AMERICAN ART LEADS SHANNON’S SPRING SALE
MILFORD, CONNECTICUT - American paintings drove strong results at Shannon’s this past Thursday, April 27th. The 139-lot sale was nearly 90% sold and grossed $2.6 million. Most of the lots offered came from private collections. The top lot in the auction by Maurice Prendergast depicted a beach scene in Boston. The colorful, dynamic composition sold for $162,500 topping the high estimate.
MAURICE PRENDERGAST, American, 1858-1924, "Beach Scene, Boston", Ca. 1907-1910, oil on panel, 10 3/8 x 13 3/4 inches, Sold: $162,500.00
Other classic examples of American art achieved stellar results.; a John Fulton Folinsbee titled Canal Lane soared past the high estimate selling for $81,250; and a classic snowy Guy C. Wiggins view of 5th Ave at 42nd Street brought $62,500.
19th-century American paintings also performed above their estimated ranges. A Vase of Red Roses by Martin Johnson Heade sold for $125,000. A rare painting by New Haven native Elizabeth Gilbert Jerome achieved $57,500 after fierce bidding, ultimately selling to a museum collection and setting a new world auction record for the artist. An exceptional A.T. Bricher seascape of the Rocky Coast at Grand Manan sold for $52,500 and a Jasper F. Cropsey titled A Bend in the River from 1892 brought $40,640.
MARTIN JOHNSON HEADE, American, 1819-1904, "Vase Of Red Roses", Ca. 1880s, oil on canvas, signed lower left "M J Heade", 20 x 12 inches, Sold: $125,000.00
Modern and Contemporary Art offerings achieved notable results led by an Andy Warhol silkscreen of an Orangutan from the Endangered Species series. The trial proof in unique colors sold for $150,000 exceeding the high estimate. A painting by female Abstract Expressionist Peter (Henrietta) Miller titled Head, from circa 1930 sold for $100,000. A John Atherton painting, Pine Tree, doubled its high estimate selling for $52,500 and a 48-inch sculpture by Puerto Rican artist Angel Botello of a young girl, Coquette, sold for $47,500.
Other highlights in the Modern and Contemporary category include four works on paper by Hans Hofmann alum, Lynne Mapp Drexler, whose market has surged in the last year. The most colorful example from this group of four, 16 x 13-inch watercolors sold for $43,180. A gestural 1959 painting by another Hofmann alum, Michael Goldberg, sold for $40,640.
ANDY WARHOL, American, 1928-1987, Orangutan, From Endangered Species, 1983, screenprint in colors on Lenox Museum board, numbered and signed, 38 x 38 inches Sold: $150,000.00
Proving their success in all categories, Shannon’s sold a rare French Impressionist painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir titled Arbres Devant La Maison for $106,250. Another European art highlight was a surprise in the sale–an illustration work by Hans Baluscheck sold for $31,250 doubling its high estimate.
PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR, French, 1841-1919, Arbres Devant La Maison, 1908, oil on canvas, Initialed, 7 1/2 x 6 1/3 inches, Sold: $106,250.00
After the auction, owner Sandra Germain commented “It was an upbeat auction with plenty of live action on the phone and online. Although we had good online activity before the sale it was exciting to watch bidders participate in real time. There were several new participants given the diversity of the offerings and we are excited to work with a growing list of auction buyers.”
There were several other notable sales during Thursday’s auction. A Hayley Lever titled Sunshine in the Hills from the artist’s period in and near St. Ives sold for $106,250. A new world-record auction price was set for Russell Chatham at $68,750 and for Pop Art artist Leo Jensen at $18,750. North Carolina artist Elliott Daingerfield was one of the first American artists to paint the Grand Canyon and there are only a handful of such scenes by the artist. The example offered at Shannon’s had been in a private collection for decades and sold for $50,000.
RICHARD HAYLEY LEVER, American, 1876-1958, "Sunshine In The Hills", 1904, oil on canvas, signed and dated, 40 x 50 inches, Sold: $106,250.00
The full results of the sale can be viewed on shannons.com. All of the reported prices include the buyer’s premium. Shannon’s accepts consignments year-round. They will host an online auction in June followed by a fall auction and catalog in October. To inquire about a possible consignment or to sign up for their mailing list visit shannons.com.