“Pelleas and Melisande” by Leon Dabo was the top lot of the day, earning $25,000 from a buyer in the United States. It was an oil on canvas, signed and inscribed with artist’s device, 40 by 43¾ inches framed ($8/12,000).
Review by Madelia Hickman Ring
LARCHMONT, N.Y. — Clarke Auction Gallery ended June with a 617-lot Design, Fine Art, Jewelry and Antiques estate auction sourced from collections and estates throughout the tri-state area. The June 30 event passed only 60 lots from the podium, giving the auction a sell-through rate of more than 90 percent. Whitney Bria, Clarke’s auctioneer and appraiser of jewelry and sterling silver, said they were pleased with the sale, which attracted a lot of online bidders, with some new clients participating as well.
Temperatures on the East Coast had been hot in the days leading up to the sale and the cool atmosphere of a beach landscape by Leon Dabo (American, 1868-1960) may have provided some tempting visual refreshment to bidders, who disregarded a few condition issues and helped take it past its $8/12,000 estimate to $25,000. Consigned to auction from an estate in Purchase, N.Y., the unlined oil on canvas was titled “Pelleas and Melisande” and was the sale’s top lot. Bria confirmed it was staying in the United States.
It’s not every day a work by Sam Ntiro (Tanzania, 1923-1993) comes to market in the United States, so bidders took notice when the house offered his “At the Pool,” a 1956 composition in oil on canvas. According to the auction catalog, the artist was also an educator, diplomat and a venerated figure among his countrymen; he was the first East African artist to have solo exhibitions abroad. Ntiro’s first US gallery exhibition was at the Merton D. Simpson Gallery in New York City, where “At the Pool” was exhibited in 1960; additionally, it had provenance to a New Jersey estate. It sold to an international buyer bidding online for $13,750.
Topping off at $13,750 was “Reflections in Glass” by Janet Fish, 1974, pastel, signed and dated, 42½ by 42¼ inches framed ($4/6,000).
A Ridgefield, Conn., collection was selling Janet Fish’s (American, b 1938) “Reflections in Glass,” a 1974 pastel from her “Skowhegan Series.” It also sold for $13,750, more than doubling its high estimate.
Rounding out the top-three fine art results at $10,000 was “The Night Shift” by Guy Wiggins (American, 1883-1962), a 1943 oil on canvas scene that depicted the Pratt Read Company, a converted piano factory in Deep River, Conn., that Wiggins and other artists worked on an assembly line during World War II. Another genre scene of nearly identical vintage was Max Arthur Cohn’s (American, 1903-1998) “Unloading the Boat” from 1936, which had been handled at one time by the Michael Rosenfeld Gallery in New York City. It also made $10,000.
The design category had several highlights, but none were higher than two pieces by father/son artist-furniture makers Philip (American, 1907-1987) and Kelvin LaVerne (American, b 1937), both of which came from an estate in Floral Park, Long Island. Selling first was a 74-inch-long console table, made in the 1960s of etched, patinated and polychromed bronze and pewter; it realized $20,000. Following it across the block was a circa 1976 acid-etched, patinated and enameled bronze and pewter mirror; it sold for $15,000. Bria confirmed the two lots were not staying together as they were purchased by different American buyers.
Earning $20,000 was this circa 1960s etched and painted bronze and pewter console table by Philip and Kelvin LaVerne ($8/12,000).
The sale included design of a much earlier manufacturing date or inspiration. A pair of 18-inch-tall sterling silver urns by Sasson had 12-point stag handles and handsome engraved scrolling foliate decoration on their bodies that were marked “Sasson 925” on the undersides of their feet. Discovered in a Wilton, Conn., estate, the pair found a new home with an American buyer who bagged them for $6,250, more than double their high estimate. Bria, who was on the podium when the urns sold, noted that the buyer was so keen to get them that he jumped his bid from $4,200 to $5,000, saying “let’s get this over!”
Jewelry offerings were diverse and plentiful. A Barry Kieselstein-Cord 18K yellow gold and emerald-cut diamond, made in 1994, exceeded expectations with a result of $11,875. For about half that — a within-estimate $5,750 — a lucky bidder won a Kantra platinum brooch that centered a 9.64-carat tanzanite surround by 33 diamonds weighing approximately 8.37-carats. Bringing an above-estimate $5,000 was a Tiffany & Co, 14K gold, sapphire and diamond buckle-form bracelet.
Clarke has recently hired numismatist Kenneth Imlej and the auction was his debut, with about two dozen lots of coins, consigned from a couple different sellers. Bria noted that all lots sold, either within or above estimate, to a handful of buyers. A 1986 set of five Singapore singold tiger coins from a New Rochelle, N.Y., estate led the group, bringing $4,500 against an estimate of $3/5,000.
Clarke Auction Gallery has recently hired Kenneth Imlej, a specialist for numismatics. The sale debuted the category with 23 lots, all of which sold. This set of five Singapore Tiger gold coins from 1986 had the highest price, making $4,500 ($3/5,000).
The sale ended with about 40 lots of couture and accessories, the majority of which exceeded estimates, proving there was still money left to spend after nearly 600 lots. A dedicated US collector prevailed over competitors to win a limited edition Chanel Patchwork tote that had its original Chanel hang tag and Chanel authenticity card; it came from a Great Neck, N.Y., estate.
For collectors of Louis Vuitton accessories, the sale proffered three lots to pursue. A vintage monogrammed steamer trunk from a Long Island estate sailed to $6,875, while a monogram Eclipse case from a Montebello, N.Y., estate rose to $625. A Westchester, N.Y., estate was the source of the third and final Louis Vuitton lot, a group of five pieces that earned $375 and included a duffle bag, handbag, glasses case, coin purse and key case.
Clarke Auction Gallery will hold its Midsummer Estates auction on July 28 and its Summer Online & Unreserved Fine Art sale on August 30.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For additional information, www.clarkeny.com or 914-833-8336.
