A Perfect Complement

Christie’s November 20 sale of American art features impressive works by O’keeffe and Leyendecker

Christie’s November 20 sale of American art features impressive works by O’keeffe and Leyendecker

On November 20, Christie’s will host its fall American art sale. Preceding it, on November 13 and 14, is the auction of the collection of Barney Ebsworth, one of the pre-eminent collections of 20th century American art, to which the works in the later sale provide a perfect complement.

The sale’s cover lot, coming from a private collection, is Georgia O’keeffe’s The Red Maple at Lake George, which has an estimate of $7 million to $10 million. It dates from 1926, during the time she spent at the Stieglitz family estate in Lake George, New York. Paige Kestenman, associate vice president of American art at Christies, describes,“she would wander and collect leaves. She became fascinated by one maple tree on the Stieglitz property. Even after they moved to another estate, she would go back every fall and paint that tree. In this work she focuses on color, and pushes the still life concept to the edge of abstraction to fantastic effect.”

From the same collection as the O’keeffe, to be offered in the impressionist and modern evening sale, is Mary Cassatt’s Children Playing with a Dog

(est. $4/6 million). It’s a complex work from the top of the artist’s career, featuring a mother, two children, and a lovingly depicted family dog. “The background is also really beautiful, incorporating architectural

elements and a view into the yard,” Kestenman notes.

An August 1938 J.C. Leyendecker Saturday Evening Post cover—titled Little Cowboy Takes a Licking—is estimated to sell for $150,000 to $250,000. Kestenman says, “it combines illustration with Western themes, and the expression of the boy and the level of detail make it a great example from the artist.” Other notable works in the sale include a cityscape from Childe Hassam, Sixth Avenue El—nocturne (The El, Newyork), estimated at $500,000 to $700,000; O’keeffe’s Black Door with Snow

(est. $1/1.5 million); a Charles M. Russell sculpture, Weapons of the

Weak (est. $40/60,000); and Marsden Hartley’s Landscape with a Single Cloud (est. $500/700,000). Christie’s American art online sale takes place leading up to the live auction, November 14 through 20, and includes work by iconic artists at more affordable price points. Featured works include Andrew Wyeth’s Fisherman Coming Ashore ($60/80,000); Milton Avery’s Country Haircut ($50/70,000); and Theodore Earl Butler’s Fireworks, Vernon Bridge (est. $50/70,000).

Childe Hassam (1859-1935), Sixth Avenue El—nocturne (The El, New York), 1894. Oil on canvas, 18¼ x 14¼ in., signed and dated with artist’s crescent device lower right: ‘Childe Hassam. 1894’. Estimate: $500/700,000

Estimate: $500/700,000 Marsden Hartley (1877-1943), Landscape with Single Cloud, 1923. Oil on canvas, 28½ x 41 in.

Theodore Earl Butler (1860-1936), Fireworks, Vernon Bridge, 1908. Oil on canvas, 21¼ x 25¾ in., signed lower left: ‘T.E. Butler’. Estimate: $50/70,000 Images courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd. 2018

Charles M. Russell (1864-1926), Weapons of the Weak, modeled in 1921, cast ca. 1922-28. Bronze with brown patina, 5¾ in., inscribed with artist’s skull device: ‘Cm/russell’; along the base: ‘R•B.W.’ Estimate: $40/60,000

J. C. Leyendecker (1874-1951), Little Cowboy Takes a Licking, 1938. Oil on canvas, 31 x 24 in., signed with initials in monogram lower left: ‘Jcleyendecker’. Estimate: $150/250,000

Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009), Fishermen Coming Ashore. Watercolor on paper, 18 x 21/ in., signed lower right: ‘Andrew Wyeth’. Estimate: $60/80,000