Letter from George Washington to Ludwell Lee, 1797, led the sale at $11,300; Washington’s correspondence from this time is rare, as Martha Washington burned most of his personal papers following his death in 1799.
Review by Z.G. Burnett; Images Courtesy of Circle Auction
KANSAS CITY, MO. — The 2023 Spring Art, Antiques & Jewelry sale at Circle Auction on May 20 brought Americana, fine art, jewelry, Native American and Asian art, as well as historic documents. “We were excited to see the wide range of bidder participation,” said Michael Fry, co-founder of Circle Auction. “The diverse range of items, including the George Washington letter, the John Adams and John Marshall-signed land grant, and art by Birger Sandzen, Norma Bassett Hall and Robert Sudlow attracted strong participation from both local and national collectors.” This category led the online auction, which included bidders from 39 states and 21 countries, and totaled $102,705.
When a 1797 handwritten letter by George Washington was consigned to the auction house by a significant Kansas City, Mo., collector, creative director and co-founder James Fry was delighted. “I just finished reading Ron Chernow’s Washington biography last year,” he said. “Being able to handle a piece of history like that was a real honor.” From a late period in Washington’s life from which correspondence is scarce, this letter to Ludwell Lee of Shuter’s Hill, Alexandria, Va., speaker at the Virginia Senate, son of Declaration of Independence signee Richard Henry Lee and relation of Robert E. Lee. The letter sold for $11,300 after a battle between local online bidders and an out-of-state phone bidder; the winner was a longtime collector of artifacts from the Revolutionary War.
The letter was followed in price by an 1800 land grant signed by President John Adams and his secretary of state, John Marshall, who would later go on to become the chief justice of the Supreme Court. The document entrusts 2,000 acres located in the Ohio River Valley just east of Cincinnati, Ohio, to Colonel Alexander Spotswood, granted in consideration of his service. Representing a pivotal period in American history, the grant attracted considerable attention from enthusiastic bidders and sold for $7,140 to a former Kansas gubernatorial candidate with an appreciation for American history.
From what was then known as the Roger, Lunt & Bowlen Company, this 215-piece sterling silverware service in the “Mary II” pattern sold just above its high estimate at $4,215 ($2,5/4,000).
Sterling silver was also popular with top bidders. Third in the overall sale was a 215-piece service from the Treasure line of the Rogers, Lunt & Bowlen Company, later Lunt Silversmiths, Greenfield, Mass., that sold for $4,215. The service showed the Mary II pattern, produced between 1922 and 1935. Another notable silverware sale was a 74-piece Old Master set from Towle Silversmiths, Boston, first released in 1942, which achieved $1,490.
The highest-achieving lot of Native American art was a Navajo (Diné) stylized third phase chief’s blanket, crafted from hand-spun wool with aniline dyes and dating back to the 1920s, which multiplied its $600/800 estimate to $3,800. The blanket was from a private collection, one of three examples bought by the consignor’s parents during their honeymoon in 1940.
American artist Robert Sudlow (1920-2010), Lawrence, Kan., led the fine art category with the oil on canvas “November Woods,” which sold for $3,300. Sudlow trained in Kansas and California, where he studied under Richard Diebenkorn, as well as in Paris. After enlisting as a Navy rescue pilot and earning a Distinguished Flying Cross in World War II, Sudlow earned numerous artists’ awards and had a long career as professor of painting and drawing at Kansas University. His work can be found in numerous American institutions.
With a discreet, 17-jewel Swiss movement watch, this 14-karat gold bracelet with freshwater pearls and lapis lazuli inlay achieved $2,480 ($2/4,000).
Prices quoted with buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. Circle Auction is now accepting consignments for its July Modern + Contemporary sale. For information, 913-403-0032 or www.circle-auction.com.
