“Old Mill With Pond” by John Joseph Enneking (American, 1841-1916), 1890, oil on canvas, 32 by 44 inches framed, was the best Enneking work president Frank McNamee had handled in his 45 years in business. It led the sale at $28,000 ($10/15,000).
Review by Carly Timpson
MARION, MASS. — On August 30, Marion Antique Auctions conducted its diverse Summer Sizzler Sale, featuring 625 lots drawn from local estates and collections, including painting collections, nautical items, a tramp art collection, gold and silver coins, jewelry, furniture and more. Nick Taradash, partner and manager, reported, “We probably had one of the best responses that we’ve ever had to a sale that we’ve presented. We had a record number of registrations online and a record number of phone and left bids as well. This was certainly the best sale we’ve had probably since 2012, and this may be our best sale ever. This sale generated over three quarters of a million dollars.”
As for what caused this success, Taradash responded, “Often times, we try to look for patterns in things, but the sale was just really good. Also, the price of silver is through the roof right now and that’s evident in this sale.”
In total, the sale realized $765,000, had a sell-through rate of 96 percent and about 60 percent of all registered online bidders were new to Marion, which was a really good sign for the firm. In all, Taradash said, “There were just a lot of good vibes.”
Leading the sale at $28,000 was “Old Mill With Pond” by John Joseph Enneking. This 1890 painting was signed to the lower right and had exhibition history that included two shows at the Ogunquit Museum of American Art (Ogunquit, Maine) and one at the Cahoon Museum of American Art (Cotuit, Mass.). Marion Antique Auctions’ owner Frank McNamee has been in the business doing appraisals for 45 years, and he has handled about 25 works by Enneking; however, he told us that this was the best he has ever seen. According to Taradash, it “came from a local collector and is going to another local New England collector.”
Luigi Renault’s (Italian, 1845-1910) 1878 oil on canvas of the “Brig J.F. Merry of Damariscotta off Gibraltar, 1878,” 24½ by 33½ inches framed, sailed off for $7,500 ($5/10,000).
Other artworks to do well included Luigi Renault’s ship painting of the “Brig J.F. Merry of Damariscotta, Captain S.C. Bradley, off Gibraltar, 1878.” Showing the ship under sail with others and the coastline in the background, the painting was signed “L. Renault, 1878 / Leghorn” to the bottom left and titled to the bottom right. It had provenance to the estate of George Considine of Dartmouth, Mass., was consigned from the Bernard Taradash collection and sold to a local collector who was a first-time buyer with Marion, for $7,500.
Thomas Hart Benton’s circa 1920s-30s mixed media drawing titled “Going To Church” was one of Nick Taradash’s favorite works in the auction. Depicting a rural scene with figures and a horse outside a small church at the bottom of a hill, which the firm cataloged as “probably Kansas or Missouri,” this illustration was unframed and came from a local private collection, originally acquired directly from the artist; it sold to a collector in the Midwest for $6,700.
A William S. Robinson painting of a blue-gray seascape was offered in a high-quality silver gilt carved frame. Taradash said, “That was a beautiful work. It was unusual and it had a lot of interest — it’s not really typical of a lot of his work. It had a beautiful look and a dreamy appearance about it. It came from a collector in Rhode Island and was purchased by another local collector.” The final price, $4,500, was much greater than its $500/700 estimate.
This abstract land/seascape by William S. Robinson (American, 1861-1945), oil on artist board, 15¼ by 17¼ inches framed, exceeded estimates to bring $4,500 ($500/700).
Another lot that posted an exceptional result was a pair of Egyptian Revival armchairs made by Pottier & Stymus circa 1870. These, according to Taradash, “soared past our estimates. I think it’s safe to say they were museum quality. They were high style, niche pieces in the Victorian style. They were just really beautifully restored and they were sort of niche in that Victorian market. We didn’t even let anyone sit in them because the quality and the upholstery was just so wonderful. They certainly grab your attention to say the least. They came from a Rhode Island collection out of Newport, and they’re going to a collection in the Midwest.” With painted porcelain plaques on the crest and sphynx heads on the arms, these gilded chairs rested for $21,000, more than double the high estimate.
As Taradash mentioned, the prices for gold and silver are up right now, and results in those categories reflected that trend. Two five-ounce gold bars from Switzerland, stamped on the front with Lady Fortuna and a cornucopia, each sold for $17,000, one to a local trade dealer and the other to Florida. The reverse was stamped with the PAMP Suisse logo, the Essayeur Fondeur symbol, a serial number and “Suisse / 5 Ounces / Fine Gold / 999,9.” From the United States, a 1979 gold piece proof set from the Franklin Mint, including one ounce, a half ounce and a quarter ounce of 24K gold, in a fitted case was bid to $5,800, exceeding its $5,500 high estimate. A Gorham sterling silver flatware set comprising 218 pieces in a mahogany fitted case came from a collection in Vermont and sold to a local collector for $10,000.
A Vermont collection parted with this 218-piece Gorham sterling silver flatware set that sold to a local collector for $10,000 ($6/8,000).
Several lots of baseball and other collectible cards, all from a single collector, brought strong results as well. “It’s fair to talk about trends when it comes to lots like this. Especially since the pandemic, this is a market that has blown up,” said Taradash.
“We know that this was a desirable set, and there were a number of Hall of Fame players in the set. All of the trade cards in the auction came from a local collector who brought the cards in to the auction shop; they were collected by her father in the 1920s and 30s and she had kept them in a shoe box. They certainly did better than we expected because a lot of collectors are pretty demanding when it comes to condition and getting the cards graded, which we only did for the two Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig cards.”
Earning $13,000 was a lot of 104 baseball cards, including 85 Big League Chewing Gum cards from 1933, 18 Batter Ups and one hand-cut Jim Bottomly card. Another set, approximately 500 trading cards still in a shoebox, brought $8,500 against an estimate of $200/400. This lot included 72 circa 1930 Goudey Indian Gum cards, 29 F. H. Fleer Indian Trading Cards, Jungle Chewing Gum, Skybirds, Mickey Mouse Bubble Gum and Dick Tracy Carmels, cards among others. Taradash supposed “Collectors were excited with the prospect of getting the cards graded and seeing what they could do well with.”
Comprising 104 baseball cards from the 1930s, this collection hit a home run for $13,000 ($1/2,000).
The two Babe Ruth cards, a 1933 Goudey Big League Chewing Gum card and a 1923 W 515-1 hand-cut card, earned $5,000 and $1,600, respectively. The Lou Gehrig card was a 1933 Goudey Big League Chewing Gum card and it brought $3,000.
While a circa 1790-1810 American Federal bowfront chest did not achieve one of the sale’s most expensive results, Taradash reported that its history was noteworthy. A brass plaque on its reverse identified the chest as having come from the Jireh Swift homestead in New Bedford, Mass. The New Bedford Swifts, a family of renowned cabinetmakers, are ancestors of another popular Swift: Taylor. Taradash shared, “the proceeds of this sale will benefit the collection of Old Dartmouth Historical Society, and it was purchased by collector in Tennessee, for $2,500.”
“We have a sale planned, tentatively, for the first Saturday of December. We are close to filling up for that sale already but are still taking select items and will be handling the estate of Rodney Hilton Brown, who had a particular focus in pre Columbian artifacts, especially the Taino culture, but Spanish colonial artifacts were also a focus of his collection. He had a significant collection in terms of scale, so it could take us a little while to sell this stuff.”
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.marionantiqueauctions.com or 508-748-3606.
