“The Star” by Harriet Whitney Frishmuth (American, 1880-1980), 1918, bronze mounted on stone base, 20½ inches tall overall, numbered “43,” was the top lot of the sale, reaching $18,000 against a $5/10,000 estimate.
Review by Kiersten Busch
MARION, MASS. — The primary focus of Marion Antique Auctions’ April 25 sale was property from the estate of art dealer, collector and founder of Walker-Cunningham Fine Arts, Alfred J. Walker. Advertised as part one of the sale of his estate, the auction offered 575 lots of paintings, bronzes, sterling, gold and diamond jewelry, coins and much more. The sale finished at $677,000, with a sell-through rate of 95 percent.
“The sale did well; we are pleased with the results and looking forward to part two, coming later in the year at the end of August,” shared partner and manager Nick Taradash. He also touched on the bidding pool, explaining, “We had the largest number of online registrations we have ever had for an auction, far and away, and we had registered bidders in over 60 different countries. Additionally, 60 percent of our bidders were first time bidders.”
Of the Walker collection, Taradash expounded, “Al had an incredible collection. He was a good friend of the company’s, and we are honored to have the opportunity to handle his estate. I believe we were able to present that feeling well to the public and a lot of folks who knew Al, his friends and clients, wanted to come and see his collection. And it’s a heck of a collection! He was a wonderful person, too, and he is dearly missed. He was very close friends with us, mentored the staff here and helped encourage the creation of the company.”
This portrait of a man in profile by Gertrude Fiske (Massachusetts, 1879-1961), oil on canvas, 30½ by 27 inches framed, led the Walker collection, selling to a Canadian collector for $10,000 ($3/4,000).
The top lot from the Walker collection was an oil on canvas portrait of a man in profile by Boston artist Gertrude Fiske. Inscribed “G. Fiske” verso, the painting was housed in a black wooden frame with a gilded liner and had additional provenance to Tom Veilleux Gallery in Maine. “This was one of my favorite paintings in the sale,” said Taradash. “It was really highly received and had a particular sensitivity to it with regards to the sitter, which really spoke to many viewers. It sold to a collector in Canada for $10,000.”
Additional notable lots from the Walker collection included “Flame,” a 1928 woodcut of a reclining male nude by Rockwell Kent ($5,760); an oil on paper seascape in its original gold frame by William Bradford titled “Coast of Labrador” ($5,760); and a 1999 egg tempera on board titled “Barn Swallow and Throne” by contemporary American artist Koo Schadler, which was housed in a house-shaped gold frame ($5,376).
The top lot overall, at $18,000, was “The Star,” a bronze figure mounted on a stone base by Harriet Whitney Frishmuth, which sold to a local private collector. Dated 1918, the sculpture was inscribed with the artist’s name and was stamped “Gorham Co. Founders, Number 43” along its base. It weighed just under 8¼ pounds and stood 20½ inches tall, including its base.
This bronze relief plaque of former Supreme Court Justice Horace Gray (1828-1902) by Augustus Saint-Gaudens (Irish/American, 1841-1907), circa 1901, 7½ by 8¼ inches sold together with Augustus Saint-Gaudens by C. Lewis Hind for $17,000 ($6/10,000).
The second-highest earning lot of the sale was also a bronze and sold to a private collector in the Northeast for $17,000. The circa 1901 relief plaque by Augustus Saint-Gaudens depicted Chief Justice Horace Grey, who served on the Supreme Court from 1854 to 1902. The plaque was inscribed “Horace Grey in his seventy-fourth year, Washington, D.C., April MDCCCI” and was accompanied by Augustus Saint-Gaudens (London and New York City: The John Lane Company, 1908), an illustrated book about the artist by C. Lewis Hind.
A third bronze, titled “Perseus and Andromeda,” by Jean-Louis Grégoire (French, 1840-1890), realized $8,000. The 30-inch-tall statue rested on a 16-inch-tall custom-made inlaid and carved rotating walnut pedestal. It will travel cross-country, initially consigned from a collection on Cape Cod, now finding a new home with a private collector in the Midwest.
Fine art that did not have provenance to the Walker collection was led by a pair of portraits by New Bedford, Mass., artist William Allen Wall, which sold for $7,500 against their $1,5/2,500 estimate. The first painting was of New Bedford Quaker, merchant and abolitionist Andrew Robeson (1787-1862), who was pictured in a black suit with white collar. The second portrait was of his wife, Anna Rodman Robeson (1786-1848), who was the daughter of one of New Bedford’s most important whaling merchants, Samuel Rodman. “The pair of portraits were purchased by Fall River Historical Society,” Taradash shared happily. “The sitters actually built the home where the museum is now housed today, and they are thrilled to have them.”
Setting the table for $11,000 was this 161-piece Tiffany & Company sterling silver flatware service in the Saint Dunstan pattern, which was monogrammed “HH” ($13/15,000).
Silver remained popular with bidders, as proven by the $11,000 finish for a 161-piece sterling silver flatware service by Tiffany & Company in the early Twentieth Century Saint Dunstan pattern. The set was monogrammed with “HH” and sold to a trade buyer in Florida. Also selling to the trade for $8,500 was a six-piece Japanese Toshikazu silver tea and coffee set from the mid Twentieth Century. Each vessel, which was formed in the lobed melon pattern, was raised on stylized feet, had scrolling handles and domed covers with berry finials and was stamped “Toshikazu .950 Silver. All hand craft.”
Gold, in the form of a few sets of gold medallions, also crossed the block for high prices. Leading the grouping for $11,000 was a collection of three American Arts Gold Medallions, each minted with one troy ounce of gold and 1/9 troy ounces of copper. A second set of three coins, these examples minted with one-half troy ounces of gold and 1/18 troy ounces of copper, sold within estimate for $7,040.
An American wall clock from the mid Nineteenth Century with an unknown maker led the selection of clocks, selling to a local collector for $10,000 against a conservative $200/400 estimate. The 40-inch-long clock had a round face, metal dial and contained its original pendulum. Inside the door of the mahogany veneer case a note read, “Robert E. Morlay, Newburyport, 1848.”
“We just unloaded our van and trailer this morning from Al’s winter home in Natchez, Miss. Our gallery is starting to fill up once again for part two of the sale,” shared Taradash excitedly.
Part two of the estate of Alfred J. Walker will be offered at the end of August, with a specific date to be announced.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 508-748-3606 or www.marionantiqueauctions.com.
