Wellington Lee Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Wellington Lee Art Value Price Guide

Sep. 28, 2022
Wellington Lee Photograph Bettie Page w/ Pumpkin
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
Wellington Lee (American, 1918-2001). Portrait photograph depicting famed pinup model Bettie Page (American, 1923-2008) nude wearing a witch hat, with a Jack-o-lantern, ca. 1960. Silver gelatin print. Signed, inscribed, and with Wellington Lee's inkstamp along the verso. Provenance: Directly from the artist, 2000; Private collection, Minnesota.
Revere Auctions
Oct. 06, 2018
A GROUP OF SEVEN PHOTOGRAPHS BY WELLINGTON LEE (CHINESE-AMERICAN 1918-2001) CIRCA 1950S
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
A GROUP OF SEVEN PHOTOGRAPHS BY WELLINGTON LEE (CHINESE-AMERICAN 1918-2001) CIRCA 1950S comprising: a) Misty Street, 42.7 x 29 cm (16 3/4 x 11 3/8 in.), labeled and stamped on verso b) Modernistic, 42.7 x 35.3 cm (16 3/4 x 13 7/8 in.), labeled and stamped on verso c) Expectation, 33.2 x 42.7 cm (13 1/8 x 11 3/8 in.), labeled and stamped on verso d) Curves and Cirles, 35.3 x 42.8 cm (13 7/8 x 13 7/8 in.), labeled and stamped on verso e) Teamwork, 42.8 x 35.3 cm (13 7/8 x 13 7/8 in.), labeled and stamped on verso f) Nude in Frame, 42.8 x 35.3 cm (13 7/8 x 13 7/8 in.), labeled and stamped on verso g) Girl in Spring, 42.8 x 35.3 cm (13 7/8 x 13 7/8 in.), labeled and stamped on verso EXHIBITED M. P. S. International Salon, 1956 XVI Lucknow Salon, 1956 Photographic Association of Bengal Club Fotocrafico de Chile Cineclub - Biella Sezione Fotografica
Shapiro Auctions LLC
May. 24, 2016
Wellington Lee, (American/Chinese, 1918-2000), Hot Stuff, Men Working and Lumber is Up
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
Wellington Lee (American/Chinese, 1918-2000) Hot Stuff, Men Working and Lumber is Up gelatin silver print stamped Wellington Lee and titled (mount verso) Each: 16 x 20 inches.
Hindman
Nov. 20, 2014
WELLINGTON LEE, "WINE AND GIRL", 1987
Est: $1,800 - $2,200
WELLINGTON LEE, "WINE AND GIRL", 1987. 16 ½ x 15 3/8- inch gelatin silver print, titled in pencil in Lee's hand, and "#3." Stamp for the Hong Kong Camera Club 1987 17th International Salon of Pictorial Photography. Provenance: Wellington Lee family. Lee liked to pose his nudes with giant props (via image manipulation) as here with the wine glass and bottle. A few tiny insignificant creases, upper right corner bent.
Be-Hold
Nov. 20, 2014
WELLINGTON LEE, "ARTIST AT WORK" MODEL IS BETTIE PAGE
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
WELLINGTON LEE, "ARTIST AT WORK", 1955 (or before.) 16 ½ x 14 ¾ toned gelatin silver print, titled in pen on the verso in Lee's hand, and with his 44 Mulberry Street N.Y. stamp (to which he has added "FPSA, FRPS" in pencil after his name.) Other notations in pencil and crayon, plus a label for the Southport Photographic Society International Exhibition, 1955. The model is Bettie Page, and Lee has carefully positioned her between the legs of the seemingly giant easel. The tips of the lower corners are slightly soft. Provenance: Family of Wellington Lee.
Be-Hold
Nov. 20, 2014
WELLLINGTON LEE, "MEN AT WORK"
Est: $1,500 - $2,000
WELLLINGTON LEE, "MEN AT WORK", 1956 (or before.) 14 x 17- inch gelatin silver print, 1956. Title in pencil in Lee's hand, and "#3" on verso, plus a label for the 16th International Focus Salon Amsterdam, 1956 and stamp for the "II Salon Mantais d'art Photographique." Lee made a number of stark high contrast images of skyscraper construction in New York City. Provenance: Family of Wellington Lee. Upper corners in the black margin are slightly bent.
Be-Hold
Nov. 20, 2014
WELLINGTON LEE, "SUBWAY ENTRANCE" FILM NOIR FEELING
Est: $1,500 - $2,000
WELLINGTON LEE, "SUBWAY ENTRANCE", 1956 (or before.) 14 x 17- inch gelatin silver print, unmounted. Title in pencil in Lee's hand, "#4" and other notations in pencil, Lee's 44 Mulberry Street NY stamp, attached label for the Falmouth Camera Club 1956 International Exhibition and stamp for the Eastern Cape International Salon of Photography on the verso. Some strips of brown tape adhere to the verso. This has a brooding film noir character. The soft light background is characteristic of some of Lee's prints. Very slight fraying of the extreme edges and corners. Provenance: Family of Wellington Lee.
Be-Hold
Nov. 20, 2014
WELLINGTON LEE, "HARMONICA PLAYING" SELF PORTRAIT
Est: $2,800 - $3,500
WELLINGTON LEE, "HARMONICA PLAYING", 1965 (or before.) 20 x 15 1/2- inch toned gelatin silver print mounted on a board. Signed in ink on the recto, with title and "#1" in pencil,, His 44 Mulberry Street stamp on the verso, and "Wellington Lee Permanent Print Collection" stamp, plus an exhibition stamp for the "Circle of Confusion International Exhibition of Photography, Whittier, California, 1965. Here is an excerpt from Christian Peterson's text about Lee from the great on-line resource Luminous-Lint: Lee was extremely active in camera-club circles for half a century, beginning around 1940. His creative work consisted primarily of figure studies, cityscapes, and high-contrast color images. After World War II, he worked professionally in New York.Wellington Chung-Hsi Lee was born to U.S. citizens in Kwantung, China, on May 12, 1918. He moved to the United States in 1935 and settled in New York. A few years later, he made his first photographs, with a small camera in Central Park. He graduated in 1943 from what is now the New York School of Art and Design with a degree in photography. During World War II, he was a military photographer, receiving a commendation for his work. Following the war, he worked for the Jons Fashion Studio in New York for a few years, and in 1950 established his own portrait business. Situated in Chinatown, the Wellington Lee Studio operated for over twenty-five years, until the owner retired in 1977.Lee's pictorial involvement began shortly before World War II and continued into the 1990s. During this period, he was ranked in the top ten exhibitors of the world more than fifty times, showing a total of 14,000 monochrome and color prints and color and stereo slides. Solo exhibitions of his photographs were seen at the Smithsonian Institution in 1955 and at hundreds of camera clubs from New York to Asia. Beginning with an award at the 1939 New York World's Fair, he received more than a thousand trophies, plaques, medals, and other citations for his photographic work at international salons and contests. In 1948, he wonPopular Photography's first international competition, subsequently using the $5,000 grand prize to open his portrait studio.Lee involved himself deeply with numerous photographic organizations. He founded and served as president of both the China Photographic Society (New York) in 1948, and the Photographic Society of New York in 1950. Beginning in 1952, he served for forty years as chairman of various committees for the Photographic Society of America. This group and England's Royal Photographic Society both awarded him fellowship status in the mid-1950s. In addition, more than fifty clubs worldwide gave him honorary fellowships and memberships. He judged many of the major salons in this country, including Pittsburgh, Newark, Baltimore, Rochester, Boston, Springfield, and New York.Lee produced three large bodies of creative work. His New York cityscapes pictured buildings, sometimes under construction. His high-contrast work, depicting a variety of subjects, usually took the form of "Addacolor" prints, a process he invented that turned black-and-white negatives into color images resembling woodcut prints with bas-relief effects. His figure studies were his most inventive pieces; they usually featured attractive female subjects (both Caucasian and Asian) surrounded by fantasy environments of painted backdrops, oversize props, and cut paper. These highly fabricated pictures incorporate strong design elements suggestive of Asian advertising and serve as entertaining period pieces from the 1950s and 1960s." This is a self-portrait of the artist. He is wearing his U.S. Army cap. His expression is troubled, and the manipulation of the negative with its darkened outlines adds to the emotional complexity. Provenance: Family of Wellington Lee.
Be-Hold
Nov. 28, 2010
WELLINGTON LEE
Est: $60,000 - $80,000
WELLINGTON LEE (1918-2001) Mexican Town; Winter Garden; Storm is Coming; Fantasy Harbour; Space Girl (1955); & Frustration titled 'Storm is Coming';' Fantasy Harbour'; 'Mexican Town'; 'Winter Garden'; 'Frustration'; & 'Space Girl' in English (on the reverse of each work respectively) six silver gelatin prints 17.5 x 50 cm. (6 7/8 x 19 7/8 in.); 38.8 x 50.6 cm. (15 1/4 x 19 3/8 in.); 30.3 x 50.5 cm. (11 7/8 x 19 7/8 in.); 29.6 x 49.3 cm. (11 5/8 x 19 3/8 in.); 40.5 x 50.5 cm. (15 15/16 x 19 7/8 in.); & 50.5 x 39.5 cm. (19 7/8 x 15 1/2 in.) (6) (6)
Christie's
Nov. 28, 2010
WELLINGTON LEE
Est: $40,000 - $60,000
WELLINGTON LEE (1918-2001) Mighty Joes; Metro Building; Hazy Evening; & Blue Night titled 'Blue Night'; 'Mighty Joes'; 'Hazy Evening'; & 'Metro Building' in English (on the reverse of each work respectively); signed 'Wellington Lee' in English (on the reverse of Hazy Evening) four silver gelatin prints 50.7 x 40.4 cm. (20 x 15 7/8 in.); 37.8 x 50.6 cm. (14 7/8 x 19 7/8 in.); 37.8 x 49.8 cm. (14 7/8 x 19 5/8 in.); & 50 x 34.5 cm. (19 11/16 x 13 9/16 in.) (4) (4)
Christie's
Feb. 15, 2007
WELLINGTON LEE (1918-2001)
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
Mid-Air, c. 1940 gelatin silver print titled in pencil, credit and exhibition stamps (on the verso) 15 1/8 x 19in. (38.4 x 48.2cm.)
Christie's
Nov. 26, 2006
WELLINGTON LEE
Est: $20,000 - $40,000
(1918-2002) Girl in yellow titled "Girl in yellow" in English (on reverse) chromogenic print 50 x 37.2 cm. (19 5/8 x 14 5/8 in.) one seal of the artist
Christie's
May. 28, 2006
WELLINGTON LEE
Est: $40,000 - $60,000
(1918-2002) Construction workers - Holding, Early, Smoky, Pouring four gelatin silver prints 39 x 50 cm. ( 15 1/4 x 19 5/8 in.) 50 x 40 cm. (19 5/8 x 16 3/4 in.) 38 x 49 cm. (15 x 19 1/4 in.) 39.5 x 49.5cm. (15 1/2 x 19 1/2 in.) one chop of the artist (4)
Christie's
May. 28, 2006
WELLINGTON LEE
Est: $40,000 - $60,000
(1918-2002) New York Harbour, Misty Day, Snow Storm three gelatin silver prints 13 x 50 cm. (5 1/8 x 19 5/8 in.) 19.5 x 50 cm. (7 5/8 x 19 5/8 in.) 30 x 50.5 cm. (11 3/4 x 19 7/8 in.) (3)
Christie's