| Press Contact: | Colleene Fesko, Director | Robin Starr/Anne Poling |
| American & European Paintings | American & European Paintings | |
| Skinner, Inc | Skinner, Inc | |
|
978-779-6241 ext. 2601 |
978-779-6241 ext. 259/258 |
SKINNER TO HOST AUCTION OF PAINTINGS & PRINTS MARCH 5TH
BOSTON, Mass. - February 13, 2004 – www.skinnerinc.com - Skinner, Inc. one of the nation's leading auction houses for antiques and fine art, will host an auction of American and European Paintings and Prints on Friday, March 5, 2004 in its Boston gallery. Prints and photography will be offered at 4 p.m., and paintings at 6 p.m.
Prints
Highlights in the afternoon auction include selected works by Pablo Picasso (lots 102-109), a portfolio of twenty-eight works by Robert Rauschenberg (lot 110), an image from Andy Warhol's MUHAMMAD ALI Suite (lot 138), Robert Clark Indiana's Four Panel Love (lot 63), and Bands of Color in Four Directions/A Suite of Four Prints by Sol Lewitt (lot 81). The sale also offers a group of several John Taylor Arms prints from the estate of noted philanthropist and avid collector Ernest Hillman, Jr. of Fairfield, Connecticut. Selections from this group comprise proof impressions as well as original drawings for the prints, with examples including a Lot of Five Prints and Plates (lot 5), a Lot of Seven Prints and Studies from the Miniature Series and the Christmas Card Series (lot 12), and a Lot of Two Drawings of Chapels (lot 507). Additional highlights in the auction include works by Frank Weston Benson, Thomas Hart Benton, Marc Chagall, Rockwell Kent, Paul Cadmus, Milton Avery, and Stow Wengenroth, among others. Photography in this session features Yousuf Karsh's Winston Churchill (lot 155), and several works by Eliot Porter, descended in the family of the artist.
European Paintings
Early in the evening session, the sale offers a group of Old Masters paintings from private collections, including the 18th century French School Perseus with the Head of Medusa (lot 206), Cattle and Herders in the manner of Nicolaes Berchem (lot 207), the 18th century Spanish School Ornate Still Life with Flowers and Vegetables (lot 211), and Portrait of Francis I, Stephen de Lorraine in the manner of Jean Etienne Liotard (lot 214). Following is a very strong selection of European 19th century genre scenes, among them Theodor von der Beek's Allerseelen (lot 227), Edward Algernon Stuart Douglas' On the Hunt (lot 229), and a lot of two works by Achille Vianelli (lot 230). Jacob Simon Hendrik Kever's Reading the News (lot 233) and Filippo Indoni's Waiting By the Old Wall/Portrait of a Peasant Girl (lot 236) also highlight this group. Other examples include Aymar Pezant's The Cattle Herd (lot 239), John Christian Maggs' The Hunt Meets the Stagecoach (lot 252), and John Wilson Carmichael's A Walk on the Shore (lot 323A).
American Genre and Landscapes
The auction features a complimentary group of American 19th century genre, led by Frederick Arthur Bridgman's Halloween (lot 261), from a private New England collection. Although Bridgman's love of painting was kindled in his native America, much of his training took place in Paris in the ateliers of masters such as Gérôme. Bridgman is perhaps best known for his Orientalist subjects, but he was fascinated with all aspects of street and rural life, as this painting illustrates. From the same collection, the auction offers Packing Home the Meat, a snowy Western genre scene by Gordon Phillips (lot 345). Works also include Pink Roses by Edward Chalmers Leavitt (lot 264), and Budding Genius by Harry Roseland (lot 271).
Additional highlights in American 19th century paintings include a diverse group of landscapes. Early examples include View of the Hudson River Near West Point and Picnic Party on Mt. Washington with a View of Mt. Jefferson by Thomas Birch (lots 274 and 276), and Expansive Landscape with Luminous Skies by Paulus Roetter (lot 275). From a private New England collection, the sale offers Snow Day/Sledding on the Boston Common by William (Karl) Hahn (lot 307). Born in Germany, Hahn studied in Dresden and Dusseldorf. It was in the latter city that he met American painter William Keith, and by 1871, he was sharing a studio with Keith in Boston; the two subsequently shared a studio in San Francisco. Later 19th century landscapes in the auction include Woodland Interior by William Stanley Haseltine (lot 301), The Birch Tree by George Henry Story (lot 295), and Rocky Field with Distant Ocean View by J. Ambrose Prichard (lot 296), as well as Lake Shores by Robert Ward van Boskerck (lot 297), Mount Hood by Eliza R. Barchus (lot 302), and A Cotton Picker's Cabin by William Aiken Walker (lot 306).
American late 19th/early 20th century genre will be led by Water Lily by John LaFarge, descended in the private collection of Henry Lee Higginson and Ida Agassiz Higginson. Mr. Higginson was a Boston financier and philanthropist, and remembered as the founder of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the donor of Soldier's Field to his alma mater Harvard University. His wife Ida was the daughter of Harvard zoology professor Louis Agassiz. The work is accompanied by a copy of a letter from James Yarnall, Director, at the LaFarge Catalogue Raisonné. In his letter, Yarnall notes that, "LaFarge made sure all of his patrons and friends had (a water lily)… Most like this were done around 1879… (this) is definitely by LaFarge - a more or less signature work" (lot 355). Other genre by American artists from the same period includes Mother and Child by William Cooper (lot 350), and a group of paintings deaccessioned from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, including three views of the tomb of Siptah in Egypt's Valley of the Kings by Joseph Lindon Smith (lots 335-337), and four Egyptian scenes by Xavier Gonzalez (lots 338-344).
A strong selection of American 20th century landscapes will be offered as well, including Winter Landscape with Distant Mountains and Mt. Mansfield, Vermont by Aldro Thompson Hibbard (lots 484 and 497, respectively), Farm View, Lexington, Massachusetts by Aiden Lassell Ripley (lot 485), and The Day's End by Ernest Albert (lot 493). Marine views feature Harbor Boats by John Whorf (lot 538), California Coastal View by Harold Morse Ward (lot 560), and Ogunquit Ledges by Charles Herbert Woodbury (lot 565). Paintings by American artists abroad include Rotterdam Mill by George Hitchcock (lot 510).
20th Century Works
The variety of 20th century artwork is highlighted by Harvest Festival by Jon Corbino (lot 440), two paintings by Le Pho (lots 392 and 394) and three works by William Zorach (lots 395,397, and 400), as well as Floral Still Life by Andre Gisson (lot 393), and Seated Female Nude by Leon Kroll (lot 398). The auction also offers The Countess Nerona by Gertrude Abercrombie (lot 424), Les Oeufs by Pavel Tchelitchew (lot 426), and landscapes by Alexander John Drysdale and George William Sotter (lot 442 and 447, respectively). Figural Composition by Karel Appel (lot 614) and White Dishes by Peter Plamondon (lot 615) lead the sale's contemporary works.
Illustrations and Sculpture
Additional offerings include select illustrations, highlighted by Jessie Wilcox Smith's In the Garden, created for "A Mother's Days," published in Scribner's Magazine, December 1902, volume 22, page 687 (lot 401), and John Phillip Falter's Chestnut Hill Train Station (lot 465). Important examples of sculpture include Crest of the Wave by Harriet Whitney Frishmuth (lot 396), Seated Figure by Louise Nevelson (lot 427), and Untitled by George Warren Rickey (lot 588).
Catalogue and Preview Information
Previews for the auction will be 12 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 3rd, 12 to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 4th, and 12 to 3 p.m. Friday, March 5th. Illustrated catalogue #2232 is available by mail for $32 ($39 for foreign requests) from the subscription department at 978-779-6241 x240. It is also available at the gallery for $29. Prices realized will be available at www.skinnerinc.com during and after the sale. For more information, visit www.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.