?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 20,000 - $ 30,000
ROMARE BEARDEN (1911 - 1988) High Priestess.
Watercolor on wove paper, circa 1984. 762x514 mm; 30x20 1/4 inches. Signed in ink, center right. From the Obeah Series.
Provenance: acquired directly from the artist; private collection.
Romare Bearden's Obeah watercolors are an overlooked, but important series in the artist's oeuvre. They represent both a culmination of his artistic freedom and expression in the medium, and his awareness of the traditions of his second home on the Caribbean island of St. Martin. The role of the Obeah is a well-known part of Afro-Caribbean communities and cultural history--typically, a woman who practices spiritual, herbal and mystical healing in her villlage. The Obeah also continues Romare Bearden's depiction of strong female figures, from the Southern Conjur Woman to Maudell Sleet. This striking and lush watercolor is the first known work from this series to come to auction. Garcia pp. 35-36.
