KNOXVILLE, Tenn.— In a surprise finish, a portrait of General-turned-President Andrew Jackson won top lot status at the Winter Case Antiques auction on Jan. 23 – a sale punctuated by several other bright spots as well.
“In terms of sales results, this was our best auction in almost two years,” said company president John Case. “We saw heavy online and phone bidding, and a full gallery with a lot of new faces.”
Portraits of Jackson painted during his lifetime (1767-1845) are fairly scarce. This one, 34 inches by 31 inches framed, was painted during his presidency in 1836 by William Stewart Watson (Scottish, 1800-1870). According to the family in which it descended, the portrait was given to Alabama Col. Albert James Pickett when Pickett visited Jackson at his home, the Hermitage, in 1837. Pickett had been instrumental in organizing a counter response to a group of Alabama anti-Jackson states rights legislators, and the portrait was a reward for his loyalty. Estimated at $7,500 to $8,500, it generated a drawn-out battle between a man in the gallery and a phone bidder from the Southwest, and eventually hammered down to the phone at $36,320. (Prices include the buyer’s premium.)
A painting of ice skaters in Central Park by African American artist Joseph Delaney (1904-1991), drew action on multiple phone lines and sold to a South Carolina bidder. It reached the top of its estimate, $28,375, tying a hammer price record set for the artist in 2007.
Delaney, a Knoxville native, left in the 1930s for New York, where his brother Beauford was also working as an artist, and enrolled in the Art Students League under the tutelage of Thomas Hart Benton and Alexander Brooke. His work is the subject of the 2009 book, The Life, Art and Times of Joseph Delaney, 1904-1991 by Frederick C. Moffatt. The painting is illustrated in the book.
“While most of Delaney’s subject matter is tied to New York, the interest generated by this piece tells us there is a very strong market for his work here in the South,” said Case. “We hope to see more of his paintings here in the future.”
Other art highlights included a landscape with trees and luminescent sky by Adolf Robert Shulz (Indiana, 1869-1963) which realized $6,129 (est. $3500-$4,500), a 20th-century Mississippi homestead scene by self-taught Southern artist Rhoda Brady Stokes, $3,859, and an early 20th- century still life by Tennessee artist Cornelius Hankins, $1,702. La Danse a la Campagne, a Pierre August Renoir soft ground etching, sold amid heavy competition at $9,988 despite some condition issues including a faint stain and trimmed edges, and a 19th-century miniature painting on ivory signed “Vernet,” depicting Christopher Columbus at the court of Ferdinand and Isabella, brought $4,313.
An Edgefield, S.C., stoneware butter crock with slip swag decoration topped the offerings of Southern pottery, always a staple at Case. It achieved $18,160 (est. $3,500-$4,500). The 9-inch- tall piece retained its original lid, and Case said it was especially desirable because both the base and lid were marked “Chandler Maker.” Thomas Chandler, who has been called Edgefield’s premier potter, was born in Virginia but enlisted in the Army in Albany, N.Y., in 1832, so may have potted briefly in New York. A decorated jar made by him bears a decided resemblance to New York wide-mouth jar forms with lug handles. His straight-sided cake crocks are also reminiscent of Northern cobalt decorated crocks. In 1838, Chandler married into the Durham family of potters in Edgefield. He is believed to have turned wares at all of the Edgefield factories where slip decoration was widely used. Chandler died in North Carolina in 1854.
Another Edgefield piece, an ovoid form jug decorated on both sides with a “broken flower stem” slip design, also possibly by Chandler, brought just over its high estimate at $2,610. An East Tennessee decorated stoneware 2-gallon jar attributed to Charles Decker earned $2,156 (est. $900-$1,200), and an 8-gallon Wythe County, Va., stoneware jug with sine wave decoration and ribbed rim brought $851. A miniature Middle Tennessee jug sold for $225.
The sale featured a large amount of American and English 19th- and 20th-century silver hollowware and flatware, with most of the sterling bringing consistently good prices. The category was crowned by a coin silver calling card case bearing the mark of David Hope, only the second coin silver card case known with a Tennessee maker’s mark. It competed to $2,838, double its high estimate. A lot of six coin silver teaspoons, four marked by Samuel Bell of Knoxville, brought $1,589 (est. $400-$500), and an 1860 English sterling fish set with ivory handles carved in the form of mermaids, inscribed to Simon Cameron, Abraham Lincoln’s secretary of war, served up $1,816.
Furniture as a category remained somewhat soft, with a few exceptions. A Middle Tennessee cherry book or china press with glazed doors and some height loss to its feet earned $9,534 (est. $4500-$5,500), while a sideboard which descended in the same family, with similar design and construction but more significant foot losses, brought $1,589. A miniature grain painted Wythe County, Va., blanket chest with bracket feet closed at $1,135.
Textiles and Folk Art highlights included a Connecticut alphabet sampler with floral border dated 1845 and signed Chloe Jane Blakeslee, $1,021 (est. $400-$600), and a Middle Tennessee quilt in the Rose of Sharon or Whig Rose variant pattern, $908. A folk art painted watch hutch with grain paint and later stenciled chickens on top flew to $1,078, while an elaborately pieced picture frame with heart and hand designs made $567, the same price as a Southern dulcimer in wooden case with old bow.
Other standouts included a 1904 Confederate Cavalry veterans photos of Troop A from Nashville, Tenn., picturing two African American porters, $2,043 (est. $600-$800), and a Handel Arts and Crafts table lamp with bronze base and a possibly later leaded floral glass shade, $1,816.
An Aesthetic movement faience jardinière with bronzed feet cast in the form of elephant heads brought $1,248, and a set of Aunt Louisa’s Little Pets Alphabet blocks by McLoughlin Brothers spelled out a top bid of $567.
“We were very encouraged by the results of this sale, especially the fact that we experienced a record number of online bidders through LiveAuctioneers,” said Case. “Whether it’s the economy finally showing signs of recovery, or a result of our most aggressive advertising to date, we feel very grateful.”
Case is currently accepting consignments for its Spring auction, scheduled for May 22 in Knoxville. The company conducts sales in its gallery in the historic Cherokee Mills building in Knoxville and also operates a branch office in Nashville.
For details call 865-558-3033 or visit Case’s website: www.caseantiques.com
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
