Painting Nets $3.1 Million for New Trier

By Lisa Black, Chicago Tribune

Dec. 3–An abstract painting bought by New Trier High School for $62.50 in 1948 sold for more than $3 million at Christie’s auction house in New York, officials said Friday.

New Trier School District 203 Supt. Henry “Hank” Bangser, who attended Thursday’s auction at Rockefeller Plaza, described officials as “elated” by the windfall.

The painting by Stuart Davis, one of the first Americans to embrace modernist art, was sold to an anonymous phone bidder for $3.152 million, said Rik Pike, a Christie’s spokesman.

“It exceeded its presale expectations,” he said. The auction house had estimated it would fetch $2 million to $3 million.

The piece, “Still Life With Flowers,” was bought nearly 60 years ago by Frank Holland, then the school’s art department chairman. The painting, which had traveled worldwide in a 1946-47 exhibit, was displayed in a school hallway and used as a teaching tool before being stored for years.

Over the last decade, it had been lent to the Art Institute of Chicago for display. After learning that Davis’ work was increasingly in demand, officials agreed to auction the painting.

“I couldn’t be more pleased,” said school board President James Koch.

The proceeds will be deposited into a separate bank account for a future project, Koch said. Several school committees are discussing ideas ranging from a new photo laboratory to a program for mentoring teachers.

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