A Successful Return
A return to the Sotheby’s salesroom produces huge results across several categories of American art
A return to the Sotheby’s salesroom yields big results across several categories of American art
On June 26, Sotheby’s returned to its live saleroom for its American art sale.the sale was welcomed with big numbers and an abundance of bidders. It realized $9.1 million.
“We are very pleased with today’s sale, which marked a successful return to the New York saleroom for our market,” Kayla Carlsen, head of Sotheby’s American Art Department, said after the sale.“the overall strength of the market was reflected in strong results across paintings, sculpture and works on paper, with top works exceeding $1 million.”
The top lot was Augustus Saintgauden’s 1917 bronze Abraham Lincoln: The Man (Standing Lincoln), which was estimated at $600,000 to $900,000. It soared past it’s high estimate amid a flurry of bids, closing at $1,580,000.A second Saint-gaudens bronze lot, The Puritan, also sold well at $325,000, just over its $300,000 high estimate.
Other lots include Thomas Hart Benton’s tempera and oil work from 1939, Noon (est. $700/1,000,000), that sold for $1,040,000. Milton Avery’s 1945 oil Mandolin With Pears, also squeaked out of its estimates after selling for $740,000.
Additional lots were Mary Cassatt’s 1909 paper work Mother in Purple Holding Her Child, which sold within estimates at $560,000. Fitz Henry Lane was represented by several pieces in the sale, but Schooner “Loo Choo” in a Calm Sea, an oil from 1850, shocked bidders when it sold for $312,500, nearly four times its high estimate of $80,000. Charlotte Mitchell, Sotheby’s auction specialist, says the sale had consistent bidding, even though the saleroom was not open to the public.“the auctioneer
couldn’t read the room, but phone and online bidding remained consistent throughout the sale,”
Mitchell says.“we always enjoy seeing competition among the bidders.”
She continues:“certainly the Saint-gaudens Abraham Lincoln bronze did very well, and we were very happy with the attention the piece was getting before the sale. He was one of the most celebrated sculptors of his day, and this piece was only one of 17 ever made, and the others are all in various important collections.and the Benton, as well, was warmly received by our bidders.the result for Noon really speaks to the quality of the work.”