This week’s Across the Block stands tall with some notable selections that include a Connecticut case clock, a study in poplar and a bronze warrior that surpassed its original estimate six times over.
Bidders Fight Over Bronze Warrior
At Showplace Auction
NEW YORK CITY – On August 19, Showplace opened its unreserved estate auction in New York City with a preview party at 11 am. Early in the bidding, a Hans Keck (Austrian, 1875-1941) bronze figure of a standing warrior in loincloth with shield and laurel leaf chaplet came up with a $600/800 estimate. After extended rounds of bidding, the bronze with the base incised “Keck,” further mounted on a dark brown marble base and standing a total of 14½ inches high, sold at $4,950. The 12½-inch-high bronze figure is in good condition, with wear commensurate with age. For more information, 212-633-6063 or www.nyshowplace.com.
Poplar Trees Study Popular
With Hungarian Bidder
FRANKLIN, MASS. – Sold for $11,875 on August 9 to an internet bidder in Hungary, a study of poplar trees attributed to Claude Monet was a notable lot across the block at Woodshed Art Auctions. The small painting is tempera on paper, with pencil indications, signed, verso marked with stamp of Galerie Simon, Paris. For information, 508-533-6277 or www.woodshedartauctions.com.
Mathias Alten Oil On Canvas
Landscape Leads At J.J. Keating
KENNEBUNK, MAINE – “We had a humongous crowd,” said Rich Keating following his firm’s August 18 auction, which featured the personal collection of John and Diane Schott of Dublin, N.H., and other prominent homes. A Mathias J. Alten oil on canvas painting of a landscape sold for $11,500. It was untouched, with colorful scenery and beautiful water reflection. Also, at J.J. Keating’s sale, a silhouette photo, full length, of a woman holding a book, done with watercolor and pencil sold for $5,400. “Prices were strong throughout the day, because of the fine lots, even at the end of the day,” said Keating. “Kent Driscoll, the auctioneer, was great throughout the day, in spite of the heat and humidity.” The firm’s next auction will be Saturday, October 13. For more information, www.jjkeating.com or 207-985-2097.
Connecticut Case Clock Stands Tall
At State Line Auction
CANAAN, CONN. – When the auctioneer’s gavel came to rest at the conclusion of State Line Auctions and Estate Services’ sale on August 19, a Connecticut tall case clock towered above the many other lots on offer, selling for $7,820. It was part of a clock collection across the block that included a Seth Thomas wall regulator, an English bracket clock and other examples. State Line advertises its auctions as “fast-paced, unreserved and no nonsense.” For information, 860-453-4370.
At Nadeau’s, Eighteenth Century
Portrait Rises to $3,810
WINDSOR, CONN. – Couture, custom mahogany furniture, contemporary art and decorative accessories were on the day’s roster at Nadeau’s Auction Gallery on August 18. An Eighteenth Century portrait identified as “Port au Prince,” 1796, was estimated just $100/300 but finished at $3,810. Signed lower right “J.T. Hamilton,” the portrait measured 8½ by 7¾ inches. Just two days after this sale, Ed Nadeau Sr and staff were preparing for a planned September 22 onsite sale on Bellevue Avenue, Newport, R.I., featuring contents from the historic house known as the “Harold Brown Villa,” a reference to its first owner. The 12-bedroom Gilded Age mansion, built in 1895, went on the market in June. For more information, www.nadeausauction.com or 860-246-2444.
Russian Portraits Get Royal Treatment
At Kaminski
BEVERLY, MASS. – European fine art highlights at Kaminski’s August 18-19 sale included two Russian portraits. The first was a portrait of Empress Maria Feodorovna (1759-1828), wife of Emperor Paul Petrowitz I of Russia, and the second was the Emperor Paul Petrowitz I (1754-1801), son of Empress Catherine the Great. Both paintings were purchased in Paris in 1915, and later from the Helen Schachter estate, New York City. Labled, each oil on canvas portrait measured 33 by 28 inches (frame) and collectively they brought $24,000. For information, 978-927-2223 or www.kaminskiauctions.com.
B. Prabha’s Standing Woman Leads
At Material Culture Sale
PHILADELPHIA, PENN. – Fine, folk and ethnographic art, antiques and decorative art, as well as an important collection of black Americana, crossed the block in a two-session sale at Material Culture on August 20. The sale was led by B. Prabha’s (Indian, 1933-2001) untitled (Standing Woman), 1972, oil painting on canvas, which rose to a final price of $27,500. Signed and dated in Devanagari, the work measured 31 by 50 inches. A major Indian artist who worked mainly in oil, Prabha had in an instantly recognizable style, best known for graceful, elongated figures of pensive rural women. For information, www.materialculture.com or 215-438-4700.
Withington’s Dolls Bring Dear Prices
HILLSBOROUGH, N.H. – Dolls were the subject at hand at Withington Auction, Inc, on August 16, with two sessions selling more than 550 lots of dolls and accessories. Highlights include a 22-inch Martha Wellington stockinet baby in original condition and retaining its original 1883 patent label sewn onto the back (shown left). It went to a private collector for $10,752. A 16-inch Izannah Walker cloth body doll (right) had painted hair, applied ears and her original dress, in a contemporary miniature Windsor chair. Described as well-loved, she fetched $13,888, also from a private collector. For more information, www.withingtonauction.com or 603-478-3232.
