Substantial Crowd At Stanton's Generates Competitive Bidding

HAMDEN, MASS.

:The crowd was substantial for the Stanton Americana auction on October 18. The sale, which started with an outdoor "pavilion" sampler at 5 pm, consisted of an impressive 368 lots. Much of the material in this sale was from the Stuart Beebe Historical Homestead, Main Street, Hamden.

The top lot of this well-rounded auction was a large and dramatic oil painting by William Coates, measuring 23 by 33 inches, dated 1820. Done on panel, it was a view of "The Schooner Guard and the Snow Chase off Elsinore Castle." In the notes and advertising about this painting, it says that Coates was only listed for one year,1823, as a marine painter. After an enthusiastic round of competitive bidding the Coates brought $15,120.

A 34-by-44-inch oil on canvas, "Moonlight on Farmstead," by American artist George Hays, dated 1887, sold for $2,576, despite the fact that it was unframed and appeared to be somewhat in rough condition. Other paintings included the Marietta C. Fernand, 24-by-36-inch still life, a basket of flowers, which brought $1,120.

Furniture included both formal and American country examples. A late Eighteenth Century Queen Anne table with an oval top and delicate pad feet sold for $1,120. A very folky and rustic early Eighteenth Century American step back cupboard in an old surface sold for $2,240.

Formal furniture included a period four-drawer bow front Sheraton chest in mahogany with cookie corner columns, which brought $1,008. A stylish Victorian walnut carved oval marble top table with an elegant base, opened at $800 and sold for $952. A circa 1815 neoclassical desk from Connecticut, in tiger and bird's-eye maple and mahogany, brought $2,072. An early Nineteenth Century or late Eighteenth Century tilt top table in mahogany, birch and maple was thought to be from Newport. It seemed like a great buy for a period table, selling for just $896. A Victorian cylinder desk of burled walnut was carved and had leather inserts with a wonderful surface, $2,016.

An oil on canvas, by F.E. King, measuring 20 by 18 inches, which depicted a mountain landscape with cascading water sold to a bidder on the phone for $1,120. A rare watercolor of a windmill in Long Island, which was done by Mary Nimmo Moran, the wife of Thomas Moran, was presented midway through the sale. It measured 10 by 14 inches and was dated 1872. It sold for $3,248.

Peter Stanton Imler always has a selection of a few folk art weathervanes at his sales, and this one was no exception. A very folky and appealing weathervane of hollow copper with gold patina, zinc feet and legs, in the form of a gamecock, sold for $6,608. A Nineteenth Century oil on canvas marine painting, a depiction of the Barque Moses Kimball drew a great deal of interest at the sale. The allure of the provenance - it had come from the Nina Fletcher Little collection - drew many phone and floor bidders. After an intense round of spirited bidding, the painting brought $6,720 from the phone.

There were several European paintings which Imler had unearthed from local estates. One was a Henri Lerolle, oil on canvas, of a woman walking with her dog on a moonlit night. With interest from the floor and two phones battling it out, the painting sold for $3,360.

A Pierre Celestin Billet oil on canvas, a depiction of a peasant woman, dated 1886, sold to the phone for $2,128. A vivid American Nineteenth Century oil on canvas of a basket of fruit by A.J. Shaw, measuring 12 by 16 inches, sold for $1,008. Although there was little Twentieth Century art at this sale, a lithograph by American artist Robert Burns Motherwell, No. 56/100, sold midway through the auction for $560.

A John Williamson painting dated 1876 and titled "The Catskill Hunt," shows a dramatic wilderness scene from the late Nineteenth Century. It opened with a solid $4,000 bid and sold to a buyer on the phone for $6,720.

A Nineteenth Century brass bound and very unusual captain's map chest brought $448. A folky and decorative swinging butter churn, with original yellow paint and advertising from Bellow's Falls, Vt., stenciled on its side, sold for $280.

Sudbury, Mass., fireman and antiques dealer, Gary Bardsley, won the large folio Currier & Ives print, "The Life of a Fireman," 17 by 26 inches, a graphic depiction of firemen struggling with a very big fire. Bardsley seemed very pleased when he won the print for $784. An oil on board by artist Louis C. Hankes, a scene from Gloucester Harbor, brought $3,584.

All prices quoted include buyer's premium of 12 percent.

Stanton's is at 106 East Longmeadow Road, just west of Brimfield. This second generation family-run firm has a spacious auction hall with an open air pavilion for the preauction auction. Peter Stanton Imler always has lots of fresh material, and a great variety of items, including fine and folk art, formal and country furniture, toys, silver and lots of accessories. This well attended sale not only drew buyers to the sale itself, but there were plenty of phone and left bids.

For information, 413-566-3161 or www.stantonauctions.com.