LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding for the 571-lot auction.
Many of the key highlights are fresh to the market, some not seen for decades, and one not previously know. Olive Trees, Cagnes by Frederick Carl Frieseke is being included in the Frederick Carl Frieseke Catalogue Raisonné and was recently purchased at a New Hampshire yard sale. The work from this leading American Impressionist is estimated at $50,000 to $70,000.
According to Robin Starr, director of Skinner’s American and European Paintings Department, “The theme of this sale is fresh material. In fact, most of the highlighted lots have come from private collections.”
Another American artist highlight is N.C. Wyeth’s And They Did Their Trading from the Top of Battlemented Wallst. Well-known and well-documented, the piece was consigned by the children of a man who acquired it as a trade for service. It has been in the family for more than 50 years and is estimated at $300,000 to $500,000. Other works of note by American painters include Winter Farm by Aldro Thompson Hibbard, estimated at $8,000 to $12,000; A Grey Day on the Hudson by Worthington (Thomas) Whittredge, estimated at $20,000 to $30,000; Solar Imp by Helen Frankenthaler, estimated at $3,000 to $5,000; Chance Meeting by Martin Lewis, estimated at $7,000 to $9,000; and White Sands by Edward Weston, estimated at $1,200 to $1,800, and coming to Skinner by family descent from the collection of Austin Lamont, together with approximately 20 other works of photography from this collection.
William Louis Sonntag’s The Falls at Sunset will also be offered. The landscape, which likely dates from later in his career when he moved toward more intimate scenes, smaller canvas sizes and a more limited range in color palette, is estimated at $6,000 to $8,000. Also to be featured is John F. Francis’ Elaborate Still Life with Melons and Fruit on a Marble Slab. This work was one of a number of paintings from a New England estate. Francis, one of the most accomplished still life painters of the 19th century was known as “the master of luncheon and dessert pictures.” In this piece, one of his most elaborate, Francis employs some of his favorite motifs, the rough-cut watermelon, various fruits opened or quartered, and a fruit basket draped with a fringed napkin. The work is estimated at $80,000 to $120,000.
Marvin Cone’s Old Timer is also up for bid and estimated at $100,000 to $150,000. Acquired by Mr. and Mrs. Reginald B. Figge, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Naples, Fla., then held in their private collection and descended through the family, Old Timer was one of three submissions to the Directions in American Painting exhibit held Oct. 23 to Dec. 14, 1941 at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh, though another was ultimately selected.
European works that are expected to draw significant interest include several coming from local private collections. These include a John Morgan, entitled Kinder at Play, estimated at $35,000 to $55,000; Lesende Frau by Mihály Munkácsy, estimated at $70,000 to $90,000; Christ Disputing with the Doctors: a sketch by Rembrandt van Rijn, estimated at $3,500 to $5,500; Gustav Klimt’s Brustbild eines Mädchens im Profil nach links/A Study for Musiksalon des Palais Dumba, alternatively entitled Backfisch, Bild, estimated at $50,000 to $70,000; and Tanger by Victor Eeckhout, a painter of Orientalist subject matter and genre scenes whose paintings were inspired by Tangier, where the painting at hand was probably created. Tanger is estimated at $70,000 to $90,000.
Two Italian works are also being featured and come from private New England collections. Torre de Leandro/A View of Salacak and Kiz Kulesi [Leander’s Tower], Istanbul, Turkey by Fausto Zonaro was a gift to Georg Ruckmann of Lübeck, Germany, from a doctor that fled to Turkey before World War I. Ruckmann was an administrator of a hospital in Lübeck. The painting then descended in the family. The piece is estimated at $20,000 to $40,000. Senza Titolo by Tancredi Parmeggiani, a patron of Guggenheim who provided him with studio space and exhibited his work in her palazzo. The work is estimated at $10,000 to $15,000.
Previews for the auction will be held on Wed, Jan. 26 from noon to 5 p.m., on Thursday, Jan. 27 from noon to 8 p.m. Fri, Jan. 28 from 9 to 10:30 a.m. The Thursday evening preview will feature a reception and gallery walk beginning at 5:30 p.m. RSVP to 617-350-5400.
For more information, visit www.skinnerinc.com or call 508-970-3000.
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
