The Summer Sale
Eldred’s next Americana auction features fine paintings, furniture and notable antiques
As the summer months are in full swing, Eldred’s will host its annual Summer Americana Sale at its salesroom located in East Dennis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts.the auction is timely for its collectors as not only is the art season at its prime, but many of the artworks and antiques reflect the region.this year’s sale will take place July 30 and 31 starting at 10 a.m. daily and will bring to market hundreds of items including a standout collection of furniture from New Hampshire.
In the paintings segment of the sale, collectors will find maritime scenes and works by artists associated with Cape Cod hitting the market.
One such artist was Ralph E. Cahoon Jr., who was born in Chatham, Massachusetts, and spent much of his childhood along the Atlantic Ocean. His work is whimsical; it often depicts shore side scenes in a more folk art style, but with imaginative elements
such as mermaids, which became one of his signature elements. In the sale is his painting Weighing In, which is expected to sell between $12,000 and $18,000.
“That’s a great example [of a work by Cahoon],” says Joshua F. Eldred, president of the auction house.“there’s a story to it, and it has a sense of humor about it. [The mermaids] are weighing in for a horserace. It has that sort of fun thing that he’s known for.” A Provincetown scene by Arthur Vidal Diehl will also be of particular interest in the sale, as it is characteristic of the beaches and docks of the city located at the tip of the Cape. Tending to the boats, Provincetown, Massachusetts is estimated at $5,000 to $7,000, and, as Eldred explains, is “on the large side.” Diehl’s typical art was around 8 by 10 inches or 9 by 12 inches, but this piece, measures nearly 14 by 22 inches.
Twin brothers John and James Bard painted more than 350 marine portraits together, including the piece Portrait of the Gold Rush steamer Wilson G. Hunt, which will appear in the Eldred’s sale with an estimate of $40,000 to $60,000. “They really focused on the Hudson
River,” says Eldred.“that was their exclusive territory.they painted the steamships and sailboats of the New York Harbor and the Hudson River. They’re sought-after by collectors.” There also will be a number of modern pieces in the sale including Charles Green Shaw’s 1959 painting Yellow Afternoon and Karl Nath’s Johnny Appleseed / Johnnie Appleseed, 1941. Both works have presale estimates of $5,000 to $7,000.
For complete details on the sale, and any updates to the auction, visit Eldred’s website.
APRIL 28-MAY 21
Paul Cadmus and His Circle: Property from the Estate of
Jon F. Anderson
$1.16 million
Lark Mason Associates’ recent sale, Paul Cadmus and His Circle: Property from the Estate of Jon F.anderson, through igavel Auctions, was a standout success with a 98 percent sell-through rate for the 402 lots and a total of $1,163,055.The singleowner auction came from cabaret singer and actor Jon F. Anderson, who was the muse and lover of Paul Cadmus for 36 years and the subject of many of his paintings. Included in the collection were three artists’ estates— Cadmus, Jared French and Margaret French—as well as works by their friends and fellow artists.
Highlights included Cadmus’ Male Nude #NM5, which sold for $41,250, and Male Nude NM67, which achieved $42,500. Jared French’s Male Figures in Garden brought $37,500, while Margaret French’s Workers at Habor achieved $19,500. the decision to hold the sale with fewer lots than the full catalog auction, which has been postponed to a later date. The auction house shares,“we were pleased with the overall results of the online auction. Our presale estimates were $370,000 to $550,000 and the total was over $575,000 with 80 percent of the lots sold.” The sale was led by abstract expressionist Milton Resnick’s 1956 painting Ulysses, which achieved $137,500, while his 1958 work Apparatus sold for $30,000. Late 19th- and early 20th-century paintings were also notable with collectors, with Daniel Ridgway Knight’s Summer Afternoon, Seine Valley coming in at $52,000; Eric Sloane’s Berkshire Barn (est. $12/18,000) at $27,500; and Arthur Wesley Dow’s Marshes and Dunes at Ipswich bringing $8,750.
MAY 7
Printed & Manuscript
African Americana
$744,112
Thirteen new auction records were set during Swann Auction Galleries’ online Printed & Manuscript African Americana sale.the auction, which was anticipated to have a high total of $672,900, bested that estimate when 90 percent of the lots found new homes yielding $744,112 in sales. Rick Stattler, the auction house’s Americana specialist says, “Institutions generally make a good showing in these African Americana auctions, but they did exceptionally well in this sale, picking up four top lots, and a total of 11 of the top 20.”
Posters were of particular interest including the civil rights era March for Freedom Now!, 1960, which brought $17,500; the circa 1963 Come Let Us Build a New World Together poster at $7,250; and Sun Ra in “Space is the Place,” a circa 1974 movie poster for the Afrofuturist science fiction film, brought $6,500.
MAY 15-16
Premier & Emporium Auctions $2.14 million
Brunk Auctions saw a record number of collectors on the phones and live streaming its spring Premier & Emporium Auctions, May 15 to 16.This interest—with registered bids from 21 countries on three continents—drove sales to just over $2,138,215.The fine art portion of the sale was a rousing success, with a 95 percent sell-through rate in the category.while the highest earner from the group—and the entire
with poppies and lupine, which achieved $225,000, a price just shy of its high estimate of $250,000.
There was also success by women artists including Jessie Arms Botke’s White cockatoos in an avocado tree, which shattered its presale estimate of $8,000 to $12,000, when it sold for $87,500. Henrietta Mary Shore was represented by a portrait of a woman in a boat with a parasol that achieved $17,500, while Harriet Frishmuth’s bronze Crest of the Wave
(est. $8/12,000) brought in $11,250. $131,250.
There were numerous other pieces available in the sale that soared past presale estimates, including Joan Miró’s Untitled work on paper, which sold for $35,840, against an estimate of $15,000 to $20,000, and Georges Kars’ Reconstruction of the Old Town in Prague, 1908 painting that sold for $45,000, besting its estimate of $6,000 to $8,000. absentee and telephone bids. The sale, which primarily featured contemporary artists who do not have a long list of auction records, did “exceedingly well,” according to Joshua Eldred, president of the firm and head of its fine art department.the day’s top lot was Long Days Journey, Balclutha, 1889, by maritime artist David Thimgan.the work, from the Kelton Collection of Marine Art and Artifacts, achieved $10,000 against an estimate of $1,200 to $1,800.
Also of note was Donald Mosher’s portrait of the schooner Thomas E. Lannon in Gloucester harbor, which sold for $8,750, and two views of Gloucester by Jeff Weaver that both sold for $6,600.
Sale will feature the Kelton Collection of Marine Art and Artifacts. Richard Kelton— who built the collection of paintings, ship models, navigation instruments and more—was an avid and well-known collector who created a foundation in 1982 to exhibit, loan and research his materials. Included in the offerings is Antonio
Nicolo Gasparo Jacobsen’s
The Steamship Cottage City at Sea, which is expected to sell between $10,000 and $15,000.
Also available in the sale, from outside this collection, is Robert Salmon’s Shipping of Greenwich, which has a presale estimate of $18,000 to $22,000. Salmon, who was an active maritime artist in both England and America, often sees his career divided into two periods.the first half where he was influenced by artists such as J.M.W. Turner and Thomas Luny, and the second period where he developed his luminous style, which had an impact on American art and many younger artists such as Fitz Hugh Lane.