BEDFORD, N.Y. — A still life with carnations, a bird’s nest and other flowers and insects by Jan Van Huysum (Dutch, 1682-1749) elicited enthusiastic applause from bidders gathered inside Historic Hall on June 19 as Butterscotch Auctioneers & Appraisers’ Paul D. Marinucci hammered the oil on copper painting to a final price of $66,000 to a floor bidder.
Jan Van Huysum (Dutch, 1682-1749), Still life with carnations, a bird’s nest and other flowers and insects on a marble ledge, oil on copper, 9 by 11½ inches, with faint inscription in upper left corner “… fecit Huysum [?] …,” the verso with chalk number “N2” and faint inscription “Duke of Bedford [?]/Van [Huy]sum,” sold for $66,000.
This larger work by Van Huysum, a still life of poppies in a terracotta vase, roses, a carnation and other flowers with a bird’s nest on a marble ledge, oil on copper, 211⁄8 by 17¼ inches brought $478,000 at Sotheby’s London in December 2014. Image courtesy Sotheby’s.
Also performing well in this diverse estate sale of more than 700 lots was Olaf Wieghorst’s (American, 1899-1988) midday-light-infused oil on canvas “Siesta Time,” an oil on canvas, 24 by 30 inches, that also sold to a bidder in the room. It brought $27,600, near its high estimate.
A sleeper in the sale was a selection of eight Japanese woodblock prints, featuring a print of two females and five prints of miscellaneous landscapes, seven framed, one unframed, that also went to an in-house bidder. Estimated just $200/400, they added a rousing note toward the end of the sale by finishing at $24,000.
Watch for a complete report on this auction in an upcoming edition.
