Fine art from the collection of Armenian philanthropist, art connoisseur and legal publishing legend Gerard Leon Cafesjian will be auctioned by Andrew Jones Auctions on Saturday, January 11th, 2020.
The auction will be held online and in the Andrew Jones Auctions gallery located at 2221 South Main Street in downtown Los Angeles, starting promptly at 10:30 am Pacific time. Internet bidding will be facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com. In all, 140 lots will come up for bid, to include contemporary paintings, sculptures, prints and mixed media works.
“In six decades of collecting, Gerard Cafesjian broadened his vision and honed his eye to bring together international avant-garde works that make statements, reveal beauty, display whimsy and challenge the viewer,” said company president and CEO Andrew Jones. We’re honored to offer this segment of his collection, which features international artists in a variety of media.”
Two works by Vesna Kittelson (Croatian/American, b. 1947), from the artist’s War Painting Series (est. $2,000-$3,000) reveal Cafesjian’s concern with crimes against humanity and social injustice. His eye for color and playfulness are evident in pieces like Yvonne Canu’s (French, 1921-2008) Fleur sous les fleurs (est. $2,000-$3,000) and Roberto Sebastian Matta’s (Chilean, 1911–2002) Untitled, 1970 (est. $2,000-$3,000) as well as irreverent works like Igor Gusev’s (Ukrainian, born 1970) large scale oil on canvas titled Elvis Returns, 2010 (est. $6,000-$8,000).
Gerard Cafesjian was born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York, to Armenian refugees fleeing genocide in 1915. Raised in New York City, Cafesjian immersed himself in the art culture that surrounded him, spending time at museums and art galleries. After serving in the Pacific during World War II, he returned to New York to pursue studies in economics and law at St. John’s University Law School, Cornell University, and earned a Doctorate of Jurisprudence from Columbia Law School.
Cafesjian also made time to study painting and sculpture at the Art Students League.
Cafesjian retired in 1996 and focused his resources and time on philanthropic pursuits, mostly in his ancestral home of Armenia. He founded the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in 1999, and, in 2001, he created the Cafesjian Family Foundation, which developed infrastructure for cultural enrichment, financial services, media, and renewable energy in Armenia.
One of his proudest achievements was the establishment of the The Cafesjian Museum Foundation and the Cafesjian Center for the Arts, which opened in Yervan in 2009. The museum holdings boast over 5,000 works derived primarily from Cafesjian’s own vast and varied collection. He wanted the center to promote and support historic and contemporary Armenian artists such as John Altoon, Sonia Balassanian, Armen Eloyan, Archille Gorky, and Martiros Sarian. He also strived to bring the best of international contemporary art to Armenia.
