NEW YORK CITY — Paintings were all the rage at Swann Auction Galleries’ American Art sale, which was conducted on September 19. The 137-lot sale offered US-based and internationally composed landscapes, portraiture and still lifes, among others. Leading the day was “Dark Inlet,” an oil on canvas completed in 1980 by New York native March Avery (b 1932). The landscape scene used both bold and muted colors to depict an unoccupied inlet; the work was signed and dated both on the upper lefthand corner and in ink on the stretcher verso. The 30-by-50-inch painting had provenance to Summit Gallery in New York City — a label for the gallery was affixed on the reverse — as well as a private collection in Woodstock, N.Y. Flowing to $47,500, it far surpassed its $10/15,000 estimate. Additional highlights from this sale will be featured in an upcoming issue.
