A Closer Look: Everything Comes up Roses at Shannon's Spring Art Auction

GREENWICH, CONN.

: "Everything is coming up roses," commented Gene Shannon moments prior to the start of Shannon's Spring Auction of Fine American and European Paintings and Drawings on Thursday, April 28. The sale proved true to the auctioneer's word, grossing an impressive $3.8-plus million and resulting in a record gross being established for the auction gallery for a single session sale.

"There was enthusiastic bidding across the boards," according to the auctioneer, resulting in 14 record prices paid at auction established. Shannon reported active bidding from the full house that was on hand for the sale, and heated bidding throughout the evening from the more than 20 active telephone lines.

"One of the things that was interesting," he said, "was the depth of interest. It was substantial and was evident across the boards from the $2,000 paintings right up to the top tier."

A record number of phone bidders registered for the auction and also, for the first time in Shannon's history, Internet bidding, which was well received. Absentee bids were also numerous, yet the real strength revealed itself in the audience as they flexed their muscles time and again to claim the majority of the top lots.

The auction house reported 87 percent of the lots sold, and of those lots, 87.5 sold at or above their high estimates. One hundred eight paintings in the auction realized more than $10,000. Shannon's also reported a 20 percent increase in participation over its previous sales with bidders from 39 states and 11 countries participating.

The lot garnering the lion's share of the attention was Childe Hassam's oil on canvas, measuring 481/4 by 601/4 inches, that was titled "Nudes at the Cove." The painting was installed in the library of Colonel Charles Erskine Scott Wood during the summer of 1904 when Hassam traveled to Portland Ore. It was part of a four-piece mural and hung across from "The Bathers," which is now in the collection of the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester.

Bidding on the Hassam was brisk with numerous phone bidders on line although in the end it came down to a private buyer from Florida on the phone and a private couple in the gallery trading advances. The piece bounced back and forth between the pair with the lot eventually selling to the couple in the room for $357,625, including premium.

A monumental Hayley Lever harbor scene was another of the lots that attracted serious attention. The monumental piece, measuring 40 by 50 inches, was in an impressionistic style and depicted boats and a boathouse in a harbor with a mountainous background backlit by a brilliant sunset. Once again, despite heavy action from the telephones, the piece sold in the room going to the trade for a record for the artist of $159,625.

A Fitz Hugh Lane oil depicting a beached shipwrecked vessel, titled "A Wreck on the Coast of New England," was another of the top lots that went to the gallery. The oil on canvas, measuring 18 by 261/2 inches, was signed and dated 1847 and carried a provenance of Manhattan's Kennedy Galleries. Bidding on the lot was brisk with it selling at $143,125.

Another of the favorite images from the sale was a Guy Penne DuBois oil on canvas titled "Puritans" that depicted a woman in an evening gown seated on a sofa with only her back showing. She was engrossed in conversation with a tuxedoed gentleman who remains in the shadows. The striking 18-by-22-inch oil on canvas did well, selling at $70,500.

Some of the record prices established throughout the sale were expected and some were outright surprises, as were the prices they brought. Some of the record prices established eclipsed the previous record by more than ten times, and one by nearly 20 times. Some of the surprises included a Freeman Willis Simmons, whose previous record of $574 was easily eclipsed as an oil of a flower market brought $5,875. A Thomas J. Mitchell winter cityscape sold at $18,800, shattering the old record of $770, and Nathaniel Dobinsky's previous record of $1,992 fell when an oil depicting several children realized $35,320.

Several David Burliuk paintings found their way into the sale after the strong prices posted for the Russian artist at Shannon's two previous sales. "They are going to sing," commented Sandra Germain, and sing they did as a 20-by-30-inch oil on canvas titled "By the Harbor - Cortez, Florida," signed and dated 1962, shot past the $8/12,000 presale estimates to $37,600. Another Burliuk, "On Martha's Vineyard," also brought a premium price at $28,200. A floral by the artist also sold well above the $5/7,000 estimates at $23,500.

Other lots that brought premium prices included a Johann Berthelsen titled "Washington Square after a Shower" that sold at more than double estimates and establishing a record for the artist at $30,550. A Carl Olof Eric Lindin Impressionistic scene titled "The Cloud" also easily surpassed estimates, bringing a record price of $31,725.

While Gene Shannon was reluctant to speak about the Laurence Campbell oil on Masonite, his daughter Sandra was more than enthusiastic. "He is the only living artist that we handle," she stated, "we went out on a limb two auctions ago and he has been very successful." Estimated at $3/5,000, the painting titled "5th Avenue, New York City" attracted a great deal of attention. Done in the Impressionistic style of Guy Wiggins, the painting soared past presale, finally hammering down $39,950.

While the two stars of the show never made it to the auction block, they were actually missed by few in the crowd. The two paintings, both colorful Impressionist works by Birger Sandzen, had been discovered in storage by the principal of a Milwaukee school and ultimately consigned. Each carried a high presale estimate of $500,000.

The Milwaukee School Board disputed the authority of the school's principal to consign the works and filed suit to block the sale of the paintings. Shannon has also filed suit and according to the auctioneer "the fate of the paintings is in the hands of the lawyers." Shannon, obviously disappointed with the situation, stated that there had been "such an enthusiastic response" that they would have easily established "unbelievable world record" prices.