“My interest has always been people.”
—Inger ElliottTreasures from the Estate of Inger and Osborn Elliott
Inger and Osborn Elliott cultivated an art collection worthy of praise. Their home served as a jewel box of taste, with brightly colored walls adorned with paintings, photographs, and drawings, all delicately and masterfully curated. The couple's diverse collection reflects their devotion to New York City's cultural, intellectual, and civic spheres, while also spanning a global reach of artistic styles and techniques. Inger, originally from Norway, had a passion for photojournalism that brought her to Southeast Asia, where she documented the Vietnam War from a helicopter. She would later go on to found China Seas, a design firm specializing in batik textiles. Osborn, a revolutionary Newsweek editor and social advocate, went on to become the Dean of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Trailblazers in their own regard, the Elliotts amassed a collection including rare, early works by Willem de Kooning, Wassily Kandinsky, and Milton Avery, among those by many other innovative modern and post-war painters, photographers, and printmakers.
Inger and Osborn Elliott. Inger and Oz's eye for style, together with a casual, chic approach to curation, set them apart from other collectors. It is their charisma that lives on through these artworks, proving that a distinct approach to collecting yields the finest quality. These artworks not only have excellent provenance, but also exhibit a unique rarity and quality, remarkably contemporary despite their age.
Provenance
Private Collection
Sotheby’s Parke-Bernet, New York, May 16, 1973, lot 170
John J. McDonough, Youngstown, Ohio
Inger Elliott, New York (acquired from the above)
Thence by descent to the present ownerExhibited
New Orleans Museum of Art; Raleigh, The North Carolina Museum of Art, A Panorama of American Painting, The John J. McDonough Collection, April 18, 1975–June 1, 1976, no. 1, pp. 21, 115 (illustrated, p. 115)
Property from the Estate of Inger and Osborn Elliott
111
The White Hen and Fantasy Creatures (double-sided)
signed and dated "Milton Avery 1947" lower left of the recto; signed "Milton Avery" lower right of the verso
gouache and watercolor on paper, double-sided
22 3/8 x 30 3/4 in. (56.8 x 78.1 cm)
Executed in 1947.
Estimate
$60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $95,250
Annie Dolan
NY Head of Auctions and Specialist, Head of Sale, Morning Session
212 940 1288
adolan@phillips.com
Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale, Morning Session
New York Auction 15 May 2024
117
This lot is no longer available.
142
This lot is no longer available.
158
This lot is no longer available.
175
This lot is no longer available.
