Described as being in “amazingly good condition” and having provenance to the Mitchell-Armour estate, this Nineteenth Century Chinese robe ticked the additional box of having five-toed dragons as a primary decorative motif. Estimated at $5/10,000, it sold to an online bidder for $45,000.

Review by Madelia Hickman Ring

BEVERLY, MASS. — The latest high-profile estate that Frank Kaminski secured the privilege of selling was neither that of a current headliner (his firm has recently sold pieces belonging to Martha Stewart and Oprah Winfrey, among others) or one in his backyard. Rather, about 200 lots in Kaminski Auctions’ June 6-8 auction were from the California estate of people readers may not be familiar with now but who were once the center of the social world. When meatpacking heiress Lolita Ogden Armour (1896-1976) married banker and National Air Transport (later United Airlines) founder John James Mitchell, Jr (1897-1985) in 1921, the couple became one of the wealthiest in the US, with a then-estimated combined fortune of more than $120 million.

Many of the lots in Kaminski’s auction came from El Mirador, the couple’s iconic 70-acre estate in Montecito, Calif., which was considered to be a symbol of their extraordinary legacy. The auction was heavily promoted in Southern California, a marketing ploy that paid off despite the actual sale taking place more than 3,000 miles away.

“We had lots of 805-area code Santa Barbara, Calif., inquiries and bidders signed up,” Diane Riva, Kaminski’s director of marketing confirmed to Antiques and The Arts Weekly. “We even had one gentleman who asked to purchase any passed lot of the ephemera of the estate.”

Sir Thomas Lawrence’s portrait of Mrs Dingwall, oil on canvas, 36 by 28 inches, from the Mitchell-Armour estate, gaveled down at $8,400 ($7,5/12,500).

At the end of the day, there were not many passed lots from the Mitchell-Armour estate, which contributed nearly 225 lots of the 984 on offer; the collection also provided the top price: $45,000 for a Nineteenth Century Imperial Chinese robe featuring five-clawed dragons on a vibrant salmon-colored ground that featured gold thread decoration. Of the buyer, Riva could only disclose that they were “a LiveAuctioneers bidder with a good rating.”

Other Mitchell-Armour objects that exceeded expectations included a pair of Hepplewhite-style demilune tables, bearing the label of Chicago furniture-making firm, David Zork Company ($7,500), a pair of Eighteenth or Nineteenth Century Chinese famille verte covered compotes ($3,625); a Nineteenth Century English mahogany and brass wine cooler ($2,640); and an antique English Chippendale japanned breakfront bookcase ($2,625).

Several family portraits were among the Armour-Mitchell estate offerings on the second and third day of the sale and included works by Sir Thomas Lawrence (British, 1769-1830), Edmund Tarbell (American, 1862-1938), Eugene E. Speicher (American, 1883-1962), J.G. Chandler (American, 1813-1884) and Frank O. Salisbury (British, 1874-1962), among unattributed portraits; they sold for widely varying prices. A miniature hand-painted portrait of Lolita Armour in an oval frame was one of the highest lots on the second day, realizing $3,600 from a phone bidder. Portraits selling on the third day were more plentiful and attracted higher bidding, with a portrait of Mrs Dingwall (her connection to the family was not outlined in the catalog) that had been painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence sold to a phone bidder for $8,400, a within-estimate result.

This portrait of Mary Louise Jewett Mitchell by Raimundo de Madrazo y Garreta, 1903, oil on canvas, 31 by 16 inches, charmed a phone bidder to win her for $6,000 ($2/4,000).

Raimundo de Madrazo y Garreta’s (Spanish, 1841-1920) 1903 portrait of John Mitchell, Jr’s, mother, Mary Louise Jewett Mitchell (1868-1927), had been published in scholarly discussions on the artist and exceeded expectations with a $6,000 result; a phone bidder also had the winning hand. Rounding out high-selling portraits at $2,400 was an 1858 double portrait by an anonymous artist that depicted sisters Virginia and Mary “Mollie” Burkitt, the daughters of William Burkitt.

As previously noted, all the property for auction at Kaminski was from the Mitchell-Armour estate and several of those additional lots achieved high prices. An oil on board still life study of grapes by Mary Cassatt (American, 1844-1926) proved irresistible to bidders and was plucked by a phone bidder for $12,000.

A bidder in the room liked the look of Victor Vasarely’s (Hungarian/French, 1906-1997) “Quadrature,” a 1959 silkscreen, and drove bidding on it to more than five times its high estimate, ultimately prevailing at $7,800.

Kaminski bidders looking to set an attractive table had much to choose from. A 134-piece Spode dinner set, in the Trade Winds Blue pattern, found a new home for $4,375, while a circa 1860s Gorham sterling silver tea set that included a silverplated tray, closed at $3,900, from a buyer in the room.

Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house.

Kaminski Auctions will sell the Susie Hilfiger Collection August 1-3. For information, 978-927-2223 or www.kaminskiauctions.com.