Robert Indiana ‘B’ may fetch $90,000

LYNBROOK, N.Y. – One of just three acrylic on canvas paintings of the letter ‘B’ by Pop Artist Robert Indiana (American, 1928-2018), plus several lithographs signed by the artist, and a group of Philip and Kelvin Laverne pieces will be part of Weiss Auctions’ Jan. 23-24 sale.

The auction will be held in Weiss Auctions’ gallery located at 74 Merrick Road in Lynbrook, at 10 a.m. both days, as well as online, via Proxibid.com and Invaluable.com. Phone and absentee bids will also be accepted.

“The letter ‘B’ painting is one hundred percent fresh to the market and comes with impeccable provenance,” said Philip Weiss of Weiss Auctions. “The work was supposedly one of three done by the artist, all in honor of people whose names begin with B, to include himself (Bob). It was signed and inscribed to the consignor, a personal friend, on the reverse.” (Estimate $60,000-$90,000.)

The auction will also feature other Robert Indiana signed pieces, to include an artist’s proof serigraph of his most famous work, LOVE (1968); a signed and numbered (IX/XXV) silkscreen titled Polygon #3 Triangle (1975); and a signed and numbered (VII/X) artist’s proof serigraph on Arches paper titled Brooklyn Bridge from New York (1983). All are in the Jan. 24 session.

Robert Indiana (real name: Robert Clark) produced artworks that consisted of bold, simple and iconic images, especially numbers and short words like EAT, HUG and, of course, LOVE, which first appeared in a series of poems written in 1958 but was later created for a Christmas card for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1964 and later put on an 8-cent U.S. postage stamp in 1973.

The rare and unusually shaped Philip and Kelvin Laverne coffee table carries a pre-sale estimate of $20,000-$30,000. Other pieces from the collection include a large bronze and enamel plaque titled Venus Contemplating and a bronze and pewter plaque titled Women in Despair. Philip and Kelvin Laverne were a father-son design team whose creations are highly coveted by collectors.

The Jan. 23 session will feature Hollywood and rock ‘n’ roll material, plus historical items. Included will be over 3,000 vintage movie magazines (1930s-1970s), vintage movie photos, high-end rock ‘n’ roll posters and autographs, signed presidential material, documents, photos, and the final part of the Jerry Winevsky collection of postcards, books, and photographs.

Highlights will feature a deck plan of First Class accommodations from the Titanic ($5,000-$7,000); two letters written about the Titanic and the death of the Hickman brothers, to be offered as one lot ($3,000-$5,000); a signed Grateful Dead 1988 Spring Tour poster ($8,000-$10,000); a signed Grateful Dead mirror ($4,000-$5,000); and an archive of material pertaining to actor Joan Crawford, including a 1930s guest book signed and inscribed by many Hollywood stars, an annotated manuscript of her book and more.

Rare books will be led by a mint/near mint first edition copy of Knave of Hearts, illustrated by Maxfield Parrish ($1,000-$2,000). Additional Day 1 highlights will include an International Pop Festival poster (Texas, 1969), featuring Led Zeppelin; a 1967 Jimi Hendrix handbill; a rare 1932 Davos for Health and Support travel poster by Otto Baumberger; a Join the Red Cross poster by Anna Milo Upjohn; and a WWII-era American Airlines poster by Melbourne Brindle.

For more information about Weiss Auctions and its Jan. 23-24 auction, visit www.WeissAuctions.com.