Auctioneer Kaja Veilleux of Thomaston Place Auction Galleries says his job is not only to sell, but also to “educate and entertain” auction patrons who attend his spirited sales. “That’s why I spend eight hours or more just determining the placement of the lots in the auction and getting the mix just right,” said Veilleux following his August 30 and 31 Labor Day Weekend sale. “An educated customer is a great buyer.”
And great buyers there were among the 700 who perused nearly 1,000 lots during the auction preview and the 300 patrons who packed the gallery on both days. Generating more than $2.2 million, the sale exceeded last year’s two-day auction and sales broke down at about 30 percent phone, 30 percent left bids, 30 percent floor and 10 percent Internet, according to Veilleux.
“We had strong international interest as well, with bidders coming from Sweden, England and other countries to compete,” he said. Indeed, coastal Maine was having its own “Auction Week,” with major sales by James D. Julia, Bruce Gamage and Robert Foster drawing many private airplanes into the Knox County Regional Airport in nearby Rockland.
Veilleux sources most all of his auction items from local Maine estates. The top lot of this auction, however, stemmed from a private collection in Ohio. Martin Johnson Heade’s painting “Roman Newsboys II” was the second version of a similar work of the same title painted in Rome in 1848 that currently hangs in the Toledo (Ohio) Museum of Art. “It’s the only known genre painting by Heade,” said Veilleux of the American master best known for his depictions of hummingbirds and luminous marshland sunsets.
Estimated at $150/200,000, the rare genre scene elicited spirited bidding action †all on the floor †and went to a private buyer in Maine for $522,500.
The atmospheric painting depicts two young tattered boys hawking broadsheets marked “Roma.” The boy on the left wears a paper hat marked “Pius IX,” and the boy on the right is perched atop a post. Religious iconography included in the painting includes a shadowy silhouette of a cross and a cardinal’s hat.
A monumental pair of Sevres covered urns †placed just about at the sale’s midpoint by the auctioneer †was another lot that easily blew past estimates. Achieving $72,500 and staying in the United States, the architectural-scale entryway urns had been estimated at $25/35,000. They were chased by nine phone bidders, plus live and absentee bids. “They’re the greatest urns we’ve seen,” stated Veilleux, “and it certainly didn’t hurt that they were [originally] from the Harper [publishing] family’s home at Grindstone Point.”
Stemming from the estate of Philip Harper of Harper’s Weekly fame, the extremely rare pair glowed with a cobalt blue glaze, featured hand painted Allegories of the Arts and were signed by Sevres artist L. Fournier. Their goat-head handles gleamed with gilt and the urns towered at 42 inches tall.
A different kind of classical motif was evoked by another good performer in the sale †a bronze fountain sculpture in the form of a seated Pan with a flowing urn. Unsigned but believed to be French, the 63-inch-tall figure (including custom sandstone base) realized $33,000, within estimate, and will stay in Maine as part of a collection of a famous American artist.
Marine art always attracts a good deal of interest at Thomaston Place sales, and this event was no exception. At preview, patron Lee M. Sanborn of Stockton Springs, Maine, and Ocala, Fla., was examining an oil on canvas ship portrait of Grace Ross , a ship that was built in Belfast in 1859. The reason? Four to five generations back in a direct line, his forebear Percy Sanborn (1849‱929) was the artist of the ship shown making its way in full sail under a partly cloudy sky. The painting, measuring 21¾ by 33½ inches, brought $23,100; it is not known if Sanborn was the successful bidder.
Another oil on canvas ship’s portrait, circa 1904, depicted a broadside view of the four-masted schooner Ellen Little sailing toward twin lights at Thacter’s Island, Gloucester, Mass. Her artist was Samuel Badger (1873‱919), and the painting, measuring 22¼ by 36 inches, was signed lower left “S.F.M. Badger.” She draughted $27,500 at the sale.
A carved sternboard eagle with a 62-inch wingspan performed above low estimate, selling for $28,600. Attributed to New Orleans, La., carver J. Nabor, circa 1870, the left-looking eagle was a paragon of weathered surface, exhibiting the hallmark checking and shrinkage, and had had its beak restored.
A surprise †and bringing the same money as the carved eagle †was a pair of floor lamps, monumental in size, 69 inches high, and of gilded bronze and champleve enamel decorated in medieval style with hunting scenes. “I knew they would be good when we found them in the [local] attic,” said Veilleux. “They were manufactured by A.E. Caldwell.” The adjustable lamps, however, featuring original ball finials over a three-socket fixture and different shaft configurations, were estimated just $5/10,000. “There were tons of phone and absentee bidders on them,” said Veilleux, who added that they will be staying in America, won by a phone bidder.
There were a total of nine paintings by American artist Joseph DeCamp (1858‱923) in the sale, including a self portrait done in 1884, which brought $19,250. Two other high-profile works by the artist †”The Sisters,” depicting his daughters Pauline and Lydia standing under a willow tree in a Maine landscape ($100/125,000) and a large oil on canvas mural design for Trinity Church, Boston, titled “Plato’s Garden” ($20/30,000) †were involved in postsale negotiations at press time so were not included in the sale results.
Another art highlight in the sale was a moody oil on canvas painting by American artist Charles Warren Eaton (1857‱937). “Mystic Moonlight,” showing a dark landscape bathed in pale moonglow, was presented in its original Arts and Crafts gilt frame †36½ by 34½ inches †signed lower left and titled on stretcher and with old paper label with title, name and “Bloomfield, NJ.” It made $44,000.
Attracting overseas interest was a pair of English royal portraits by the circle of Sir Geoffrey Kneller (British, 1646‱723). The three-quarter-length likenesses of Lord Chancellor Clarendon and the Duke of Berwick pleased an English bidder at $44,000. Consigned by a Portland, Maine, resident, they are going back to London.
Furniture highlights included a unique American folk art walnut child’s chest with a touching inscription on a mother of pearl plaque affixed to the bottom drawer †”Made & Presented by Father to Ada F. Seaver, 1867.” The miniature chest, highly decorated with all manner of escutcheons, flowers, stars and lovebirds, and topped with a carved American eagle perched on the backsplash, was estimated at just $6/8,000, but it lit up the gallery when it went out at $19,800.
A rare Newburyport serpentine front chest of drawers in Chippendale style and attributed to Abner Toppan went out at $33,000. The claw and ball four-drawer chest with mahogany top and birch case featured a fan carved central drop pendant and was fitted with large period batwing brasses.
Art glass was a star during the second day of the sale, especially a selection of 11 carved and engraved pieces by Daum Nancy, which, according to auction manager Bob Grant, achieved a combined total of $48,400, twice expectations. For example, a Daum Nancy bulbous vase, engraved and painted with purple violets, 7 inches high, round bowl, carved and painted with blue flower, was estimated at $2,5/3,500 but realized $9,075.
Jewelry sourced from local estates was, as always, a glittering attraction. Two brooches designed by David Webb were hot sellers, each bringing $16,500. One was an 18K yellow gold and platinum sea horse with black enamel and emerald eyes, its tail and the edge of one wing pave-set with 36 round brilliant-cut diamonds. The other Webb piece was a leopard on a tree branch, 18K yellow gold with a diamond collar, emerald eyes and enameled spots.
Summing up the sale, Veilleux said, “The market is strong for things that people want. A lot of the old decorative stuff is down 10′0 percent.”
Prices include the ten percent buyer’s premium charged. For information, 207-354-8141 or www.thomastonauction.com .
