“It is very typical of her work,” Joanne Grant said of one of the sale’s two top lots, “At the Beach” by Mabel Woodward, which sold to a New York state buyer for $2,813. It was one of two works in the sale to realize that price, the highest in the auction ($2/3,000).
Review by Madelia Hickman Ring, Photos Courtesy Mid-Hudson Auction Galleries
NEW WINDSOR, N.Y. – When Antiques and The Arts Weekly reached Mid-Hudson Auction Galleries’ auctioneer and owner Joanne Grant after the firm’s July 9 sale, she was tired but happy with how the sale performed.
“It was very busy. There was a lot of online bidding – much more than usual – and we were very pleased. We’re glad to see people getting back into the swing of things.”
The sale’s top price of $2,813 was realized by two seasonally appropriate and summery landscapes, both from the same New York collection that has previously sold through Mid-Hudson and both of which came about a quarter way through the nearly 450-lot sale. First to cross the block, and selling to a buyer in New York state, was Mabel Woodward’s “At the Beach,” a 15¾-by-11¾-inch oil on board. About a dozen lots later, “California Landscape” by Arthur Frank Mathews (American, 1860-1945) sold to a buyer in California for the same price. In each case, the lot was the only one purchased by the buyer.
Other fine art lots that posted results high enough to warrant mention were a Nineteenth Century Belgian still life by Edward Portielje (1861-1949) that made $1,500, and a mixed media landscape by Marc-Aurele Fortin (Canadian, 1888-1970), which sold within estimate for $1,063.
This 1775 English broadside reported redcoat casualties in the battles of Lexington, Concord, Bunker Hill and Long Island, and at $1,875, it was the highest price achieved for numerous Eighteenth Century and Old West documents ($100/200).
If fine art is frequently found in Mid-Hudson auctions, historical documents are considerably less common, and the sale featured an extensive collection of Old West and early territorial and Pennsylvania documents and photographs. Even though there had been enough interest in the documents prior to the sale, Grant said she was surprised at how well the group did, also noting that many of the buyers were new to Mid-Hudson but that most of them were successful in buying multiple lots.
Leading the group at $1,875 was a 1775 English broadside that listed British casualties during the engagements at Bunker Hill, Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts, as well as those on Long Island. It had previously been in the collection of the Harrisburg Archives collection. Other highlights from the group were a group lot of four issues of the Pennsylvania Gazette, dated 1755, 1760 and two from 1769. The group also had provenance to the Harrisburg Archive and made $1,500, well above its $100/200 estimate. Several pages from the November 11, 1780, General Advertiser achieved $625, and a 1763 military requisition made $219.
The biggest surprise of the day was the $1,250 realized by a painted cast iron statue of the Michelin Man, which sold to a phone bidder and “seasoned longtime client” who beat out online competition. Standing 15½ inches tall, the back was marked “Detroit Reg. 1918” and it came to Mid-Hudson from a seller who regularly brings things in for sale.
“We are as shocked as anyone at that price,” Joanne Grant said of this 15½-inch-tall painted cast iron statue of the Michelin Man, which sold to a longtime buyer on the phone for $1,250 ($60/80).
One seller consigned a significant number of sports cards fairly close to the sale date and a Babe Ruth card, which might have benefitted from advance promotion, failed to sell against an estimate of $2,5/3,500. The highest price achieved from the group was $500, the high estimate for a complete Topps 1960 football set of trading cards, which featured many Hall of Fame players.
Mid-Hudson Auction Galleries next sale on August 13 will feature property from four local estates, all being offered without reserves and all of which Grant said they would be able to identify the family names. Several very good paintings, lithographs and an extensive collection of American art glass are among the highlights.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.midhudsongalleries.com or 914-882-7356.
