Earning the highest price of both the fourth day and the auction as a whole was “Wishbone” by Andrew Wyeth (Pennsylvania/Maine, 1917-2009), gouache on paper, 21½ by 27¾ inches framed, which realized $125,000 ($100/150,000).
Review by Kiersten Busch
THOMASTON, MAINE — Dubbed the “landmark event that honors Maine’s longstanding and influential place in the history of American art,” Thomaston Place Auction Galleries’ Summer Grandeur auction offered more than 1,500 lots from August 28-31. The sale, totaling $3.4 million, earned a 94 percent sell-through rate.
“The auction was an exhilarating four-day event — the first of its kind for us!” reported Kaylor Bergman, the firm’s marketing coordinator. “Kicking off Thursday was the collection from Brooke Astor’s Northeast Harbor [Maine] residence. A home full of whimsical stylings and meticulous placements (as many pieces still had handwritten notes on the back or underside indicating where in the home she liked them to be), the day achieved three times the initial estimate, which we ascribe to her notoriety and impeccable personal taste! Each day we welcomed a full audience of in-person bidders and a busy phone bank. It’s truly an honor to host such a dynamic dialogue of human creativity within the walls of the gallery. From the origins of these works to their moment at the podium, this auction is a exemplifies [owner Kaja Veilleux’s] dedication to preservation in both his work and the auctions he creates.”
Bergman continued, “We hosted a full gallery each day for the four-day auction, a busy phone bank and over 25,000 bidders registered across all online bidding platforms. People came from far and wide to participate, drawing in bidders from over 50 countries.”
The highest price of day one — $30,000 — was awarded to this watercolor on paper of a single-stem red carnation by Rory McEwen (Scottish, 1932-1982), 1967, 17½ by 12 inches framed ($800-$1,200).
“All of the pieces on day one were found in the Brooke Astor home in Northeast Harbor, Maine. Kaja and associates visited the home multiple times, including twice in the middle of winter when there was no heat, and his pen froze while writing the consignment list!” Bergman noted of day one, led by a watercolor of a single-stem red carnation by Scottish artist Rory McEwen. Dated to 1967 and inscribed “For Brooke with much love,” the work was housed in a gilt stick frame and was bid to 25 times the high end of its $800-$1,200 estimate at $30,000.
A 1929 gouache on board titled “M. Y. Nourmahal” was a portrait of the private yacht of Vincent Astor, Brooke’s husband, that sailed to $27,500, the second-highest price of the day. According to catalog notes, the 263-foot yacht was “designed by Theodore E. Ferris with Cox & King, built in 1928 by Krupp of Kiel, Germany, later served in WWII.”
Also performing well was “Portrait of an Engraver,” an unsigned oil on canvas by Joseph Ducreux, a baron and the first painter to Queen Marie Antoinette, which sold for $18,750. The title of the portrait was derived from the tools the subject was wearing, and the painting had a label from “J. Chenue, 22 Monmouth St, London.”
A modest selection of Asian art and antiques crossed the block, with prices ranging from $63 for an early Chinese export teapot, to $25,000 for a pair of Nineteenth Century Qing dynasty porcelain dishes with cobalt blue decorations of five-toed dragons in pursuit of a flaming pearl. The dishes were dated to 1821-50 and had blue Daoguang six-character marks evocative of the period on their bases.
Dishing up a $25,000 finish was this pair of Chinese Qing dynasty blue and white porcelain dragon dishes, 1821-50, which had Daoguang six-character seal marks on their bottoms ($2/3,000).
A dark blue ostrich leather Hermès Birkin bag with palladium hardware combined style with top lot status on day two. “It was found in a storage locker during a call,” Bergman noted. The French-made bag had rolled handles and a leather-lined interior with one zip and one open pocket. Its conservative $3/5,000 estimate was far surpassed, with the bag realizing $28,750.
While comparatively few dolls, bears & toys were on offer on day two, the highest-earning lot of the category had the second-highest price of the day. The lot in question was a handcrafted regency-style dollhouse created by Charles Cartwright, which opened to reveal a six-room interior — dining room, kitchen, parlor, music room/library, servant’s quarters, nursery and bathroom— with three central halls. The dollhouse’s good working condition and complete set of figures may have contributed to its $11,250 finish, just surpassing its $5/10,000 estimate.
Sculpture was also popular with bidders, as an Inuit serpentine stone bear sculpture led a group of 33 lots at $5,938. The dancing bear was signed in Inuktitut syllabics on its base and was consigned from the estate of Marilyn Coburn. The Oregon- and Washington State-based sculpture artist Leo E. Osborne (b 1947) was the most represented artist in the category, with four works finding new homes. “Harmony” ($3,000), “On Your Mark” ($2,500), “My Little Chickadee” ($1,375) and “Spiraling Release” ($938) were all bronze sculptures of different types of birds, including owls and chickadees.
This Inuit bear sculpture, carved serpentine stone, 16½ inches high, artist signed in Inuktitut syllabics, was originally priced at $500, but sold for much more, at $5,938 ($300/500).
Day three was dominated by furniture and fine art, with a circa 1770 Boston Chippendale bombé desk from the estate of Linda Bean leading the day at $60,000. Made from walnut, the desk had “a complex interior” with various shaped drawers, compartments and cabinets. Raised on cabriole legs with ball and claw feet, the desk also retained its original backboards held on by raisin head nails.
The Boston Chippendale desk was the highest earning lot of nearly 60 consigned by the Bean estate. Additional highlights from the estate included a Dunlap two-part country Queen Anne chest on chest made with red painted maple and tiger maple ($30,000) and a signed tall clock by James Cary of Brunswick, Maine, with a mahogany Chippendale case ($22,500). The clock led a collection of 12 from the estate, with the remaining 11 ranging in price from $2,750 for a tall clock by Asa Hopkins (1799-1838) of Litchfield, Conn., to $20,000 for a grandfather clock by Joshua Tolford of Saco, Maine.
Other highlights on day three included a 1777 Revolutionary War scrimshawed powder horn belonging to Zebulon Vaughn of the Fifth Massachusetts Regiment of Worcester, which “came in on our weekly Free Appraisal Day,” added Bergman. Marked “Zebulon Vaughn, Rgt Mass 5, RP, 26 Day September, 1779, Made at Beadford of New York, Made by Me, ZV,” the horn featured a detailed depiction of Vaughn’s camp, artillery, a 13-star flag and the elevation of a mill with a waterwheel and a steeple. Additional etchings on the horn included wildlife such as deer, fish, birds and “oddly, an owl on a pine tree marked ‘Owl,’” according to catalog notes. The horn blew far past its estimate of $10/15,000 to make $57,000.
This 1777 Revolutionary War scrimshawed powder horn belonged to Zebulon Vaughn, a member of the Massachusetts Fifth Regiment from Worcester. Measuring 13½ inches long, the horn blew past its $10/15,000 estimate to make $57,000.
Fine art made up a majority of day three’s lots, with few passing. Prices varied from $63 for a bust portrait of a “Pleasant Gent” in Eighteenth Century costume and wig by Albert Baur (Germany, 1835-1906), to $46,875 for “Cowboy with Colt,” a black and white gouache and ink on paper by Charles Marion Russell. The latter, which also found its way to the firm via a free appraisal day, was made circa 1900 and was possibly a margin illustration for Collider’s; it was also previously restored professionally by the head of restoration at the Custodia Foundation in Paris.
The top three highest prices of day four were a family affair: two paintings by Andrew Wyeth and one by his father, N.C. Wyeth, led the day with some high-achieving results. For the four-day sale high of $125,000, Andrew Wyeth’s “Wishbone,” a gouache on paper work of a pond with flowers, landed in the middle of its $100/150,000 estimate. Signed upper right, the painting was laid on a white linen mat and was housed in a silver-leaf casement frame. Andrew’s “Threatening Sky” secured the second-highest price of the day at $106,250. Dated to 1938 and done in Port Clyde, Maine, the watercolor on paper had labels verso for Nicholas Wyeth Inc., and the Portland Art Museum from its 1978 exhibition “Andrew Wyeth in Maine.”
N.C. Wyeth’s oil on canvas titled “Custer’s Last Stand” followed close behind “Threatening Sky,” realizing $90,000. Signed and dated “N.C. Wyeth, 1930” and inscribed “To Martin Pyle from NCW,” the painting had well-documented exhibition and publication history and extensive provenance. One additional N.C. Wyeth painting sold, an oil on canvas of the artist’s Chadds Ford House, which made $46,875.
With extensive exhibition and publication history as well as detailed provenance, “Custer’s Last Stand” by N.C. Wyeth (Pennsylvania/Maine/Massachusetts, 1882-1945), 1930, oil on canvas, measured 45 by 57 inches in a black gesso frame and rode to $90,000 ($120/180,000).
Other notable fine art pieces included “Antelope Mandala,” an oil on linen from 2002 by Dahlov Ipcar with a label from the Frost Gallery of Freeport on its reverse ($48,000), Imero Gobbato’s oil on canvas “House on Cove” ($45,000) and Andy Warhol’s 1967 screenprint in colors on wove paper “Marilyn,” which was numbered “13/250” ($46,875).
While most of the top-performing lots on day four were from the fine art category, a 1956 Ford Thunderbird convertible still drove off with a high price, besting its $20/30,000 estimate to brake for $36,250. According to catalog notes, it was “identical to the one driven by actress Susanne Somers in George Lucas’ 1973 blockbuster film American Graffiti.”
Thomaston Place will conduct its Autumn Majestic auction November 7-9. Prices quoted include buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 207-354-8141 or www.thomastonauction.com.
