| Press Contact: | Catherine Riedell | Stephen Fletcher, Director |
| Director of Marketing | American Furniture & Decorative Arts | |
| Skinner, Inc | Skinner, Inc | |
|
978-779-6341, x231 |
978-779-6241 ext. 306 |
CURRIER & IVES PRINT SELLS FOR RECORD PRICE
AT SKINNER AMERICANA AUCTION
Chippendale Mahogany Carved Easy Chair Brings $149,000
BOSTON, Mass. – –March 1, 2004 - www.skinnerinc.com - -- Baseball season opened early this year, when a Currier & Ives print, THE AMERICAN NATIONAL GAME OF BASE BALL. GRAND MATCH FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP AT THE ELYSIAN FIELDS, HOBOKEN, N.J. sold for a record $76,375 at Skinner’s February 22nd auction of American furniture and decorative arts in Boston. The top lot from a group of Currier & Ives prints from the estate of Dr. Arthur Localio, the piece was one of several in the collection that drew heavy competition, as bidders from all quarters vied for success. "Dr. Localio nearly succeeded in assembling all of the New Best Fifty," remarked department director Stephen Fletcher, "and his good taste and selectivity in collecting over half a century were evident to bidders." Other highlights included THE LIFE OF A HUNTER. “A Tight Fix.” that sold for $44,063, ACROSS THE CONTINENT. “WESTWARD THE COURSE OF EMPIRE TAKES ITS WAY.” that sold for $28,850, THE “LIGHTNING EXPRESS” TRAINS. “Leaving the Junction.” that sold for $25,850, and THE ROAD.-WINTER. which also sold for $25,850. Noted Dr. Localio's son, "Dad is very pleased… His prints are now where others can appreciate them."
Additional artwork included an important overmantel panel. Depicting leaping stags in a burnt umber treed landscape on a mustard-colored ground, the piece once graced a Framingham, Massachusetts home before being removed in 1840 by Austin Bacon, and given to the consignor's ancestors. Its history as well as its provenance attracted attention prior to the sale, as it had been exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's "Overmantel and Wall Paintings between 1700 and 1820" (October 1952 to January 1953), and was later pictured and discussed in Nina Fletcher Little's American Decorative Wall Painting 1700-1850 (New York, 1972, p. 31). It sold on the block for $82,250.
Chippendale Mahogany Carved Easy Chair
Also marking the successful auction was a diverse selection of furniture by Boston makers, led by a Chippendale mahogany carved easy chair, which, according to family history, had descended in the family from Theodore Lyman, a Boston merchant, to the consignor. Competition between a telephone bidder and the floor resulted with the chair selling in the house for $149,000, the most ever paid for a Chippendale easy chair at Skinner, and the second highest auction price on record for the form. Boston furniture also featured a set of five Chippendale walnut carved side chairs that sold for $55,813, a Chippendale mahogany carved reverse serpentine desk and bookcase that reached $27,025, and a classical mahogany veneer carved sideboard attributed to Emmons and Archibald that went for nearly $6,500. "A nice buy," commented Fletcher. Furniture also included a set of five Rhode Island Federal mahogany carved pedestal-back side chairs that sold high for $25,850, and a painted joined and paneled maple and pine chest-over-drawer with original brown surface that originated in the Hatfield/Hadley, Massachusetts area that brought $31,725.
Several tall case clocks were offered, two of them by Aaron Willard, the first selling on the telephone for $31,725, and the second for $14,688. A third clock, made in Haverhill, New Hampshire by John Osgood, sold for $11,163.
Folk Art and Marine Portraits
Folk art in the sale was highlighted by a group of three fine portraits descended in a Bristol, Rhode Island family, all of which sold deservedly well. The first, of a girl in a red dress holding a doll from the 1840s and attributed to William W. Kennedy, sold for $88,125, following stiff competition on the telephone. The two others, by William Matthew Prior, followed directly, one depicting a little boy with whip in hand realizing $11,163, and the other, a portrait of a girl with a straw flower or zinnia, going for $19,975. Portraits also included the nearly life-size 19th century Portrait of Achsah E.M. Connelly, Age Nine from Pennsylvania, which sold on the telephone for $38,188.
Marine artwork featured a portrait of the ship Belle O'Brien by H. Petersen, that was sold accompanied by a wealth of related material, including a portrait of the ship's captain, Edward C. Palmer, and his sea chest and spy glass, as well as his account book, the ship's log, maps, and charts. It was a lot that attracted more than a little interest, and it more than doubled its estimate, selling for $16,450.
Additional Highlights
The broad appeal of the auction was reflected in other areas, as well. Examples ranged from a particularly well-rendered 19th century American School watercolor memorial picture that garnered $14,100, to a rare William Henry Harrison polychrome silk campaign banner, c. 1840, that sold for $10,575. Rounding out the selections, a Serapi carpet brought $11,163, and an especially intricate and beautiful late 18th/early 19th century brass and wirework fire fender reached $4,406. A painted covered bridge warning sign stating, “3.00 FINE FOR RIDING OR DRIVING ON THIS BRIDGE FASTER THAN A WALK” went for $3,878.
Upcoming Auction Information
Skinner is currently accepting consignments for its next auction featuring American furniture and decorative arts, which will be held in Boston on June 6, 2004. Several pieces with family history will lead the offerings, among them a Queen Anne walnut inlaid scroll-top high chest of drawers that may have descended in the Cheever family. Also featured is an important oil on canvas portrait of a young woman, attributed to Sarah Miriam Peale, youngest daughter of James Peale, and acclaimed as the first professional woman artist in the West. This portrait of Jane Bell Mercer of Philadelphia descended in the family of the sitter, and will be sold accompanied by a genealogy of her ancestors. Additional highlights will include a bed rug in very fine condition, completely hand crafted by the maker, Lucy Lathrop. The piece, bearing Lucy's initials and the date 1804, is similar to one illustrated in the exhibit catalogue, "Bed Ruggs/1722-1833" (Wadsworth Athenaeum, Hartford, Connecticut, 1972). For more information, visit Skinner's website atwww.skinnerinc.com. Skinner's site also allows users to view all lots in the auctions, leave bids, and order catalogues online.
Note to Editors: Photos available upon request. Contact Catherine Riedel at 978-779-6241 x 231.
About Skinner:With galleries in Boston and Bolton, Mass., Skinner is a full-service auctioneer and appraiser of antiques and fine art. Regularly seen on the PBS series, Antiques Roadshow, Skinner is one of the nation’s leading auction houses. Skinner conducts auctions year-round and has received world-record prices for many pieces sold at auction. Departments include American Furniture & Decorative Arts, Paintings & Prints, English & Continental Furniture & Decorations, Fine Ceramics, Jewelry, Couture, 20th Century Furniture & Decorative Arts, Fine Musical Instruments, Asian Art, Fine Judaica, Toys, Dolls & Collectibles, Science & Technology, Oriental Rugs & Carpets, American Indian & Ethnographica, and Discovery. For more information on upcoming auctions, visit Skinner’s web site www.skinnerinc.com.