Auction Highlights: Raymond Han
Highlights from AFTER DARK/October 2026
Lot 2: Raymond Han (American, 1931-2017). (Detail from) Paul Fixing the Canapé, ca. 1970s. Oil on canvas. Estimated at $2,000 - $3,000.
In our upcoming AFTER DARK/October sale, we’re very excited to present two exceptional paintings by the Korean-Hawaiian artist Raymond Han.
Courtesy of the Raymond Han and Paul Kellogg Foundation, the sale of these works will go to benefit the Glimmerglass Opera and other visual and performing arts programs in Cooperstown, NY.
Raymond Han (1931-2017) was born to a Korean immigrant family in 1931, in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, 28 years before the archipelago’s statehood. His aptitude for portraiture was apparent early on, having landed his first solo exhibition at the age of 18. Shortly thereafter, he would earn a scholarship to study at the emergent education wing at the Honolulu Academy of Arts (now the Honolulu Museum of Art).
After the Hawaiian Democratic Revolution of 1954, Han would follow in the footsteps of many of the Hawaiian modernists at the time, moving to New York City in pursuit of his studies with the Art Students League. It was in New York that Han would meet his partner, later husband, Paul Kellogg, director and impresario of the New York City Opera and the Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown.
Lot 1: Raymond Han (American, 1931-2017). Portrait of Paul at the Dining Table, ca. 1970s. Oil on canvas. Estimated at $3,000 - $5,000.
The paintings presented in this month’s catalog are both representative examples of Han’s artistic output while living in New York City in the 1970s. While Han was contemporaneously known for his elaborate still-life paintings, he would also produce an incredible series of portraiture, many featuring Paul Kellogg as the primary subject.
In Portrait of Paul at the Dining Table, the artist’s partner is depicted bare-chested at a dining table in the couple’s New York apartment. The painting demonstrates the artist’s skillful rendering both in the still-life and the figurative genre, while also exemplifying Han’s frequent usage of a subtle, muted color palette.
As with many of Han’s portraits of Paul, this work also illustrates the deep personal relationship between the artist and his model. Throughout the course of their 60 year relationship, Han would paint many portraits of both himself and his husband, from carefully arranged tableaux, to more domestic scenes from their life together. There is an intimate quality to these portraits, which has often been overlooked in broader discussions about Han’s work.
Lot 2: Raymond Han (American, 1931-2017). Paul Fixing the Canapé, ca. 1970s. Oil on canvas. Estimated at $2,000 - $3,000.
The work shown above, Paul Fixing the Canapé, also presents a common composition element featured throughout Han’s oeuvre. The artist would often present Paul as playing multiple “roles” within a tableaux-style painting. This motif would become a mainstay in Han’s work, being seen both in the artist’s early work in New York City, as well as his later paintings once the couple had moved upstate to Cooperstown. Paintings of this type feature the artist’s partner in a range of settings, whether it be relaxing in their Cooperstown garden, posed in the nude, or in this example, fixing the canapé in their apartment.
After Han’s passing in 2017, the Raymond Han and Paul Kellogg Foundation would be established to preserve the artist’s life and work. Han was a prolific painter, and he has seen significant recognition both during his career and after his passing. His work has been exhibited and accessioned into many institutions and galleries, such as the Honolulu Museum of Art, the Fenimore Art Museum, the McNay Art Museum, the Munson-Williams-Proctor Art Institute, and the Yale University Art Gallery.
Browse the catalog to find these works by Raymond Han and more. There’s still plenty of time to register, request condition reports, or place pre-bids on any lots you’re interested in for our upcoming October 29th auction!
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