With an 82 percent sell-through rate by lot, or nearly 90 percent sold by value, Freeman’s June 21 sale of fine American and European paintings and sculpture proved to be a great success with 102 of the 127 lots on offer finding buyers and the sale totaling $1,182,000. This sale was characterized by its manageable size, and featured choice, fresh-to-market lots with most having excellent estate provenance.
The private consignor and bidder did not disappoint in either role at Freeman’s, with the better Pennsylvania/American and European lots all being distinctly nontrade in origin, and the majority of paintings in the sale, including Fern Coppedge’s excellent “January Sunshine,” finding good, private buyers. Interestingly, while the Coppedge was consigned from a private East Coast collection, it was snapped up for $109,000 by a private West Coast buyer. The painting, measuring 25 by 30 inches, was smartly housed in its original Frederick Harer frame.
The sale’s most expensive painting, Roy Nuse’s, “The Children of James W. Hunsberger,” was acquired by a prominent London gallery. An impressive and aesthetically appealing work with impeccable provenance †the Nuse depicts four attractive children at play on the beach, a perfectly themed subject for a sale held on the first official day of summer. After spirited bidding from both in the United States and abroad, it realized $115,000.
Other Pennsylvania Impressionist painters also fared well, with all five Walter E. Schofield paintings, four paintings by Walter E. Baum, paintings by William L. Lathrop, George W. Sotter, Henry B. Snell, John F. Folinsbee, Kenneth Nunamaker, Martha Walter and Henry B. McCarter all finding buyers.
This auction also showed there is strength in the European painting and drawing market. A Cornelis Visscher II drawing of a lady, privately consigned and with excellent provenance, brought $16,250, around seven times above estimate. That same price was realized for “A Village Kermesse” by Cornelis Droochsloot, far exceeding its preauction estimate.
Decorative Nineteenth Century European oils from the collection of the Ritz Carlton Hotel, McLean, Va., sold well. Hammering down at $26,200 was a fine example of early British equestrian art, William Barraud’s “A Bay, A Chestnut and a Grey by a Thatched Cottage.”
That interest in good Orientalist-themed pictures appears to continue unabated was confirmed by the results of two paintings by Narcisse Berchere, which sold for $20,000 and $11,250, respectively.
Finally, a small but good group of privately consigned Modern paintings acquired from both the Wally and David Findlay Galleries fared well, with $20,000 realized for Mane-Katz’s “La Charette de Fleurs,” and three oils by the Vietnamese/French painter LePho bringing $20,000, $13,750 and $28,600, respectively.
Sale results from the American paintings portion of the auction point to that market’s continued strength. “Rosy Clouds” by William T. Richards sold for $13,750, and the continuing popularity of Charles W. Eaton’s paintings was revealed in the prices realized for two of his works: $25,000 and $12,500.
Other highlights among the American paintings included: a finely executed 43/8 by 29/16 -inch Guy Wiggins’ New York in Winter “cabinet” painting †apparently the smallest work by Wiggins to appear on the market in recent times †that brought $12,500. A rare Hughie Lee Smith “Dock Scene,” sold for $26,200.
Finally, Gil Elvgren’s “Pot Luck,” a typically racy work by the famed illustrator, brought the top end of its range at $40,000, while Thomas H. Benton’s “Study for American Historical Epic” sold for $73,000.
Prices reported include the buyer’s premium. Freeman’s next sale of fine American and European paintings and sculpture will be conducted December 5. For information, www.freemansauction.com or 267-414-1220.
