“A Tidbit” by Edward Cucuel (American, 1875-1954), was a treat at $77,929 ($50,735/101,470).
Review by Z.G. Burnett, Photos Courtesy Hargesheimer Art Auctions
DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY – Hargesheimer Art Auctions conducted four successive auctions, September 7-10: Jewelry; Works of Art, Porcelain, Applied Arts; Nineteenth Century Paintings; and Sculptures & Old Master Paintings. Between these sales, 2,261 lots were offered in total with an international bidding pool online and in-person, spanning time and geographical origin.
Many of the top lots of these sales sold over their estimate, some exceedingly so. The foremost of these surprises was in the Works of Art sale; a blue and white vase with a scene from a novel, estimated at $600- $1,200, sold for $58,892. The second highest lot was also featured on the sale’s catalog cover, a highly important gilt and cloisonné pendulum clock probably made by Emile Auguste Reiber for La maison l’Escalier de Cristal, which did not disappoint at $35,847.
At the head of the table of the Nineteenth Century Paintings sale was “A Tidbit” by Edward Cucuel (1875-1954), which sold for $77,929. Born in San Francisco, Cucuel trained in France as a young artist, even studying under Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904). He worked as an illustrator in Berlin and joined the Scholle artists’ group as well as a member of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. He worked in Germany until returning to the United States during World War II and remained there until his death.
Michiel van Mierevelt (Dutch, 1567-1641) led the Old Masters’ sale with an attributed portrait of a scholar from the Wesendock Collection, which achieved $24,687 ($812-$1,624). Senior to this gentleman in age, if not in price, was a French or Spanish Romanesque wooden relief carving of a prophet or an apostle. From the Twelfth or Thirteenth Century, the sculpture sold for $22,089.
Prices adjusted using currency rates on the day of sale and includes the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house, but may not include any additional online bidding surcharges. For information, www.https://www.kunstauktionen-duesseldorf.de.
