Lot #624 "Day Dream", oil on wood panel, signed and dated "'62" lower left, 12 in. x 18 in., in an ornate giltwood frame.

 

Facts: This early 1962 work combines several key Rockmore signature elements including a reclining nude, the cityscape out the window, the balls like planets and the sleek dog.

 

Thoughts: The estimate is way low and it will sell for significantly higher. The fact that the picture is only online and not in the catalog will give those bidding much less competition. 

 

 

Lot #950"Ruby Lips #3, Mardi Gras Series", pastel, signed and dated "'87" lower left, sight 38 1/2 in. x 26 1/2 in.

 

Facts: This pastel is part of Rockmore's revisiting the very successful Backstage Mardi Gras series in 1987 in pastel. The antlers are a recurring theme and the way it flows like a flower is another theme. Of course,  the sensuality and sexuality of just two ruby lips appearing out of the work make it a classic Rockmore.

 

Thoughts: The estimate seems fair and in line with recent sales. One nice thing about this work is that it is easy to display in ones home which is not always the case with a work by Noel Rockmore.

 

 

 

 

Lot #951 "Haitian Market", pastel on paper, signed and dated "89" lower right, 24 1/2 in. x 35 1/2 in., matted and framed.

 

Facts: Noel Rockmore did visit Haiti in 1983 although this is dated 1989. He did a series called "looking up" which employed the use of pastels and the lines that we see along the wall. The figures do not have the detail typical in a Rockmore work.

 

Thoughts: This was at a time when Rockmore was under contract with Bryant Gallery and really needed to produce sellable work. It is just before he was to do the Egyptian series which would also emphasize the gold. He was at the end of his relationship with Mary May Impastato and seemed at a loss to regain his focus in his art and his life. Of course with Haiti being so much in our minds it is certainly a topical work. 

  

Lot #957 "The Maid of New Orleans", etching, pencil-signed, titled and dated "'85" lower edge, numbered 47/51, image 8 1/2 in. x 15 in., framed.

Estimate = $500-700

 

Facts: Rockmore did several of these etching featuring his friends in the French Quarter and his girlfriend Rita Posselt. At some point we will try and identify the characters and quality of the prints/etchings. We have discovered that with Rockmore prints and etchings, no two are the same.

Thoughts: This is a nice quality print of this series.

 

Below Lot #956 a Pair of 1970 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival Posters, offset chromolithographs featuring Chicken Henry and Sister Gertrude Morgan, both 22 in. x 14 in.; accompanied by a 1964 catalogue from The Louisiana Arts & Science Center, Baton Rouge and print of "Preservation Hall Jazz Band", silkscreen on paper, signed and dated "63" upper left in plate, 12 in. x 17 in, unframed (4 pieces). Provenance: E. Lorenz "Larry" Borenstein, New Orleans. Estimate = $500-$700 

Facts: When you see Provenance: E. Lorenz "Larry" Borenstein, you know you are getting the real deal direct from Larry to you and that it will be mint and special. Larry was a Rockmore Gallery dealer/owner in the early 60s and credited by everyone as being the hub of the French Quarter at that time. The catalog, the calendar cover and the two original JazzFest posters were all part of Larry's promotion of Rockmore. These original Jazzfest posters have gone for up to several thousand dollars individually (usually during JazzFest) and they will again.

 

Thoughts: This deal is not in the catalog, its just for those in the know like you .... good luck.