Fine art was more than just fine, it was plentiful among this week’s featured auctions. In fact, all but two lots could be defined as fine art, whether two or three dimensional. Leading the pack were two inkjet prints with acrylic paint on canvas works by John Baldessari, which secured $187,500 for Abell Auction. Achieving five figures were Samuel Adolf Cashwan’s “Three Peasant Dancers” ($12,000 at Winter Associates), “Chevy 3100” by Peter Helck ($13,200 at Soulis Auctions) and Charles W. Hawthorne’s portrait of Helen Beneker ($12,160 at Bakker Auctions). Four-figure results are below as are the two lots that fell under other categories.
Gold Peso Pendant Hangs At Number One For Benefit Shop
MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. — On June 5, the Benefit Shop Foundation conducted its jewelry auction, which featured 784 lots of estate, fashion and fine jewelry and more. Leading the sale was an Estado Unidos 50-peso gold coin, dating 1943, which came housed in a circular frame with a loop, so it could be worn as a pendant. The coin featured embossed figural and eagle motifs, on the head and tail of the coin, respectively. It was marked “37.5 Gr. Oro Puro,” “1821-1943” and “Estados Unidos Mexicanos.” With the frame its total weight was 47.3 grams. The coin, which sold for $3,225, is staying in the states with a first-time buyer for the Benefit Shop Foundation. For information, 914-864-0707 or www.thebenefitshop.org.
Baldessari Paintings Heat Up The Competition At Abell
LOS ANGELES — On June 8 and 9, Abell Auction Company conducted its fine art, jewelry, antiques and design auction, which realized a total of $3.3 million over the course of the two days. Leading both days were two pieces by American conceptual artist John Baldessari (1931-2020) from his “Hot and Cold” series. “Gillis You trying to be funny?” and “Perfectly Still,” both varnished inkjet print with acrylic paint on canvas, were completed in 2018 and depict an iceberg and volcano, respectively. The 57-3/8-by-94-inch pieces were exhibited solo in 2019 at the Marian Goodman Gallery and had provenance to a private Beverly Hills collection. They sold for $187,500 to a well-known designer who purchased them for his clients. For more information, 323-724-8102 or www.abell.com.
Brzostek Bidders Chase Down Currier & Ives Lithograph
BALDWINSVILLE, N.Y. — On June 8, Brzostek’s Auction Service presented the 441-lot lifetime collection of Peter and the late Doris Houghton of Waterloo, N.Y. The top lot came from the couple’s extensive collection of Currier & Ives lithographs. An active winter scene with horses and sleighs, “Trotting Cracks on the Snow” was an 1858 image by Louis Maurer (German/American, 1832-1932). Other examples of this print are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City and Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas. In its slim metallic frame, the print measured 26 by 36 inches and found a buyer for $3,480. For information, www.brzostek.com or 315-678-2542.
Historic Texas Colt Revolver Fires Up Heritage Bidders
DALLAS — Scoring $45,000 and the top price in Heritage Auctions’ Arms & Armor Civil War & Militaria Signature auction on June 10 was a Colt model 1851 Navy percussion revolver that had history to Hood’s Texas Brigade. Manufactured in 1860 and inscribed, “Leut. Matt Dale, “Reagan Guard’s / Texas Bat Tn.,” the gun had been owned by the family of Matt Dale, who was killed in the cornfield at Antietam while acting as second in command of the regiment. Documentation accompanied the gun, which was described as being in good condition with minor areas of wear. The 532-lot sale, conducted in two sessions — one live, the other online only — achieved a $1.09 million total. For information, www.ha.com or 214-528-3500.
Bronze Dancer Charms At The Auction Barn
NEW MILFORD, CONN. — The Auction Barn’s online estate auction on June 10 featured exactly 350 lots that included property from the estate of David Killen, the Barlow 1794 historic house in New Milford and general household furnishings from other sellers. Dancing to an even $4,800 and the highest price of the day was a 13-inch-tall cold-painted bronze dancer by Gerda Gottstein that stood on a circular base impressed “Gerdago.” For information, 860-799-0608 or www.theauctionbarnct.com.
Soulis Bidders Drive Peter Helck Illustration Art To Strong Finish
LONE JACK, MO. — “Lot 6 was a fun, feel good slice of Americana, fresh to the market,” said Dirk Soulis following his firm’s June 7 sale. Peter Helck’s (1893-1988) “Chevy 3100” illustration art was a vivid depiction of a mid-Twentieth Century Chevy pickup truck filled with milk cans climbing a hill near a sunny dairy barnyard. The scene is lively with men unloading other Chevy models while a youth in blue shirt and cap brings dairy cows in from pasture with the help of a dog. The artwork sold for $13,200. Helck was a founding member of the Automotive Fine Arts Society and was dubbed “the dean of American automotive illustrators of the Twentieth Century.” The society’s Peter Helck Award is its highest honor, given annually at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance to the artist whose work represents the pinnacle of automotive fine art. “We were unable to determine whether or not it had ever been published,” said Soulis of the artwork. For information, 816-697-3830 or www.soulisauctions.com.
‘Peasant Dancers’ Carving Sweeps To A Beyond-Estimate Finish
PLAINVILLE, CONN. — Winter Associates enjoyed lots of interest in its June 10 auction, both from bidders on the floor and online. The top lot was Samuel Adolf Cashwan’s (Russian/American, 1899-1988) “Three Peasant Dancers,” 1935, a contemporary abstract wood carving depicting figures dancing. It soared from a $1/2,000 estimate to finish at $12,000. Signed on the base, with wear consistent with age, the 24-by-14-by-10-inch carving had provenance to a collection of a Chester, Conn., gentleman. For information, 860-793-0288 or www.auctionsappraisers.com.
Kerg Painting Sails To Number One At The Benefit Shop
MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. — On June 12, The Benefit Shop Foundation conducted its Red Carpet auction, featuring 751 lots from local estates, including jewelry, luxury fashion, antiques and decorative arts. A modernist painting by painter and sculptor Théo Kerg (Luxembourgian, 1909-1993) led the sale. Framed in a gold and silver leafed wooden frame, it was marked “Germain, Paris” verso and measured approximately 21 by 24 inches. The painting, depicting a ship in blues and golds, went home with a first-time international buyer for $3,225, over 16 times its $100/200 estimate. For information, 914-864-0707 or www.thebenefitshop.org.
Portrait By Cape Cod School Founder Leads For Bakker
PROVINCETOWN, MASS. — On June 1, Bakker Auctions conducted a sale that included 169 lots of fine art, furniture and collectibles. At the sale’s close, 97 percent of lots sold and an oil on panel portrait by New York/Provincetown painter Charles W. Hawthorne was the top lot. “Helen, Portrait of Gerrit Beneker’s Daughter” was completed in 1927 and measured 30 by 25 inches in its floral carved giltwood frame. In addition to old pencil markings and the artist’s Greenwich Village address stamp, a label from Grand Central Art Galleries, New York City was affixed to the rear of the frame. “Helen” sold for $12,160 to a local collector who is building a historic Provincetown collection ($10/15,000). For information, www.bakkerproject.com or 508-413-9758.
