: Three paintings by New Bedford artist and Hudson River school
painter Charles H. Gifford topped the action at Willis Henry's
February 21 sale.
The oil on canvas of two sailing vessels before a cliff, perhaps
Gay Head, in an approaching squall in the original heavy gilt
frame sold for $21,275. The 1887 "Sunset - Launching a Dutch
Boat," painted after Gifford had moved from New York to his
hometown, New Bedford, sold for $20,700. The picture, also in the
original gilt frame, may have been a view of Gay Head.
The third picture, a Gifford that was unsigned, depicted two dory
men hauling nets, and brought $11,113. All three paintings came
from the estate of J.C. Rhodes, whose New Bedford plants made the
metal grommets and eyelets that he developed. All sold to the
same dealer bidding by telephone.
A Nineteenth Century oil on canvas river scene with Native
Americans on horses by Alvan Fisher sold after a lively
phone-bidding contest for $15,425. The painting bore his initials
and may have been signed indistinctly in the lower right. It came
from the Duxbury Historical Society and had a 1974 Museum of Fine
Arts exhibit label.
A collection of sketchbooks that included watercolors and oil
sketches made in the 1860s and 1870s by George F. Child of Boston
brought $5,180. The sketchbooks, which came from the Cape Cod
estate of Ann Treat Reynolds, who was related to Child, comprised
views of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, Cape Cod and Cape Ann.
An 1873 signed still life of a trout with a fly in the foreground
by Boston artist Walter M. Brackett, known for his paintings of
fish and game, sold for $2,415. A folk art painting of sailing
ships on an arctic sea bearing the initials "L.G." and set in a
gilt frame brought $1,208.
A banjo clock made in Newport, R.I., by Job B. Wilbour, decorated
with a street scene with soldiers, and signed along the glass
throat by David Williams of Newport brought $11,788. The clock
came from a South Shore consignor who was a descendant of
Williams.
Job B. Wilbour banjo clock made in Newport and signed along its
glass throat by David Williams, $11,788.
Another clock attracting bidders was the New England cherry
tall-case clock by Riley Whiting with interesting scalloping along
the bottom of the door and the bottom of a case. It sold for
$3,795.
Accessories of interest included a plump 28-inch full-bodied cow
weathervane with a zinc head and udders mounted on copper balls
that brought $4,600. Another was the framed sampler worked by
Maria Wood Brandon in 1822 with a border of green vines and
tendrils alternating with thistles and flowers and featuring the
sun and the moon, blackbirds and a house amid pines with deer,
butterflies and birds of paradise that sold for $3,795.
Auctioneer Will Henry maintained a running commentary as he sold,
adding nuggets of information about the objects, pointing out
features and flaws on many pieces. Karel Henry managed the phones
and some of the absentee bids.
A handsome Nineteenth Century Pennsylvania treenware sugar bowl
sold on the telephone for $3,385, and a Nineteenth Century tiger
maple knife box with gracefully scalloped and canted sides and
dovetailed joints went to a pleased buyer for $1,208.
An early Nineteenth Century pine creamery cupboard had traces of
original red paint, a heavy molded top and panel doors and was
found in Winchester, Va. It realized $2,760.
Two Eighteenth Century Rhode Island seven-drawer tall chests,
both in original red paint and from the same home, went to
dealers. Newcastle, N.H., dealer Richard Kenney paid $3,910 for
the example with original brasses, and Reading, Mass., dealer
Carl Stinson bought the one with wooden pulls and the remains of
a bracket base for $3,220. A custom Newport-style three-drawer
chest with shell carving brought $2,415 from a Vermont dealer on
the phone.
Four Eighteenth Century tavern tables were offered. A Queen Anne
maple and pine example with a rectangular top, a deep carved
skirt and splayed legs brought $2,300. A New England Queen Anne
maple example with a round top brought $1,955. Both came from a
Great Falls, Mont., estate. A Queen Anne maple tavern table with
an oval top, splayed legs, vase and ring turned legs and box
stretchers fetched $3,680. A New England maple and pine example
with a stretcher base and a pine single-board breadboard top, a
single dovetailed drawer on tall turned feet sold on the phone
for $2,875.
An Eighteenth Century Governor Winthrop desk in snazzy tiger
maple with two secret drawers within its cubbyhole interior sold
to Carl Stinson for $3,163.
Three nice blanket chests crossing the block included an
Eighteenth Century Rhode Island example painted fancifully with
cream waves on a pale salmon ground that sold for $1,265. An
Eighteenth Century Rhode Island bridal chest in the original red
paint with the painted legend on the bottom, "J. D. Teech, 1808,
H. Ephram, Smithfield," fetched $575. A Rhode Island pine blanket
chest in old red paint and dated 1829 realized $633.
Eighteenth Century Windsor chairs were plentiful. A late New
England bow back example in old black paint, with an "H"
stretcher base was $1,898, and a bow back armchair in early brown
paint with bamboo turned legs and shaped arms realized $575.
A continuous armchair with a saddle seat was $920, and a New
England brace back bow back example went for $690, as did another
in black paint.
Cow weathervane, $4,600.
A collection of about 50 Staffordshire figures assembled by
the Great Falls, Mont., collector who bought mostly in New York and
New England was offered. The most desirable was a 71/2-inch figure
of a leopard on a grassy platform. Bidding on it opened at $1,250
and in short order ended at $2,875. Two spill vases in the form of
Italian greyhounds fetched $2,070.
The 16-inch figure of "The Eagle and The Child," inspired by the
painting of the same name by George Dawe and the melodrama A
Mother's Courage performed at the Britannia Theatre in
Hoxton, England, October 10, 1859, brought $1,610. Lady and
gentleman riding goats drew $920, and a colorful pair of parrots
on green branches realized $805.
Other objects of interest from the Montana collectors included an
Eighteenth Century New England trestle foot hutch table in
original red paint that they bought from John Walton in 1976. It
sold this time for $4,600 and was accompanied by the 1976 bill of
sale.
A pair of Chinese temple urns with battle scenes and fancy gilt
decoration on a deep blue ground sold for $2,300, while an early
Chinese blanc de chine jar with a carved wood top sold for $633.
Both items came from the same Duxbury, Mass., home.
All prices quoted reflect the flat 15 percent buyer's premium.
