“Wow” is one word James L. Jackson, president and Chief Executive Officer of Jackson’s International, used to describe the bidding action at his June 23 and 24 auction. “I guess you might say ‘predictable’ as well,” he added. The sale saw one new record price paid at auction established, drew more than 450 registered bidders and produced sales of $1.2 million.
The top lot of the auction was a watercolor that topped the charts at $100,800. The story surrounding the painting is just as interesting as the record price it realized, and helps explain why it attracted so much interest.
A little over two months ago, an East Coast dealer who regularly consigns to Jackson’s sent in an unsigned watercolor landscape he had recently acquired at auction for less than $1,000. The painting, by all appearances, looked like a typical, albeit nicely executed, early Nineteenth Century watercolor of Roman ruins.
Arriving just a few days before Jackson’s catalog went to press, it was checked in and entered as an “early Nineteenth Century watercolor, probably British,” as indicated by the consignor’s cover letter.
The painting was photographed and was about to be cataloged when it caught Jackson’s eye. He had not seen it when it first arrived. He was impressed with the quality and size of it. Although no signature appeared on the front, his instincts told him that it needed be taken out of the frame and examined more carefully.
During his examination, on the verso he discovered an inscription in pencil that read, “Painted by John Middleton in Rome about 1825.” There was also a middle name but it was indiscernible.
Jackson was still not satisfied that the creator of such a large and impressive work could be completely unknown and decided to once again have a go at the inscription on the back. Although by this time the catalog was already at the printer with the painting being cataloged simply as “Nineteenth Century, probably British.”
Jackson went on to research the subject of the painting and correctly identified it as the ancient ruin known as the Tomb of the Plautii Family, located near Tivoli, Italy, a few miles outside Rome.
More research and a helpful tip allowed Jackson to discover that the artist of this painting was not a European, but rather an American, and the obscure middle name (which turned out to be the artist’s mother’s maiden name) was Izard †the very name the artist was known by among his family and friends. The mystery was solved; the painting was by American artist John Izard Middleton (1785‱849).
Middleton was born just outside of Charleston, S.C., to the prominent family of Mary and Arthur (signer of the Declaration of Independence) Middleton. While on the Continent, after studying at Cambridge, Middleton became mesmerized with the ancient ruins of Italy. Between 1808 and 1809 he compiled a group of detailed sketches for his 1812 folio-sized book, Grecian Remains in Italy: A Description of Cyclopian Walls, and Roman Antiquities. With Topographical and Picturesque Views of Ancient Latium.
In the 1820s, it is believed that Middleton began work on what he had hoped would be a follow-up to his first book under the title Roman Ruins . Many of these images were eventually published some 174 years later in 1997 by the University of Carolina Press under the title The Roman Remains †John Izard Middleton’s Visual Souvenirs of 1820‱823.
Middleton completed many more drawings and watercolors for his second edition, which was not published before his death in 1849. During the Civil War the Middleton family estate was ransacked and burned, taking with it a multitude of irreplaceable treasures accumulated over two centuries, and many of Middleton’s works as well.
Jackson commented, “Well, everyone in the game knows that paintings executed by American artists in the Colonial period or Federal period †not in the category of portraiture †are quite rare.
“As I continued to learn more about Middleton, I knew I needed to notify the right people about the painting. We did a campaign of press releases and contacts with various museums, institutions and galleries in the Charleston area,” he continued. “By the day of the auction we had received three substantial absentee bids, as well as having eight telephone bidders signed up. And to make matters even more interesting, the painting still carried its original presale auction estimate of just $1,5/2,500.”
Bidding on the painting opened at $10,000 with an in-house bidder and slowly wound its way upward between phone bidders, including two European bidders, to the final selling price of $100,800.
Jackson commented, “Our internal policy is predicated on the rule of never selling anything until you are completely sure what it is. And when the research pans out, we do what we are really here for: help our customers succeed and in so doing we succeed as well.”
Other highlights of the auction began with lot number one, a lovely oil on canvas by American artist Edward Simmons (1852‱931) depicting a scene in Concarneau, which sold for $93,600.That was followed closely by a landscape by Iowa artist Marvin Cone (1891‱964) that went to $96,000.
A charming shepherdess scene by Swiss artist Luigi Chialiva sold to an Italian phone bidder for $43,200, and a small 10-by-7½-inch oil on paper in grisaille laid down on panel attributed to Sir Anthony Van Dyck sold for $30,000. An oil on panel bust portrait in the manner of Sir Peter Paul Rubens sold for $26,400, and a charming folk art portrait of a young girl holding a book, attributed to Sturtevant Hamblin (1817‱884), sold for $11,000.
A small but diversified group of bronzes saw quite a bit of action, with some noteworthy sales including a “Man and Lion” by American artist Arthur Putnam (1873‱930) that went to a British buyer for $16,800. A bronze centerpiece depicting an archer by American sculptor Leo Lentelli (1879‱962) sold to a New York buyer for $7,800, as did a gilt-bronze figural grouping depicting “The Chariot of Minerva” by French artist Emmanuel Fremiet (1824‱910).
All prices quoted include the buyer’s premium. For more information, 800-665-6743 or www.jacksonsauction.com .
