Heading the sale was “Stormy Seas with Whitecaps” by William Trost Richards (1883–1905) that achieved $143,750 against an estimate of $100/150,000 and carried the highest estimate in the sale.
Review and Photos by Madelia Hickman Ring
NEW YORK CITY – Doyle conducted an auction of American paintings, furniture and decorative arts on October 3. Featured in the fine art section of the sale were a broad range of American paintings, including Nineteenth Century portraits, Hudson River School views, Western-themed landscapes and sculpture, examples of naïve painting and still life paintings. Also offered were Audubon, Currier & Ives and topographical prints.
The sale may not have had any blockbuster lots, but Doyle has a devoted, loyal following who come out for their sales and give the house solid results. With competitive bidding in the saleroom, on the telephones and via the Internet, the auction totaled a successful $1,165,444. Not only did the sale surpass its estimate of $735,450-1,108,750, but it was 93 percent sold by lot and 94 percent sold by value, which are impressive statistics by any measure. American furniture and decorative arts showcased examples dating from the Colonial period through the Federal and Classical styles, including silver, ceramics, mirrors, folk art, quilts and samplers, in addition to Chinese export porcelain and rugs.
Highlighting the sale was a 1904 painting titled “Stormy Seas with Whitecaps” by William Trost Richards (1883-1905), which achieved $143,750 against an estimate of $100/150,000. A native of Philadelphia, Richards studied with such noted landscape painters Paul Weber and William Stanley Haseltine and exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. He traveled widely and painted and sketched the landscapes of the Adirondacks and the coasts of New England as well as Germany, Italy and France. “Stormy Seas with Whitecaps” is an example of the late coastal scenes for which he is best-known.
With internet, phone and absentee bidding available to buyers, auctions do not draw the large crowds they once might have, but Doyle’s attracts a devoted following of buyers who still like to attend sales in person. Here, Doyle’s executive vice president, Joanne Porrino Mournet, is shown auctioneering at the beginning of the sale.
The sale total might have been higher had the second-highest valued lot in the sale not been withdrawn. It was a painting by Robert Salmon titled “The ‘Alfred’ in Three Positions” that carried an estimate of $70/90,000. An announcement was made from the podium that the painting would be offered in Doyle’s October 31 sale of English & Continental furniture and Old Master paintings.
American furniture featured a Federal grain-painted corner cupboard, possibly Pennsylvania, that attracted fierce bidding, sending the cupboard soaring over its estimate of $2/4,000 to a stunning $28,125. A Federal mahogany brass mounted tall case clock by Levi and Abel Hutchins of Concord, New Hampshire, realized $6,875, surpassing its estimate of $4,000-6,000. A Federal carved and inlaid mahogany shield-back side chair, attributed to Samuel McIntire of Salem, Mass., more than quadrupled its estimate ($800-1,200) to finish at $3,437.
Chinese export in the auction offered a circa 1820 Brown Fitzhugh armorial platter from the Manigault service. The platter descended in the family of Charles Izard Manigault of Charleston, S.C., who originally commissioned the service. Estimated at $15/20,000, the platter attracted competitive bidding that drove the price to $31,250.
A special section of the sale was devoted to property from a prominent Connecticut estate. Among the extensive offerings from the estate were a tall case clock by Aaron Willard; a bronze plaque by Paul Manship; Russian and Continental enamels; and numerous American and European or English chests, mirrors, clocks, chairs and paintings.
All prices include the buyer’s premium, as quoted by the auction house. For information, 212-427-2730 or www.doyle.com.
