NEW YORK, NY.- Doyle Auctioneers & Appraisers will be auctioning several newly discovered works of art from the Estate of Mary Ellin Barrett today, the eldest daughter of legendary American songwriter Irving Berlin. Ms. Barrett accompanied her father on trips throughout Mexico and the Caribbean, and documented their travels in her 1994 book, Irving Berlin: A Daughter’s Memoir, published by Simon & Schuster. Highlighting Doyle’s auction of Latin American Art on March 13 are newly discovered paintings by Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and Hector Hyppolite from Berlin’s collection, inherited by his daughter.
During a Christmas trip to Mexico in 1947, Irving Berlin met the great muralist Diego Rivera, who invited Berlin to sit for a portrait – an honor Berlin declined. However, Berlin commissioned a work from Rivera for his recent song, In Acapulco, to serve as cover artwork for a sheet music release – a very lucrative sector of the music industry at the time. In 1948, Rivera presented Berlin with an original painting for the cover, along with a color chart and detailed notes hand-written by Rivera himself. The artwork was ultimately rejected by the music label and never used, as Ms. Barrett discusses in her book. Estimated at $200,000-400,000, this newly discovered, commissioned work by Diego Rivera for Irving Berlin has apparently never been seen outside of the Berlin, and later, the Barrett homes.
On the same trip, Berlin and his family visited the studio of another prominent Mexican muralist, José Clemente Orozco, where they acquired two works – a gouache on paper estimated at $20,000-40,000 and a colorful oil on Masonite estimated at $150,000-250,000 that Barrett describes in her book as “…a bright and hectic fiesta scene (which turned out to be The Day of the Dead).” As with the Diego Rivera work, these two paintings by Orozco have been in the private homes of the Berlin and Barrett families since their purchase and have not been seen elsewhere.
While on a visit to Haiti, Irving Berlin acquired a rare and fantastic work from the studio of Hector Hyppolite. A practicing Voodoo priest, Hyppolite created strange and surreal images, such as this painting depicting a priest attending to a funeral ceremony, estimated at $80,000-120,000. Again, like the Rivera and Orozco works, this Hyppolite painting has remained in the homes of the families since its acquisition.
These exciting discoveries and many more works will be featured in Doyle’s auction of Latin American Art on Wednesday, March 13 at 11am EST. The public is invited to the exhibition on March 9 through 11 at Doyle, located at 175 East 87th Street in New York. Interested bidders can view the catalogue and place bids online at Doyle.com.
Irving Berlin (1888-1989) was one of the most influential and prolific American composers and lyricists of the 20th century. Over the course of his career, Berlin wrote an estimated 1,500 songs and scores for twenty original Broadway productions and fifteen Hollywood films. His lasting contributions to the classic American songbook include Alexander’s Ragtime Band, Blue Skies, Easter Parade, Puttin’ on the Ritz, Cheek to Cheek, Anything You Can Do, I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm, There’s No Business Like Show Business, and the celebrated patriotic song, God Bless America. With the 1942 release of the film Holiday Inn featuring music and lyrics by Irving Berlin came the debut of the song, White Christmas. The song became the best-selling single in history, and Berlin won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
