This summer landscape by George Inness (American, 1825-1894), painted in oil on canvas then laid to board, 25 by 21 inches framed, became the highest-selling lot of the day when it sold for $39,000, eclipsing its $2/3,000 estimate.

Review by Carly Timpson

PLAINFIELD, N.H. — William Smith Auctions’ 58th Annual Post-Labor Day Auction was conducted on September 3, offering 536 lots of “curated treasures from various New England estates and collections, including antiques from the Vermont Governor’s Mansion” and more. Matt Zayatz, Smith’s director of marketing and public relations, shared that the total realized was $1,096,260, and, with only 11 lots passing, the sell-through rate was 98 percent. He noted that there were roughly 3,500 registered bidders “from all over the planet — dealers and private alike.” He continued, “In general, the auction performed as we thought it would, maybe just slightly higher. Oil paintings did very well, and it is possible we noticed slight movement in the return of traditional antique furniture.”

Exemplifying this sentiment was the sale’s highest-priced lot: an oil on canvas landscape by George Inness. This summery scene featured a figure standing beneath a tree and was signed “G. Inness” to the lower right. The work had undergone some antiquated conservation methods, and, according to Zayatz, its “condition held it back, but it still performed very well.” It had come from a family in northern Vermont and will remain in New England after selling for $39,000.

Other paintings to do well included Aldro Thompson Hibbard’s winter landscape of a village at the base of Mount Moosilauke in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The oil on canvas was signed “A. T. Hibbard” to the lower left and inscribed “Moosilauke Mt., NH, by A.T. Hibbard” to the reverse. Zayatz shared that this work was from a private collector in western Vermont, and it sold for $34,375 — far exceeding its $6,000 high estimate. Another wintry scene was Emile A. Gruppe’s “Morning Winter,” which was consigned by a private collector in Boston and achieved $14,400. Per the catalog note, “This quintessential Gruppe oil depicts an atmospheric winter morning, with a stream at the edge of a field and sunlight peaking over a grey mist, illuminating the snowbanks on the stream’s edge. Gruppe was inspired by the Impressionism movement, in particular Claude Monet, and one can see the influence of the great artist in the purple/gray mist in the background of this painting.”

Aldro Thompson Hibbard’s (America, 1886-1972) wintery oil on canvas depicting Mount Moosilauke in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, 28 by 38 inches framed, made $34,375 ($4/6,000).

Portraits in oil also had a strong showing, with the subcategory being led by a vibrant Henry MacGinnis work titled “An Interlude (Jane Erwin).” Signed and dated “1937” to the lower right, this casual portrait of the artist’s wife showed her reclining outdoors on a blue bench. An auctioneer’s note in the catalog claimed, “MacGinnis painted many images of his wife, Jane Erwin, but it can be argued that the current lot is one of the most striking… His mastery of color and light is on full display… The painting is a departure from MacGinnis’ usual long-range views of landscapes, with Jane extending the length of the painting and taking up the viewers’ full scope of vision.” It hung for $12,000 ($10/15,000).

Two other portraits had surprise results, with an Eighteenth Century oval portrait of a noble lady, possibly after Lucas de Heere, according to an old note on its reverse, shooting past its $1,200 high estimate to achieve $9,000 and Lydia Field Emmet’s portrait of Elizabeth and Herbert Turner that had provenance to the Park-McCullough House in Bennington, Vt., rose to $8,400, above the same high estimate.

As Zayatz noted, buyers of traditional antique furniture also showed up, and the sale’s second-highest price, $36,000, was earned by a Dunlap Queen Anne chest-on-chest. Made in New Hampshire circa 1780, the two-part curly maple chest was described in the catalog as being “A rare form, with a lattice work crest” and “fan carved center and corners above a carved dentil molding.” The lower section had a “classic Dunlap carved fan, above a scroll and double fan carved apron, on short cabriole Queen Anne legs.” The piece had come from a retired professor in Hanover, N.H., and was shown in Charles S. Parsons’ The Dunlaps & Their Furniture (Currier Gallery of Art, 1970).

Crafted in New Hampshire circa 1870, this Queen Anne Dunlap two-part curly maple chest-on-chest, 85¼ inches high, was cataloged as being “a rare form.” As such, bidders took it to $36,000 ($30/50,000).

A Queen Anne transitional tall chest with provenance to the Mary Allis collection of the Ogden House in Southport, Conn., as well as John Keith Russell, the William Parsons House and a private collection in Gilmanton, N.H., topped off at $11,250. The circa 1750 red-painted chest had an applied molded top over a concealed molded linen drawer, over two short and five long dovetailed drawers and was on a high bracket base.

A set of Willliam & Mary, New England red-painted highboy china steps in three-tier form climbed past its $1,500 high estimate to earn $10,800. The steps had provenance to Hollis Brodrick, the William Parsons House and a private collection in Gilmanton, N.H., and they retained the old William & Mary period brasses.

Though it fell outside of the major collecting categories Zayatz remarked on, a patriotic sand art bottle by Andrew Clemens, the art form’s inventor, proved its worth, going home for $30,000. The 7-inch-tall apothecary bottle was meticulously filled with colored sand to display patriotic motifs, flowers, hearts, swirling bands and a banner that read “Remember Me.” The bottle, which came from a New London, N.H., estate, retained its original paper label reading “Put Up By / A. Clemens, / Deaf Mute / McGregor, Iowa.”

This complete eight-volume royal octavo set of John James Audubon’s The Birds of America, 1870, published by George R. Lockwood, New York, was shelved for $13,200 ($8/12,000).

A complete set of all eight volumes from John James Audubon’s 1870 The Birds of America: From Drawings Made in the United States and Their Territories (George R. Lockwood, New York) sold above-estimate for $13,200. Zayatz joked that the set came “from a private collector who came in during an appraisal fair (it pays to attend those!).”

Jewelry collectors were also willing to spend, and a platinum diamond engagement ring led the category. Rising to $16,800, the ring featured a 3.02-carat emerald-cut natural diamond, flanked by two tapered baguette diamonds on the shoulders. An approximately 10-carat diamond eternity band, set in platinum, came from an established consigner in New York City and sold for $16,250. From the same consignor, a diamond tennis bracelet with approximately 15 carats of emerald-cut diamonds brought $14,400.

On October 29, William Smith Auctions will conduct a sale featuring Twentieth Century, Midcentury Modern and contemporary works as well as instruments.

Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.wsmithauction.com or 603-675-2549.