Albert Bierstadt aficionados will immediately recognize the locale of this oil-on-canvas landscape as Lander’s Peak in the Rocky Mountains, which the artist often painted. This signed and dated painting was the top lot of the auction at $35,100.
Review by Andrea Valluzzo
KINGSTON, N.Y. — Collective Hudson’s Pre-Valentine Wonderful Sale on February 8 lived up to its billing, making a strong showing across the board.
“Overall, the auction performed very well, with just over 500 lots sold and total hammer slightly above $250,000, reflecting solid participation across a wide range of categories and price points,” said manager Michael Fallon. “The Albert Bierstadt was a clear highlight of the sale, exceeding expectations and underscoring continued collector interest in Nineteenth Century American landscape works, particularly those associated with the Hudson River School.”
This 1865 Bierstadt landscape, the top lot of the sale, depicted Lander’s Peak in the Rocky Mountains in oil on canvas and attracted much interest. The subject matter is familiar to collectors of the artist’s work and multiple versions exist, including a much larger example that is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Bidding involved multiple participants on the auctioneer’s own platform, Invaluable and LiveAuctioneers, as well as four on the phones. In the end, it sold for $35,100, going to a New York collector who bought quite a few other lots, including Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century paintings.
This Audemars Piguet gold automatic skeletonized wristwatch, circa 1970s, sold for $18,200.
“Beyond the headline lot, we saw consistent bidding activity throughout the auction, with strong demand for American paintings, decorative arts and early Modernist material. The results point to a confident buyer base and an encouraging mix of returning collectors and new participants, which continues to support long-term strength in these categories,” Fallon added.
Among the highlights were two rare Audemars Piguet gold automatic skeletonized wristwatches. The first one, made in the 1970s, sold for $18,200. Set in an 18K yellow gold case, the watch had a caliber 2120 automatic movement with 36 jewels and the movement number 157’312. Marrying traditional horology and intricate craftsmanship with modern design, these skeletonized watches that show the watch’s inner mechanics through the watch face are highly collectible. Another circa 1970 Audemars Piguet 18K gold skeletonized wristwatch having Roman numerals and manual winding earned $15,600.
Leading the jewelry category was a signed Ilias Lalaounis 18K two-tone gold diamond and ruby bangle bracelet, incorporating her favored Greek inspired motifs with textured lion chimera heads, that sold for $14,300. Another standout was an 18K gold necklace with rows of matched pearls and over seven carats of diamonds that realized $5,850.
Sparkling in the auction was this Ilias Lalaounis signed 18K two-tone gold diamond and ruby bangle bracelet, having lion chimera heads with fine detailing, which fetched $14,300.
After buying some new bling, it only makes sense to want something new to wear to go along with those diamonds. A fashion segment in the auction performed quite well, Fallon commented. “Designer and vintage fashion achieved a high sell-through rate, with active bidding on recognizable labels and well-preserved examples,” he said. “We’re seeing fashion function increasingly as a crossover category — appealing both to traditional decorative arts buyers and to a younger audience entering the auction space — helping broaden participation and reinforce overall sale performance.” Among highlights were a Dasco mink fur coat at $1,170; an Oscar de la Renta Pre-Fall 2010 silk faille draped gown for $617; and a Gianni Versace crew neck wool dress lined in purple silk at $520.
The fine art offered ranged from modern to traditional representational views. Of the former was a signed Hunt Slonem handpainted oil-on-wood wall-hanging sculpture titled “Toco” from 1999, which brought $9,750. Done in his signature style using a bold color palette and heavily textured impasto paint on a shaped board, the piece depicted about a dozen toucans. Also crossing the block was a Pablo Picasso Cubist collage that made $7,800. The pencil-signed work, dated “10” in pencil at the lower right, was a mixed-media collage on card composed of cut and layered printed papers, hand-drawn graphite elements, and painted passages in blue, black and ochre. The design created a Cubist still life with musical instrument and architectural motifs and is consistent with Picasso’s 1910s experimentation with “musical collages.”
On the other side of the spectrum was a circa 1900 French School devotional painting offering an inspirational view of St Anne’s head that sold for $8,450 and an Italian Renaissance polychrome painted wood tabernacle panel painting of the Madonna and Child, which took $6,500 bore a painted Latin inscription reading “Ave Maria” on the lower frieze, referencing the Marian prayer. The painting was encased in a carved and polychromed wooden tabernacle frame that is in keeping with other Italian Marian devotional works of the late Fifteenth to early Sixteenth Century.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.collectivehudson.com or 845-514-2218.
