An oil on board painting by Puerto Rican artist Miguel Pou, titled Houses on the Hills, 1936, 6 inches by 8 1/2 inches, framed and signed and dated, sold for $8,619 at a Spring Estates Auction held May 18-19 by Crescent City Auction Gallery in New Orleans. Also, a collection of 71 Mardi Gras pins went for $3,437; an early 19th century William and Mary walnut chest on stand, 63 inches tall, brought $2,725; and a giclee on canvas by George Rodrigue (b. 1944), titled Nude With Blue Dog, made $3,081. Prices include a 23 percent buyer’s premium.
Antique corset display, $17,100, Showtime Auction
A C/B a la Spirite corset display with the original box and a mannequin sold for $17,100 at an auction held April 12-14 by Showtime Auction Services in Ann Arbor, Mich. Also, a Campbell’s Soup embossed tin sign (“6 Plates for 10 Cents – Just Add Hot Water and Serve”) climbed to $60,000; a 1917 La France automatic aerial ladder truck, professionally restored, roared away for $57,000; a Bellingham Bay Beer reverse glass sign made $31,200; and an outdoor sand sign for Walden Eddy Plows hit $20,520. Prices include the buyer’s premium.
Childe Hassam painting, $288,000, Shannon’s
A large and important oil painting by the renowned American Impressionist Childe Hassam (1859-1935), titled The East Hampton Elms in May, 1920, sold for $288,000 at a Spring Fine Art Auction held April 25 by Shannon’s Fine Art Auctioneers in Milford, Conn. Also, an oil on board by Martha Walter (1875-1976), titled Tea Party, brought $90,000; Jasper Cropsey’s Greenwood Lake in the Autumn realized $72,000; and a color offset lithograph signed by Andy Warhol, titled Liz, gaveled for $43,200. Prices include a 20 percent buyer’s premium.
Alexander Calder work, $114,000, A. B. Levy’s
An original gouache painting by Alexander Calder (1898-1976) titled Red and Blue Egg, 1969, sold for $114,000 at an estates auction held May 5 by A.B. Levy’s in Palm Beach, Fla. Also, a Cartier 6.01-carat fancy intense yellow diamond ring sold for $182,000; a Meiji Period (19th century) Japanese Satsuma vase of globular form, 7 inches tall, made $21,600; and a late 19th or early 20th century mahogany marquetry and parquetry bureau a cylindre fetched $36,000. Prices include the buyer’s premium.
Gino Sarfatti lamp, $15,930, Nadeau’s
A vintage 1950s brass floor lamp designed by legendary Italian lighting designer Gino Sarfatti (1912-1984) sold for $15,930 at a Mid-Century and Couture Estates Auction held May 11 by Nadeau’s Auction Gallery in Windsor, Conn. Also, a Jeanne Lanvin Castillo Paris evening gown with beadwork and embroidery shot to $1,652; a 1975 Mercedes-Benz 450 SL convertible car with hard and soft top sped off for $4,313; and a Hermes ship’s clock by Swiss watch and clock maker Jaeger-LeCoultre went for $1,452. Prices include a 15 percent buyer’s premium.
Iznik pottery charger, $9,600, Woodbury Auction
An Iznik pottery charger sold for $9,600 at an Americana, Folk Art & Decorative Arts Auction held April 21 by Woodbury Auction in Woodbury, Conn. Also, an early American red painted dry sink coasted to $3,009; a Queen Anne painted oval tea-top table went for $2,388; a painted and gilded wooden dressmaker’s sign hammered for $2,700; a possibly Native American hand-carved burl sold for $1,353; a primitive American red painted candlestand rose to $1,968; and a folk painted hobby horse made $861. Prices include a 17 percent buyer’s premium.
Harry V. Shourds mallard, $98,900, Guyette, Schmidt
One of only two known mallard decoys by the carver Harry V. Shourds of Tuckerton, N.J., sold for $98,900 at the 28th annual Spring Decoy Auction held April 25-26 by Guyette, Schmidt & Deeter at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Ill. Also, a pair of mallards by Enoch Reindahl, Stoughton, Wis., rose to $97,750; a preening scoter by Gus Wilson, South Portland, Maine, hammered for $40,250; and a circa 1870s swimming mallard drake by John Blair Sr., topped out at $89,125. Prices include a 15 percent buyer’s premium.
Quarter-dollar gold coin, $41,000, Holabird-Kagin
An experimental head quarter-dollar gold coin (BG-209A) sold for $41,000, over four times the high estimate, at an Americana Auction held April 12-13 by Holabird-Kagin in Reno, Nev. Also, an 1854 octagonal half-dollar gold coin (BG-304A) changed hands for $48,000 (more than double the high estimate); and a gorgeous Panamint Birds and Turtle bowl hammered for a record-setting $11,000. Overall, the sale netted over $2 million. Prices include a 17.5 percent buyer’s premium for numismatics and a 19.5 percent buyer’s premium for Americana.
Marge Schott’s necklace, $192,000, Cowan’s Auctions
A 28-carat platinum and diamond necklace made for former Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott sold for $192,000 at a Fine Jewelry and Timepieces Auction held April 14 by Cowan’s Auctions in Cincinnati. Also, a platinum and diamond 18-carat brooch knocked down at $55,350; a platinum Hamilton women’s wristwatch with eight carats of diamonds went for $57,000; a women’s platinum brooch with pear-shaped baguette and round diamonds realized $10,455; and a platinum and diamond Omega watch hit $18,450. Prices include a 15 percent buyer’s premium.
Colin Cooper painting, $90,000, John Moran
A painting of the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts by Colin Campbell Cooper, one of a series set at different times of the day, sold for $90,000 at a sale of California & American Fine Art held April 23 by John Moran Auctioneers in Pasadena, Calif. Also, a watercolor work by Millard Sheets titled Sunday Morning Moorea brought $54,000; a terra-cotta bust of an African-American youth by William Ellsworth Artis hit a record $33,000; and Frans Masereel’s watercolor of the Moulin Rouge in Paris earned $23,275. Prices include a 20 percent buyer’s premium.
Pair of silver trophies, $42,000, Skinner Inc.
A pair of Victorian gilded silver herd trophies sold for $42,000 at a sale of European Furniture & Decorative Arts held April 6 by Skinner Inc. in Boston. Also, a Russian icon depicting Our Lady of Kazan earned $15,990; a pair of Fabergé gilded silver and enamel napkin rings made $15,600; an Art Deco bronze and ivory enamel-decorated figure of a dancer cast after a model by Gedra Iro Gerdago coasted to $13,200; and a painting by Modesto Texidor y Torres, of boys sailing toy boats, fetched $15,600. Prices include an 18.5 percent buyer’s premium.
1927 Yankees team photo, $275,706; SCP Auctions
A 1927 world champion New York Yankees team-signed photograph sold for $275,706 in an online auction that ended April 18 by SCP Auctions of Laguna Niguel, Calif. Also, a Babe Ruth game-used bat was a hit for $171,190; what is generally believed to be the finest Wayne Gretzky game jersey in the hobby went for $110,293; Ray Nietzsche’s original 1967 Green Bay Packers Super Bowl II championship ring soared to $91,151; and Gus Williams’ 1979 Seattle Supersonics NBA Championship ring hit $91,000. Prices include a 20 percent buyer’s premium.
Cartier Mystery Clock, $515,000, Doyle New York
A rare Cartier Art Deco rock crystal and diamond Model A Mystery Clock sold for $515,000 at a sale of jewelry, timepieces and objets de vertu from the estate of Consuelo Vanderbilt Earl (1903-2011), held April 15 by Doyle New York in New York City. It was a new world auction record for a Model A Mystery Clock. Also, another Art Deco clock by Cartier of lapis and nephrite jade knocked down at $221,000; and an Art Deco rock crystal and diamond bangle bracelet by Cartier hammered for $100,000. Prices include a 25 percent buyer’s premium.
Kenneth Noland’s Flown, $81,250, Rago Arts & Auction
An artwork by Kenneth Noland titled Flown sold for $81,250 at a May Artwork Auction of 19th /20th Century American & European Art, plus Post-War & Contemporary Art held by Rago Arts & Auction Center in Lambertville, N.J. Also, an untitled work by Raymond Pettibon fetched $43,750; Milton Dacosta’s Figura realized $41,250; a New York City snowy street scene by Guy Carleton Wiggins, titled At the Plaza, Winter, rose to $40,625; and a work by Lynn Chadwick titled Elecktra achieved $40,625. Prices include a 25 percent buyer’s premium.
Portrait of George Washington, $662,500, Heritage Auctions
Rembrandt Peale’s iconic portrait of U.S. President George Washington sold for $662,500 at an American Art Auction held May 10-11 by Heritage Auctions in Dallas. Peale’s equally iconic portrait of Martha Washington fetched $158,500. Also, John McCrady’s mammoth 14-foot wide mural, titled Steamboat ‘Round the Bend, commissioned in 1946 by Delmonico’s Restaurant in New Orleans, brought $542,500—a new world record for the artist; and Jerome Thompson’s Riverbank in Bloom (1865) made $512,500. Prices include a 19.5 percent buyer’s premium.
LeRoy Neiman painting, $94,300, Clars Auction
A brightly colored 1982 painting by LeRoy Neiman (1921-2012), titled Finish at Indy, depicting the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history, sold for $94,300 at an auction held May 18-19 by Clars Auction Gallery in Oakland, Calif. Also, Neiman’s work titled Longchamp galloped off for $77,530; a painting by August Gay (1890-1949), titled Water, Sand and Patterns, fetched $59,500; and a portfolio of 20th century prints by Friedensreich Hundertwasser (Austrian, 1978-2000) went for $26,180. Prices include a 19 percent buyer’s premium.
