“White Mountains” by Jasper Cropsey, 1874, oil on canvas, in a giltwood frame measuring 17¾ by 25¾ inches, sold for $193,750 to earn top-lot status. It came from the Hubbard estate and was acquired by a New Hampshire private collector ($50/80,000).

Review by Madelia Hickman Ring

LITCHFIELD, CONN — The advantage of having auctions conducted on globally accessible online platforms is, of course, that buyers around the world can bid on whatever items an auction house can gather for a sale. It does, however, prompt the question of whether such goods are just as interesting — and materially valuable — to a local audience.

Cornwall, Conn., is less than 15 miles from Litchfield Auctions, so a large estate collection recently consigned for sale put that question to the test. Items once belonging to Thomas Johnson Hubbard and Anne Attfield Hubbard, of Cornwall and Bronxville, N.Y., made up slightly more than half of the 617-lot Winter Antiques & Design sale on February 5. Sue LaCourse, vice president and director of operations, reported more traffic through the gallery’s preview than usual, notably by those who knew the Hubbards or were also from Cornwall.

Whether selling to buyers near or far, old or new, the auction had a sell-through rate of more than 92 percent and tallied $628,000, exceeding its aggregate high estimate.

The highlight of the Hubbards’ collection — and the sale overall — was an oil on canvas painting of the White Mountains done by Jasper F. Cropsey (American, 1823-1900) in 1874. An extensive catalog note detailed the painting’s six previous owners and four prior publication citations; additionally, the house secured the approval of Anthony Speiser, the director of the Newington-Cropsey Foundation and author of the artist’s catalogue raisonné. After extensive bidding, a private collector in New Hampshire who had never previously purchased at Litchfield Auctions, beat out other private collectors, also from New Hampshire, to win it for $193,750, more than double its high estimate.

This larger sterling flatware service for 12, made by International, in the Fontaine pattern, came from the Hubbard estate and sold to a Cornwall buyer for $13,000 ($7/10,000).

Other pieces from the Hubbards’ estate were purchased by Cornwall residents, including a large International sterling silver flatware service for 12, in the Fontaine pattern, that exceeded expectations and closed at $13,000, as well as a winter landscape of Cornwall by Robert Emmett Owen (American, 1878-1975) that nearly tripled its high estimate and traded hands for $7,150.

Most bidders did not come to the auction house on auction day, but LaCourse told Antiques and The Arts Weekly a couple came to the sale expressly to bid on four Chinese brass scholar ink boxes from an unidentified seller. “They were outbid by a buyer who will probably be taking them back to China,” LaCourse said. The $50,700 price for the group of four was high enough to warrant a second-place finish.

A somewhat severe-looking portrait of a woman in black is also going to a new home overseas. Giuseppe Cali’s (Maltese, 1846-1930) oval-framed composition came from a home in Falls Village, Conn., and realized $10,075 from a buyer in Brussels, Belgium, who was making their first purchase at the auction house.

Cape Cod is the end destination of a Chinoiserie scarlet lacquered slant-front bookcase, which another first-time buyer won with a $8,775 bid. It was the highest price in a sizeable furniture category, beating out chairs, clocks, tables and chests.

The scarlet japanning on this Chinoiserie decorated slant-front bookcase made a striking statement. Bidders agreed, taking it to $8,775, with a buyer from Cape Cod making their debut purchase ($600-$1,200).

Bidders from around the US watched the sale and were tenacious enough to win several of the top lots. Saul Steinger’s (American, 1914-1999) “Sunsets,” a mixed media piece in watercolor, ink stamps and wax crayon on paper from 1972, appealed most to a Palm Beach, Fla., buyer who took it for $13,650. The painting was one of more than a dozen works that had provenance to New York City literary agent, Wendy Weill; Henry Matisse lithographs and drawings by Gaston Lachaise, Maurice Sendak and Theodor Geisel (Dr Seuss) were also from her collection.

Traveling even farther is a view of the Hawaiian coastline by Lloyd Sexton, Jr, (American, 1912-1990) that a trade buyer in Honolulu surfed to $9,425.

Litchfield Auctions’ next sale will be March 19.

Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 860-567-4661 or www.litchfieldcountyauctions.com.