Selling in the auction’s final session was this oil on canvas painting by Andrew George Winter of a snowy landscape featuring Captain Upton’s House in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. It attained $30,000.
Review by Andrea Valluzzo
THOMASTON, MAINE — Thomaston Place Auction Galleries’ Winter Enchantment auction was well-named and well-timed for its February 20-22 run.
The top lot overall came on the sale’s final day, Sunday, as Blizzard Calvin was starting to wreak havoc in New England and down the coast to Delaware, dropping three feet of snow in parts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Crossing the block about two hours into the session was an oil on canvas painting by Andrew George Winter (American, 1893-1958) depicting a snowy landscape view of Captain Upton’s House in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, which attained $30,000. Seriously!
Winter puns aside, the painting was a standout in the auction that was done by one of Maine’s well known artists. “The Winter painting was an exquisite piece to lead our Winter Enchantment auction,” said auctioneer Kaja Veilleux, who was delighted not only with how the painting performed but the auction overall.
“The auction brought in a total of $1.59 million that continues to grow as post-auction offers come in. Winter Enchantment was an explosive start to the New Year and, as usual, it goes to show you never know what a piece will bring until you drop the hammer! We cannot thank our clients enough, both consignors and bidders, for trusting us with these rare and beautiful pieces to bring to the world stage and find a new home to preserve for years to come.”
Reminiscent of Hermès’ signature orange hue, this Louis Vuitton canvas library trunk attracted much interest and attained $21,600 ($1/1,500).
The auction started off on good footing on day one, with the first lot setting the tone for the sale. Selling for more than its $500/700 estimate was a Danish coastal panoramic seascape titled “View of a Decaying Pier on a Rocky Beach at Dawn,” which brought $3,437.
When it comes to the home, decorative pieces are more striking when they are colorful and fitting that bill was a Louis Vuitton library trunk in a vibrant orange canvas that brought $21,600. The rare, vertically-oriented trunk was outfitted on the interior with multiple compartmented shelves and retained its original textile retaining straps to aid in carrying and storing books or documents.
There’s nothing like a bit of bling to beat the winter doldrums, and a 14K gold and multi-colored sapphire figural ivory brooch, circa 1930s, was up to the task. Carved in the form of a mounted knight, the brooch rode past its $3/5,000 estimate to capture $19,200. Similar examples by Italian jeweler Fulco di Verdura can be found at the Philadelphia Museum. For the men in the audience, there was also bling for the wrist, such as a Patek Phillipe Ellipse wristwatch in 18K white gold on a white gold Milanese bracelet that took $18,000. The manual winding watch from the 1970s was set with a sunburst blue dial.
Rounding out the first session was a painting of cows by Sally Michel, one of the artist’s oft-visited motifs. The whimsically-colored oil on canvas realized $13,750, more than tripling its high estimate.
This bright and playful painting of cows by Sally Michel realized $13,750, more than tripling its estimate ($2/3,000).
Day two was led by a trio of paintings by Jean Dufy that commanded attention, starting off with “Bateaux des Pecheurs,” an oil on canvas that took $18,750. It was followed immediately by “Le Port d’Honfleur,” an oil on canvas that went for $20,000 and then, the leader of the pack, “Equestrian Contest,” which made $21,250.
Fine art was well represented throughout the auction. Among many lots selling far above estimate was a Frank Henry Shapleigh oil on canvas “The Glen Road,” offering a view of New Hampshire’s White Mountains ($17,500).
The offerings were quite varied in this session, and among the top-selling standouts was a set of six Nineteenth Century Russian cut crystal tumblers from the Imperial Glass Factory that handily outperformed its $3/5,000 estimate to bring $17,500. The glasses, of a lobed design, were each embedded with an enameled gold crowned cipher of Alexander II (1855-1881) over an ermine mantling.
“The Russian glass, both the tumblers and punch glasses, was a welcome surprise after bidders across platforms competed for the rare sets that were adorned with the crowned gold cipher of Alexander II,” Veilleux added.
Selling within estimate at $12,500 was a rare Maine marine family scrimshaw powder horn by Louis Marc Francois Gauvin. From 1881, the horn measured 2 feet long, and was set on a display stand. It bore a full scrimshaw portrait of sailing ship Ivanhoe of Belfast, Maine, and was signed and dated “1881.”
Thomaston Place Auction Galleries’ next sale will be a specialty jewelry auction on April 24, and its first featured auction of the summer will be June 26-28.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.thomastonauction.com or 207-354-8141.
