LAMBERTVILLE, NJ – One of the great collections of American Studio Woodturning pieces was presented at Rago on July 17 in a dedicated sale titled Crafted in Wood Featuring the Spitzbard Collection. A portion of the proceeds of lots from the Spitzbard collection benefitted the Museum for Art in Wood in Philadelphia. Full sale results can be seen at LiveAuctioneers.
The art of woodturning is ancient, but as with other American Studio movements, American Studio Woodturning took off after World War II. Its practitioners typically considered themselves craftsmen rather than artists, and their creations were often functional, or at least clearly derived from functional forms, such as cups and bowls.
Rago stated that Ken Spitzbard’s collection stood out as a powerful survey of American Studio Woodturners active in the late 20th century, and that his selection of William Turner pieces had ‘particularly strong examples of what brought [Turner] acclaim’. Of the nine Turners included in the Rago auction, two with provenance to Spitzbard came first and second among the auction’s leading lots.
Retusa Garden, a 1998 carving from cocobolo that was part of the artist’s Garden series and resembled a rising spiral of flame, sparked a lively bidding war. Estimated at $10,000-$15,000, bidding opened at $7,000 and inched up to a final hammer price of $67,000, or $87,770 with buyer’s premium.
From the same year, made from the same wood, and having the same estimate was Converging Rhythms, a William Hunter piece that hammered for $45,000 and sold for $58,950 with buyer’s premium. Part of his Basket series, the form, which stood seven inches high, consisted of bands that swirled up from a small foot to unite around a circular aperture at the top.
Three members of the Moulthrop family of woodturners were represented in the sale, and choice examples by two of the three men came from Spitzbard’s holdings. Four lots of works by Ed Moulthrop (1916-2003) included Chalice of Agamemnon, dating to 1997 and one of only two such pieces made by the artist. The black cherry wood gave it a rich red hue that contrasted well with the rugged texture of its surface. It also came with a handwritten statement from Ed and a watercolor he painted. Estimated at $2,000-$3,000, Chalice of Agamemnon hammered for $18,000, or $23,580 with buyer’s premium.
Philip Moulthrop (b. 1947-) had six lots in the auction, chief among them a White Pine Mosaic Globe dating to 1997 that soared past its $4,000-$6,000 estimate to hammer for $26,000 and sell for $34,060 with buyer’s premium. Philip skillfully combined wood and resin to create an ethereal-looking dark ovoid, its matrix dotted with discs of white pine.
While none came from the Spitzbard collection, four lots credited to Matt Moulthrop (b. 1977-) were offered in the July 17 sale. The best performer in the group was Large Dawn Redwood Chalice, a 2015 piece standing 21in high, its blond and reddish surface showcasing the artfully sprawling rings in the wood. Estimated at $3,000-$4,000, it hammered for $7,000, or $9,170 with buyer’s premium.
