Skinner's American and European Painting Sale to be Held Nov. 16th
BOSTON, Mass. - Oct 30 , 2008
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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 on Friday, November 16th at 4 p.m. in its Boston gallery. Featuring nearly 550 lots, the sale offers works from European masters such as Johann Mongels Culverhouse, Adolphe Alexandre Lesrel and Lesser Ury, along with American greats including George Hitchcock, John Leslie Breck and William Bradford.
European paintings
The sale's cover lot, Seaside Still Life (lot 87, est. $8/12,000) by Dutchman Johann Mongels Culverhouse, the "Candlelight Painter", is only one of the artist's featured pieces; Market Before Dawn (lot 50, est. $10/15,000) will also be offered. Another featured highlight of the sale is A Tale of Far Away (lot 51, est. $20/25,000) by Eugenio Zampighi, a fine example of the colorful and lively scenes of domestic interiors for which he is best known. Dutch marine artist Albert van Beest's love of the sea stems from the lively stories told from the seaman of his native Rotterdam and is captured in his Pulling in the Nets (lot 40, est. $6,5/8,500) and Lesser Ury's River View with Bridge (lot 310, est. $3/5,000) is indicative of the inspiration he derived from his home of Berlin.
Other works of note from French artists include Alfred Arthur Brunel de Neuville's Playful Kittens (lot 64, est. $3/5,000); Adolphe Alexandre Lesrel's The Card Game (lot 58, est. $30/50,000); and Jules Girardet's Preparing to Leave (lot 46, est. $10/15,000).
American paintings
Sharing a home of Boston with Skinner, Laura Coombs Hills was best known for miniature portraits, but later studied flowers and recorded their "portraits" in pastel; works offered are Roses in a Blue Bowl (lot 360, est. $10/15,000) and Flowers in a Brown Jug (lot 445, est. $10/15,000). Also from the selection of fine American painters is George Hitchcock, who settled in the town of Egmond aan Zee, near Amsterdam where he was inspired by the vibrant and colorful landscapes of the Dutch tulip fields for which he is best known. Three Hitchcock works grace the sale: Tulip Fields with Windmill (lot 315, est. $20/30,000); Tulip Fields with Orchard and Clock Tower (lot 322, est. $15/25,000); and Woman in the Garden (lot 388, est. $20/40,000).
Other highlights include John Leslie Breck's Grain Stacks (lot 234, est. $20/30,000); William H. Weisman's Pioneers at Sunset (lot 144, est. $10/15,000); Effet De Soleil (lot 323, est. $8/12,000) by Cifford Prevost Grayson; and Sunday Prayers/Probably a Study for Sunday Morning in the Camp of Seventh Regiment (lot 128, est. $40/60,000) by Sanford Robinson Gifford, who sketched when time allowed during his enlistment during the Civil War. Rounding out highlighted American artist offerings is The Coast of Labrador (lot 76, est. $30/50,000) by William Bradford, one of the preeminent marine painters of the 19th century, and Reading in the Garden (lot 385, est. $8/12,000) by Frederick Carl Frieseke.
American Sculptures
A fine selection of bronze sculptures includes Seated Whippet/A Sculpture of the Artist's Dog (lot 365, est. $15/25,000) and Elephant (lot 398, est. $10/15,000) by Katharine Ward Lane Weems, whose streamlined forms and fluid lines reflect the Art Deco aesthetic of her time. Other featured pieces include Appeal to the Great Spirit (lot 150, est. $7/9,000) by Charles Henry Humphriss; Dancing with a Turtle (lot 370, est. $7/9,000) by Janet Scudder; Wildflower (lot 413, est. $10/15,000) by Edward Henry Berge; The Warrior (lot 148, est. $7/9,000) by Alexander Stirling Calder; and Children Playing with a Turtle (lot 383, est. $5/7,000) by Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington, most noted for her renderings of animals, cast in both bronze and aluminum.
Modern
The sale's modern works provide buyers with an extensive and highly varied selection. Fine examples include Pablo Picasso's Bearded Man (Homme Barbu) (lot 461, est. $18/22,000) the bearded man" figures into Picasso's oeuvre as early as the 1920s, with scenes exploring the artist-muse relationship; Portrait of a Gentleman in an Overcoat (lot 420, est. $20/30,000) by Gustav Klimt, one of the founders of the Vienna Secession, the Viennese Art Nouveau movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries; and Alexander Calder's Four Planets (lot 531, est. $25/30,000). Also featured are three pieces by Philip Pearlstein including Ridge (lot 479, est. $30/50,000), Two Models on Daybed with Peruvian Cloth (lot 434, est. $15/25,000), and Rocky Landscape (lot 509, est. $30/50,000).
Illustrations
A leading selection in the genre of illustrations is Rosebuds (lot 393, est. $15/25,000) by Jessie Willcox Smith, with provenance from the present owner's grandmother, Gertrude King Colville, who met Jessie Willcox Smith when they were both exhibiting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and was given the painting sometime between 1925 and 1935. Another featured highlight within illustrations is Norman Rockwell's Hope It's a New Plymouth (lot 536, est. $20/40,000). Although he is perhaps best known for his cover illustrations for the Saturday Evening Post (of which there are over 300), Rockwell illustrated many advertisements and billboards, for brands such as Plymouth, Jell-PO and Orange Crush.
Preview and catalog information
Previews for the auction will be held from 12 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, November 14th, 12 to 7 p.m. Thursday, November 15th, and 12 to 2:30 p.m. Friday, November 16th. Illustrated catalog #2387 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 catalogs online.
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About Skinner
Skinner, Inc. is one of the nation's leading auction houses for antiques and fine art and the only major auction house headquartered in New England. With expertise in over 20 specialty collecting areas, Skinner draws the interest of buyers from all over the world and its auctions regularly achieve world record prices. Skinner provides a broad range of auction and appraisal services, and it is widely regarded as one of the most trusted names in the auction business. Skinner's appraisal experts regularly appear on the PBS-TV series,
Antiques Roadshow, and its specialty 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 & Ethnographic Art, and Discovery. Skinner galleries are located in Boston and Bolton, Mass. For more information on upcoming auctions and events, visit Skinner's web site
www.skinnerinc.com.
