Leland Little Auctions to sell a collection of works by artist Andrew Wyeth

News provided by

Nov 22, 2019, 13:06 ET

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C., Nov. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- On Friday, December 6th, Leland Little Auctions will auction thirteen original works by acclaimed American artist Andrew Wyeth (PA, 1917-2009), as part of the sale of a single-owner collection. All of the works will be offered without reserve, giving fine art collectors an unparalleled opportunity to own a piece of the American artistic canon.

Ten of the Wyeths to be auctioned are pencil studies and watercolors from the artist's depictions of his model and muse Helga Testorf, who he painted in secret for fifteen years before revealing the existence of the Helga series in 1985. These paintings were the subject of intense media attention and scrutiny, fueled in part by Wyeth's secrecy. The Helga paintings are considered some of Wyeth's most intimate and private works, and the preparatory pencil studies and watercolors provide a window into his artistic process.

The collection also includes the tempera painting Breakup, which will be sold with a bronze life cast of Wyeth's hands. Breakup has been included in exhibitions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Delaware Art Museum, the Farnsworth Art Museum, and the Greenville Museum of Art. Several others of the works to be sold have also been included in exhibitions: Cape Coat (Helga), a dry-brush and watercolor, was shown at the National Gallery of Art, and Study for Grape Wine, a pencil study, was shown at the Greenville Museum of Art. The tempera painting Grape Wine is in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

In advance of the auction, on Wednesday, December 4th at 7:00pm, at the Leland Little Auctions gallery in Hillsborough, NC, Victoria Browning Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth's only grandchild, will present a lecture on the artwork. Victoria Wyeth, who has been lecturing about her grandfather's art since she was a teenager, will share her personal, firsthand knowledge of the pieces being sold and her grandfather's artistic process.

About Leland Little Auctions

As the premier auction house in the Southeastern United States, Leland Little Auctions has specialized in the sale of fine high end collectible objects for over 20 years, with sales achieving over $14 million per year and growing. With a team of highly qualified Specialists leading departments from Fine Art, Fine Jewelry, Fine Wine, and Collector Vehicles to Modern Art & Design and Asian Arts, Leland Little Auctions provides collectors, estates, and institutions with world-class auction services.

About Victoria Browning Wyeth

Victoria Browning Wyeth is a photographer and therapist who has lectured worldwide on the art of her grandfather, Andrew Wyeth, and her uncle, Jamie Wyeth, for over 20 years. Victoria Wyeth has been profiled in The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, Vogue, and The Washington Post, among others. Her photographs have been exhibited at Philadelphia's Stanek Gallery, The Greenville County Museum of Art and the Fenimore Art Museum.

For more information or interviews contact:

Leland Little Auctions
[email protected]
919-644-1243

SOURCE Leland Little Auctions