Fine art among many highlights at Gray's sale May 3

Composed of paintings, sculptures and works on paper, as well as fine furniture, jewelry, rugs and decorative collectibles, the May auction promises exceptional treasure for every taste, said Serena Harragin of Gray's Auctioneers.

Auction highlights include a number of artworks by modern masters. Lot 22, Snake in a Landscape, is a fantastic, late-career Surrealist drawing by Salvador Dali done on stationary from Hotel Meurice, Paris.

Lots 20 and 21 are two engravings by Pablo Picasso from the Vollard Suite, a collection of superb prints made by the artist between 1930 and 1937 for the acclaimed art critic and dealer Ambroise Vollard. Both pieces depict scenes from an artist’s studio, a subject addressed frequently by Picasso in his body of work, and also highlight his love of sensual allusion and sly wit. Note, for instance, the intriguingly androgynous figure featured in the second picture, Seated Nude with Painted Sculpted Head.

The auction also features a dynamic, offset colored lithograph by renowned American painter and printmaker Frank Stella. This 1982 abstract artwork, Yellow Journal, is signed and dated by the artist and numbered print 14 of a 50 run series.

Another fine art piece featured in the sale is a striking allegorical figure pairing titled Vanity and Modesty, painted in oil by Giuseppe Mazzolani after Bernardino Luini. Working in the high Renaissance circle of Leonard da Vinci, Luini is known for his depictions of lovely, large-eyed women. Here, the personification of Vanity on the right demands the viewer’s attention with her gaze, while the humbly dressed embodiment of Modesty seated beside her points to the heavens in a gesture of reverence.

Another extremely elegant object included in the sale is Amedeo Gennarelli’s Tireur d’Arc, a fine work of sculpture in bronze featuring a superbly rendered archer poised to shoot. It has a legible foundry mark and artist signature on the base.

Gray’s is also delighted to offer a number of decorative arts, furniture, and jewelry pieces in the May sale. Notably, a stunning Art Deco ring and brooch in white gold with diamonds and onyx comprise lots 132 and 133.

A uniquely grand piece for the home is lot 180, a fire screen with delicate scrolling branches and wildlife in wrought iron attributed to Samuel Yellin. Yellin is considered one of America’s most masterful blacksmiths and preeminent designer of decorative architectural pieces.

Some of the most fascinating items in the sale are lots 147 through 149, a collection of medals awarded to Dr. George William Lewis, former director of aeronautical research at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, better known today by its precedent organization, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Lewis managed the committee’s political and research technological endeavors during his tenure as director, and under his guidance, engineers at NACA’s Langley Research Center made outstanding advancements in the field of aerodynamics. The NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field in Cleveland is partly named after him.

Finally, Gray’s will be auctioning as lot 1 a gorgeous pair of Oscar de la Renta mahogany armchairs for the benefit of Girls with Sole, a Northeast Ohio charitable organization that helps to empower young women who have been victims of abuse through the physically and emotionally healing practice of fitness and athletics. There is no buyer’s premium for this purchase and 100 percent of the proceeds earned from the sale of the Oscar de la Renta armchairs will go to this worthy organization that Gray’s is proud to support.