“It was really in impeccable condition,“ stated Russ Carlsen about the sale’s top lot, a Commeraws stoneware Corlears Hook, N.Y crock, which surpassed its $2/4,000 estimate to reach $51,000. It went to a private East Coast collector bidding by phone but who had been to the gallery and previewed it in person. With open ears and incised swag and tassel décor, the crock stood 10½ inches tall. It and about 12 other items on these pages were from the William Lohrman collection, an elder statesman in the industry and an authority on Hudson Valley Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century furniture and accessories.
Review by W.A. Demers; Photos Courtesy Carlsen Gallery
FREEHOLD, N.Y. — On September 23, Carlsen Gallery presented its anniversary auction to include the lifelong collection of William Lohrman of New Paltz, N.Y. It was a doorbuster of a sale, according to Abby Carlsen, with many notable lots outstripping expectations and posting remarkable prices. Such was the case with a Commeraws stoneware Corlears Hook, N.Y., crock, which swaggered way past its $2/4,000 estimate to reach $51,000, Carlsen said, “It was really in impeccable condition.” It went to a private East Coast collector bidding by phone but who had been to the gallery and previewed it in person. With open ears and incised swag and tassel decoration, the crock stood 10½ inches tall. Lohrman is considered an elder statesman and an authority on Hudson Valley Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century furniture and accessories. With a passion for original surface, incised stoneware and rarities, he created a collection considered to be second to none. And his reputation over the years allowed him to gain access to the many untouched historic homes in the Hudson Valley.
Also in the stoneware category, a jug in the iconic ovoid form with an incised bird stood 17 inches tall. It sold for $10,800, again to a private collector, a Hudson Valley individual who has been a Carlsen client for many years.”
“D & H Canal,” Stone Ridge, N.Y., an oil on canvas was signed Emma J. Parker and left the gallery at $9,600.
Russ Carlsen said he was most surprised by the “consistency” of the anniversary sale, which marked the firm’s 32 years at its current location, 38 years in business. “Everything sold exceptionally well, particularly in the realm of country furniture.” The merchandise was blue-chip Americana and the level of interest was commensurate with the material. Lohrman was present in the gallery for the event and expressed that he was very pleased with the results. About a dozen of the top 15 selling lots were from his collection. The sale totaled $640,000 with just three items passed out of a total of 360. There were more than 1,000 registered bidders with a crowd of 125 in the gallery, a number that Carlsen said was akin to pre-Covid days. “We had a veritable Who’s Who of the antiques industry come and preview the sale — and participate,” he said.
The sale offered an abundant selection of country furniture where “surface” was a key differentiator. Leading it all was a two-door Ulster County Eighteenth Century country kas that had an exhibition history at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. At a height of 70 inches, width of 60 inches and depth of 22½ inches, the venerable piece realized $43,200.
Original surface, too, was desirable in an Eighteenth Century canted back open top cupboard, measuring 75 by 49 by 19½ inches, selling for $15,600.
Fetching $15,600 was this desirable Eighteenth Century canted back open top cupboard in old surface.
George Washington chose Wynkoop House for his visit to Stone Ridge, N.Y., in November 1782, and today the stone building is a tourist attraction, nearly unchanged in 240 years. In this sale, a shoe foot Hudson Valley hutch table in old surface and with a two-board top (44 by 45 inches) and provenance to Wynkoop House was bid to $13,200.
There were more choice examples of early country furniture. A Hudson Valley or Kings County gumwood kas earned $10,200. Fetching $7,800 was an Eighteenth Century blue one-door cupboard with bat wing hinges, and an Eighteenth Century blue, four-door cupboard with “H” hinges made $7,200.
A departure from the usually stoically galloping horse weathervanes, a dynamic and rare molded copper Leaping Horse example vaulted to $18,000. It was possibly by Jewel of Waltham, Mass., and measured 26 by 36 inches.
The fine art category was led by a Walter Launt Palmer oil on panel, “Wheat Fields Near Chantilly, Harvest Time,” 1881, at $18,750. It had been published in Walter Launt Palmer Poetic Reality (1997) and measured 28¼ by 35½ inches.
The childhood sweetness of brother and sister Joseph and Emma Lemon, Middletown, N,Y., children of Joseph and Louisa Lemon, was captured in this oil on canvas that changed hands for $8,125.
An oil on canvas portrait of Joseph and Emma Lemon, Middletown, N.Y., children Of Joseph and Louisa Lemon, 40 by 50 inches, changed hands for $8,125, while an oil on canvas, “D & H Canal,” Stone Ridge, N.Y., was signed Emma J. Parker and found a buyer at $9,600.
A Fourteenth Century Madonna & Child stone carving attributed to the Burgundy Region sold for $13,750. It was 11¾ inches tall on a 23¼-inch-high stand.
Rounding out the sale’s notable results were two decorative arts items. An Eighteenth Century carved spoon rack elicited $7,800 and a dated 1780 Revolutionary War map horn sold for $7,500.
Prices given include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house. The next sale at a date to be announced, usually the week before or after Thanksgiving, will have more of Lohrman’s material on offer, including a couple of “very choice Hudson Valley antiques,” according to Russ Carlsen.
For additional information, www.carlsengallery.com or 518-634-2466.
