Figural and functional pieces are in the spotlight this week. For the figural, a pulp painting by HJ Ward earned $137,500 at Heritage and a wooden Buddha head made $8,125 at Helmuth Stone. And, for the functional, a set of plans for Ringling Brothers Circus tents topped off at $56,000 for Freedom and a Louis Vuitton trunk led at Litchfield for $13,000. Landscapes also garnered interest, with Richard Mayhew’s “Path” bringing $23,400 at Kensington. For these and more, keep reading.
Dufy Watercolor Sails Into Lead At World Auction Gallery
EAST MEADOW, N.Y. — Jean Dufy’s (French, 1888-1964) “Scene de Port” watercolor and gouache was the highest-earning lot of 500 presented by World Auction Gallery in its Exceptional Prime Mid-Summer Estates Auction on July 28. Sourced from a Long Island, N.Y., home and measuring 37¾ by 32 inches framed, the painting had additionally been handled by the Atelier Matignon in Paris, which provided the accompanying certificate of authenticity. Estimated at $10/15,000, the colorful harbor scene sold for $19,500. For information, 516-307-8180 or www.worldauctiongallery.com.
Burmese Buddha Bust Bursts To Top At Helmuth Stone
SARASOTA, FLA. — On August 4, Helmuth Stone Gallery conducted a sale of the Lou A. and Barbara B. Pritchett collection, which offered more than 300 lots of Asian antiques, fine art, Oriental rugs and pre-Columbian objects, among other categories. Lou Pritchett was the ex-vice president of Procter & Gamble (Cincinnati, Ohio). Leading the sale was a large antique Burmese wood carved Buddha bust, which measured 17 inches tall. The bust surpassed its $500-$1,000 estimate eightfold, selling for $8,125 to a collector from Shanghai, China. For information, 941-260-9703 or www.helmuthstone.com.
Mayhew Painting Carves Path To Victory At Kensington
CLINTONDALE, N.Y. — On August 5, Kensington Estate Auctions conducted an estate fine art and antiques online sale, which offered 171 lots of varying art forms, jewelry, rugs and antiquarian books, among other categories. Leading the sale was “Path” by African American painter Richard Mayhew, which had provenance to a private estate. According to a representative from Kensington, “[the auction house] fielded quite a number of phone calls asking for more details about the painting” before the auction began. Pre-auction interest was so high for the oil on canvas — which focused on the organic vision of the American landscape — that it opened for $11,000 when the live auction commenced. Bidding was narrowed down between two phone bidders, with the victorious bidder winning the early Mayhew work for $23,400, almost eight times its high estimate of $3,000. For information, 917-331-0807 or www.kensingtonestateauctions.com.
Vintage Leopard Coat Spotted At Kodner Galleries
DANIA BEACH, FLA. — While anti-fur protesters continue to target fashion brands and designers to encourage them to stop using fur in their collections, vintage fur coats still do well at auction. In Kodner Galleries’ August 7 auction, a vintage leopard coat, circa 1970s, sold for $2,016 to an internet bidder. With kick pleat and trimmed in leather with leather frog toggle closures, the coat was marked Zelenka-Diener Fur Designs. There was also a label identifying who it was specifically designed for. It measured 16 inches shoulder to shoulder, 21 inches across the chest and had 21-inch-long arms and a 24-inch waist. For information, 954-925-2550 or www.kodner.com.
Louis Vuitton Trunk Sails To Litchfield Lead
LITCHFIELD, CONN. — Vintage Louis Vuitton luggage is a fan-favorite and typically features the brand’s signature monogram pattern but a steamer trunk with a comparatively plain exterior was the top lot in Litchfield Auctions’ 455-lot Summer Estates Auction on July 24 and earned $13,000, sailing past its $4/6,000 estimate. Embellished with decals for the White Star Line, Cadogan Hotel, London, and others, as well as a monogram “JSA,” the piece came to auction from a New England estate. Hotly contested, it sold to a buyer in London bidding online. For information 860-567-4661 or www.litchfieldcountyauctions.com.
Auction Barn Bidders Charmed By Melchers’ Mother & Child Portrait
NEW MILFORD, CONN. — The Auction Barn’s August 5 Online Estate Auction featured a wide variety of furniture, silver, fine art, rugs, bronzes, lighting, decorative arts, jewelry and collectibles, including items from the New York City estate of dealer David Killen. Topping the 400-lot sale was an oil on canvas portrait of a mother and child by Gari Melchers (French American, 1860-1932) that was described as stained and with a tear to the canvas. Despite this, interest pushed it past an opening bid of $50 and it finished at $10,625. For information, 860-799-0608 or www.auctionbarnct.com.
Recently Discovered HJ Ward Pulp Painting Makes Splash At Heritage
DALLAS — A recently discovered oil on canvas painting by Hugh Joseph Ward (American, 1909-1945) was the top seller in Heritage Auctions’ 409-lot Illustration Art Signature Auction on August 8. Painted in 1935 and titled “Death’s Diary,” the 30-by-21-inch painting had been the cover of the May 1936 issue of Spicy Mystery Stories pulp magazine. Because its whereabouts had been unknown until the auction, the catalog described its discovery and appearance on the market as “a major event.” It sold for $137,500, the highest price in a sale that totaled $1,485,392. For information, 214-528-3500 or www.ha.com.
Freedom Unrolls Historic Hobson Scroll
SARASOTA, FLA. — Freedom Auction Company’s August 7 auction, titled The Circus – Historical Memorabilia, comprised 209 lots and was conducted alongside the annual convention of the Circus Historical Society. Leading the event, which was more than 97 percent sold by lot, was a 100-foot-long hand-drawn plan detailing all 37 canvas structures in the Ringling Bros. Circus show. Made around 1928 by William Hobson, a Ringling Bros Barnum Bailey circus tentmaker, the drawing was discovered in the Hobson collection. Estimated at $30/60,000, and described as “rare,” the document was accompanied by its original steel tube and sold for $56,000. For information, 941-725-2166 or www.freedomauctions.com.
Parkinson & Frodsham Regulator Clock Chimes Winning Bid At Sloans & Kenyon
CHEVY CHASE, MD. — On August 8, Sloans & Kenyon Auctioneers and Appraisers conducted its August Estate Catalog Auction, which offered just under 550 lots of antiques, furniture, paintings and sculpture, silver, decorative arts, rugs, Asian ceramics and works of art, ethnographica and clocks. Leading the sale was an English mahogany eight-day regulator clock retailed by Parkinson & Frodsham (London), which ticked its way to $9,525, with premium. The mid-Nineteenth Century clock had a domed case with a glazed front, which revealed a signed silvered face containing a chapter ring and two subsidiary dials. The decorations were all pierced and carved, and the pendulum was mercury. For information, 301-634-2330 or www.sloansandkenyon.com.
