SebastianCharles Auctions
Live Auction

Fine Art, Jewelry, Design & Asian Art

Wed, Dec 2, 2026 02:00PM EST
  2026-12-02 14:00:00 2026-12-02 14:00:00 America/New_York SebastianCharles Auctions SebastianCharles Auctions : Fine Art, Jewelry, Design & Asian Art https://bid.sebastiancharles.com/auctions/sebastiancharles-auctions/fine-art-jewelry-design-asian-art-25136
Bidding is now open for our Fine Art, Jewelry, Design & Asian Art auction, Day 2 of our three-day December sale, featuring paintings, prints, sculpture, fine jewelry, watches, porcelain and Asian works of art. Highlights include a George Gardner Symons 'Winter River' oil on canvas, an 18K gold Tiffany & Co. Mark Coupe resonator watch and a Dale Chihuly "Persian Set," alongside works by Bridget Riley, Joan Miró, Rufino Tamayo and Chen Chi-Kwan, and more. Auction is Wednesday, December 2nd at 1 PM CST. Local pickup is December 7th, 8th and 9th from 1 to 5 PM at 5263 Edina Industrial Blvd, Edina, MN. Shipping is available on all lots.
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Lot 325

Ellen Wagener "Alcove" Pastel on Paper

Estimate: $300 - $600
Starting Bid
$150

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $5
$50 $10
$250 $25
$1,000 $50
$2,000 $100
$4,000 $250
$10,000 $500
$20,000 $1,000
$50,000 $2,500
$100,000 $5,000
$500,000 $10,000

Signed and dated lower right. 

Date: 2001

 

Image: 12 1/2" Tall x 18 1/2" Wide 

Frame: 20" Tall x 26" Wide 

 

Condition: The image is in good condition. Light wear and scuffs to the frame. 

 

Artist Bio: Ellen Wagener (b. 1964) was born in Maquoketa, Iowa, and has made the landscape of her home state the subject of a career spent almost entirely in pastel. She studied at the University of Iowa and the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C., then returned to eastern Iowa to work. Her large, highly detailed pastels of fields, fence lines and changing skies have been shown at the Figge Art Museum, the Dubuque Museum of Art and other institutions across the Midwest. She later moved to Arizona but kept Iowa at the center of her work.

Wagener's approach is closer to painting than drawing. She builds pastel in dense layers to capture the color of turned soil, the rhythm of planted rows and above all the enormous Midwestern sky, from quiet dusks to storms and cyclones. She has described her aim as presenting the ordinary in a way that reveals its quiet majesty. Her work is in the collections of Iowa State University and the U.S. General Services Administration, and it has been included in the State Department's art program for embassies. "Alcove," dated 2001, comes from her years working in eastern Iowa.

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All out-of-state buyers: we will assume your items require shipping and will coordinate it for you unless a lot is specifically marked for local pickup only or other arrangements are made with us in advance. For smaller eligible items, including jewelry, coins, sterling silver, and select small objects, we handle shipping in-house. These shipments are fully insured, require a signature, and include a $10 handling fee added to the final shipping cost. For all other items, we coordinate shipping through a local UPS Store or another appropriate third-party shipper. Once your auction invoice has been paid, the next invoice you receive will be a separate shipping invoice directly from the shipping provider. That invoice must be paid before your items are shipped. If you prefer to use your own shipper or arrange a third-party pickup, you must let us know within 2 days of the auction closing. We will coordinate release of the items once arrangements are confirmed. To help prevent fraud, shipments will only be sent to the billing address tied to the payment method unless payment is made by wire transfer and approved in advance. All items are shipped with full declared value and full insurance. Buyers are responsible for all packing, shipping, insurance, duties, taxes, and any import or export fees. International shipping is handled on a case-by-case basis and must be approved by us before bidding. Questions can be sent to bid@sebastiancharles.com