: Two collectors slugged it out on the phone so fiercely for Philip
Leslie Hale's impressive "Girl with Gulls" that they drove it to
what may be a record price of $70,700 in the second day of
Eldred's Americana sale on August 5-6. The painting, which was
exhibited at the National Academy of Design in 1928 and at Museum
of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1931 as "Aphrodite of the Sea Gulls,"
measured 8 by 4 feet and depicted a sinuous nude emerging from
the blue ocean surrounded by fluttering white seagulls. Estimated
at $30/50,000, the picture came from a Martha's Vineyard home and
was in fine condition. The unidentified successful bidder had
vowed before the sale that he would be the owner of the painting.
He was right.
Paintings generated the liveliest bidding action, and they
combined to make this Eldred's best sale in its history.
A late addition to the sale was the next high lot. Ralph Cahoon's
framed oil on Masonite "A Balloon Ride" portrayed mermaids and
sailors in a sky full of hot air balloons with ships and a
lighthouse in the background. The picture, which came from a
Boston-area home too late to be included in the catalog, brought
$46,000.
An oval Ralph Cahoon painting of a sailor in a dory pursued by a
mermaid clutching a bouquet of flowers sold for $31,050. The
painting had come from the collection of Rosemary and Jim
Lonborg, who, as a Boston Red Sox pitcher, became known as
"Gentleman Jim." He later played for Milwaukee and the Phillies
before retiring to practice dentistry outside Boston.
Martha and Ralph Cahoon were decorative furniture painters before
they came to making the pictures that are so coveted in the
marketplace. This sale included a lot of furniture decorated by
Ralph Cahoon that comprised two signed bureaus with mirrors, two
stands and two spool beds. Estimated at $1,2/1,500, the lot
fetched $10,810. A three-piece lot of bedroom furniture decorated
by Cahoon, estimated at $700/1,000 realized $2,300.
A mahogany tall case clock signed by David Wood, circa 1820,
reached $23,000.
Other paintings of interest included a charming picture by
Guy Carleton Wiggins of a Connecticut harbor scene thought to be
Noank that went to a determined buyer for $23,575 against its
estimated $12/14,000. A J.J. Enneking signed view of the Ogunquit,
Maine, rocky shoreline realized $23,000. A framed dune scene,
thought to be the south side of Nantucket, signed "W. Ferdinand
Macy '87," was also of interest and scooted past its estimated
$3,5/6,000 to $16,100.
John Whorf's signed watercolor of a couple rowing a skiff showed
the light playing across the waters in Provincetown Harbor. It
sold for $12,650 to the same Pennsylvania buyer who bought the
Hale. Whorf's "Dark April," depicting New England spring at its
darkest and most drizzly, fetched $8,625.
Charles D. Cahoon, cousin to Ralph and Martha, was a big draw as
his oil on board view of a house near Pleasant Bay opened above
the high estimate at $8,000 and sold for $14,950. Jane Peterson's
watercolor and gouache Palm Beach scene sold well above estimate
at $5,520, and Henry Rittenberg's 1937 oil on canvas sketch of
sailboats at Concarneau in Brittany, France, was estimated at
$500/1,000 and sold for $2,875.
An American tall case clock with a dial signed by David Wood of
Newburyport came from a Rhode Island consignor moving to smaller
quarters and brought $23,000.
Objects related to the Cape Cod town of Sandwich attracted strong
interest. A framed needlework in crewel and petit point stitch
with a detailed image of a vase of flowers surrounded by trees,
flowers, a reclining stag and lion and insects went for $18,400.
It carried provenance of the Wing family, early settlers of
Sandwich, and sold to Stephen Huber. A selection of watercolor
maps made by children of Sandwich in 1831 and also owned by the
Wing family drew exponential results. A framed watercolor of the
United States by Penelope P. Crocker, age 10, brought $2,760; a
framed watercolor of the West Indies by 15-year-old Eveline W.
Handy, brought $1,035; and another of the West Indies by 11-year
old Azubah B. Handy, also brought $1,035. A watercolor map of
South America by 13-year-old Trizah Bearse's was also $1,035.
A set of eight Hepplewhite mahogany dining chairs with delicate
urn and swag splats between two ribbed stiles went for $15,526 to
the same phone bidder who bought four American Chippendale dining
chairs with volute ears and pierced vertical back splats for
$4,888.
A one-drawer tavern table in pine and maple with a breadboard top
had fancy turned legs and some restoration. Bidders wanted it
badly, and drove it past the estimated $400/600 to $4,255.
Unusual tin lamp advertising None Such pumpkin pie filler,
mince meat and soup, found hanging in a basement, $4,600.
A five-gallon stoneware crock decorated in cobalt with a
detailed cornucopia of flowers that was marked "John Burger,
Rochester" had applied handles, and the catalog identified a slight
loss of surface on the back and several cracks. Still, it went for
$17,250 against the estimated $1/1,500 to an Ohio buyer.
Bidding on a rare tin lamp advertising "None Such" products with
a pierced star, circle and flower design to the sides and top
opened above the estimated $800/1,200 at $1,500 and raced to
$4,600. Eldred's Eric Mulak found it hanging in the basement of a
local home.
As auctioneer Bob Eldred hammered down a 38-inch pair of
Nineteenth Century silver plate and nickel hearse lanterns, he
advised bidders to plan for the future and buy ahead. The
gleaming lanterns, which he and John Schofield had cleaned
themselves, sold for $1,610.
All prices quoted reflect the buyer's premium of 15 percent of
the first $50,000 of the purchase price and ten percent
thereafter.
