With 279 lots across two collecting categories, this April’s Fine Art and Design sale at New Orleans Auction Galleries spans periods and movements, illuminating well over a century of creative output.
“The Fine Art and Design sale brings together an exciting selection of works that reflect some of the most enduring ideas in modern and contemporary art,” says Director of Fine Art Michele Carolla. “You’ll find pieces that explore the human form as a space for storytelling and identity, alongside works that offer nuanced perspectives on sexuality. There are also pieces that have their own visual languages, interpreting the metaphysical and the spiritual, as well as those that boldly challenge social and political norms, inviting viewers to look closer and think deeply. If you’re looking to expand a well-established collection or take the first step in starting one, this sale offers something to connect with for every kind of collector.”
Ahead of the sale, we’ve rounded up just a few of the notable lots—from an intriguing gouache on paper by a 20th-century master of Mexican modernism to a seminal figure of Abstract Expressionism.
Grace Hartigan, Untitled (1988)
Grace Hartigan, Untitled (1988). Est. $5,000–$8,000. Courtesy of New Orleans Auction Galleries.
Once overlooked, Grace Hartigan (1922–2008) was a pivotal figure within the second-generation Abstract Expressionists and has garnered increased attention over the past decade. Recognized for her vivacious color palettes and energetic brushwork, Hartigan interrogated the boundaries between total abstraction, personal expression, and figuration, as exemplified in Untitled (1988).
John McCrady, Sketch for Political Rally (1935)
John McCrady, Sketch for Political Rally (1935). Est. $2,500–$4,000. Courtesy of New Orleans Auction Galleries.
A leading artist of the American South, John McCrady (1911–1968) was a skilled painter and printmaker who studied under the likes of Thomas Hart Benton and Kenneth Hayes Miller and went on to work for the Federal Art Project as well as Works Progress Administration. Stylistically influenced by Regionalism—a movement that took focus on rural and small-town American—his work frequently focused on the lives and struggles of everyday people. Like in Sketch for Political Rally (1935), McCrady’s oeuvre offers a powerful glimpse into the world both psychological and lived of 20th century.
Floyd Newsum, Confetti (2011)
Floyd Newsum, Confetti (2011). Est. $5,000–$8,000. Courtesy of New Orleans Auction Galleries.
Celebrated American artist Floyd Newsum (1950–2024) employed numerous styles and techniques throughout his career, but is best known for his use of vibrant color and symbolic imagery, often drawn from both his personal life and interests as well as West African culture. In addition to being an artist, Newsum was also a teacher and a co-founder of Project Row Houses, an initiative that restored historic shotgun houses in Houston, Texas, and transformed them into studios that champion African-American art and creativity. Exploring themes of history, community, and social consciousness, the artist’s work is a testament to Black identity and culture.
Peter Sacks, Book of Assyrian Reliefs (2012–2013)
Peter Sacks, Book of Assyrian Reliefs (2012–2013). Est. $15,000–$25,000. Courtesy of New Orleans Auction Galleries.
The work of Peter Sacks (b. 1950) is as much defined by the written word as the visual. A professor of English at Johns Hopkins University between 1980 and 1996, and a professor of English and American literature at Harvard University since 1996, Sacks’s work often incorporates sheets of text or other language-based motifs, as can be seen in Book of Assyrian Reliefs (2012–2013). Since his first solo show in Paris in 2004, his work has gone on to be exhibited internationally and is noted for its unique synthesis of paper- and text-based mediums with traditional modes of painting and collage.
Jose Clemente Orozco, Masks (ca.1930)
Jose Clemente Orozco, Masks (ca. 1930). Est. $15,000–$25,000. Courtesy of New Orleans Auction Galleries.
Mexican painter José Clemente Orozco (1883–1949) is regarded as the progenitor of the Mexican Mural Renaissance alongside artists like Diego Rivera and David Alfaro. Developing a style that drew from Social Realism and Symbolism, his murals as well as canvas- and paper-based works were among the most complex of his counterparts, setting the foundation for the development of Mexican Modernism. Highly stylized and brimming with emotion, Orozco’s work remains a touchstone for artists worldwide and exemplary of 20th-century Mexican art.
New Orleans Auction Galleries’ Fine Art and Design sale will be held April 23, 2026, at 10 a.m. CDT.
