Striking and important examples of their form or genre performed well in the auction world over the last few weeks, ranging from a fine copy of Detective Comics No. 27, where Batman makes his first appearance, that attained just under $12 million at Heritage Auctions, to a “Fragile Future Drift Flowers” sculpture, which bloomed at $32,000 at Doyle. Fine art collectors also had a field day with a Purvis Young painting taking $42,840 at New England Auctions and a Marion Kavanaugh Wachtel plein-air watercolor bringing $49,200 at Santa Fe Art Auction. For these stories and others, keep reading.
Desirable DC Issue Tops Heritage Comics Auction
DALLAS — Detective Comics No. 27 (DC, 1939) sold for $2,318,000 to lead Heritage’s February 26-28 Comic Books Signature Auction to $11,929,522. This landmark issue lands year after year in the top three titles according to Overstreet, and only six copies have ever been graded higher by CGC than this 7.0 specimen with off-white pages, which previously sold through Heritage for $1.5 million in 2020. For information, www.ha.com or 214-409-1699.
Chinese Plaque Springs Up At Hudson Valley Auctioneers
BEACON, N.Y. — A Chinese porcelain plaque on carved wood stand, depicting a small Chinese village by the Great Wall, was the top lot at Hudson Valley Auctioneers on March 9, when it sold for $14,375. Selling to a Chinese buyer, the scene was probably a springtime one and the upper right had calligraphy, likely a poem. For information, www.hudsonvalleyauctioneers.com or 845-831-6800.
Yusupov Service Cuts $5,125 Bid At Lark Mason Associates
NEW BRAUNFELS, TEXAS — A Yusupov Scandinavian service sold for $5,125 in Lark Mason Associates’ fine and decorative works of art auction that closed March 12. Attracting eight bids, the set comprised four forks and knives, a carving set and other silver pieces. According to the auction house, Prince Nikolai Yusupov (1827-1891), an adviser at the Russian Embassy in Paris, commissioned silversmith Alex Gueyton to create a service decorated with Russian medieval ornaments and the insignia of Yusupov Princely family for his grand palace in St Petersburg. The service came to be known as the Scandinavian service, a misleading label. For information, www.larkmasonassociates.com or 212-289-5524.
Doyle Bidders Light Up For Nature-Inspired Sculpture
NEW YORK CITY — Doyle Auctions’ March 11 Doyle + Design sale that featured 274 lots achieved a 97 percent sell-through rate and was led by a “Fragile Future Drift Flowers” sculpture. The dandelion seed, phosphorus bronze and LED light sculpture was made by Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta for Amsterdam-based Studio Drift. Exhibiting a central theme from Studio Drift’s work, the relationship between nature and technology, the 37¼-by-30-by-30-inch sculpture exceeded estimates to achieve $32,000 ($20/30,000). For information, www.doyle.com or 212-427-2730.
Purvis Young Painting Tops New England Auctions
BRANFORD, CONN. — A standout in New England Auctions’ Outsider, folk and self taught art auction on March 11 was a Purvis Young mixed media on panel that handily exceeded its $3/5,000 estimate to attain $42,840. Measuring 79½ by 57½ inches, the work attracted lively bidding and sold to an online bidder. For information, www.newenglandauctions.com or 475-234-5120.
ESSEX, N.Y. — The first day of March saw 265 lots of antique country, folk art, paintings and Americana cross the block at Summer Antiques. Far surpassing its $2/3,000 estimate to top the sale at $13,200 was a circa 1860 five-gallon butter churn crock by Lyons, N.Y., potter Thomas Harrington. Decorated in cobalt blue with a starburst pattern and salt glazed, the unique feature of this crock was the face of a man with a beard inside the center of the starburst. For information, www.summerantiques.com or 518-524-7815.
SANTA FE, N.M. — Santa Fe Art Auction conducted its two-day Prints, Multiples & Works on Paper auction on March 10-11, which totaled nearly 430 lots. Day two had the winning price, awarded to “Evening, Pueblo of Walpi,” a 1910 watercolor by plein-air artist Marion Kavanaugh Wachtel (1870-1954), which far surpassed its $5/7,000 estimate to make $49,200. The work had provenance to the Santa Fe Collection of Southwestern Art (Chicago) and a private collection in New Mexico and was previously exhibited in the 1995 exhibition “Santa Fe Railway: Women of the West” at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts (Scottsdale, Ariz.). For information, www.santafeartauction.com 505-954-5858.
Louis XVI Clock Chimes At A.B. Levy’s
WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. — A Louis XVI ormolu and Sevres porcelain Cercles Tournants urn and serpent table clock ran up a top bid of $4,500 on March 12 at A.B. Levy’s, selling within estimate. The late Eighteenth Century clock, in the manner of Antoine Crosnier and with a back plate inscribed “Rodel,” depicted a neoclassical urn with mask handles. Seldom seen in earlier clocks, the rotating horizontal dials of these cercles tournants clocks became prominent in the Louis XVI period. For information, www.ablevys.com or 561-827-0652.
Towle Silver Set Polishes First-Place Win For Kaminski
BEVERLY, MASS. — Spanning March 7-8 was Kaminski Auctions’ March Estates Auction, which offered a total of 956 lots of fine art, antique furnishings and rare collectibles sourced from various estates across the Atlantic coast and beyond. A Towle sterling silver tray and five-piece tea set sold together on day two for the highest price in the sale: $15,000. Together, the silver pieces weighed 290.7 troy ounces. For information, www.kaminskiauctions.com or 978-927-2223.
