Achieving the sale’s highest price and a new auction record for artist Mary Jane Peale (American, 1827-1902) at $349,750 was her 1849 “Portrait of Phillis,” oil on paper laid to canvas, 13¼ by 12¾ inches ($5/8,000).
Review by Carly Timpson
NEW YORK CITY — Doyle Auctions celebrated the nation’s Semiquincentennial with its two-day An American Story auction, featuring paintings and prints on April 14 and silver, furniture and decorative arts on April 15.
American Paintings & Prints
The auction’s first day surpassed expectations and saw spirited competition from art lovers at home and abroad, including collectors, art advisors and institutions. With 155 lots on offer, the sale featured portraiture, still lifes, nautical scenes, a selection of Audubon prints and regional works, including Hudson River School and Western landscapes.
A leading feature of the day’s offerings was the section of paintings by three generations of the Peale family from the estate of J. Ashley and Pamela Patterson Roach.
Peter Costanzo, senior vice president and executive director of books, autographs & photographs, as well as estate & appraisal services, wrote a detailed introduction to the Roach collection, noting that “these portraits and still lifes have descended through a branch of the family started by Rubens Peale and have remained intact to this day.” The works included examples by the family patriarch, Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827), his son Rubens Peale (1784-1865) and his granddaughter, Rubens’ daughter, Mary Jane Peale (1826-1902).
Connecting multiple branches of the Peale family tree, this “Portrait of Mary Jane Peale, Ruben’s Daughter” by Rembrandt Peale (American, 1778-1860), 1859, oil on canvas, 27¼ by 22¼ inches, rose to $41,600 ($8/12,000).
The auction was off to a smashing start when, only 34 lots into the event, a portrait by Mary Jane Peale sold for $349,750, setting an auction record for the artist. The 1849 portrait depicted Phillis, a woman enslaved by the family of Eliza Patterson, wife of Rubens and mother of Mary Jane. Doyle’s auction catalog noted that Phillis accompanied Eliza as she joined the Peale family and moved to New York. “There is no record of her emancipation date; however, Phillis remained with Rubens, Eliza and Mary Jane until her death in 1854. Mary Jane’s diaries record Phillis’ Christian baptism in 1848, and the family honored her with burial in a marked grave at the United Presbyterian Cemetery in Pottsville [Penn.].”
Documented in the artist’s diary as “Phillis my first picture from life” and “a small portrait of Phillis…, aged about eighty, very easily done & pronounced excellent, Fall 1849 at the farm,” the portrait is a very early work by Mary Jane, who committed to painting professionally in 1852. Costanzo described the work, writing, “there is likely no more important painting in this collection than Mary Jane Peale’s Portrait of Philis painted in 1849. […] Such portraits are scarce and important records of the lives of African Americans in the United States before the Civil War.”
An oil on tin work by Rubens achieved the collection’s second-highest price: $54,400. The painting, cataloged as “Still Life with Flowers in a White Compote and Fruit,” was done circa 1857 and believed to be the artist’s work identified in his journal as “No. 14 Flowers and fruit, the basket on the top of our clock to hold the flowers.” Housed in a framed thought to be made by the artist, the work was given to his son James Burd Peale and descended through the family.
Rubens Peale’s (American, 1784-1865) top lot was this circa 1857 oil on tin still life with flowers in a compote and fruit, 18 by 23¼ inches in an artist-made frame. It closed for $54,400 ($8/12,000).
Rembrandt Peale’s leading work was an 1859 portrait of his niece Mary Jane, commissioned by Mary Jane herself. Exhibited at The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (Philadelphia) in the year it was painted and in 1923, the oil on canvas more than tripled its high estimate, going out at $41,600.
Painted circa 1820 as a wedding gift for his son, Charles Willson Peale’s top work in the auction was “Portrait of Mrs Rubens Peale, née Eliza Burd Patterson.” The elegant portrait showed Eliza in white with a lace collar and a red shawl, and Charles described it in a letter to another son, writing, “I have painted a striking portrait of her, happy the expression.” It was bid just past its high estimate, realizing $32,000.
The final member of the Peale family represented in the auction was Anna Claypoole Peale. The painting, a miniature watercolor on ivory portrait of Rubens Peale with spectacles and wearing a blue coat over a white stock, had “been attributed to both Rembrandt and Raphaelle Peale by various Peale descendants, but it is most likely a work referred to in Mary Jane Peale’s ‘A List of Paintings that I Own’ from 1885. An entry on the list reads ‘an injured miniature of father by Mrs Duncan (Miss Anna Claypoole Peale, 1791-1878),’” according to catalog notes. Despite the uncertainty about its maker, the work soared past its $5,000 high estimate to achieve $32,000.
This oil on canvas mural of “Crows in Winter” by Newell Convers Wyeth (American, 1882-1945), 1941, 91⅝ by 145⅞ inches, made $117,340 ($80/120,000).
The auction also included artworks by other prominent American artists, with a “Crows in Winter” by N.C. Wyeth earning the second-highest result overall. The large-scale mural, 145⅞ inches wide, was painted in 1941 as part of a commission of murals for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company’s headquarters in New York City. It finished toward the high end of its estimate range, bringing $117,340.
Nature scenes continued to find success, as Charles Courtney Curran’s “A Breezy Day” earned the third-highest price of $102,100. Depicting a woman standing on a cliffside, the painting quadrupled its high estimate. It had provenance to a private collection in Cleveland as well as Taggart & Jorgensen Gallery in Washington, DC.
Folk artist Anna Mary Robertson “Grandma” Moses painted a lively interior scene in oil and glitter on board. Dated to March of 1957, the work was titled “Christmas, 1860,” and had recorded provenance back to the artist. It was consigned from a Westchester, N.Y., estate and exceeded its high estimate to bring $54,400.
Robert Havell’s 1838 hand-colored etching, aquatint and engraving of “Common American Swan,” plate CCCCXI from John James Audubon’s The Birds of America, 25⅜ by 38 inches, settled for $44,800 ($8/12,000).
Several prints after works by John James Audubon brought notable results as well, three of which had provenance to the estate of Claudette Colbert, given by the actress to the consignor’s aunt. The top result in this collection was a hand-colored etching of Audubon’s “Common American Swan,” plate CCCCXI from The Birds of America. The aquatint and engraving were done by Robert Havell in 1838, printed on J. Whatman paper then laid on card. It swam to $44,800.
American Silver, Furniture & Decorative Arts
The April 15 session comprised about 245 lots of American silver, furniture and decorative arts, and featured property deaccessioned from Historic Hudson Valley, Tarrytown, N.Y. With the current demand for precious metals being high, it was no surprise that the session saw a 98 percent sell-through rate in the silver category. Todd Sell, senior vice president/appraiser of silver, furniture & decorative arts, explained, “Our sale presents a collection of American silver by some of the country’s most notable makers that honors 250 years of American design and craftsmanship.”
With an elaborate chased foliate border, this oversized (32 inches wide) Tiffany & Company centerpiece bowl, 1907-38, led the sale’s silver offerings at $32,000 ($30/50,000).
The highlight of the selection was a circa 1907-38 centerpiece bowl by Tiffany & Company. The oversized sterling silver bowl, which came from a private collection in Boca Raton, Fla., measured 32 inches in length and stood on six tall foliate feet. The oval bowl had an elaborate border chased with flowers and foliage. Weighing approximately 345 ounces, the sterling centerpiece was raised to $32,000.
Additional Tiffany lots to find new homes included a flatware service in the English King pattern, 186 pieces and monogrammed “C,” that realized $16,640; a pair of circa 1902-07 three-light candelabra with scrolling foliate branches on a domed base with putti and florals, 17 inches tall, which made $10,880; a silver and gold loving cup engraved “To Mayor William L Strong from his friends and associates in the City Government 1895-1897” and bearing the arms of the City of New York, which rose to $7,680.
Made by Gorham for Tiffany & Company was a pedestal-raised silver centerpiece bowl with horse mask handles. The 1860s bowl descended in the family of August Belmont, an early patron of American horse racing — you may be familiar with the Belmont Stakes, named in his honor — for whom the piece was engraved. Standing 9½ inches tall with a width of 14 inches from each horse head, the bowl raced to $10,240.
Gorham was another frequent flier in the sale, with the company’s items led by a sterling silver covered soup tureen at $11,520. Engraved “D & L” in script on one side, the late Nineteenth-early Twentieth Century oval tureen had a floral-chased body, swooping vine handles and a floral and thistle cover.
Engraved “AB” for August Belmont I (German-American, 1813-1890), this silver equestrian-themed bowl by Gorham for Tiffany & Company, 1860s, 9½ inches tall, 14 inches from nose to nose, descended through Belmont’s family and sold at Doyle for $10,240 ($4/6,000).
Each having an applied gold monogram to the border, a set of 12 Lebolt sterling silver dinner plates served up a $14,080 result. Made in the second quarter of the Twentieth Century, these 11-inch-diameter plates were in good condition with light wear from casual use.
The top furniture highlight from Historic Hudson Valley was a red-painted pine and oak shoe-foot hutch table that rose well past its $800 high estimate to achieve $2,880. The early Eighteenth Century table’s circular top was removable to reveal the hutch, which had a hinged lid.
For more art and silver, Doyle’s two-day Old Master Paintings / Silver / English & Continental Furniture & Decorative Arts auction will be conducted May 13-14.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.doyle.com or 212-427-2730.
