Roy De Forest (1930-2007)
The Wolf Man (1982)
Acrylic on linen in artist’s painted frame
74 ¾ x 87 7/8 inches
Signed, titled and dated on reverse
Estimate: $30,000 to $50,000
My recommendation: Bid to $45,000
Result: $35,000 (hammer) on 12/15/20
Interested in Roy De Forest?
Artist’s Profile
Roy De Forest’s densely populated, colorful canvases are an explosion of stimuli. He “drew inspiration from Post-Impressionism (ie.Van Gogh), Fauvism (Matisse, Derain), Surrealism (Dali, Magritte), Dada (Duchamp, Ernst), Expressionism (Kirchner) and the Aboriginal dreamtime artists of Australia” (Roberta Smith, NYTimes). Dogs, horses, and other animals are often the protagonists of his paintings, staring back at you as your eyes move over the many patterns and painterly techniques in his work. He was part of a Bay area group of artists that emerged in the 1950s, including Peter Saul, Joan Brown, H.C. Westermann, William T Wiley amongst others, who rejected the pillars of abstract expressionism, but used many of their techniques in a more playful and image heavy practice.
Artist’s Market
De Forest garnered more attention in his lifetime, especially during the 70s and 80s (1975 Whitney solo show), than he has in the past 20 years, but that is beginning to change. His painting ability remains fresh in today’s art world and uptown NYC gallery Venus Over Manhattan is shining some much needed light on his work and legacy. A painting such as this would be priced at $100,000 to $125,000 at that gallery, thus to buy this work even at the high end of the auction house range, is an excellent opportunity. In my opinion, De Forest is just 1 or two key moments away (an east coast museum show, another high profile gallery entering his market) from having his prices jump to the next level.
New York Times, review by Roberta Smith is worth a read.