Auction Highlights

Of the artworks that sold online in Altermann Galleries’ Dec. 15 auction of American West and Indian art, an Olaf Wieghorst (Danish born, 1899-1988) oil on canvas titled Old Prospector fared best. Measuring 16 inches by 20 inches and depicting a prospector on horseback, with a pack mule and mountains in the background, approached the top of its estimate to sell online for $19,200.

Over the three-days of DuMouchelles’ Dec. 14, 15 and 16 auction 227 lots sold via the Internet, including a Cesare August Detti (Italian, 1847-1914) oil-on-canvas portrait of a cavalier. The 43 inch by 30 inch painting, presented in a fine gilt frame, attracted 16 bids before settling at $19,520, nearly twice its high estimate.

Thirty-one bids were lodged on a Russian silver-mounted cut-glass carafe in John Moran’s Dec. 11 sale of antique and fine furnishings. Both stunningly beautiful and functional, the vessel drew 368 visitors to its listing in the online catalog, subsequently selling to one of them for $14,400 against an estimate of $3,000-$5,000.

Chicago Art Auction’s Dec. 9 Winter Fine Art sale introduced Internet bidding through LiveAuctioneers to its customers, and the results spoke for themselves. Twenty-three paintings sold online, including an Orest Kiprensky (Russian, 1782-1835) oil-on-canvas portrait of a dark-haired beauty in an ermine robe. Measuring 36¼ inches by 31 inches (sight) and initialed C.K. at lower left, it finished online near the top of its estimate range, at $116,375.

Morphy’s Dec. 6-8 Winter Auction averaged a 28.6 percent Internet sell-through rate over the three-day period. In all, 665 lots changed hands through LiveAuctioneers, including a Guy Carleton Wiggins oil on canvas titled The Public Library. Measuring 15¼ inches by 21½ inches (framed), the classic Wiggins depiction of a Manhattan snow scene captured a within-estimate price of $18,300.