Hudson Valley Auctioneers conducts regular Monday sales throughout the year, filling the gallery with fresh items from the region and beyond. And April 27 was no exception, as an excellent pair of pine blanket boxes in their original blue paint sold at $1,955 each, including the 15 percent buyer’s premium. They were just the tip of the iceberg in an auction that saw furniture, once again, giving a hint of better things to come.
Theo De Haas, auction manager, said he believes things are picking up, “and that is not just wishful thinking.” De Haas and Neil Vaughn, auctioneer, have been in the auction business for more than 25 years and they conduct auctions live with phone and absentee bids accepted.
The gallery is at 432 Main Street, and it was full with many phones and a good assortment of left bids awaiting the 6 pm start. De Haas said they had cleaned out several estates and at one in particular had found a good group of paintings, in various stages of condition. A pair of watercolors of seashore scenes by Alfred Thompson Bricher (American, 1837‱908) needed some TLC, but sold for $2,300 for the pair. From the same house came an unsigned, high-quality oil on canvas of a ship in a harbor. The piece sold to a knowledgeable buyer for $1,840, who have gotten “a really good painting for a great price,” De Haas thought.
An estate painting of a ship in full sail was found under a mattress in a house they were cleaning out. It did have some problems, De Haas said, like a broken stretcher, but he it thought might be by a listed British artist, and very well painted. It sold for $3,656 to a bidder in the gallery from New Hampshire.
As noted, furniture was stirring up some interest and a good early Hudson Valley table with round top and stretcher base went to $3,565 with some active bidding from the floor and phones. A Hudson Valley cupboard with two doors sold at $1,035; a great Windsor bench with spindle back and straight legs brought the same price, while a Paul Evans Modern, glass-topped coffee table sold for $747.
Hudson Valley workers cleaning out a Cold Spring home found some collectible art glass, including a 17-inch-tall Venini Murano bottle that caught many eyes when it crossed the block. With phones, absentee and floor bids competing, the colorful bottle reached $4,100, making it one of the top lots of the night.
While there was not a lot of silver offered, one piece, a small silver trophy with a lid, realized $862.
Lighting was another well-filled category at the sale. Perhaps not quite a full lamp, a Tiffany Studio’s lamp base, without shade but with the brackets for a shade, sold for $2,070. Many sets of wall sconces sold between $500 to $700, which De Haas said was about what he expects good lighting to go for.
All prices given include a 15 percent buyer’s premium.
Hudson Valley’s next auction is set for June 1 and will include items from the lifelong collection of Maria Theresa Droutzkoy, wife of the late Prince Alexis Droutzkoy, publisher of American Helicopter Magazine.
For more information, 914-489-2399 or 845-480-2381 or www.hudsonvalleyauctioneers.com.
