Leading lot in the sale was this oil on canvas by George Inness. “Tonal Landscape” advanced past its high estimate to finish at $15,000. Displaying all the hallmarks of the tonalist artistic style that became popular in the late Nineteenth Century, it measured 12 by 16 inches.
Review by W.A. Demers
FREEHOLD, N.Y. — For its last auction of 2024 on December 8, Carlsen Gallery sold select artwork from the more than 100-year collection of the College of Saint Rose, Albany, N.Y., as well as other collections and estates from New York. The 358-lot sale counted an in-house crowd of about 100 people and totaled $380,000, led by an oil on canvas by George Inness (American, 1825-1894). “Tonal Landscape,” from an estate in Brooklyn, N.Y., surpassed its high estimate to finish at $15,000. The 12-by-16-inch painting of trees in the fore- and background displayed all the hallmarks of the tonalist artistic style.
“I thought that it was a very competitive sale,” said gallery co-owner Russ Carlsen. “All five phone lines were being utilized, and there was competition across the board for good things.” One of those good things was a Hudson Valley red gumwood kas. In old finish and in three sections, the 74½-inch-tall piece stood out with a $13,750 final price.
Erastus Corning, Jr, (1827-1897) a prominent Albany, N.Y., businessman, was depicted in a horse-drawn runabout painted in 1862 by Thomas Kirby Van Zandt. The 24-by-35-inch oil on canvas descended directly from the Corning family and sold for $10,625. “We were very happy to have been able to handle that,” said Carlsen. Van Zandt (1814-1886) was a painter active in the Albany region, known for his paintings of racehorses for their owners.
Shown zipping along the countryside in a horse-drawn runabout, Erastus Corning, Jr, a prominent Albany, N.Y., businessman, was portrayed by Thomas Kirby Van Zandt. The 24-by-35-inch oil on canvas was painted in 1862 and descended directly from the Corning family. It sold for $10,625.
The Brooklyn, N.Y., estate consigned an oil on canvas depicting white and blue irises by Robert Reid (1862-1929), which brought $9,375 and was presented in an extravagant gold frame. “That was a killer frame,” said Carlsen. “I don’t know who made it, but it was a very, very pushy frame, and I think it helped the painting along.”
An oil on board portrait of Tiffany & Co., vice president and designer Oscar Riedener by Guy Pène du Bois (1884-1958) came directly from the Riedener family and left the gallery at $9,375.
From the College of Saint Rose came a charming fistful of flowers depicted by Pablo Picasso. This signed limited-edition lithograph in colors was done in 1958. It changed hands at $6,250.
Thomas Chambers’ (English, 1808-1869) “Village in a Landscape,” depicted white stucco buildings with red roofs nestled beneath what looked like a dormant volcano and surrounded by tropical vegetation. It came from the Brooklyn estate and had provenance to Skinner; a trade buyer won it for $5,937.
Glass master Dale Chihuly (b 1941) was represented in the sale by a three-piece “Macchia Seaform” glass set that was both signed and dated. From the College of Saint Rose collection, it also went out at $5,937 and is heading to California.
“We’re looking at March to come back with a nice, strong sale,” said Carlsen. “We’re probably going to be offering a number of paintings, watercolors and a few etchings from the Brooklyn estate.”
Prices given include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house. For information, 518-634-2466 or www.carlsengallery.com.
