One of two lots to receive the highest price, $28,800, was “Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery (John 8:3-11)” from the Flemish School, Sixteenth Century, oil on panel, 50 by 66¼ inches unframed ($5/8,000).
Review by Kiersten Busch
NEW YORK CITY — “Doyle was honored to host the auction of The Chimneys, a historic 1920s home on Long Island’s Gold Coast, built for Charles Porter Wilson, chairman of the A&P supermarkets, and most recently the home of real estate investor Allan Goldman. The interiors had been decorated by the firm of Cullman & Kravis who artfully combined the old-world charm of the house with furniture and decorations that appealed to the contemporary marketplace,” shared Peter Costanzo, senior vice president of estate and appraisal services at Doyle, of the firm’s March 26 single-owner auction, The Chimneys: The Estate of Allan Goldman. Of the 223 lots offered, 93 percent sold, with the sale totaling $567,872.
Costanzo continued, “Bids for items in the auction were received from both domestic and overseas buyers, in the UK, France and other countries, and many bid with Doyle for the first time. The buyers are mostly collectors, interior designers and dealers in fine and decorative art.”
“Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery (John 8:3-11)” was one of two lots that secured the highest price of the sale: $28,800. The unframed oil on panel was done in the Sixteenth Century by artists of the Flemish School and was closely related to an original work by Lorenzo Lotto, which is part of the collection at the Musée du Louvre, Paris. “This is an excellent Sixteenth Century painting on a challenging subject,” explained Costanzo, “Its large size and the complexity of the painted figures led to competitive international bidding.”
“The Ferry at Longpré” by Frank C. Penfold (American, 1849-1921), oil on canvas, 63 by 87 inches framed, signed and inscribed lower left, floated to $20,480 ($10/15,000).
Eleven additional oil paintings crossed the block, with prices ranging from $512 for Vasily Grigorievich Malyshev’s (Russian, 1843-1914) “View of a City,” to $20,480 for “The Ferry at Longpré” by Franck C. Penfold. Additional oils that exceeded their estimates included the oil on board pair “Tulip Towers” by Miriam Escofet ($14,080) and “Portrait of Madame du Pompadour” after Francois Boucher ($11,520). Of Escofet’s pair, Costanzo commented: “Escofet is a contemporary artist mostly known for her seductively realist portraits. This pair of works depicting tulips in blue and white Delft vases, painted in the Old Master style, captivated visitors to our gallery for days.”
The sale-high price of $28,800 was also earned by a George II giltwood sofa made circa 1730. The camelback sofa, upholstered in yellow silk brocade, had a Vitruvian scroll and tusk carved apron and cabriole legs with scrolled toes; the lot was complete with two throw pillows. George II furniture was well-represented within the estate’s collection, with six additional lots sold. The lowest price, $1,664, was realized by a mahogany triple-top fold-over games table, while the high end was captured by a pair of giltwood pier tables for $8,320.
George III furniture also attracted bidders’ attention, with all 17 lots from the group finding new homes. Prices ranged from $256 for a set of eight walnut and elm Windsor chairs, to $14,080 for a 62-inch-high giltwood mirror made circa 1760. Other stand-out lots from the group included a set of six giltwood armchairs that sat pretty for $9,600, a pair of papier-mâché two-light girandoles that illuminated for $5,120 and a satinwood writing table which also wrote up for $5,120.
This circa 1730 George II giltwood sofa, 71 inches long, accompanied by two complementary throw pillows, was the second lot to achieve the top-lot price of $28,800 ($10/15,000).
A Regency calamander and yew wood sofa table led a selection of 11 pieces of furniture from the era. Made circa 1810, the rectangular-top table had D-form hinged ends and a band of burr yew above a frieze drawer. Acquired from Philip Colleck, New York City, the piece also had provenance to a January 1996 Sotheby’s New York auction. It more than doubled its high estimate of $6,000 to achieve $12,160. The additional 10 pieces of Regency furniture ranged in price from $320 for a set of seven Regency-style oak dining chairs to a pair of gilt and patinated-bronze mounted mahogany side cabinets which realized $7,040.
If bidders needed a rug to accent the furniture they were purchasing, the sale offered five, including a Sultanabad carpet ($2,560), a Mahal carpet ($2,304), a northwest Persian gallery carpet ($512) and a Khorassan carpet ($416). The fifth, which earned the highest price of the group, was another Mahal carpet, made in central Persia circa 1925. It had a midnight blue border, which surrounded a madder field with large-scale floral vinery. Acquired by the estate from Marvin Kagan Gallery, the rug rolled out to $8,320.
A pair of blanc de chine porcelain figures of Shoulau mounted as lamps more than tripled the high end of its $200/300 estimate at $9,600. Each 18¾-inch-tall figure was fitted with a silk shade. Two additional blanc de chine lots crossed the block, both depictions of animals. A figure of a rooster crowed to $1,408, while a pair of crane figures flew to $1,216.
The bases of these silk-shaded lamps were blanc de chine porcelain figures of Shoulau; the pair sold for $9,600 ($200/300).
All seven clocks in the auction sold, led by a circa 1860 Napoleon III porcelain mounted gilt bronze and champlevé enamel clock, which ticked to $5,760. Underneath the clock face was a small vignette depicting a woman and two cherubs. The offering of clocks was extremely varied across styles, sizes and prices, including a Continental onyx and malachite table clock ($640), an English William and Mary-style seaweed marquetry longcase clock ($1,024) and a Louis Philippe gilt-bronze mantel clock ($2,880).
Costanzo also gave a preview of what’s to come for Doyle: “In fine and decorative arts, this May, Doyle will offer Entertaining with Style: The Tom Samet Collection on May 6; The Collection of Barbara Taylor Bradford, on May 7; and Old Master Paintings, English & Continental Silver, Furniture & Decorations in a two-day auction May 20-21.”
Prices included include buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For additional information, 212-427-2730 or www.doyle.com.
