NEW YORK, NY.- An outstanding assortment of ski images for American and European cold-weather destinations will be featured in
Swann Galleries' annual winter auction of Vintage Posters on February 12. There are also lovely Art Nouveau images, turn-of-the-century bicycle ads, Israel and Judaic posters and powerful Art Deco designs.
Notable ski posters include circa 1930 European examples, such as one of Roger Broderss rarest ski images, Sports D'hiver Dans Les Vosges (estimate: $7,000 to $10,000); Franz Lenharts Dolomiti / Cortina ($4,000 to $6,000) and the sexy Winter in Austria from Atelier Binder, depicting a blond skier with her skis slung over one shoulder ($3,000 to $4,000).
Among the American ski highlights are Herbert Bayers Ski in Aspen Colorado, 1946 ($5,000 to $7,500); Phil von Phuls Sun Valley, Lets Go! / Union Pacific, one of the rarest Sun Valley posters to come to market ($4,000 to $6,000); Jack Rivoltas Up Where Winter Calls to Play / Lake Placid, circa 1938, which features the bobsled run built for the 1932 winter Olympics ($3,000 to $4,000) and several wonderful images created for Dartmouth Colleges annual Winter Carnival, including Ted Hunters 1937 design and T.N. Joanethiss 1938 version ($2,500 to $3,500 and $2,000 to $3,000 respectively).
The auction offers an array of dazzling Art Nouveau posters and decorative panels, such as Leopoldo Metlicovitzs Mostra Del Ciclo E Dell'automobile / Milano, publicizing Milans 1907 automobile and cycle show, which is the sales top lot with an estimate of $25,000 to $35,000. Another Metlicovitz highlight is his Mele / Mode Novità, 1910, for a department store in Naples ($20,000 to $30,000).
Also stunning are a run of works by Art Nouveau master Alphonse Mucha, among them a set of four panels depicting allegorical images of young women as The Flowers, 1898 ($20,000 to $30,000) and his iconic image for Job rolling papers, this one printed on silk and with Muchas signature in ink, 1896 (also $20,000 to $30,000).
Rounding out the Art Nouveau highlights are Jean Misceslas Peskés poster for Lestampe et Laffiche, the seminal magazine devoted to prints and posters, 1898 ($5,000 to $7,500) and the celebrated Cycles Gladiator, circa 1895, which depicts a lovely female nude with flowing red hair being propelled through starry space by her bicycle ($10,000 to $15,000).
A small section of other bicycle images features E. Thelems Cycles Peugeot, circa 1897 ($1,500 to $2,000); PALs Cycles - Clément - Motocycles, circa 1897 ($800 to $1,200) and Felix Fournerys Cycles De Dion Bouton, 1925 ($1,500 to $2,000).
Judaica posters and images devoted to the founding of Israel include the compelling All Together / To Make Idealistic Dream Come True ($1,500 to $2,000); Roli Studios Israel Independence Day, 1954 ($1,000 to $1,500); and Samuel Grundmans Go Enjoy, 1960 ($700 to $1,000).
Additional auction highlights are Orsis VIIIe Olympiade / Jeux Olympiques / Paris 1924, one of two designs chosen by the French Olympic Committee to advertise the 8th Olympiad ($5,000 to $7,500); Embhard N. Culins Art Deco masterpiece, In 1939 / The New York World's Fair, 1937, in its rare larger format ($4,000 to $6,000); and a fantastic image of a fish for Tasmania / The Anglers' Paradise, circa 1933 ($2,500 to $3,500).
The auction will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, February 12, and will continue after a lunch break at 2:00 p.m.
The posters will be on public exhibition at Swann Galleries on Saturday, February 7, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Monday, February 9 through Wednesday, February 11, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.