NEW YORK CITY — Christie’s got the new season for American paintings, sculpture and works on paper rolling on September 22. The 102-lot sale generated $4,040,000 for a sell-through rate of 83 percent by lot. California Impressionism led the way, with a seascape by Armin Hansen snatching $509,000 ($250/350,000).
“Decoration” by Armin Hansen (1886–1957), signed and inscribed “Monterey,” circa late 1920s or early 1930s, oil on canvas, 33¾ by 39¼ inches, $509,000. Christie’s cover lot blew away its $250/$350,000 estimate as bidders vied for a quintessential example by a well-loved California artist known for his workaday impressions of life on the West Coast.
East Coast Impressionists Childe Hassam, Willard Leroy Metcalf and Frederick Carl Frieseke trailed the Monterey painter of Pacific coastal views. Hudson River School master Jasper Cropsey, regionalist Grant Wood and illustrator John Philip Falter also fared well. Christie’s returns on Thursday, November 19, with its big fall sale of American art.
For additional information, www.christies.com or 212-636-2000.
 “The Audition, East Hampton” by Childe Hassam (1859–1935), signed and dated 1924, oil on canvas, 36 by 38 inches, $277,000 ($120/180,000). The artist spent summers at his East Hampton, N.Y., house, Willow Bend, between 1919 and 1934. This painting descended in the collection of New York Senator William Benton, who acquired it in 1962. |
 “Blue Brook (A Stream in Vermont)” by Willard Leroy Metcalf (1858–1925), signed and dated 1920, oil on canvas, 29 inches square, $137,000 ($120/$180,000). |
 “Seated Woman” by Milton Avery (1885–1965), signed and dated 1963, oil on canvas board, 28 by 217/8 inches, $137,000 ($70/$100,000). |
 Study for “The American Golfer” by Grant Wood (1891–1942), signed and dated 1937, charcoal and chalk on brown paper laid down on Masonite, 38¼ by 50¼ inches, $161,000 ($150/250,000). Preparatory to the finished oil on board recently acquired by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark., this drawing depicts the Kalamazoo, Mich., banker Charles Campbell. |
