Classic Imagery
Important examples by leading American artists, including Pennsylvania Impressionists, cross the block during Freeman’s December 9 sale
Important examples by leading American artists, including Pennsylvania Impressionists, cross the block during Freeman’s December 9 sale
December 9, 2 p.m.
Freeman’s 1808 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 t: (215) 563-9275 www.freemansauction.com
With solid response from consignors, Freeman’s December 9 American Art & Pennsylvania Impressionists sale is looking to be one of its best in some time, says Alasdair Nichol, chairman and director of fine art at the auction house. Crossing the block will be pieces by some of the biggest names in both segments, with everything from Martin Lewis prints, to etchings from the 1920s and ’30s, to winter scenes by Edward Willis Redfield, Fern Isabel Coppedge and Guy Carleton Wiggins all in time for the season.
The top lot of the auction is an illustration by N.c.wyeth that was done in 1914 for a short story in Collier’s Magazine.the work, titled
Back and Forth Across it Went,twisting, Straining, Holding Our Strength, Each Striving to Break the Grip of the Other’s Fingers on His Wrist. I Felt Breath upon My Face, Saw His Cold Eyes Like
Blue Fire Burning Me, is a fight scene between two men as several women serve as onlookers.
“It’s what you look for in a Wyeth, because you don’t get more dramatic than two guys duking it out,” says Nichol of the piece, which is expected fetch between $400,000 and $600,000 He adds,“it’s straight out of a private collection, and it has not been seen on the market before.”
Also in the sale will be several nice groupings of works.“there are five typical Newyork snowscapes by Guy Carleton Wiggins from a collection in Los Angeles,” Nichol shares. Adding there is an early Wiggins from a separate collector that will also be in the sale. All six works, including At the Library Newyork (est. $80/120,000) from the collection of five, will be exhibited in Newyork during Freeman’s October 23 and 24 jewelry sale at theyale Club.
“We have a group of 19th-century works from the collection of Richard Scaife, who was prominent in the newspaper media world and also a political figure,” Nichol explains, and notes,“he tended toward 19th-century paintings, so artists like Bierstadt, Cropsey, George Inness, Ernest Lawson.” From the estate is a small-scale
work by Jasper Francis Cropsey titled Waverly Newton, Long Island that has quite an extensive provenance.the 1852 painting, estimated at $50,000 to $80,000,“depicts a family homestead in Flushing Bay, Long Island,” Nichol says. Autumn Landscape, by Albert Bierstadt, which had been at auction previously in 1975, is another gem, with an estimate of $40,000 to $60,000.
In Pennsylvania Impressionism, there will seven pieces by Coppedge hitting the block. Of note is the winter painting Creek Snow Bridge (Carversville), which depicts the creek filled with ice and snow.the painting measures at around 38 by 40 inches—a scale not seen often for works by the artist—and is expected to sell for $100,000 to $150,000.
Also in the category is a classic Redfield winter painting, Road to New Hope (est. $100/150,000). “It’s what people want from the artist, with the sleigh in the middle of the composition,” Nichol says. “Again, it came from a private collection, as did all of the Coppedges.”
Other notable pieces in the sale will be a group of works by Hobson Pittman; three watercolors by Milton Avery; two pieces by William Glackens; and an Oscar Bluemner.