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Michael Kane basket nest of 10 Nantucket rounds with a 1985 penny at the center, estimated at $10,000-$15,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions

Nantucket arts celebrated at Rafael Osona’s Aug. 5-6 auction

Sheila Gibson Stoodley
Sheila Gibson Stoodley
Michael Kane basket nest of 10 Nantucket rounds with a 1985 penny at the center, estimated at $10,000-$15,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions
Michael Kane basket nest of 10 Nantucket rounds with a 1985 penny at the center, estimated at $8,000-$10,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions

NANTUCKET, Mass. – Rafael Osona’s August sale is known for presenting exceptionally curated material. This year’s two-day event, the 43rd annual installment, scheduled for Saturday, August 5 and Sunday, August 6, presents choice properties from Nantucket’s coastal compounds and historic in-town estates, including 151 lots across both days from the estate of Stephen Weinroth. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

There’s often a dramatic quality in the natural light on an island 30 miles out at sea, and collectors prize how Tiffany Studios glass transforms light into a dramatic, multi-colored statement. Session one of Osona’s auction, taking place August 5, includes a signed Tiffany Studios Nasturtium trellis chandelier of leaded glass and bronze. Its 27in-diameter and drop-height of 50in projects extravagance in both design and craftsmanship. It is estimated at $30,000-$50,000.

Tiffany Studios Nasturtium trellis six-light chandelier, estimated at $30,000-$50,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions
Tiffany Studios Nasturtium trellis chandelier, estimated at $30,000-$50,000. Courtesy Rafael Osona Auctions

Where there’s clarity of light, there are artists. Nantucket’s art colony blossomed from 1920-1945 and continues to thrive. The Day 1 session of the auction features a painting by a celebrated early art colony talent, Anne Ramsdell Congdon (1873 -1958). Middle Moors, for its size, creates the impression of a never-ending and light-saturated vista. Estimated at $25,000-$35,000, it’s one of six lots on offer by this important artist.

Anne Ramsdell Congdon, ‘Middle Moors,’ estimated at $25,000-$35,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions
Anne Ramsdell Congdon, ‘Middle Moors,’ estimated at $25,000-$35,000. Courtesy Rafael Osona Auctions

Also of note is Coming Ashore by Wendell Macy (1845-1913), capturing the last flash of a misty twilight’s fading color as a lone fisherman rows ashore. Its estimate is $10,000-$15,000.

Wendell Macy, ‘Coming Ashore,’ estimated at $10,000-$15,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions
Wendell Macy, ‘Coming Ashore,’ estimated at $10,000-$15,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions

The exemplary talents of so many Nantucket women are no myth. A generation before the Nantucket art colony took shape, Elizabeth Rebecca Coffin (1850-1930) painted Hanging the Nets. In 1892, the painting won the Norman W. Dodge Prize at the National Academy of Design for the best picture in the United States painted by a woman. Just one year later, the painting was recognized again, juried for exhibit during the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago alongside American painters Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer and Eastman Johnson, as well as Mary Cassatt, Cecilia Beaux and Elizabeth Gardner.

Elizabeth Coffin, ‘Hanging the Nets,’ estimated at $35,000-$50,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions
Elizabeth Coffin, ‘Hanging the Nets,’ estimated at $35,000-$50,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions

In 1900 Elizabeth Coffin gave the painting to Vassar College, which deaccessioned it in 1946. Purchased by Victor D. Spark, a New York City art dealer, the painting hung in a New Jersey home for decades until it descended to the current owner. It appears in the early August auction with an estimate of $35,000-$50,000.

John Austin, ‘Buoys, Woods Hole,’ estimated at $2,000-$3,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions
John Austin, ‘Buoys, Woods Hole,’ estimated at $2,000-$3,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions

Strong 20th-century offerings include Buoys, Woods Hole, estimated at $2,000-$3,000 and among five paintings in the sale by John Austin (1918-2001). Austin studied at Manhattan’s Art Students’ League under Reginald Marsh and was subsequently mentored by Edward Hopper during two years in Truro, Mass. and Manhattan. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was among Austin’s numerous high-profile collectors.

Robert Stark Jr., ‘Three Catboats Rounding Brant Point, Nantucket,’ estimated at $60,000-$80,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions
Robert Stark Jr., ‘Three Catboats Rounding Brant Point, Nantucket,’ estimated at $60,000-$80,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions

Four more paintings not to be missed are Robert Stark Jr.’s (1933-2014) Three Catboats Rounding Brant Point, Nantucket, estimated at $60,000-$80,000; an oil on masonite by Ralph Eugene Cahoon Jr. (1910-1982), dubbed American Seamen’s Friend Society and estimated at $40,000-$60,000; a George Gardner Fish (1822-1906) pastel on paper, The Bride and the Maidens, estimated at $4,000-$6,000, depicting Fish’s two daughters, Madeleine and Anna, with a friend; and Janet Rickus’s (b. 1949-) vibrant Still Life with Vegetables, which has an identical estimate.

Ralph Eugene Cahoon Jr., ‘American Seaman’s Friend Society,’ estimated at $40,000-$60,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions

Ralph Eugene Cahoon Jr., ‘American Seaman’s Friend Society,’ estimated at $40,000-$60,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions

Certain to get your motor running is a 1949 Willy Jeep Coupe with just 560 approximate miles on its odometer since restoration. It carries an estimate of $30,000-$40,000.

Double Lollipop Nantucket basket, estimated at $5,000-$7,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions
Double Lollipop Nantucket basket, estimated at $5,000-$7,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions

Nantucket baskets range from early Lightship baskets to ladies’ friendship purses and miniatures designed with contemporary flair. Dating from the 19th century is a rare and scarce Double Lollipop Nantucket basket, estimated at $5,000-$7,000; and from the Weinroth estate comes one of two contemporary Michael Kane baskets: a 1985 nest of 10 Nantucket rounds, with a 1985 penny at the center. Its estimate is $8,000-$10,000.

Janet Rickus, ‘Still Life with Vegetables,’ estimated at $4,000-$6,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions
Janet Rickus, ‘Still Life with Vegetables,’ estimated at $4,000-$6,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions

Silver choices include a mid-century Cartier ice bucket, estimated at $3,000-$4,000; a pair of circa-1914 Tiffany & Co. Art Deco tazzas, estimated at $2,000-$3,000; and a fine circa-1875 James Willis Dixon sterling silver wine ewer, estimated at $2,500-$3,500.

1949 Willy Jeep Coupe, estimated at $30,000-$40,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions
1949 Willy Jeep Coupe, estimated at $30,000-$40,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions

From America’s first globe-maker comes an intriguing pair of terrestrial and celestial nine-inch globes, circa 1829 and 1830, manufactured by James Wilson & Co. Albany, New York and estimated at $30,000-$35,000.

Early 19th-century set of nine-inch globes by American manufacturer James Wilson & Co., estimated at $30,000-$35,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions
Early 19th-century set of nine-inch globes by American manufacturer James Wilson & Co., estimated at $30,000-$35,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions

There’s stately elegance in Antoine Gabriel Quervelle’s (b. France 1789-1856) Philadelphia Empire sideboard formerly owned by President John Quincy Adams and illustrated in the Willard Bradley Memoirs. The sideboard bears an estimate of $3,000-$5,000.

Carved mahogany sideboard formerly owned by John Quincy Adams and made by Antoine Gabriel Quervelle, estimated at $3,000-$5,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions
Carved mahogany sideboard formerly owned by John Quincy Adams and made by Antoine Gabriel Quervelle, estimated at $3,000-$5,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions

Other 18th- and 19th-century furniture lots convey Colonial restraint, as evidenced by a circa-1770 Boston Chippendale mahogany slant front desk, estimated at $1,000-$1,500; a coastal Connecticut bonnet top secretary desk estimated at $4,000-$6,000; and a fancy bamboo and bird’s eye maple galleried desk, estimated at $3,000-$4,000. There’s also an exceptional circa-1830 New England pie safe, estimated at $1,500-$2,500, and a Central European Biedermeier work table from the same period, estimated at $800-$1,200.

Coastal Connecticut bonnet top secretary desk, estimated at $4,000-$6,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions
Coastal Connecticut bonnet top secretary desk, estimated at $4,000-$6,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions

Properties of great style that have survived, triumphed and flourished through the ages include a double sailor’s valentine, made in the early 19th century and estimated at $4,000-$6,000.

Early 19th-century double sailor’s valentine, estimated at $4,000-$6,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions
Early 19th-century double sailor’s valentine, estimated at $4,000-$6,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions

Dating to the late 19th century, John Haley Bellamy’s carved eagle with E. Pluribus Unum banner, estimated at $6,000-$8,000, will spark enthusiasm among Americana fans.

John Haley Bellamy carved eagle with E Pluribus Unum banner, estimated at $6,000-$8,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions
John Haley Bellamy carved eagle with E. Pluribus Unum banner, estimated at $6,000-$8,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions

The Sunday, August 6 session is The Marine Auction, boasting a total of 96 antique walking sticks, including 67 lots from the estate of Stephen Weinroth of Nantucket. Turk’s knots, serpents, polyhedron, knob and mushroom grips, naughty legs, hands, twisted L-grips, grasping ball, Arctic hawk, paneled grip, American eagle, and friendship handshakes top finely carved 19th-century narwhal, whalebone, baleen and hardwood canes and sticks.

Whaleman-made highly embellished trinket box, estimated at $4,000-$6,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions
Whaleman-made highly embellished trinket box, estimated at $4,000-$6,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions

Another standout is a whaleman-made trinket box embellished with 42 inlaid stars, 90 inlaid diamonds and 102 dots, estimated at $4,000-$6,000. An intriguing piece of history is the 1841-1845 log book of the Barque Cora, a whaling voyage to the Pacific out of New Bedford, which cites incidents and losses with regard to personnel. Its estimate is $4,500-$5,000.

Albert S. Nemethy, ‘The City of Worcester Paddlewheel Ferry,’ estimated at $5,000-$8,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions

Albert S. Nemethy, ‘The City of Worcester Paddlewheel Ferry,’ estimated at $5,000-$8,000. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions

Four lots of artworks credited to Albert S. Nemethy, (1920-1998) lead the Day 2 paintings category along with two works by Emile Albert Gruppe (1896-1897). An extraordinary Nemethy oil titled The City of Worcester Paddlewheel Ferry has an estimate of $5,000-$8,000, and Emile Gruppe’s Fishing Boats Docked is estimated at $8,000-$10,000.

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