“Portrait of George Dallas of St Martins” (1634-1701), an oil on canvas depicting a notable legal mind of the Seventeenth Century by G.A. Seavinci, rose to $4,063 above a $400/600 estimate. The sale’s top lot, it came out of a Washington DC collection.
Review by W.A. Demers; Photos Courtesy Kaminski Auctions
MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. & BEVERLY, MASS. — Kaminski Auctions presented selected items from the 1920s historic estate known as “Wayside” in Bedford Corners, Mount Kisco, N.Y., in a hybrid onsite/gallery estates auction on February 18. Up for bid were items from the Wayside estate that were presented in place with transportation from the Bedford estate available to the Kaminski Auction gallery in Beverly, Mass.
At one time the home of Edwin S. Bayer and Laura Kayser Bayer of New York City and Paris, Wayside housed their art collection and furnishings. Edwin Stanton Bayer (1870-1929) was a lawyer who graduated from Harvard in 1890, Columbia Law School in 1893 and joined the New York Bar Association in 1894. In 1895, he married Laura Kayser Bache Kayser (1874-1961), the daughter of Julius Kayser who was the founder of Kayser Company, a silk glove and hosiery manufacturer.
When Edwin died in 1929, Laura moved to Paris, married Count Antoine e Sala in 1931 and sold Wayside with many of its furnishings to Joseph and Bessie Gerber Glass. In Kaminski’s auction, items in the original main house at 118 McLain Street, Bedford, included a metal suit of armor with a sword, the contents of a wine cellar with more than 300 bottles, a large American Flyer and LGB train set and music equipment from a professional music studio. There was also a Ford 1900 tractor for sale and a tag sale ran at the Wayside property. Kaminski sold the first 100 lots in place and then provided transportation to the Kaminski Auction Gallery at 117 Elliot Street in Beverly where the remaining lots were sold.
A Waltham, Shreve, Crump and Low Co Boston banjo clock, decorated with a reverse painted glass image of the State House and surmounted with a brass eagle, went to a LiveAuctioneers bidder for $1,625.
“Portrait of George Dallas of St Martins” (1634-1701), an oil on canvas depicting a notable legal mind of the Seventeenth Century by G.A. Seavinci, rose to $4,063 above a $400/600 estimate. Signed verso “Copy of portrait in Signet Library of Edinburgh Scotland of George Dallas of St Martins by G.A. Seavinci 1932,” the 37-by-28-inch likeness, the sale’s top lot, came out of a Washington DC collection.
George Dallas, the youngest son of William Dallas, entered upon his apprenticeship to the law in 1652, studying with John Bayn of Pitcairlie, Fifeshire and became a writer to the signet. When Charles II returned in 1660, the privy seal of Scotland was conferred upon John, marquis of Atholl, who appointed Dallas deputy-keeper. Dallas is known to be the author of A System of Stiles, which was written between 1666 and 1688, though not published until 1697. It became the go-to primer in the office of every Scottish lawyer.
Another fine art highlight, this one from a Wakefield, Mass., collection, was an oil on canvas dockside scene by Otis Cook (1900-1980), an American painter born in New Bedford, Mass. Known for his oil paintings of coastal and landscape scenes, Cook’s work is reminiscent of Emil Gruppé, and it’s because he studied under the Gloucester master. Much of his life was spent in Rockport, Mass., and Cape Ann, and he was a member of the Rockport Art Association. “Motif #1,” framed 26 by 30 inches, sold for $2,625 to an Invaluable bidder.
Otis Cook, “Motif #1,” oil on canvas, sold for $2,625.
Flatware sets are a staple of estate auctions and in this one offered a Gorham sterling Strasbourg flatware set that brought $2,760 from a floor bidder. From the Wakefield, Mass., property, it weighed approximately 169.5 troy ounces.
A lot comprising the personal papers of American filmmaker Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999), including report cards, press passes, Boy Scout merit badges, etc., went to an Invaluable bidder for $2,500, more than four times its high estimate.
There was a Cremona player piano that came with boxes of music rolls. It was bid to $1,920, won by a phone bidder.
This Cremona player piano came with boxes of music rolls. It was bid to $1,920, won by a phone bidder.
A Waltham, Shreve, Crump and Low Co Boston banjo clock was decorated with a reverse painted glass depiction of the State House and surmounted with a brass eagle. From a South Hamilton, Mass., estate, it was 42 inches high and went to a LiveAuctioneers bidder for $1,625.
Kaminski’s own bidding platform, KaminskiLIVE, lit up as a pair of large metal tropical birds, one 52 by 27 inches, the other 53 by 27 inches, with provenance to a Marblehead, Mass., collection crossed the block at $1,500.
The Marblehead collection contributed a bronze puma, 39 by 27 inches, that was captured by a floor bidder for $1,440, while a phone bidder picked up a Regency-style sofa for $1,320.
Prices given include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house. For information, www.kaminskiauctions.com or 978-927-2223.
