstroke, color screenprint, 1965 ($20,000-30,000), Lincoln Center Poster, felt-tip pen and black ink, 1966 ($30,000-50,000), and Paris Review Poster, felt-tip pen and black ink, 1966 ($30,000-50,000), among others; multiples and drawings by Robert Indiana and additional works by Robert Rauschenberg, Ellsworth Kelly and Andy Warhol.




Abstract Expressionism features in the sale with works by Louise Nevelson from the collection of Albert Argentieri, a friend of the artist. Notable lots include Trees, aquatint and etching with hand coloring, circa 1955 ($3,000-5,000); The Silent One, etching, 1953–55 ($1,500-2,500); and a run of drawings. Other Abstract Expressionist works featured: Helen Frankenthaler’s Hermes, color Mixografia, 1989 ($40,000-60,000), and Spring Run XVI, color monotype, 1996 ($30,000-50,000); Joan Mitchell’s Champs (Grey), color lithograph, 1991 ($1,500-2,500); and Lee Krasner’s 1969 color lithographs Special Gold and Special Blue ($3,000-5,000, apiece). Works by Pierre Soulages, Zao Wou-ki, and European Abstract artists are also well represented.

Pop Art, Color Theory and Minimalism all feature throughout the sale. Highlights include Andy Warhol’s Consommé (Beef), a 1968 color screenprint of the artist’s iconic Campbell’s soup can ($30,000-50,000), and Liz, a 1964 color offset lithograph portrait of Elizabeth Taylor ($15,000-20,000). Color Theory is seen in a 1975 acrylic on paper monochromatic abstraction by Robert Motherwell ($40,000-60,000); while Minimalism is represented by a 1977 watercolor example of Agnes Martin’s grids ($50,000-80,000), and Dorothea Rockburne’s Locus, 1972, portfolio, offered as a complete set for the first time in 20 years ($10,000-15,000).

Additional works of note include Mel Bochner’s Irascible, oil on black velvet, 2006 ($50,000-80,000), and a 1960 color oil stick and gouache work by Peter Saul ($50,000-80,000), along with a substantial number of works by Alexander Calder, Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg.

Limited previewing (by appointment only) will be available through November 18, to be scheduled directly with a specialist in advance and conforming to strict safety guidelines.