News

A new generation of collectors — much like today’s major collectors of illustration art — is gravitating toward the characters and visual language they grew up with. Just as Steven Spielberg collected Norman Rockwell for his connection to American storytelling, younger collectors are drawn to cartoon-like figures, super-heroes, and iconic characters such as Hello Kitty.

Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara leads this movement, but his prices place him beyond reach for many. The genre, however, is expanding with other artists creating emotionally layered, symbolically rich work beneath seemingly innocent features.

One artist capturing our attention is Spanish painter Edgar Plans. His “Animal Heroes” blend playful forms with themes of social justice, community, and shared humanity. We see this entire movement as one that will continue to evolve, solidify, and earn its place in art history — with strong long-term potential.

Singier’s Portrait Flammand is a fascinating blend of homage and satire. Referencing Flemish Golden Age portraiture, the work carries regal formality mixed with playful exaggeration, particularly through the bright orange, almost pumpkin-like head. The result is a piece with humor, gravity, and striking presence.

European postwar abstraction continues to offer remarkable value compared to its American counterparts. Movements such as Tachisme, Lyrical Abstraction, Abstract-Creation, and the Group Informel produced exceptional works by artists like Simon Hantaï, Pierre Soulages, and Serge Poliakoff — all of whom are gaining stronger recognition among American collectors.

Within this landscape, Singier’s Portrait Flammand feels like a sleeper — a work with historical resonance, visual wit, and staying power.

Jane Austen’s narratives remain timeless, and similarly, 19th-century art continues to captivate viewers with its emotional depth and craftsmanship. A newly acquired painting by Frank Russell Green, an American artist active in England, evokes scenes familiar from Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Sense and Sensibility. Each brushstroke reveals an artist of exceptional technical ability, despite the limited historical record about him.

The 19th century provides an abundance of depictions of women — in domestic spaces, at leisure, and in moments of emotional intimacy. This offers a compelling contrast with contemporary art, where motherhood is rarely explored. In the work of Francis Day and Lydia Field Emmet, motherhood appears as a sacred, serene subject. Male and female artists alike treated it as central to the human story. Today, while figurative painting has resurged, it is worth asking whether themes of motherhood will reemerge in contemporary practice.

We want to spotlight Lynn Davis’s monumental iceberg photographs created between 2000 and 2004. Two decades later, these works carry new layers of meaning as global conversations around climate and environmental change evolve.

Whether one interprets them through the lens of climate change or the natural transformation of the Arctic, the imagery remains powerful, serene, and conceptually rich. The series has begun to reappear on the secondary market, and we believe it will have an enduring place in the history of photography. The combination of aesthetic force and environmental resonance ensures continued relevance and inquiry.

Taylor Graham has long championed undervalued artists in the secondary market — and recent results affirm this instinct. Just before Thanksgiving, a single Vasa tower sold for a record $78,740 at a regional California auction. Interestingly, the piece was not in ideal condition, suggesting that eager bidders competed without full expertise, something we caution collectors against.

Vasa Mihich, whose work in acrylic resin began in the 1970s, was one of the most skilled artists working in this medium, aligned with the Light and Space movement. His brilliantly engineered, light-responsive forms feel increasingly contemporary in today’s design-forward interiors. We believe no comparable resin work will be produced again at this level, underscoring the lasting value of his pieces.

This is excellent news for collectors who have already acquired his work — and encouraging for the future trajectory of Mihich’s market.

Jasmina Danowski: Love Letters from Exile

Jasmina Danowski’s work has embodied a purity of approach over the years that is consistent and inspiring. Join us in admiring a curated selection of her works, on view from March 12th through April 14th.

Click here to view the virtual catalogue.

 

Danowski's art transports viewers into immersive floral landscapes and expansive spatial dimensions, drawing compelling parallels with artists such as Joan Mitchell. Rather than straightforwardly depicting natural and still-life elements, Danowski delves into the profound implications of her artistic process. Her work navigates the intricate balance between abstraction and representation, seamlessly merging the unity and individuality of forms. Through nuanced compositions, she invites contemplation on both explicit and suggested meanings, creating a rich tapestry of visual dialogue that resonates with profound artistic depth.

Born in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1960, Jasmina Danowski is a mixed media abstract painter known for her exploration of color, texture, and mark on both panel and paper. Based in Brooklyn, NY, she works out of a studio, employing a process-oriented and physical approach to her art. Using long and wide brushes, she creates vibrant compositions directly on the floor, drawing on influences from calligraphy, abstract expressionism, and natural imagery.

In her work, Danowski evokes sensations of immersion in floral landscapes or spatial dimensions, reminiscent of artists like Joan Mitchell. She suggests rather than directly depicts natural and still life elements, delving into the implications of her process to strike a balance between abstraction and representation, unity and individuality of forms, and explicit versus suggested meanings.

Danowski holds a B.F.A. from the San Francisco Art Institute (1990) and an M.F.A. from Bard College, New York (1997). She is a recipient of two Pollock-Krasner awards (2001, 2005) and has exhibited her work at prestigious venues such as the Boston Center for the Arts, Mississippi Museum of Art, and Spanierman Modern in New York. Her pieces are also housed in collections at institutions like the Mississippi Museum of Art and Westfield State University.

 

The Straggler III, 2024, vinyl on paper, 22 x 30 inches

30 years dedicated to the visual stripe motif, Jay Rosenblum’s tiny vintage canvases from the 1970s are treasures of the hard-edge abstraction movement. A trove of unique compositions in original frames that metaphorically double as vibrant visual interludes in paint. 

Rosenblum was also a violinist who performed with the Seventh Army Symphony in West Germany, adding a layer of artistic resonance to his work. Perfect for young collectors at the price point of $800–$2,000, these works invite a group you can install anywhere you please and continue to reinvent on your walls.

Younger collectors are drawn to engaging with their art, savor the strong vintage vibe of these pieces, and appreciate colors that feel fresh in today’s environments.

At one point in the 1990s, Luigi Loir and Eugene Galien - Laloue were among the most sought-after artists in collecting Parisian street scenes. The 1990’s saw a revival of period dramas in cinema during the late 1990s and there was also strong collecting of French furniture styles.

The late 1880s through the 1890s in Europe was a time of rapid industrial growth, urbanization, and a burgeoning middle class that fueled a vibrant art market and a taste for elegant, intimate works. The era favored smaller canvases and scenes that could be enjoyed in domestic spaces. They emphasized social interaction and the importance of charm and wit. That period also marked modernization on a grand scale—railways expanding across the country, major public works and exhibitions like the 1889 Exposition Universelle celebrating technology and design, and a broader push toward education and cultural refinement embodied in Jules Ferry’s laws (1881–82) establishing free, mandatory, secular schooling.

France operated within a stable financial framework anchored by the gold standard, fostering a cosmopolitan art market even as tastes shifted toward contemporary forms. Today, as in that earlier era, there is a dialogue about balancing nostalgia with progress, valuing tangible, human-centered artifacts that anchor contemporary life in a richer sense of history—an approach that mirrors broader themes being pursued on domestic growth, education, infrastructure, and cultural investment, inviting collectors to curate judicious, meaningful works that anchor walls in conversation and context without losing sight of the era that gave us elegance, literature, and music. Different from the 1990’s collectors are judiciously mixing these period works alongside contemporary pieces.

It is interesting to speculate if the cultural optimism of the 1880’s and 1890’s in France isn’t a draw for us at a time where optimism has been low but we yearn for its return.

This month we pay tribute to Lewis Hine (1874–1940), an American photographer and sociologist who championed the working class during America’s most transformative era of growth. He went into factories and atop the steel beams of skyscrapers to capture the tenacity, the plight, and the fortitude of Americans at work, and his images—often used to advocate for workers’ rights and better conditions—humanized labor and illuminated immigrant life amid rapid industrial expansion. With the National Child Labor Committee, he documented children in mills, mines, and factories, helping spur reforms that reshaped American labor law.

Today, owning and viewing these works is a reminder of our country’s ongoing story—a story of hands, sweat, and ingenuity that helped build modern America. His documentary approach continues to inspire dialogue about work, community, and progress, preserved in major archives and museums that keep his legacy alive.

How can the work of a photographer like this not be a major contribution to any collector interested in American history.

Our art market is currently lacking a strong message. Typically, it rallies around a defining movement that ardent collectors and advisors clamor toward, sending prices jaw-dropping higher with each auction season. It’s not contemporary—indeed that sector has an eerily vacant feel—and it isn’t limited to Post War, even as that field remains vibrant yet lean in inventory.

What is emerging is a measured re approach to historic movements and quality, where content matters again and the workmanship reads as refreshingly enduring. Market analyses point to blue chip strength in top Contemporary, with selective Post War/Masterworks, but there’s a clear pivot toward craft, time intensive making, and narratives with historical resonance. In interiors today, pieces that reward close looking, provenance, and tangible presence are winning attention, reminding us that art as object continues to anchor conversations about culture and memory.

To navigate this evolving landscape, consider a balanced, story driven approach: a judicious mix of historic movement anchors and select contemporary pieces with messages that are well articulated. Embrace craft and time intensive making across painting, sculpture, and works on paper, where material quality and finish matter as much as subject. Photography and limited editions offer accessible entry points without sacrificing depth, while a globally diversified buyer base makes provenance and history more important than ever.

This is a moment to curate with intention: a dialogue between what is past and what is now. To get back to exploring interests and not art as a speculatory asset. History repeats and when the art market has had bubbles, similar to the dot.com bubble, it tends to be followed with a settling back to softer parts of the market and value.

In April, we are thrilled to share the arrival of a new group of marble sculptures by Richard Erdman. Most pieces are sized for indoor display, inviting intimate engagement with form, surface, and movement supply conveyed through the beauty of Carrera marble.

Erdman comes from a lineage of artists who dared to carve in stone, a path often taken by carvers who traveled to Carrara, Italy to study the trade and the traditions of stone work. Predecessors such as Jean Arp and Antoine Poncet made significant strides in defining abstraction in stone; Erdman has taken up the mantle, further exploring movement and paying tribute to the stone’s formation—shaped by the sea. We recognize him as one of today’s leading stone carvers.

This era’s scarcity of true stone sculptors, makes Erdman’s marble works stand out for their compelling presence and refined craft. Each piece speaks to a long lineage of practice while remaining eminently contemporary in its exploration of movement and form. We are excited to incorporate these marbles into our New York curation and for collectors to experience marble’s enduring voice.

The past months in the art market were marked by a delightful and buoyant return of buyers to market of the avant-garde of French Impressionism, Symbolism, and the Surrealist movements. If a good quality example was presented at auction or in the market we are seeing renewed eagerness. The good news is that collections are arriving back into the market perhaps due to a generational handoff.

French Impressionism stands as one of the most interesting and revolutionary moments in art history: born in the 1860s–1880s, it challenged academic conventions by embracing painting en plein air, modern life, and a new understanding of light and color that transformed perception and laid the groundwork for modern art. It remains one of the most interesting time periods in terms of the stories of the artists and their comradeship as a group. This shift helped redefine taste and market dynamics, and while there felt to be a dip in collecting interest for Impressionist works a couple years ago in the shadow of Contemporary art, it has surged back as the irrepressible appeal of the work itself speaks. 

We are pleased to be participating in this activity with exceptional and impressive offerings—Loiseau’s Pont-Aven paintings, Puigaudeau works of major scale, light-drenched Henri Martin’s of Marquaryol, rare Montmartre train scenes by Joncières, and Fauve-inflected Valtat still lifes amongst others.

As we move toward the May market, we anticipate another notable Impressionist season; we will monitor the May sales and share updates.

This work was, in essence, an homage to John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962. It was featured in Pomodoro’s significant solo exhibition of 1963, held at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels.

Full image of Arnaldo Pomodoro, Omaggio al Cosmonauta n. 2, 1962, bronze, 36 1/2 x 32 x 7 1/4 inches

 

Detail image of Arnaldo Pomodoro, Omaggio al Cosmonauta n. 2, 1962, bronze, 36 1/2 x 32 x 7 1/4 inches

 

Omaggio al Cosmonauta n. 2 represents a pivotal moment in Arnaldo Pomodoro’s artistic development in the early 1960s. The title translates to “Homage to the Cosmonauts,” referring to the Russian term for space travelers, or, as Pomodoro likely intended, “sailors of the universe.” Created in 1962, when the artist was in his mid-thirties, the sculpture reflects his fascination with the tension between a perfect exterior form and a fractured interior space. At this stage in his career, Pomodoro was deeply engaged in technical experimentation with bronze and drawn to themes of modernity, scientific progress, and futuristic aesthetics, inspired by the excitement surrounding the space race. This is an important work within the context of his career, created at a time when he was striving to engage with more serious subject matter.

Detail image of Arnaldo Pomodoro, Omaggio al Cosmonauta n. 2, 1962, bronze, 36 1/2 x 32 x 7 1/4 inches

 

Now, over 60 years later, its relevance remains alive, as the Artemis expedition has renewed interest in the history of space travel, its current purpose, and the optimism of near-future goals in space exploration.

This is an exciting time for the artist, as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has announced a landmark Jacob Hashimoto installation titled Giant Arc, set to open to the public on August 22, 2026. It will be the largest installation of his career.

He also has a notable installation at Nashville International Airport, titled The Scalable Rampart of Time. We foresee that the artist will continue to be in demand, as his works inspire and elevate the public. We also believe that his work, in a revolutionary way, continues an earlier thread in American art of Asian influences that, over time, have complemented evolving artistic trends.

In situ image of Jacob Hashimoto, Red Cloud, 2005, acrylic on paper, nylon thread and wood, 59 x 59 x 6 3/4 inches

 

Hashimoto’s practice stands out for its ability to merge craft traditions with contemporary installation on a monumental scale. Drawing from Japanese kite-making and modular construction, he creates immersive environments that challenge spatial perception and invite contemplation. His work bridges cultural histories while remaining forward-looking, reinforcing his importance within global contemporary art discourse and ensuring his continued institutional and critical recognition.

Detail image of Jacob Hashimoto, Red Cloud, 2005, acrylic on paper, nylon thread and wood, 59 x 59 x 6 3/4 inches

Norman Bluhm’s life and work stand as one of the purest, most textbook examples of why action painting emerged in the postwar era. During World War II, Bluhm served in the United States Air Force as a B-26 bomber pilot and flew 44 missions over North Africa and Europe, most notably the mission over Romania that destroyed the Nazis’ last major oil supply—at the cost of approximately 75% of American bomber crews.

Upon his return home, Bluhm chose not to resume his architectural studies and instead pursued art at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, Italy, as well as at the École des Beaux-Arts and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, he lived in Paris.

Norman Bluhm, Sioux, 1961, oil on canvas, 61 1/2 x 49 1/2 inches

 

Sioux, painted in 1961, stands as a visceral tribute to the essence of action painting, as it feels “compelled into existence.” Bluhm reflected on this period in an interview, stating: “Well, I think the fifties and sixties had a lot to do with the anger, the energy of that time, the postwar energy of even America, so to speak, and this kind of endeavor to make something that was American, greater than most people would accept.”

This painting was exhibited in Art from American Embassies: Mexico at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 1965, and later traveled to the Museo de Arte Moderno in Mexico City.

Norman Bluhm, Grande Fête de Nuit a Versailles, 1957, watercolor, ink, and gouache on paper, 33 3/4 x 46 3/4 inches

 

Norman Bluhm, Untitled, 1961, acrylic and watercolor on paper, 40 1/2 x 32 3/4 inches

Potentially the artist’s entry to the National Academy of Design’s 1875 exhibition of painting, Spring Tide stands as an exceptional and striking example of his work.

Richards was a step above many of his American contemporaries in his technical training as an academic artist. The quality and expression of light in this painting are unparalleled.

Full image of William Trost Richards,  Spring Tide, 1875, oil on canvas, 26 3/4 x 46 inches

 

Viewership of works like this in museums is rising, particularly among younger audiences. They are often acutely impressed by the technical mastery, the commitment to depicting nature without human presence, and the understanding that works of this kind are unlikely to be produced again. The environmental sensitivity and pure appreciation of nature captured by this artist hold renewed meaning for upcoming generations.

Detail image of William Trost Richards, Spring Tide, 1875, oil on canvas, 26 3/4 x 46 inches

 

Detail image of William Trost Richards, Spring Tide, 1875, oil on canvas, 26 3/4 x 46 inches

By placing the beanstalk in the center of the canvas, Brown suggests that we continue to aspire in our desires toward an upward accumulation of riches, and that there is no end to the cycle of risk and reward in consumerist America.

Further suggesting an imbalance in priorities, this “path” has disrupted the tranquil suburban neighborhood, toppling homes and causing distress to those who live within.

Roger Brown, Jack and the Beanstalk, 1982, oil on canvas, 98 3/8 x 74 3/8 inches

 

While much of Brown’s work is rooted in the depiction of suburban landscapes, it is not a celebration of suburban life. Rather, it is a critique and commentary on the conformist and consumer-driven nature of suburban America, suggesting that beneath the seemingly ordinary suburban façade lie isolation, alienation, and existential questioning.

It is compelling to trace how some artists, such as Edward Hopper, leave a visual and thematic thread, which later artists unwittingly re-engage with renewed originality. The educational depth and value in sharing this narrative, Brown’s perspective from the 1980s through to our current environment and into the future, is significant.

Exhibitions
Exhibition Rouen, 1839
Loterie des Amis des Arts
Refuse au Salon de 1838 (possibly)

 

Chaumière Sous Bois is one of the earliest works by Díaz to enter the market and demonstrates the serious role that the Barbizon aesthetic would come to play in his practice. He employs advanced techniques associated with Dutch Old Master painters, particularly in the deep, rich glazing used in the wooded area on the left. The sense of light is equally nuanced and clearly influenced by earlier painting traditions. As his work progresses, a shift can be seen toward a less translucent approach in the rendering of skies.

Detail image of Narcisse Díaz de la Peña, Chaumiere Sous Bois, circa 1837-38, oil on cradled panel, 17 x 18 1/2 inches

 

Detail image of Narcisse Díaz de la Peña,  Chaumiere Sous Bois, circa 1837-38, oil on cradled panel, 17 x 18 1/2 inches

 

It is no surprise that Pierre Miquel noted this painting was inspired by Díaz’s trip to Holland in 1838. The figures are clearly derived from sketches made during this journey. A common approach at the time, artists produced numerous preparatory studies of individual elements, later combining them into a final composition. Miquel also notes Díaz’s interest in 17th-century Dutch engravings, which helps explain the ease and formality of this composition. Once understood, these influences clarify the structure and balance of the work.

Painted on cradled panel, this may be a significant early work by the artist and one of his strongest from this period, foreshadowing developments that would define his later career. Its exhibition history, including Exhibition Rouen, 1839, Loterie des Amis des Arts, and its rejection from the Salon of 1838, may further underscore the artist’s own complex relationship to this work.

Nude by River’s Edge is dated 1908 and was given to Carlota Saint Gaudens, presumably that same year. Carlota was the wife of Homer Saint Gaudens, the son of Augustus Saint Gaudens. Augustus was one of America’s most important sculptors, and Kenyon Cox was one of his closest friends. The two formed a friendship in their early years in Paris around 1884, when Cox wrote an article for Century Magazine on the sculptor. Cox quickly came to feel the utmost regard for Saint Gaudens and revered him as a kind of “harbinger of the second Renaissance.”

Cox was so pleased with the portrait he made of Augustus that he exhibited it at the Society of American Artists in 1888. Saint Gaudens appreciated the portrait and returned the favor in 1889 by creating a likeness of Cox in an oblong bronze medallion. In 1904, the portrait of Augustus was destroyed in a fire in the sculptor’s studio. In 1908, Cox created another version of it as a memorial to Augustus, the year after the sculptor’s death.

Kenyon Cox, Nude by River’s Edge, 1908, oil on canvas, 36 x 30 inches

 

There are no formal records explaining why Kenyon gave the painting to Carlota. It is known that Carlota married Homer around 1905 and spent her summers with him in Cornish, New Hampshire. Augustus had established himself in Cornish many years earlier and spent his summers there with his family. Cox was friendly with both Homer and Carlota. Carlota was noted for her statuesque figure, blond hair, and high spirits, and Augustus was both pleased and fond of her.

It is possible to speculate that Cox gave the painting as a gift after Augustus’s death as a gesture of generosity. It is also possible that Carlota purchased it, as Cox was often in need of money and lived hand to mouth.

Detail image of Kenyon Cox,  Nude by River’s Edge, 1908, oil on canvas, 36 x 30 inches

 

It is further possible that the woman in the painting is Cox’s wife, Louise, as there is a resemblance. Whatever the circumstances under which the work came into Carlota’s possession, it remains likely that it was given out of fondness. Cox was not the most outwardly sociable or amiable of men; he had only a small circle of close friends, and Augustus was among the most important to him. Cox was one of the speakers at Saint Gaudens’s funeral.

By the 1960s, Washington, D.C. born Gene Davis had become a central figure of the Washington Color School, whose members included Kenneth Noland, Howard Mehring and Morris Louis.

Their 1965 exhibition, The Washington Color Painters, at the now-defunct Washington Gallery of Modern Art, and which traveled to the Walker Art Center, solidified the style as Washington’s signature art movement.

Gene Davis, Flamingo 2, 1970, acrylic on canvas, 74 x 106 inches

 

Though he himself was not a musician, Davis referred to the repetition of colored intervals as being akin to musical rhythm. He suggested that when looking at his paintings, one begins by “simply glancing at the work, selecting a specific color and taking the time to see how it operates across the painting. Enter the painting through the door of a single color, and then you can understand what the painting is all about.”

Gene Davis, Sun Ball, 1960, acrylic on canvas, 88 x 93 3/4 inches