Collecting Across Styles: Impressionism, Abstraction, and Pop
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Collecting Across Styles: Impressionism, Abstraction, and Pop
Christian Answini | Senior Fine Art Specialist
The upcoming two-day auction offers a rare opportunity to explore how different artistic movements, separated by decades, can be viewed together as part of a broader story of 20th-century art. With Day 1 devoted to Mid-Century Modern works and Day 2 focused on Fine Art, the sale highlights the range of collecting opportunities — from bold Pop imagery to the atmospheric landscapes of the Pennsylvania Impressionists.
Day 1: Mid-Century Modern — Abstraction and Pop
Forrest Moses and the Language of Abstraction
#7126 • Forrest Lee Moses (1934 - 2021)
"Carmel California, 1966"
Forrest Moses occupies a unique position between representation and abstraction. His paintings draw inspiration from landscapes yet avoid literal description, distilling form into simplified structures and carefully balanced color. Moses’ canvases are meditations on mood and place, inviting viewers to see the familiar in new ways.
Collectors of Moses’ work often appreciate this duality — art that acknowledges the natural world but resists being tied to a single location. Within a mid-century context, his abstractions demonstrate the American desire to reinvent tradition through modern experimentation. Moses’s artistic approach is a masterclass in subtlety and suggestion. His work doesn't just represent a place; it evokes the feeling of being there—the way light filters through trees, the weight of the air before a storm, or the calm of a distant horizon. By using a language of shape, line, and color, he allows the viewer's own experiences and memories to complete the narrative. This makes each of his paintings not just a static image, but a dynamic, personal dialogue between the art and the viewer.
Alex Katz: Cool Elegance in Collage and Lithograph
Alongside abstraction, Day 1 includes collages and lithographs by Alex Katz. Known for his clean lines, flat planes of color, and distilled imagery, Katz has long been celebrated for bridging modernism and pop culture. His portraits and still lifes avoid embellishment, instead presenting subjects with clarity and restraint.
Katz’s work resonates with collectors who value contemporary art that feels both timeless and accessible. His editions in this sale offer opportunities for buyers to acquire works from one of the most widely exhibited living American artists.
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#7121 • Alex Katz (Born 1927) #7122 • Alex Katz (Born 1927)
Peter Max: Pop and Psychedelia
Peter Max represents a very different branch of Pop. His cosmic imagery and neon palette defined the visual language of the late 1960s. Unlike Katz’s cool minimalism, Max’s works explode with energy, celebrating color and imagination.
Max’s enduring popularity lies in the cultural associations of his art — optimism, experimentation, and freedom. His presence in Day 1 adds vibrancy to the session, offering buyers a chance to acquire works that capture a defining moment in American popular culture.
Day 2: Fine Art — Impressionism and Regional Identity
The second day shifts focus to earlier traditions, with works by George Sotter and Walter Emerson Baum, two of the most important figures in the Pennsylvania Impressionist school.
George Sotter: Master of Light and Atmosphere
Sotter’s nocturnes are among the most admired works in American Impressionism. His ability to capture the quiet glow of moonlight or the softness of a snowy night makes his paintings highly sought after. This sale includes two works that showc set his range, offering collectors a chance to experience the duality of his vision — the tranquility of daytime scenes and the mystery of evening compositions. Sotter’s paintings embody the best qualities of Bucks County art: rooted in place, sensitive to light, and deeply atmospheric. For institutions and private collectors alike, his works represent anchor points in the story of American regional art.
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#8214 • George William Sotter (1879 - 1953) "To the Calverts" #8215 • George William Sotter (1879 - 1953)
Walter Emerson Baum: Painter and Teacher
Baum’s legacy lies not only in his paintings but in his role as a teacher and advocate for the arts in Pennsylvania. His vigorous brushwork and depictions of local towns brought everyday subjects into the realm of fine art. Baum helped establish the identity of the Pennsylvania Impressionists, ensuring their significance in both regional and national contexts. The works included in Day 2 highlight his ability to capture the texture of rural and small-town life, balancing artistic ambition with a sense of place. For collectors, Baum offers both historical importance and accessibility, making his paintings enduringly popular at auction.
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#8209 • Walter Emerson Baum (1884 - 1956) "The Mill" #8210 • Walter Emerson Baum (1884 - 1956) "Ridge Valley"
A Dialogue Across Movements
While the auction sessions are divided between mid-century and fine art, the event as a whole invites collectors to think across artistic movements. The first day, featuring works by Katz, Moses, and Max, reflects the innovations of a modern America—abstract explorations, minimalist portraiture, and psychedelic pop imagery. The second day, anchored by Sotter and Baum, continues the tradition of Pennsylvania Impressionism, a lineage of 19th-century, light-filled painting adapted to a local context.
Placed side by side, these two sessions create a powerful dialogue. Sotter's moonlit skies and Moses's abstract horizons may seem distant, but both explore the emotional possibilities of the landscape. Katz’s cool surfaces and Baum’s textured brushstrokes demonstrate different ways of seeing the figure and the environment. Max’s color explosions contrast with Sotter’s quiet restraint, yet each artist masterfully captures the spirit of their cultural moment.
For collectors, this breadth provides a unique opportunity to build collections that are not confined to a single movement. It shows how Impressionism, Abstraction, and Pop can coexist, creating a narrative that reflects personal taste while mirroring broader art historical developments. This two-day structure underscores the diversity of collecting opportunities available and highlights how these seemingly isolated styles are, in fact, interconnected approaches to the enduring challenges of light, identity, and expression.
