John LaGatta Paintings & Artwork for Sale | John LaGatta Art Value Price Guide

May. 19, 2024
John LaGatta "Luncheon" Mixed Media on Paper
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
John LaGatta (Italian/American, 1894-1977), "Luncheon", Watercolor and Pastel on Paper, circa 1940s, signed lower right, burlwood frame. Image: 24" H x 31.5" W; frame: 32.5" H x 40: W. Provenance: From an Upper East Side York Avenue Estate. Keywords: Painting, Drawing, Illustration, Works on Paper, Advertising, Figures, 20th Century Art, John La Gatta
Auctions at Showplace
Dec. 14, 2023
JOHN LAGATTA (1894-1976) "I knew all along," he said, close in Abbie's ear . . . "
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
JOHN LAGATTA (1894-1976) "I knew all along," he said, close in Abbie's ear . . . " Magazine illustration for "Portrait of a Lady," published in The Saturday Evening Post, April 21, 1934. Pencil and crayon on board. 826x406 mm; 32 1/2x16 inches. Signed in lower left.
Swann Auction Galleries
May. 19, 2023
John LaGatta
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
(New York/California, 1894-1976) The Race, signed lower right "John LaGatta", charcoal and ink wash on buff paper, sight 20-1/4 x 33-1/2 in.; wood and gilt wood frame, 30-1/2 x 43-3/4 in. Provenance: American Illustrators Gallery, New York, NY (label verso); The American Illustrator Collection of Sarah S. Harrison,
Brunk Auctions
Oct. 09, 2022
John LaGatta (NY,CA,1894-1976) oil painting
Est: $2,400 - $3,100
ARTIST: John La Gatta (New York, California, 1894 - 1976) NAME: Woman in Bathing Suit and Pink Hat MEDIUM: oil on canvas. Canvas applied to board. CONDITION: Very good. No visible inpaint under UV light. SIGHT SIZE: 34 x 26 inches / 86 x 66 cm FRAME SIZE: unframed (In-House framing available) SIGNATURE: lower left CATEGORY: antique vintage painting AD: ART CONSIGNMENTS WANTED. CONTACT US SKU#: 119425 US Shipping $90 + insurance. BIOGRAPHY: John LaGatta enjoyed painting women more than anything else. It worked well for him as an illustrator and as a result, he and his wife were able to live a very comfortable lifestyle. His career was substantially taken with illustrating women for romantic stories, as well as creating exotic fashion illustrations, and eye-catching advertising pictures of his beautifully idealized women.LaGatta's images appeared in the nation's famous most publications; Life, The Ladies' Home Journal, Cosmopolitan, Delineator, Women's Home Companion, and Associated Sunday Magazine. His advertising accounts were with a number of the nation's important corporations, including Ajax Rubber Company, Andrew Jergens Co., Fleishmann's Yeast, International Silver Company, Lucky Strike cigarettes, Laros Lingerie, Ivory Soap, and Resinol Soap, all of which were able to continually fuel his needs for luxurious travel, eating at popular restaurants and other signs of success.In reality, John LaGatta arrived here as a poor Italian immigrant, with a lineage described by him as illustrious. The family lived quite modestly in Long Island; his father was unsuccessful in business and suffered, as many did, from discrimination against foreign accents at a time when assimilation was the assumed solution for all newcomers. It was a tough existence.Because of LaGatta's art talents, he enrolled to study under Frank Parsons at the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts. After completing school, he gained his first commission for Life magazine and did advertising work for N. W. Ayer, one of the early and largest advertising agencies. His images were unique and seductive, even risque, but art directors were willing to take chances to sell magazines and products by using them.Soon, he was commissioned by the Post for a cover and then hired by US Rubber Company, his first two big breaks as an illustrator. Unlike Rockwell, Pyle, and Parrish, LaGatta did not use photography to try to capture his models on canvas. He rather enjoyed the banter during his sessions with the models and felt that he could better relate their beauty to the readership if he knew them personally. He felt he could not just copy their God-given beauty from a photograph. Sometimes, confused by the array of beautiful models to choose from, he could not choose between a blonde, a brunette and a redhead. So, he would often do covers with all three girls in one image, letting the reader decide which was their favorite.One critic characterized the glamorous women created by LaGatta as "LaGatta's Chromium-Plated" women. Few illustrators felt that they could compete with him when it came to bathing beauties. Although at the beginning of his career, during the 'Roaring Twenties', women in America were favored if they had small bosoms with flat-chested outfits and narrow hips with long thin legs. Such women predominated and were known generically as "flapper girls." John LaGatta rather liked another kind of beauty, and his girls were very different indeed. They were curvaceous, more full-bodied with thick thighs, weighty bosoms, and heavy hips, more European with a lusty look.LaGatta described the fundamental appeal of women: "Women are aware of the psychological effect they possess over men, and regardless of the degree of modesty they pursue, they play it up to suit the occasion-often with charming and ingenious bits of innocence and varying, subtle ways of flirtation. Often women demurely reveal fragments of their anatomy. It is their strength and surely one of man's incorrigible weaknesses. In most cases I believe it is simply deviltry for the sake of identity."At the beginning of World War II, LaGatta moved to California and started a new career teaching at the Art Center School in Los Angeles, and easel painting for his own pleasure. He died in 1977 in Santa Monica, California.
Broward Auction Gallery LLC
Sep. 10, 2022
John Lagatta (american) 1894-1976 Charcoal
Est: $500 - $1,000
Pencil/charcoal On Paper Drawing Street Cafe Scene John Lagatta (1894-1976 Ny) Measures Approximately: 25" X 32" (viewable)
Searchlight Auction
Apr. 23, 2022
Original 1930s Saturday Evening Post Poster Women
Est: $300 - $500
LaGatta, John 1894 - 1977 The Saturday Evening Post (Splashed) Letterpress Print 1939 71 x 56 cm Printer: no information Condition Details: (A-) linen-backed, small restored margin loss in the bottom right corner
PosterConnection Inc.
Mar. 30, 2022
John LaGatta 1894-1976 Romantic Gouache Painting
Est: $100 - $1,000
John LaGatta (American, 1894-1976). Gouache painting on paper. A monochrome illustration of a figural interior scene with elegantly dressed male and female figures at a candlelit table, their expressions suggesting the end of an affair. Signed and dated 1937 on verso, with title "No For Love". Having a black wood frame. SHIPPING HILL AUCTION GALLERY WILL NOT SHIP. We will refer third party shippers for local and international buyers. Purchaser pick up available upon request. Got something to sell? Contact us at HillAuctionGallery.com.
Hill Auction Gallery
Jan. 02, 2022
John LaGatta (NY,CA,1894-1976) oil painting
Est: $2,700 - $3,400
ARTIST: John La Gatta (New York, California, 1894 - 1976) NAME: Woman in Bathing Suit and Pink Hat MEDIUM: oil on canvas. Canvas applied to board. CONDITION: Very good. No visible inpaint under UV light. SIGHT SIZE: 34 x 26 inches / 86 x 66 cm FRAME SIZE: unframed SIGNATURE: lower left CATEGORY: antique vintage painting AD: ART CONSIGNMENTS WANTED. CONTACT US SKU#: 119425 US Shipping $90 + insurance. BIOGRAPHY: John LaGatta enjoyed painting women more than anything else. It worked well for him as an illustrator and as a result, he and his wife were able to live a very comfortable lifestyle. His career was substantially taken with illustrating women for romantic stories, as well as creating exotic fashion illustrations, and eye-catching advertising pictures of his beautifully idealized women.LaGatta's images appeared in the nation's famous most publications; Life, The Ladies' Home Journal, Cosmopolitan, Delineator, Women's Home Companion, and Associated Sunday Magazine. His advertising accounts were with a number of the nation's important corporations, including Ajax Rubber Company, Andrew Jergens Co., Fleishmann's Yeast, International Silver Company, Lucky Strike cigarettes, Laros Lingerie, Ivory Soap, and Resinol Soap, all of which were able to continually fuel his needs for luxurious travel, eating at popular restaurants and other signs of success.In reality, John LaGatta arrived here as a poor Italian immigrant, with a lineage described by him as illustrious. The family lived quite modestly in Long Island; his father was unsuccessful in business and suffered, as many did, from discrimination against foreign accents at a time when assimilation was the assumed solution for all newcomers. It was a tough existence.Because of LaGatta's art talents, he enrolled to study under Frank Parsons at the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts. After completing school, he gained his first commission for Life magazine and did advertising work for N. W. Ayer, one of the early and largest advertising agencies. His images were unique and seductive, even risque, but art directors were willing to take chances to sell magazines and products by using them.Soon, he was commissioned by the Post for a cover and then hired by US Rubber Company, his first two big breaks as an illustrator. Unlike Rockwell, Pyle, and Parrish, LaGatta did not use photography to try to capture his models on canvas. He rather enjoyed the banter during his sessions with the models and felt that he could better relate their beauty to the readership if he knew them personally. He felt he could not just copy their God-given beauty from a photograph. Sometimes, confused by the array of beautiful models to choose from, he could not choose between a blonde, a brunette and a redhead. So, he would often do covers with all three girls in one image, letting the reader decide which was their favorite.One critic characterized the glamorous women created by LaGatta as "LaGatta's Chromium-Plated" women. Few illustrators felt that they could compete with him when it came to bathing beauties. Although at the beginning of his career, during the 'Roaring Twenties', women in America were favored if they had small bosoms with flat-chested outfits and narrow hips with long thin legs. Such women predominated and were known generically as "flapper girls." John LaGatta rather liked another kind of beauty, and his girls were very different indeed. They were curvaceous, more full-bodied with thick thighs, weighty bosoms, and heavy hips, more European with a lusty look.LaGatta described the fundamental appeal of women: "Women are aware of the psychological effect they possess over men, and regardless of the degree of modesty they pursue, they play it up to suit the occasion-often with charming and ingenious bits of innocence and varying, subtle ways of flirtation. Often women demurely reveal fragments of their anatomy. It is their strength and surely one of man's incorrigible weaknesses. In most cases I believe it is simply deviltry for the sake of identity."At the beginning of World War II, LaGatta moved to California and started a new career teaching at the Art Center School in Los Angeles, and easel painting for his own pleasure. He died in 1977 in Santa Monica, California.
Broward Auction Gallery LLC
Sep. 24, 2021
John LaGatta (Italian/Am.1894-1977), Illustration of Man and Woman on Horseback, Mixed Media on Paper Mounted on Board, 27 x 35 inches
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
John LaGatta (Italian/American 1894-1977) Illustration of Man and Woman on Horseback Signed John LaGatta l.l.; executed circa 1936 Mixed media including oil, gouache, graphite and glaze on paper mounted on board Provenance: Mr. & Mrs. Heath McClung Steele Heath W. Steele, 1972 By descent to current owner, 2002 Sheet size: 27-1/4 x 35 in (69.2 x 88.9 cm)
Weschler's
Sep. 18, 2021
JOHN LAGATTA
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
JOHN LAGATTA (Italian-American, 1894-1977), pin up portrait of woman in floral bathing suit and pink hat, oil on canvas laid to panel, signed lower left. Panel has slight warp, small area of drying crackle at upper right (within her hat). Panel 33-3/4''h, 25-3/4''w.
South Bay Auctions Inc
May. 14, 2021
John LaGatta (Italian/American 1894-1977), Illustration of Man and Woman on Horseback, Mixed Media on Paper mounted on Board
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
John LaGatta (Italian/American 1894-1977) Illustration of Man and Woman on Horseback Signed John LaGatta l.l.; executed circa 1936 Mixed media including oil, gouache, graphite and glaze on paper mounted on board Provenance: Mr. & Mrs. Heath McClung Steele Heath W. Steele, 1972 By descent to current owner, 2002 Sheet size: 27-1/4 x 35 in (69.2 x 88.9 cm)
Weschler's
Apr. 23, 2019
JOHN LAGATTA CRAYON & WATERCOLOR PORTRAIT OF RED
Est: $200 - $250
JOHN LAGATTA Crayon & Watercolor Portrait of Red Headed Female. Stylized drawing of young woman in blue pajamas. Signed. -- Dimensions: Image Size: H: 23 inches: W: 18 inches ---
Uniques & Antiques
Jun. 05, 2018
JOHN LAGATTA. Overboard.
Est: $1,200 - $1,800
JOHN LAGATTA. Overboard. Oil, pastel, and charcoal on board. 838x521 mm; 33x20 1/2 inches. Signed in lower image. Some spots of discoloration.
Swann Auction Galleries
Apr. 14, 2018
JOHN LAGATTA AMERICAN 1894-1976
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
The Surprise, pastel on paper illustration, 22 x 27 in (55.9 x 68.6 cm)
Trinity International Auctions & Appraisals, LLC
Aug. 09, 2017
JOHN LAGATTA, New York/California, 1894-1976, Well-dressed lady and gentleman., Pencil and gouache, 29.5" x 21". Framed 32.25" x 23....
Est: $400 - $700
JOHN LAGATTA New York/California, 1894-1976 Well-dressed lady and gentleman. Signed lower left "John Lagatta". Pencil and gouache, 29.5" x 21". Framed 32.25" x 23.75".
Eldred's
Oct. 01, 2016
JOHN LAGATTA (American, 1894-1976)
Est: $600 - $800
JOHN LAGATTA (American, 1894-1976), couple viewing painting, pencil and crayon, pencil signed lower right. Sight 32-1/2''h, 16''w.
South Bay Auctions Inc
Jun. 11, 2016
JOHN LAGATTA (American, 1894-1976).
Est: $800 - $1,200
JOHN LAGATTA (American, 1894-1976), ''Two Worshipers'', mixed media on board, signed lower right, titled lower left. Sight 13''h, 10-1/2''w. No glazing, few surface scratches, light flaking with small losses.
South Bay Auctions Inc
Aug. 17, 2014
John LaGatta (American, 1894-1976)
Est: $1,500 - $2,000
Drawing of a Man, charcoal on paper, signed, with additional ephemera. Signed mid-left at figure's hip, framed. Together with a photograph of John LaGatta performing a demonstration, and two books by Sir William Russell Flint. Photograph: Height 10 in. x Width 8 in. Drawings: Height 11.5 in. x Width 15 in. Models of Propriety: Height 11 in. x Width 7.5 in.
Lofty
Nov. 30, 2010
John LaGatta (Italian/American, 1894-1977) Couple in evening ware 36 x 19 1/4in
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
Couple in evening ware signed 'John/Lagatta' in pencil (lower right) watercolor en grisaille on illustration board 36 x 19 1/4in
Bonhams
Oct. 27, 2009
JOHN LAGATTA (American, 1894-1976) Tropic Evening
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
JOHN LAGATTA (American, 1894-1976) Tropic Evening Oil on board 23 x 26 in. Signed lower left From the Estate of Charles Martignette.
Heritage Auctions
Oct. 26, 2009
JOHN LAGATTA WATERCOLOR ON PANEL (Pasadena,
Est: $150 - $250
JOHN LAGATTA WATERCOLOR ON PANEL (Pasadena, California 1894-1977) Portrait of young woman in Victorian costume 28 5/8 in. by 17 3/4 in. Signed John Lagatta l.r. In ornate gilt wood and gesso frame.
O'Gallerie
Jul. 15, 2009
JOHN LAGATTA (American, 1894-1976) Fixing the
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
JOHN LAGATTA (American, 1894-1976) Fixing the Dress Oil on canvas 40 x 34 in. Not signed From the Estate of Charles Martignette.
Heritage Auctions
Mar. 12, 2009
JOHN LAGATTA (American 1894 - 1976) Magazine story
Est: $6,000 - $8,000
JOHN LAGATTA (American 1894 - 1976) Magazine story illustration Oil and pencil on canvas 30 x 25 in. Signed lower right
Heritage Auctions
Mar. 12, 2009
JOHN LAGATTA (American 1894 - 1976) Why Don't You
Est: $6,000 - $8,000
JOHN LAGATTA (American 1894 - 1976) Why Don't You Call Him?, romance story illustration Mixed-media on board 26 x 37 in. Signed lower center-right A hand-written caption at the lower right reads, "Why don't you call him Lauralee and tell him you love him? Stony's a man. All he wants is to be sung to and rocked to sleep and tucked in warm and snug." Property from the Tip and Patricia Freeman Collection.
Heritage Auctions
Oct. 15, 2008
JOHN LAGATTA (American 1894 - 1976) Interior
Est: $6,000 - $8,000
JOHN LAGATTA (American 1894 - 1976) Interior magazine illustration Mixed-media on paper 28.5 x 23.5 in. Signed lower right
Heritage Auctions
Jul. 27, 2008
Fashion Illustration Summer Dress LaGatta 1925
Est: $400 - $600
INK AND CHARCOAL FASHION ILLUSTRATION - Woman in Summer Dress, by John LaGatta (NY, 1894-1976), she is depicted with her hand on her hip, parasol tipped down to ground, stamped on back by Cosmopolitan Magazine as having been used in the April 1925 issue, marked 'The Priceless Piffin' in pencil, unframed, lightly toned, SS: 23 1/2" x 11".
Thomaston Place Auction Galleries
May. 07, 2008
JOHN LAGATTA OIL ON PANEL (Pasadena, California
Est: $700 - $900
JOHN LAGATTA OIL ON PANEL (Pasadena, California 1894-1977) Portrait of young woman in Victorian costume 28 5/8 in. by 17 3/4 in. Signed John Lagatta l.r. In ornate gilt wood and gesso frame.
O'Gallerie
Feb. 10, 2008
Ink Fashion Illustration LaGatta Cosmo 4/1925
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
INK AND CHARCOAL FASHION ILLUSTRATION - Woman in Summer Dress, by John LaGatta (NY, 1894-1976), she is depicted with her hand on her hip, parasol tipped down to ground, stamped on back by Cosmopolitan Magazine as having been used in the April 1925 issue, marked 'The Priceless Piffin' in pencil, unframed, lightly toned, SS: 23 1/2" x 11".
Thomaston Place Auction Galleries
Apr. 03, 2004
John LaGatta
Est: $7,000 - $9,000
John LaGatta (American, 1894-1997), "A Moonlit Walk", charcoal drawing, signed middle left, sight 30 1/2 in. x 15 3/4 in.
Neal Auction Company