A Colt model 1875 Gatling Gun blows away competitors to earn the top lot in this weeks’ Across the Block, when it sold at Morphy Auctions on May 8, for $381,300. Of the Gatling guns offered in the past 25 years, this example was considered one of the finest and came to auction with an estimate of $200/300,000 from Lafayette College, which received it from class of 1952 graduate, William Simon. Additional highlights from auctions this week include a $267,200 Fairfield Porter landscape, a Francis McComas abstract landscape that ran to $56,250 and a Tiffany flatware set, complete with 200 pieces in the Hampton pattern, that rose to $19,200. Read on for additional highlights.
Tapestry Sews Up Kimballs’ Top Lot
HATFIELD, MASS. — Several regional estates contributed what amounted to 484 lots of antiques, jewelry, silver, coins and fine art in Kimballs Auction & Estate Services’ April 27 spring antiques auction. A Nineteenth Century needlepoint tapestry that measured 66 by 43 inches took top-lot honors when it sold for $3,438, a significant improvement over its $100/800 estimate. It featured a gold ground centering a large tree with two small deer, a rabbit and a squirrel along its lower edge near its base. For information, 413-549-8300 or www.kimballsauction.com.
Max Liberty Painting Turns Heads At SJD Auctions
AMENIA, N.Y. — Of the 400 lots offered at SJD Auctions’ May 7 antiques and collectibles auction, a Peter Max (German-American, b 1937) painting secured the title of top-selling lot. “Liberty Head V,” an acrylic mixed media work that was unframed and mounted on board, also included a certificate of authenticity. The 23-7/8-by-33¾-inch piece was signed upper left center by the artist, and verso with its registration number. It has had previous homes in Boca Raton, Fla., and Pine Bush, N.Y. The signed Max work offered by SJD traded hands to a buyerin Minnesota for $1,380. For information, 845-489-7408 or www.auctionninja.com/sjd-auctions.
Fairfield Porter’s ‘Wild Roses’ Achieves $267,200 As Doyle Sale Total Tops $3.7 Million
NEW YORK CITY — Doyle’s auction of Impressionist and Modern Art on May 8 drew spirited bidding from collectors around the globe. Showcased were important European, American and Asian paintings, drawings and sculpture spanning Academic and Barbizon art through Impressionism and Post-Impressionism to Russian works and early Modernism. Offered together with postwar and contemporary art, the sale total topped $3.7 million. In a direct reaction to the Abstract Expressionist Movement in American painting, many artists chose to return to representational work. Fairfield Porter (1907-1975), along with others such as Philip Guston, Grace Hartigan and Elaine DeKooning, painted landscapes, still lifes and portraits. Porter’s “Wild Roses” from 1961 soared over its $100/150,000 estimate to achieve $267,200. For information, 212-427-4141 or www.doyle.com.
Chinese Jade Pendant Carves Out Win At Old Kinderhook
VALATIE, N.Y. — An antique Chinese jade pendant from a single-owner collection of Asian antiquities led Old Kinderhook Auction Company’s two-day Willie’s May Haze auction on May 7 and 8. The pendant was carved with characters, bamboo and insect designs and was in overall excellent condition. It also came on a necklace cord, which the catalog noted as being later attached. Despite some age-appropriate wear, bidders still flocked to the pendant, pushing it to more than 90 times its $50-$100 estimate. It eventually crossed the block for $9,300. For information, 518-912-4747 or www.oldkinderhookauction.com.
Falcon Has Landed At Hudson Valley Auctioneers
BEACON, N.Y. — A large bronze Falcon by Italian sculptor Sirio Tofanari from the Marinelli Firenze Foundry and perched on a marble base sold for $9,375 in Hudson Valley Auctioneers’ May 6 unreserved antiques and estate auction. It was offered along with a collection of bronzes from Rhinebeck led by three bronzes by Tofanari from the Marinelli Firenze Foundry. For information, www.hudsonvalleyauctioneers.com or 845-831-6800.
Tonalist Painting Of Arizona Pueblo Finds New Home At Abell Auction
LOS ANGELES — Francis McComas’ (1875-1938) “Pueblo” oil on canvas elicited $56,250 at Abell Actions’ May 9 Sale. In 1918, Samuel F. B. Morse, Pebble Beach developer, commissioned McComas to paint murals for the new lobby at the lodge. Installed in 1919, McComas created two large-scale, tonalist Pueblo paintings, which hung over the fireplaces in the Terrace Lounge of the new lodge. McComas was known for his paintings and murals that interpreted the mood of Arizona pueblos and Hopi villages with broad washes and muted colors, like this painting. For information, 323-724-8102 or www.abell.com.
Model 1875 Gatling Gun Rolls To $381,300 At Morphy’s
DENVER, PENN. — All-original, this high-condition US Army-purchased Colt Model 1875 “Long Model” Gatling gun on original field carriage sold for $381,300 at Morphy’s May 8-10 Premier firearms auction. The 10-barrel Gatling bore the serial number “130” and was one of 44 such guns purchased by the US Army, including the ones General George Custer unfortunately left behind as he set out for the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn. It was a gift to Lafayette College’s class of 1952 by future US Secretary of the Treasury William Simon, who was a member of that year’s graduating class. The new owner is a private collector who wishes to remain anonymous. For information, 877-968-8880 or www.morphyauctions.com.
Tiffany Flatware Sets Beautiful Table For SJ Auctioneers
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — On May 5, SJ Auctioneers presented a 221-lot sale of jewelry, silverware, trains, toys and collectibles from artists, designers and makers, including Cartier, Tiffany & Co, Dominck & Haff, Jose Hess, Emile Delaire, Gorham, Movito, Reed & Barton, Watson, Wallace, Wm B. Kerr, Sackermann Hessenberg & Co, Vetreria Murano, Arte, American Flyer, Lionel, Tootsie Toy, Buddy L and Matchbox. Earning the sale’s top price of $19,200 was a complete 200-piece Tiffany & Co sterling silver flatware in the Hampton pattern, which was accompanied by an associated Reed & Barton case. For information, www.sjauctioneers.com.
Flemish Christ Drawing Rises For Eldred’s
HANOVER, MASS. — On May 8, Eldred’s sold 132 lots from a single-owner collection. Earning $2,944 against an estimate of $300/500 was a circa 1620 Flemish drawing titled “Flagellation of Christ.” Done in brown wash with white paint, the 10½-by-14-inch work was housed in a 16-by-19-inch frame that had provenance to Peter Visscher. For information, 508-385-3116 or www.eldreds.com.
