Earning the highest price of both sales at $100,000 was, “Ahimelek presenting David the sword of Goliath” by Jean-Etienne Liotard (Swiss, 1702-1789), 1732, oil on canvas, 37 by 41½ inches, which had provenance to the artist and his daughter, Marie-Thérèse (1763-1793), as well as several private collections.

Review by Kiersten Busch

DALLAS — On June 5, Heritage conducted two Signature Auctions: Fine European Art and Furniture & Decorative Arts. The former, which offered 155 lots, realized $1,197,724, with an 86 percent sell-through rate, while the latter, represented by 140 lots, garnered $399,162.

Seth Armitage, co-director and senior specialist for European Art, shared that the Fine European Art sale went “Amazingly! We were thrilled with the result, especially given that the sale was particularly diverse this season, had a deeper-than-usual concentration of artists we have never represented before and had a significant collection of Old Master drawings which doubled the size of the sale.” Armitage also emphasized the importance of online bidding and reported that more than 500 bidders were participating through Heritage Live and partner platforms.

Fine European Art

“Ahimelek presenting David the sword of Goliath,” an oil on canvas by Swiss artist Jean-Etienne Liotard earned the highest price of the two auctions. “As a rare, early oil for an artist best known for his pastels, the market is somewhat untested,” explained Armitage. “While there was pre-sale interest, we were thrilled with the energetic bidding and level of competition for this historic work, driving a result that doubled the high estimate.” With extensive provenance and publication history, the 37-by-41½-inch painting earned an even $100,000.

“Platanes ébranchés, Cagnes” by Félix Edouard Vallotton (Swiss, 1865-1925), 1921, oil on canvas, 25-5/8 by 21-3/8 inches, signed and dated “F. Vallotton. 21,” had well documented provenance, as well as exhibition and publication history, which may have helped it reach $84,375.

A work by another Swiss artist, Félix Edouard Vallotton, earned the second highest price of the sale at $84,375. “Platanes ébranchés, Cagnes” was an oil on canvas in which “Vallotton adopted an inland vantagepoint on the city [of Cagnes], looking over its rooftops from the rise of a hill,” according to catalog notes. The painting had provenance to the estate of the artist, Galerie Paul Vallotton and a private collection, both from Switzerland, and a private collection from Maryland. It also had well-documented exhibition and publication history. “A successful result for our first work offered by this important Swiss member of the Nabi [from the Hebrew word ‘neblim,’ meaning ‘prophet’] group,” Armitage said. “Additionally, this result demonstrated the power of well-calibrated estimates, reflective of today’s market, which attracted multiple bidders.”

At $57,500, Martín Rico y Ortega’s “Santa Maria della Salute and the Dogana, Venice” floated to the third-highest price of the day. Signed “Rico” to the lower left, the oil on canvas was consigned from the collection of Frederick H. Schrader of Napa Valley, Calif., and was exhibited at the Museo Nacional del Prado in 2012-13 as part of “El Paisajista Martin Rico (1833-1908).” Rico y Ortega was represented by one other work in the sale, “Gondolas on a Venetian canal,” which sailed to $3,125.

Parisian cityscape painter Edouard-Léon Cortès was represented by six lots selling at prices ranging from $9,375 for “Vase de roses rouges” to $32,500 for both “Près de l’Opéra de Paris, neige” and “Place de la République.” The former of the two highest-earning paintings, an oil on canvas signed lower right by the artist, was featured in volume three of Nicole Verdier’s Edouard Cortès: Catalogue raisonné de l’oeuvre peint (Paris, 2023) and had provenance to the artist, International Galleries (Chicago) and a private collection in Canada by descent. “Place du Panthéon” ($30,000), “Porte Saint Denis, automne” ($27,500) and “Champs-Elysées, Arc de Triomphe” ($16,250) also found new homes.

“Le grand chêne” by Lucien Pissarro (French, 1863-1944), 1940, oil on canvas, 21¼ by 18 inches, signed in monogram “LP 1940,” was the highest earning of seven lots of paintings by descendants of Camille Pissarro; it was bid to $30,000.

“Le grand chêne” by Lucien Pissarro was the highest earning of seven lots of paintings by the descendants of the French Impressionist painter, Camille Pissarro (1830-1903). The oil on canvas, which depicted an Impressionist country landscape with a large tree in the foreground, was previously sold at Christie’s, London, and Sotheby’s, New York, under the name “The Sycamore, Fishpond.” It sold in this sale for $30,000.

Pissarro’s third-oldest child, Georges Manzana Pissarro, was represented by “Les Tuileries” ($12,500), while Paulémile, his youngest son, had three paintings find new homes: “Le pont de Cantepie, Clécy, Calvados” ($4,625), “Les foins coupés” ($4,375) and “Bouquet de fleurs” ($2,500). Fifth-eldest Ludovic-Rodo’s “Nu à l’oreiller multicolore” lounged at $2,500, and Hughes Claude Pissarro’s ­— the grandson of Camille — “Irlande, bords de rivière, Octobre” was bid to $2,625.

Property from the William A. Glaser collection of Old Master drawings made up 80 lots of the sale, approximately 50 percent of the total lots offered. Lots ranged in price from $250 for “Landscapes with houses near a bridge” by Eugene Deshayes (French, 1828-1890), to $11,250 for Denys Calvert’s (Flemish, 1540-1619) “The Annunciation.” The latter, a pencil and wash work heightened with white on tan paper, was previously sold at Sotheby’s, New York, in January 1989 and Christie’s, New York, in January 1995, where it was acquired by Glaser.

Another notable work from the Glaser collection was the ink, wash and gouache on tan laid paper drawing “Fall of the Rebel Angel” by Francesco Fontebasso. Acquired by Glaser from an October 2001, online-only auction at Sotheby’s, New York, the work was chosen by Marianne Berardi, Heritage’s director of Old Master paintings, to feature in Heritage’s “Expert Picks: Your Guide to Heritage’s June 5 European Art Auction” article that was released before the sale’s commencement; it flew to new heights at $5,750. “This healthy result was driven by Glaser’s fellow connoisseurs of Old Master works on paper. We were also excited to see the collection attracted new collectors to the category, some bidding on works of paper for the first time, attracted to the strong, graphic quality of these compelling drawings,” said Armitage.

This ink, wash and gouache on tan laid paper by Francesco Fontebasso (Italian, 1707-1769), “Fall of the Rebel Angels,” circa 1736, 19¾ by 14½ inches, came from the William A. Glaser collection of Old Master prints and flew to $5,750.

He continued, “In addition to the Old Master drawings, Nineteenth Century works did exceptionally well, including a sheet of horse studies by Sir Alfred James Munnings ($5,000), figure studies in Orientalist costume by John Frederick Lewis ($4,750) and a watercolor and charcoal sketch by Paul Signac ($4,125).”

Furniture & Decorative Arts

At $37,500 the Furniture & Decorative Arts sale was topped by a pair of Regency-style carved gilt wood figural console tables with marble tops from the Nineteenth Century, which had provenance to the estate of Horst and Ruth Denk. The tables were held up by carved eagles, each looking in a different direction.

Another 63 lots made up the rest of the offerings from the Denk estate. Prices ranged from $375 for a set of six German partial gilt porcelain table articles — including two reticulated baskets, two Meissen obelisks and two Meissen sauceboats — to $13,750 for a collection of five painted snuff boxes. The boxes, which were dated between the late Eighteenth Century and the early Nineteenth Century, included a lacquered gold example, a painted white metal example with a depiction of hot air balloons, a painted wood landscape example by Stobwasser, an example depicting a scene from the German opera Der Freischütz and an example with a portrait of French politician and writer Camille Desmoulins on the lid.

Instead of jumping on the bed, this set of 24 porcelain monkeys by Meissen were in a band! Made in the late Twentieth Century, the group played a tune to $7,500.

Pieces made by the Royal Porcelain Manufactory, Berlin, or KPM, made up eight lots of the Denk estate collection during the sale. This was led by a large partial gilt and enameled porcelain Krater vase, which was mounted as a lamp. The 21-inch-tall vase was made in the Nineteenth Century and featured a painting of a district in Berlin on one side, with the other side containing a portrait in relief. It lit up for $6,250.

Although not part of the Denk estate, a framed KPM enameled porcelain plaque painted after Peter Paul Rubens’ “The Garland of Fruit” realized the third-highest price of the sale: $15,000. Stamped with “Wimmer & Co., Gallery of Fine Arts, Munich” to its reverse, the late Nineteenth Century work was also signed “F. Zapf.”

A small part of the collection of Mrs Henry Ford II, just 13 lots, was also available for bidders during the sale. A George III mahogany four-pedestal dining table with three leaves led both the selection from the collection, and the total furniture offerings, expanding to $11,875. Made in the mid Nineteenth Century or later, the table, when closed, measured 71-1/8 inches long; it expanded to 139½ inches when all the leaves were added in. Four additional lots of George III or George III-style furniture from the Ford collection found new homes, including three identical lots of gilt wood dining chairs in a set of eight pieces ($5,250 for each lot) and a gilt bronze-mounted mahogany marquetry bombé commode with a Siena marble top ($3,125).

Made in the mid Eighteenth Century and marked “JME,” this Louis XV-style Kingwood and Tulipwood Marquetry table with a Tambour door, 29 by 22 by 15 inches, stood tall at $11,250.

A Louis XV-style Kingwood and Tulipwood Marquetry table with a Tambour door from the mid Eighteenth Century was another notable offering in the furniture category which was also consigned from the Ford collection. Shutting closed at $11,250, the piece was marked “JME” and had previously undergone professional restoration, which resulted in a discoloration of the tabletop.

Two rugs also crossed the block, a Mohtasham Kashan example made circa 1910 which measured 119½ by 164 inches ($11,875) and a French Aubusson rug from the early Twentieth Century which measured 78¾ by 66-1/8 inches ($538).

The next European Fine Art Signature Auction will take place on December 5. Prices quoted include buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 214-528-3500 or www.ha.com.