“It is always nice to play to a full room,” quipped auctioneer Russ Carlsen after the most recent Americana auction conducted at Carlsen Gallery that took place in front of an overflow crowd over the weekend following Thanksgiving. “It was a nice sale, we had a very active crowd with the largest attendance we have had here in the past year. They were jammed in here, standing room only,” he said.
The auction, November 25, offered a good selection of Americana and, according to Carlsen, “The crowd reacted favorably to the fresh material offered.” The auction house cited numerous local estates and some items consigned from private collections that had not been in the public eye for more than 20 years. Paintings brought strong prices, especially for the large selection of Ashcan School art that had been consigned from a collection formed by a former student of the Art Student’s League. Numerous pieces of jewelry also caught the fancy of buyers.
“I would call it an even-handed sale,” said Carlsen in the days following the auction. “The consignors were pleased with the prices realized and the purchasers were pleased with the prices they paid — a pleasurable moment in any auctioneer’s life,” he stated.
The sale featured a steady fare for buyers of Americana with the top lot coming as a Schoharie County blanket chest with paint decoration was sold. Having come from a private collection, the rare piece was decorated with a two central trees with flowers and a vinelike sprig with suspended tulips encircling the initials “B.B.” and the date 1816. In a nice overall green paint, the piece had been consigned on the heels of another Schoharie chest that Carlsen had sold earlier this year.
Bidding on the lot was active with telephone bidders competing with several in the crowd as the chest finally hammered down at $16,100.
Four telephone lines were active as a wonderful step back cupboard in old gray paint was offered. Having been purchased by a New York collector more than two decades ago from Woodbury, Conn., dealer Wayne Pratt, the cupboard created quite a stir. With great worn paint and layers of fabulous patina extending down the bottom section and across the blind lower door of the cupboard, the top shelved section was open and in the original red paint.
“It’s covered with some real soul,” commented Carlsen prior to the auction in regards to the gritty untouched piece. Bidding on this lot was also spirited with it hammering down for $12,075.
Other furniture that did well included a Massachusetts serpentine front secretary bookcase that went out reasonably at $11,500, a Federal inlaid mahogany desk $11,500, and a Federal inlaid sideboard that the auctioneer called a “good buy for someone” sold for $5,750.
A New York Sheraton drop arm sofa with reeded legs and elegantly carved back crest was in tough shape with at least a portion of one leg missing. Bidding on the ornate piece was strong, however, with the lot selling at $4,600. An inlaid Sheraton server with reeded legs also did well with it selling for $3,565.
A North Shore inlaid card table was hammered down at $3,737, a Quervelle two-drawer worktable brought $3,795, and an early tavern table in old red paint realized $2,300.
Paintings in the sale included a varied assortment ranging from a Rembrandt print to woodblock prints by M.C. Escher. Leading the selection of art was a J.J. Enneking winter landscape depicting a stream meandering through snow covered banks and a wooded area in the background. With heavy brushstrokes that gave the painting an Impressionistic feel, the piece was pursued by numerous bidders in the crowd with the lot selling for $12,075.
Four phone bidders were on the line for a Bruce Crane oil on canvas titled “A Bit of Westchester.” The serene landscape was also actively bid, with it selling at $11,500.
A watercolor and pen and ink that depicted a cabaret scene attracted a lot of attention. The rare piece, signed Grosz, brought $10,350, while a large primitive American School portrait of a young girl with a basket of strawberries was hammered down at $9,200. A Hayley Lever watercolor titled “Fishing Boat in Harbor” sold for $2,070, a signed lithograph by Yasuo Kuniysohi titled “Circus Highwire” also brought $2,070, and an etching by Rembrandt Von Rijn dated 1654 went out at $1,495.
Other items of interest in the auction included a large cast iron golden retriever dog that had attracted quite a bit of presale interest. At sale time, speculation had surfaced that the tail might have been damaged at one point and either replaced or reattached. Bidding on the lot was still spirited with it selling for $7,475. Another item that created a stir as it crossed the auction block was a 3.5-carat diamond solitaire ring that was hammered down at $11,500. A large orange Fitzhugh platter with eagle decoration also did well, bringing $8,050.
Prices include the buyers premium charged. The next Americana auction at Carlsen’s has been tentatively scheduled for January 14. Already consigned is a large grouping of Americana from an Albany estate and items from collections in Connecticut and Long Island. For more information, 518-634-2466, or www.carlsengallery.com.
