Exhibited in Memphis Tenn., in 1964 and published in the corresponding exhibition catalog, this set of six oil on copper panels by Luca Giordano depicted scenes from mythology. A private US collector, bidding on the phone, won them for $67,650 ($25/35,000).
Review by Madelia Hickman Ring; Photos Courtesy Brunk Auctions
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Back to back sales at Brunk Auctions — on March 7 and 8 — gave potential buyers a total of 457 lots of Continental, British and American fine and decorative art to chase. At the end of the two-day event, the house had raked in a total of $1,541,252 with a significant majority of lots going to new homes.
Gothic To Romantic: Continental and British
“We had very strong international interest from private collectors as well as the trade in this sale, leading to solid results and a within-estimate total,” shared Andrew Brunk. “This spirited bidding resulted in a 95 percent sell through rate, which is remarkable for an Old Master sale in this market. We were very pleased and our consignors were as well.”
The March 7 auction featured more than 250 lots of Continental and British fine art. It reached its apex more than halfway through with a group of six mythological scenes by Luca Giordano (Italian, 1634-1705) that earned $67,650, nearly double the high estimate. The group depicted Mars and Venus; The Death of Lucretia; Pan and Syrinx; Olindo and Sophronia; Hercules, Nessus and Deianira; and Diana and Endymion, each rendered in oil on copper panels measuring 10-1/8 by 10-1/8 inches in frames handmade by Lowy. The panels claimed provenance to the Suida-Manning collection by 1964, and a private collection until 2007. Dr J. Clayton Davie, whose estate was selling the panels, acquired them from Robert Simon Fine Art in 2007 for $300,000.
From the estate of Dr J. Clayton Davie, this oil on oak panel painting of Christ, by a follower of Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano, 16-1/8 by 13¾ inches, found a new home overseas, with a trade buyer who paid $22,140 for it ($3/5,000).
Works from the Davie estate figured prominently in the sale, including in its third-highest finishing lot, an oil on oak panel painting of Christ against a green curtain and landscape by a follower of Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano (Italian, 1459-1517). Last appearing on the market in 2007, when it sold at a Paris auction house for $5,482, the work soared to $22,140 and will be going to an international trade buyer who won it on the phone.
An unsigned oil or tempera on panel painting of the Virgin and Child with Angels that relates compositionally to Pietro Perugino’s “Virgin and Child with Angel” at The National Gallery, London, and Raphael’s “La Madonna del Sacco” at the Galleria Palatina in Florence. Like the da Conegliano, it was also from the Davie estate and sold to a private collector, bidding online, for $19,680.
“La Sala di Giove in the Palazzo Pitti” was attributed to Francesco Maestosi (Italian, 1822-1883) and nearly quadrupled its high estimate when it brought $15,990. The oil on linen composition was also from the Davie estate and found a new home with an online private collector.
A 2012 auction at Sotheby’s London and ownership with Carlo Bianchini in Orvieto, Italy, as well as the Davie estate, were among the provenance of this 25¼-inch-tall polychromed terracotta figure of the Madonna and Child that were attributed to the circle of Saturnino de Gatti. Estimated at $5/7,000, it sold to a trade buyer, bidding online, for $17,220.
The Davie estate also included three dimensional works that attracted the interest of international trade bidders. Earning $17,200 from an international trade buyer, bidding online, was a polychromed terracotta statue of the Madonna and Child, attributed to the circle of Saturnino de Gatti (Italian, circa 1463-1619) that had previously been auctioned at Sotheby’s London in 2012. It was followed at $13,530 by a carved and polychromed wood figure of St Roch, the patron saint of plague victims. Another trade buyer, bidding on the phone, won a Fifteenth Century Venetian School example that stood 73½ inches tall.
Furniture was a small category in the auction, but a pair of Louis XV-style bronze mounted, marquetry and kingwood vitrines on stands, made in the late Nineteenth Century by Gervais Durand, achieved the second highest price of the day with a $24,600 price tag paid by a private collector bidding online.
“Pine and Aspen, Rocky Mountain National Park,” painted by Birger Sandzén in 1928 in oil on canvas, 14 by 12 inches, had provenance to the Birger Sandzén Gallery and Bethany College. A private collector, bidding on the phone, pushed it to $73,800 ($40/60,000).
American & Western Auction
Nan Zander, Brunk’s American paintings specialist and head of the March 8 sale, said, “There was a visual vibrancy to the sale in general, with strong colorists like Alice Schille and Birger Sandzén doing well, and even John Sloan and David Burliuk having very colorful moments that did over high estimate. There was vigorous bidding throughout the Western section, which was led by a wonderful Oscar Berninghaus. The market proved very strong, which bodes well for our sale of important American and Western art coming up in early May.”
Nearly 200 lots of American and Southern art was offered in the sale, including a sizeable selection of Western art from an unidentified Southern museum, which were being sold to benefit the acquisition fund; 91 percent of the sale traded hands successfully.
Four works by Birger Sandzén (Swedish/American, 1871-1954) were presented in the auction; his “Pine and Aspen, Rocky Mountain National Park” ascended the top of the sale with a $73,800 result. It had provenance to the Birger Sandzén memorial gallery, on the campus of Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kan., and found a new home with a private collector.
“Scout of the Caravan” by Oscar Berminghaus, oil on canvas, 25 by 30 inches, ex John and Margaret Hill collection and sold by a Southern museum to benefit the acquisition fund, found a new home with a private collector, bidding by phone, for $51,660 ($5/7,000).
The rest of the sale’s top lots were deaccessioned from the Southern museum. Finishing in second place at $51,660 was Oscar Berninghaus’ (American, 1874-1952) “Scout of the Caravan,” which had additional provenance to the John and Margaret Hill collection of American Western art. A phone bidder, a private collector, prevailed over other competitors.
Many of the top lots were purchased by online bidders, including “The Fisherman’s Daughter” by Robert Henri (American, 1865-1929), whichmore than doubled its high estimate and earned a third-place finish at $46,740. A private collector can add their names to its provenance, which includes the estate of the artist and the New York City estate of Mr and Mrs Herbert Gladstone as well as Hirschl & Adler Gallery. It had also been exhibited at the MacDowell Club in New York City in 1911 and at the Brooklyn Museum in 1943.
“New Mexico Mission,” an oil on canvas composition by Gerald Ira Diamond Cassidy (American, 1869-1934), was similarly purchased for $24,600. The same price was paid by a private collector for John Sloan’s (American, 1871-1951) “Sally, Sarah, and Sadie, Peter and Paul.” Its history boasted no fewer than 14 museum exhibitions and provenance to the Kraushaar Galleries in New York City.
David Burliuk’s “Mathilde Haslauer by the Sea,” 1956, oil on canvas, 31¼ by 25¼ inches, framed, rode out the door for $23,370, with a private collector ($3/5,000).
In comparison, David Burliuk’s (Russian/American, 1882-1967) “Mathilde Haslauer by the Sea” bore an undated Christie’s label on its verso and sold for $23,370. Ida Ten Eyck O’Keeffe’s (American, 1889-1961) “Roots in Autumn” is one of two virtually identical paintings of the Royal Oak that relate to a larger version painted by O’Keeffe that is owned privately. The sister example, which was noted to have had extensive publication and exhibition history, brought $13,750 when it was sold at Christie’s in 2021; the painting Brunk offered achieved $23,370 and sold to a private collector bidding on the phone.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house.
Brunk Auctions will sell the collection of Ambassador Bonnie McElveen-Hunter on April 10, Modern + Design on April 11 and Asian Art on April 25. For information, 828-254-6846 or www.brunkauctions.com.
