American trompe l’oeil paintings and Maps & Atlases from the estate of Richard Angotta

We are delighted to present a fine collection of American trompe l’oeil (‘fool the eye’) paintings from the estate of the late Richard Angotta (1958-2025). Mr. Angotta was an avid collector and former client whose interests went well beyond the American still life paintings seen here. An accountant by trade, he had a penchant for collecting works that featured money—a classic motif in American trompe l’oeil painting. The subject matter often included dollar bills that are tacked or tied to a wooden board, depicted in such fine detail that the viewer might think they could actually pull them off the wall. This ‘trick’ was not only a way for the artist to test their abilities and make playful use of the viewer’s sense of perception, but also served, in more pedestrian settings, as a sort of gag joke that found favor in the taprooms and public houses that would often purchase such paintings. One of the artists featured in Angotta’s collection—Nicholas Brooks—lived above such an establishment and provided still life paintings for its walls.

Angotta’s greatest interest as a collector, however, appears to have been historical maps, particularly those of Italy and the United States. Over 60 lots of maps and atlases are included in the catalog, the foremost of which is an important map of Italy from the famed Ulm edition of Ptolemy’s Geographia first published in 1482 by Lienhart Holle (lot 75). The Angotta map is thought to be from the second edition of 1486 produced by Johann Reger and survives with its original beige coloring. Numerous sources cite it as the first modern printed map of Italy, “perhaps the single most important modern map of Italy published in the 15th century.” The map bears an estimate of $8,000-12,000 and will be an item to watch, as no other copies have been offered at auction within the last 20 years or more, according to the auction house. Angotta also secured a copy of "the most important map of Italy that appeared in the 16th century” (Bifolco/Ronca 911) produced by Giacomo Gastaldi in Venice in 1561 (lot 68), which he purchased at Christie’s London in 2006 and will also be offered for sale at $8,000-12,000. It is one of only two copies that have appeared on the auction market in the last 20 years.