: - Close to 2,000 lots were offered over the course of a
three-day, action-packed sale conducted by James Julia August
20-22, with strong results posted from the beginning to the end.
The auction, entitled simply a "Spectacular Maine Auction," held
true to its name as more than 600 lots were offered during
marathon sessions each of the days.
The annual auction, which takes place at the luxurious Samoset
Resort, is always scheduled to coincide with the busy vacation
and antiques season in Maine. This sale, expanded from the normal
two-day event into a three-day sale due to the heavy influx of
merchandise, featured a diversified selection of materials with a
quality assortment of Americana, Victoriana, Continental,
paintings and large collection of autographs rounding out the
assortment.
Numerous collections were offered including the historical
document collection of Dr and Mrs Stanwood Schmidt of Eureka,
Calif., to art and bronzes from the Cliff and Mary Hillegrass
estate of Lincoln, Neb. No Julia auction would be complete with a
Maine collection also being featured and this sale offered the
Stephen Weston collection of early Maine furniture and
accessories.
The sale got off to a good start with a nice early game board in
mustard and green paint selling reasonably at $402. Within a few
lots materials from the Schmidt collection began crossing the
block with the first lot setting the pace for the sale as a
George Washington letter signed and dated 1796 shot past presale
estimates selling at $28,750.
A Thomas Jefferson letter also surpassed the $12/14,000 estimates
as it realized $20,700, as did a Benjamin Franklin signed
manuscript document that sold for $9,200. A hand drawn pen, ink
and watercolor document with the signatures of Abraham Lincoln,
his vice president and cabinet surrounded by a wreath with flags
and shields went out at $27,117, and a 52-page portfolio entitled
"The War Between The United States and Mexico," illustrated by
George Wilkins Kendall, 1851, was hammered down at $16,100.
Autographs of Twentieth Century villains and heroes saw Hitler
best Einstein at the block as prices of $2,357 and $2,175 were
realized.
The top lots of the auction came early on the final day of the
sale, Friday morning, with a Walt Kuhn painting of a clown
selling first at $149,500 after a battle between nine telephone
bidders, three of whom were active till the end. The Kuhn was
thought to be a preliminary painting for a work that recently
sold at Sotheby's for record price of $1.1 million. The painting,
which carried a presale estimate of $10/20,000, had an
interesting history having been given by Vera Kuhn to a
benefactor, who subsequently bequeathed it to the Sloan Kettering
Institute. The painting eventually wound up in the Sloan
Kettering thrift shop and was reportedly purchased less than two
years ago for $2,500.
The top lot of the auction came moments later as a rare Alexander
Roux walnut Victorian carved server with life-size dog supports
was offered. The piece was elaborately carved with a deer mount
above the lower shelf, a hanging grouse on the pierce carved
crest, ornately carved grape and leave scrolls across the aprons
and the front panel had an oak leaf and acorn pattern. The server
was called a "masterpiece" by Julia's American antiques
specialist Bill Gage, who further commented that it was
undoubtedly "one of Roux's finest works."
Nine phone bidders pushed this Walt Kuhn painting to $149,500.
As with the Kuhn lot, every phone in the hall, including
numerous cellular phones, was in use as the lot crossed the auction
block. It opened for bidding at $15,000 and moved rapidly in $5,000
increments all the way to a final selling price of $189,750, which
is believed to be a record price paid at auction for a piece of
Alexander Roux furniture. All prices include the buyer's premium.
Other items in the sale included a selection of Americana with a
nice carved eagle with banner in overall white paint with red and
blue trim by John Bellamy selling at $24,150, while a horse
leaping through a hoop weathervane by Jewell sold to a buyer in
the front row for $17,100.
A nice sponge decorated blanket chest in ochre yellow and
reddish-brown was hammered down at $9,487, a diminutive Maine
fall front desk brought $3,742, a small oval-top tavern table
with scrubbed top and red stained base $4,715, and an Empire
chest with a fancy carved backsplash and original red satin
realized $2,240.
Maine items from the Weston collection did very well with a
redware stewpot by John Stafford selling at $4,600, a nice small
wall cupboard brought $1,725, a Maine maple and bird's-eye Empire
chest with double-drawer boxed top and fancy scrolled backsplash
over a four-drawer case bringing $4,600.
Also from the Weston collection was a nice fanback Windsor in
black paint that sold for $4,600, while a low back Windsor in old
green paint brought $3,450. Several pieces of Sandwich glass were
also sold with a pair of clear compotes bringing $1,322, while a
sapphire blue master salt went for $2,760.
One of the items from the Wednesday session that attracted the
most attention was a rare half-plate tinted daguerreotype showing
eight miners in a trench. The piece, believed to be a Western
gold mining scene, had been picked from a Vermont home and was
fresh to the market. As the lot was offered numerous bidders were
represented on the telephones and several in the gallery had
interest. The piece was actively bid with it selling above
estimates at $12,247.
Another lot with Western interest was a late Nineteenth Century
photograph depicting a scantily clad "Josephine," an image that
has been sold for years as Wyatt Erp's wife. Julia cataloged the
lot as simply a "desirable erotic photograph" and it sold far
below what they have brought in the past with the now-disputed
Erp association at $633.
The second day of the auction also got off to a brisk start with
a mahogany one-drawer Pembroke table with shaped leaves that sold
above estimates at $1,150.
The selection of artwork provided the strength with a Basil
Bradley picture entitled "The Young Shepardess" selling at the
low estimate of $20,758. Two Percy Sanborn ship portraits did
well with a picture of the "Great Ship Republic" selling
at $24,150, while the portrait of the Charlotte W. White sold to
the same buyer for $23,575.
Bellamy eagle, $24,150.
Other ship portraits included an Antonio Jacobsen picture of
the schooner James T Maxwell Jr that was hammered down at
$21,850, a Jacobsen picture of the schooner Mannie Swan
$25,875, a James Buttersworth portrait of a ship in stormy seas
fresh from a Maine home brought $31,050, and a James Bard portrait
of the paddle-wheeler Jesse Hoyt realized $17,250.
"A Study for The Clippers," a large oil on canvas study
attributed to Newell Convers Wyeth, sold to a buyer in the room
after an active bout of bidding for $34,500. The unsigned study
was for the mural Wyeth executed for the lobby of the First
National Bank of Boston building in Boston.
An Arthur Fitzwilliam Tate oil on canvas entitled "The Last War
Whoop" depicted a colorful prairie scene of a frontiersman on
horseback with a revolver in his hand looking down at an Indian
on the ground with his hand to his mouth. This painting, listed
as no. 3457 in Conninghams's list, is the image used by Currier
for a famed lithograph. Bidding on the lot was brisk with it
selling for $31,600 to a phone bidder.
A selection of Thomas Hart Benton original watercolors, inks and
lithos attracted a great deal of attention with a half-portrait
watercolor of a gentleman in a top hat and black coat with bow
tie, signed "Benton - 24," garnering the most interest with a
host of phone bidders competing for the piece. The lot opened at
$4,000 and bounced back and forth between bidders in $100
increments until the $4,500 mark when one of the bidders jumped
the bid to $5,000; bidding resumed and at $5,500 it was jumped to
$6,000, at $6,500 it was jumped to $7,000. This continued for a
while until the piece moved past the $10,000 mark where it
continued to advance to a selling price of $14,950 going to the
eager phone bidder. Seven additional Benton lots were sold with a
watercolor and ink of a steamboat selling at $8,337, while a
pencil and watercolor of a woman seated at a bar brought $5,750.
Prices include the 15 percent buyer's premium charged.
