NEW YORK CITY — Doyle conducted a highly successful auction of American paintings and prints on November 2. Highlighting the sale was Paul Revere’s iconic 1770 engraving, “The Bloody Massacre,” which achieved $429,000. including premium — a world auction record for the print. Property from the collection of New York advertising executive Monroe F. Dreher, the hand-colored engraving is Revere’s most well-known and sought-after print. This powerful rendering of the Boston Massacre of March 5, 1770, during which the British killed five Bostonians, is arguably the most famous propaganda image printed during the American Revolution. Immediately after the confrontation, Revere realized its significance at a time when tensions were high between England and the colonies, and he both sought to and succeeded in circulating a depiction that would further the patriots’ cause. Also featured in the $1.3 million sale were Nineteenth and Twentieth Century paintings, and it was followed on November 3 by equally successful sales of American furniture, silver and decorative arts, plus objects of the Pacific Trade.

A review of both days’ action will follow.