Sales of Work by Garber, Sorbi and Noyes Distinguish Rago’s February Auction of 19th and 20th Century Art
Feb. 14, 2008
LAMBERTVILLE, New Jersey—It was standing room only as usual at Rago’s semi-annual sale of works by American and European artists of the 19th and 20th C. In-room buyers were joined in force by bidders online and on the phone, buying 91% of the $493,000 sale by lot. As with all Rago Auctions, Internet bidding and catalog preview was offered by LiveAuctioneers.com.
The sale opened with the session devoted to Pennsylvania area artists. All the most important of these works sold and sold well. An exceptionally rare, fine and large drawing by Daniel Garber, “Portrait of Elsa Laubach,” ca. 1910, set a record for this superb draftsman’s drawings at auction, selling for $27,600. (All prices include a buyer’s premium of 20%.) Fern Isabel Coppedge’s "Bucks County Landscape," an oil on canvas estimated at $15,000-20,000, sold for $39,000. The dulcet “Summer Reflections/Cooper River” by Laurence A. Campbell sold for $25,200.
Rago’s supports some of the finest artists working in and around Bucks County today. Joseph Barrett, Bruce Braithwaite, Judy Henn and Alexander Farnham continue to find favor. Two artists newly added to the sale, Jeff Gola and Illia Barger, were also very successful in this, their first appearance on the secondary market.
The auction’s second session featured works by both American and European artists. International bidding was strong on many lots, the standout being Rafaello Sorbi’s “Giotto e Cimabue.” Eleven phone bidders from Scotland, Belgium, Sweden, the U.S., and, of course, Italy, competed with the left bids, the Internet and the room. The $54,000 sale went – surprisingly - to an in-room bidder. Also selling strong and with great international interest: small oils by two Russian-born artists, Grigory Gluckmann, whose “Old Cronies” sold for $7,200 and Serge Soudekeine, whose “Two Dancing, Paris” sold for $15,600. A landscape by George Loftus Noyes proved very desirable, selling for $19,200 against its pre-sale estimate of $6,000-8,000, as did a work on paper by Oscar Florianus Bluemner, which went for $9,000.
A number of fine bronzes were introduced into this sale and virtually all sold well above estimate. “At the Water’s Edge” by Edward Henry Berge and Harriet Whitney Frishmuth’s “The Vine,” both from a private collection, fetched $7,200 and $10,200 respectively. A circus elephant by Frederick George Roth proved very popular, selling for $3,600, as did Henry Lindner’s Boy and Girl andirons, selling for $8,400.
“I am very pleased with all aspects this sale and looking forward to September, for which we already have a number of wonderful pieces in hand.” said Meredith Hilferty, Director of Fine Art. “Sellers of fine bronzes and statuary should know that I am actively seeking more work in this area and welcome all inquiries.”
To view the fully illustrated auction catalog, with prices realized, please visit www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
