The top lot at Winter Associates’ December 7 sale was an abstract painting by Jan Lebenstein (Polish, 1930‱999) that sold to an online bidder in Poland. The painting was hotly contested among the floor, a bank full of phone bidders and online bidders. The gallery erupted in applause when the bidding closed in favor of the online bidder. At $48,380, the lot significantly exceeded its high estimate of $12,000, confirming that the best items are still in demand.
The same was also successful on a smaller Lebenstein gouache for $4,248.
The circa 1912 Gustav Stickley pieces in the sale were all new to the market from a New York household and drew significant bidding. A five-leg dining table and six dining chairs sold to an online bidder in Kentucky, while Stickley buyers from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island were present on the floor. A tall chest of drawers sold to the floor for $2,530, just above its low estimate, while a bride’s chest went for $4,715, and an unmarked coat rack finished at $1,100. A drop-arm Morris chair, also by Gustav Stickley, sold for $6,095 to a collector in the room.
Two other top lots, also from the New York household, included a pair of Wharton Esherick chairs with solid provenance that sold to a phone bidder for $13,225 and a collection of glass lantern slides by Lewis Hine, which sold to the floor for $9,775 after significant interest. A phone bidder secured an Elie Nadelman sculpture from a museum consignment for $12,075, while an Ingrid Fetz Cubist sculpture went to the floor for $690.
An absentee bidder acquired four Minton cabinet plates for $1,840, and a dealer on the floor won a collection of women’s suffrage movement pins, including two rare Clarion pins for $4,140.
All prices include the 15‱8 percent buyer’s premium. For information, 860-793-0288 or www.auctionsappraisers.com .
