“Portrait of a Donkey” by Rosa Bonheur (French, 1822-1899), 1881, oil on board, 26 by 23½ inches framed, achieved the sale’s highest price — $68,250 ($6/12,000).
Review by Carly Timpson
SARASOTA, FLA. — To close out 2024, Helmuth Stone Gallery conducted its Holiday Fine Art Auction on December 17. The auction featured 256 lots of primarily Eighteenth and Nineteenth American and European fine art. In total, the sale realized more than $200,000.
Braying to the highest price was “Portrait of a Donkey” by Rosa Bonheur. This 1881 oil on board was signed to the lower left and was authenticated by the Château de Rosa Bonheur (Thomery, France). The painting was housed in an oversized gilt frame and it came from an important private collection in Mount Pleasant, Mich. Far exceeding its $6/12,000 estimate, the donkey found a new owner for $68,250.
Birds and butterflies are two common subjects for Neo-expressionist Hunt Slonem, and an example of each was represented among the top lots in this sale. Achieving $19,500 —just shy of its $20,000 high estimate — was “Picul,” a 1983 oil on canvas depicting toucans and other colorful birds. The painting was acquired from the artist and was featured in a recent retrospective exhibition on the artist, “Sign of the Rabbit: The Colorful World of Hunt Slonem,” at the Albany Institute of History and Art from February to August 2024. The other work, “Afternoon,” was done in 2006 and depicted white and black butterflies on a solid blue background. This painting was also acquired from the artist and it had partial old labels as well as being signed, dated and titled on its reverse. “Afternoon” was bid to $9,425.
“Red Tail at Sunrise,” a 1998 acrylic on canvas by Ben W. Essenburg (American, 1947-2018) set a record for the artist at $6,175 ($2/4,000); it measured 31½ by 43½ inches framed.
Earning a new auction record for the artist was “Red Tail at Sunrise” by Ben W. Essenburg. According to his website (www.benwessenburg.com), Essenburg is a self-taught artist who specializes in painting the wildlife scenes familiar to him as a Florida resident. “Red Tail at Sunrise,” a 1998 acrylic on canvas, was signed to the lower right and was titled and dated on its reverse. It depicted a red tailed hawk flying above a swamp with herons in the background. The artist record was achieved when it sold to a new owner for $6,175.
French painter Yolande Ardissone was represented in the auction with an impressionistic oil on canvas of a countryside scene. In this untitled painting, she depicted several red-roofed houses on the hillside among lush greenery. Signed to the lower left, the reverse of the work bore a label from Wally Findlay Galleries as well as a taped piece of paper identifying it as once being donated to the Loblolly Pines Clubhouse in Hobe Sound, Fla., by John and Susan Sullivan. The work just exceeded its $5,500 estimate, ultimately selling for $5,625.
Also featuring a reddish building among vibrant green trees was a painting by Garnet Jex. According to the auction catalog, “Jex was an active member of the Washington, DC, art scene, serving on the executive committee of the Society of Washington Artists, as president of the Arts Club of Washington, the Society of Federal Artists and Designers, and as a member of the Art League of Northern Virginia. He also served as president of the Landscape Club of Washington, DC.” This painting, signed “Jex” to the bottom right, doubled its $2,500 high estimate to achieve $5,000.
This untitled scene by Garnet Jex (American, 1895-1979), oil on canvas, 27¾ by 26¾ inches framed, found a home for $5,000 ($1,25/2,500).
The most expensive print in the sale was Alexander Calder’s color lithograph “Sea Creatures.” Done in 1975-76, the lithograph depicted several silly sea critters and was from the artist’s portfolio titled “Our Unfinished Revolution.” According to the auction catalog, this series was published by Alba Editions, New York, to aid the National Emergency Civil Liberties Committee. The work was signed and numbered in pencil to the lower right of the sheet. Framed behind glass, the work swam to $2,210.
“Be Patient,” Sister Mary Corita Kent’s color silkscreen print from 1967 was bid to $2,125. In bold purple letters and printed backwards, the graphic work depicted the word “ornery” superimposed over other text including the following quote by Rainer Maria Rilke: “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves…Do not now seek the answers that cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”
Following the sale, Austin Helmuth shared, “We were very pleased with the sale as it closed out a very successful 2024 for us. The consignors were happy, and we reached many new bidders. Our next sale will be at the end of January/beginning of February 2025.”
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.helmuthstone.com or 941-260-9703.
