Cottone Caps $3.5 Million Auction With Stuart’s Washington Portrait

Geneseo, N.Y.

:Jeff Bridgman, an antiques dealer from Dillsburg, Penn., who specializes in Americana, knew what he was looking at when he examined a rare portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart (1755–1828) being offered at Cottone's fine art and antiques auction on March 27. What he did not know, however, is how much it would bring. "In my mind, it could have sold for anywhere between $350,000 to $1.5 million," he said. Anyone who has ever viewed the quintessential portrait of America's first president hanging in the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., would instantly recognize the countenance as being remarkably similar.

This particular portrait, cataloged by Cottone as the Winthrop Astor Chanler portrait of George Washington, stemmed from a local family, the Chanlers, whose family tree reaches back to John Jacob Astor, the first multimillionaire in American history. The oil on canvas, 27½ by 237/8 inches, was in undisturbed original condition and frame.

According to Matt Cottone, the portrait opened at $250,000, with fairly strong bidding on the floor as well as the phones. There were more than ten phone bidders to begin with and three of these hung in to about the $800,000 mark. The underbidder was a West Coast collector on the phone. Bridgman, bidding on behalf of an East Coast client who wishes to remain anonymous, took the pristine portrait to its final price of $1.06 million, which includes the buyer's premium.

"Pristine" in Bridgman's lexicon meant that the portrait was in original, untouched condition. "It blacklit perfectly at the auction house," he said. "It was kind of grungy and needs a cleaning. There was some loss on the frame, but none on the painting itself." The painting will be cleaned and the frame restored, Bridgman said.

Bridgman said there have been only six other portraits of Washington by Gilbert sold over the last 23 years at auction. Prices ranged from $190,000 to $1.8 million, with most falling in the $200/300,000 range. "The [Cottone] estimate was conservative, but that's because it's been five years since another one has sold," said the dealer

"Many of the Gilbert Washington portraits are in institutions, and they're extraordinarily rare in the private marketplace. So this represented a unique opportunity for this collector to acquire one," said Bridgman, who added that the painting will likely be donated at some point to an East Coast university.

There were more than 300 people crowding the gallery, bumped up from the usual 225 or so due to the local publicity surrounding the Washington portrait, said Cottone. Nineteen phone lines were employed as well as Internet bidding to accommodate the bidders from all over the world who vied for the sale's 275 lots. Overall, the sale brought $3.5 million.

Also from the Chanler family was a monumental oil on canvas, measuring 48 by 65 inches, by French artist Adolphe Alexandre Lesrel (1839–1929). It had once hung in the Big Tree Tavern in Geneseo on loan from the Chanlers and thought not to be of much value. Nineteen phone bidders proved otherwise and, after brisk bidding, the depiction of a chess game sold to a dealer in London for $178,250.

Bidders feasted on offerings that ranged from historical to modern artwork, a selection of Tiffany lighting, furniture, silver, decorative accessories and Oriental rugs.

There was a trove of Tiffany lamps from the estate of Merton Armstrong, co-founder of Sterling Alarm Company, that had been packed away for years in boxes. The lamps, purchased in the 1920s and 1930s, some directly from Tiffany Studios included a Tiffany Studios Magnolia floor lamp as well as a Dragonfly table lamp.

They had been boxed up since the 1970s and created quite a buzz nationally and internationally in the Tiffany world. The Magnolia floor lamp sold to a California collector for $661,250. The Dragonfly table lamp will enter a Florida collection, having realized $172,500.

A set of 16 Russian plates found favor with bidders. The hand painted porcelain plates sported the imperial crest of Russia with a two-headed black eagle and single crown, Moscow crest with triple crown and additional crests signifying the union between two families. From a prominent Buffalo, N.Y., family, the set generated a tremendous amount of interest, not the least by a buyer who came all the way from Moscow to view them. That buyer returned disappointed as strong competition resulted in them selling to a buyer in Los Angeles for $63,250.

Other works of art crossing the block at Cottone's include a marine painting by Montague Dawson (British, 1895–1973). The 24-by-36-inch oil on canvas, "The Cutty Sark," was being sold for a private family in upstate New York. Signed Montague Dawson lower left, the painting made $109,250.

Maurice Brazil Prendergast's (American, 1858–1924) "In the Park," a 14-by-20-inch watercolor, was consigned by the family of the unsung heroine to the world of Modern art, Lillie Bliss. Born to a wealthy Boston family, Bliss's passion for art was shown in her purchases from Renoir, Degas and Redon. At her death, her art collection was gifted to the Museum of Modern Art. The Prendergast painting, a colorful depiction of people enjoying an afternoon in the park, was left to her estate. Signed Prendergast lower right, the watercolor also brought $109,250.

Prices reported include the 15 percent buyer's premium. For information, 585-739-1093, 585-243-3100 or www.cottoneauctions.com .