“Dunstanburgh Castle” by John (James) Wilson Carmichael (British, 1800-1868), oil on canvas, 37¾ by 65 inches framed, led the auction at $28,125 ($15/20,000).
Review by Carly Timpson
SARASOTA, FLA. — August 9 brought 542 lots to the block in Amero Auctions’ first session of its Ocean Winds sale, which included nautical art and other property from lifelong collection on Catawba Island, Lake Erie, Ohio, and realized a total of $1.22 million with a 98 percent sell-through rate. Several of the buyers purchased more than ten lots and several of the paintings that were sold are going back to England, according to firm representative Shaina Finkel.
Sailing to the auction’s highest price was an oil on canvas painting of shipwreck survivors among the Death Rocks beneath Dunstanburgh Castle, Northumberland, England. Painted by John (James) Wilson Carmichael (British, 1800-1868), this maritime scene, measuring 37¾ by 65 inches framed, brought $28,125.
Other marine oil paintings that sailed to top the auction highlights included Philip Jakob de Loutherbourg’s circa 1800 naval scene “The Battle of Camperdown, October, 1797” ($25,000); Lai Fong’s 1890 ship portrait “The Cedar Bank,” which hung over the fireplace in the Catawba Island home ($23,400); Antonio Nicolo Gasparo Jacobsen’s stormy portrait of steamship P. Caland ($12,870); and “Headed out to Sea” by Carmichael ($13,750).
This portrait of “The Cedar Bank” by Lai Fong (Calcutta, active 1870-1910), 1890, oil on canvas, 42½ by 66 inches framed, earned $23,400 ($6/12,000).
The second-highest price of the day, $24,600, was earned by a carousel rabbit made by the Dentzel Carousel Company. This late Nineteenth or early Twentieth Century rabbit was carved, had polychrome paint decoration and glass eyes. Mounted in stride on a display pole as if it were in use, the rabbit was underbid by a soon-to-be-opening carousel museum, Finkel told us.
A French prisoner-of-war-made bone model of a three-masted man-of-war soared well beyond its $3,000 high estimate to achieve $24,400. Made in the Nineteenth Century, the highly detailed ship was crafted of carved bone and wood and had string rigging construction, complete with nets and gunports.
A three-masted ship was also the central subject of a scrimshawed turtle carapace. This ship, called Mercury, was likely a whaling vessel, as the image depicted a whaling scene, or “The Flurry,” and script towards the bottom of the shell read “Free Trade.” Above the scrollwork with the ship’s name and the date “1844,” there was a patriotic eagle with shield, olive branch and arrows. This shell, sold with a custom metal display stand, earned $21,250.
Though much of the sale was focused on nautical art and artifacts, several of the highlights fell outside the expected categories. Amusements aside from the carousel rabbit were also included. One such example was an upright slot machine from the Caille Brothers Company of Detroit, active between 1893-1904. Labeled “The Caille Eclipse,” this five-cent model had a Victorian-style carved oak cabinet and copper-colored fittings and feet. At the top of the machine, there were slots for $1, 25¢, 10¢, 10¢, 50¢ and $2. Though the firm reported it was not in working order, it hit jackpot at $18,750.
Perhaps once used to entertain passengers on a boardwalk awaiting their ship, this Caille Eclipse 5-cent upright slot machine, oak cabinet with copper fittings, 63½ inches tall by 26½ inches wide by 16½ inches deep, brought $18,750 ($10/12,000).
An Italian carved and painted panel depicting a procession of people and horses between two portraits of maidens made its way to $16,250. The Renaissance or Medieval revival scene, believed to be from the Fifteenth or Sixteenth Century, had a parquetry cross to its reverse, though it had several losses, as well as a label identifying “Mrs. James Stuart Cushman, Colony Club, 564 Park Ave, New York” as a previous owner.
“Ocean Winds – Session II will be held on October 11, 2026. It will be the other half of this estate plus more,” Finkel added.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.ameroauctions.com or 941-330-1577.
