On the phones and on the
floor, bidders duked it out for this rather dark canvas until
the hammer fell at $270,000.
LUDWIGS CORNER, PENN. - Pook & Pook Inc. conducted an auction
on September 30 which included an important work by the American
painter Martin Johnson Heade (1819-1904).
The small 101/8 by 22ΒΌ -inch oil on canvas landscape depicted a
sunset on the marshes. A letter of authenticity from Theodore
Stebbins accompanied the painting, which dates the work to
1860-61. In need of cleaning, the work carried the gallery's
estimate of $90/110,000.
Correspondent J.M.W. Fletcher reports that when bidding doubled
the low estimate, the action in the very busy gallery proved to
be no match for the phone bank, which had been augmented to seven
cell and line phones. Five of the seven lines became mute when
the bidding doubled the high estimate, and there was only
one cell phone still in business when auctioneer James Gibson let
the hammer fall at an astounding $270,000.
A ten percent buyers premium was charged. A full review of this
auction will follow in an upcoming issue.
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