Oak Park, IL — Starting a busy spring schedule, Toomey & Co. Auctioneers will conduct sales on consecutive days: Interiors on Wednesday, April 6 and Prints & Multiples on Thursday, April 7. Each auction consists of well over 300 lots. Interiors features a range of art and design by influential figures at relatively lower price points, expanding access to collectors and decorators alike. Prints & Multiples showcases an array of works on paper and other mediums by significant artists from the last century and earlier. Logistical details for the auctions follow the highlights below.

Highlights of Interiors on April 6

Interiors on April 6 has sculptures from Midwesterners Abbott Pattison, Joseph A. Burlini, and Morris Brose (highest estimate $1,000-2,000). Two Black artists from Chicago with paintings in the sale are Clifford Lee and Joyce Owens; Chicago Outsider artists Wesley Willis and Lee Godie are likewise represented (highest $600-800). The auction also has some attractive Impressionist and Japanese landscapes. Early 20th century design boasts a massive landscape charger by Albert R. Valentien ($800-1,200) and many examples of art pottery from Rookwood, Wheatley, and others. American Arts & Crafts furniture from Stickley, Limbert, and Roycroft artisans will be up for bid as well as some faithful contemporary versions. Lighting includes fixtures from American Deluxe / Lundberg Studios, Quezal, and After Adler & Sullivan (highest $600-800). Art Nouveau decorative items from Tiffany Studios and Daum grace the sale plus Art Deco table lamps and metalwork from Werkstätte Hagenauer. Modern design has distinctive chairs by Shiro Kuramata, Philippe Starck, and Leonardo Volpi (highest $1,500-2,500). Notable American designers with lots in the sale are Charles & Ray Eames, Harry Bertoia, and Paul Evans. Whimsical mid-century decor is available in the form of architectural coffee sets from Robert Venturi and Michael Graves, Frances Higgins’ snail-themed glass tray, and an aluminum Arthur Court elephant ice bucket / champagne cooler (highest $500-700).

Highlights of Prints & Multiples on April 7

Prints & Multiples on April 7 has more impressive works by Chicago artists, especially Charles White’s color linocut portrait, Bessie, 1954 ($8,000-12,000). Six prints by fellow Black artist Richard Hunt, known for his abstract metal sculptures, are also in the sale (highest $800-1,200). Lithographs by Chicagoans Ed Paschke and Roger Brown will available (highest $800-1,200) along with five works by Charles Turzak, including a red-hued woodcut of the North Bank of the Chicago River ($800-1,200). The auction features woodcut landscapes by master printmakers Gustave Baumann and Frances Hammell Gearhart (highest $6,000-8,000) and prints by leading early 20th century chroniclers of America, such as John Sloan, Martin Lewis, and Paul Cadmus (highest $2,500-3,500). Mid-century and contemporary American art includes: Jim Dine’s double portrait of St. Anne, 1996; three lithographs by Richard Diebenkorn with seated women; two assemblage prints by Robert Rauschenberg; two Alexander Calder works; and LeRoy Neiman’s The Paris Suite, 1994, with three of the city’s most iconic landmarks (highest $6,000-8,000). Additional works will be up for bid by Pierre Auguste-Renoir, Marc Chagall, Chinese-French artist Zao Wou-Ki, and two Spanish innovators, Joan Miró and Salvador Dalí (highest $3,000-5,000).

Preview and Bidding with Toomey & Co. Auctioneers

Interiors on Wednesday, April 6 and Prints & Multiples on Thursday, April 7 will both start at 10:00 a.m. Central Standard Time. The sales will be held at Toomey & Co. Auctioneers, 818 North Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois, but they will not be open to the public. Those who wish to preview in person or virtually should email info@toomeyco.com

Bidders may also participate by phone (708-383-5234) or leave absentee bids (info@toomeyco.com). The catalogs are posted online at toomeyco.com and early registration is recommended. Alternatively, bids may be placed via two real-time, third-party platforms (LiveAuctioneers and Invaluable). 

Upcoming Auctions and Consignments

Later this spring, Toomey & Co. will hold four more auctions: The Ira Simon Collection: Sold for the Benefit of the Art Institute of Chicago on Wednesday, April 27; Modern Design + Post-War & Contemporary Art on Wednesday, May 18; Fine Art + Furniture & Decorative Arts on Wednesday, June 8; and Keramics & Rookwood: American & European Art Pottery on Thursday, June 9. Consignments are invited for upcoming sales and photographs of items may be sent to info@toomeyco.com for estimates. To learn about past or future auctions, please visit toomeyco.com.

About Toomey & Co. Auctioneers

Located just west of Chicago in Oak Park, Illinois, Toomey & Co. Auctioneers holds several carefully curated auctions annually with material sourced from six departments: Fine Art, Early 20th Century Design, Modern Design, Fine Furniture & Decorative Arts, Silver & Objects of Vertu, and Fine Jewelry & Timepieces. Recent schedules have presented single-owner and special sales drawn from important estates and private collections.