“Gloucester Harbor” by Frederick Mulhaupt (1871-1938), oil on board, 13¼ by 15 inches framed, docked at $12,500 ($10/12,000).

Review by Carly Timpson

ROCKPORT, MASS. — The Rockport Art Association & Museum (RAA&M) conducted its 41st annual art auction on May 2, filled with historic American artists and highlighting works by members of the Cape Ann School. As expected, the auction was led by many coastal and classic New England scenes. As the auction is a fundraising event, lots that were passed during the sale are still being offered to interested buyers. Margaret Redington, arts and exhibitions manager, shared that the event had raised more than $300,000 and sold 85 percent of lots at press time. “It was definitely a successful auction. There were 350 approved online bidders, 19 in-house absentee bidders and 78 bidders were successful.”

“We’re not an auction house; we’re an art association and museum. This is the 41st year we’ve had our annual auction. It started when Antonio Cirino passed away and left half his collection to the Association with the stipulation that we sell it in an auction to support the museum,” she added. “One of the things that’s unique about our auction is that we have the full auction preview exhibition for two weeks, and we treat it like a real exhibition. People come to see the artwork and really appreciate the way everything’s presented.”

“We were especially thrilled to have paintings by Jane Peterson and Frederick Mulhaupt, two of the most respected artists of the Cape Ann tradition,” Redington explained. As it went, “Gloucester Harbor” by Mulhaupt and “Flowers in a Blue-Green Vase” by Peterson shared the auction’s highest price: $12,500. Depicting a ship at dock with several sailing off in the distance, the impressionistic “Gloucester Harbor” featured the favorite subject of the artist who is often called the “Dean of the Cape Ann School.” The oil on board work was stamped with a label from the artist’s estate, numbered “M8-162” and sold to an online buyer within estimate. Peterson’s floral still life, an oil on canvas, rose past it’s estimate range. “I was really pleased with the prices realized for the Jane Peterson works. The floral was one of my favorite pieces in the whole auction, but the other one we had, ‘Racing to Windward,’ was really unusual for her. I’ve never seen one of hers that was like that, so it was great to have it in the auction. She’s so experimental and creative in the way she expressed herself.” “Racing to Windward,” a pastel-toned gouache depicting sailboats on reflective water, was bid to $8,125 ($3/4,000).

Peter Vincent’s (1946-2012) acrylic on board “Fishermen in Dory,” 24 by 30 inches framed, was reeled in for $10,625 ($2/3,000).

Docking at $10,625 was a maritime work by another local artist. Born in Connecticut, Peter Vincent moved to Rockport in 1958 and attended both the New England School of Art and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. His acrylic on board painting of “Fishermen in Dory” was signed to the lower right and earned the sale’s second-highest price.

Six works by noted seascape artist Charles Vickery found new homes during the auction, led by two rather opposing sunset scenes. “Sunset Coastal Surf” was a departure from the artist’s more typical ship scenes and rolling whitecaps. Painted in light colors, the placid work showed a small wave crashing on a sandy coast. Signed to the lower right, it reached $10,000. “Sunset Schooner at Sea,” which earned $8,125, showed the ship in full sail against the colorful horizon ($4/6,000).

Another eminent Massachusetts artist to achieve great results for RAA&M was Emile Gruppé. The selection of eight works was led by “Vermont Farm,” a wintry scene with snow-covered houses and outbuildings in the Vermont hills. Signed “Emile A. Gruppe” to the lower right, it topped off at $8,750. Following closely behind were “Drying the Nets” and “Smith Cove, Gloucester, MA,” both of which earned $8,125. The two paintings each depicted harbor scenes, though the former was more industrial while the later showed leisurely sailboats departing or at moorings.

“Vermont Farm” by Emile Gruppé (1896-1978), oil on canvas, 31¾ by 37¼ inches framed, settled for $8,750 ($7/10,000).

Winter landscapes continued to do well, despite the strong showing of marine art. John F. Carlson’s “Mountain Stream” brought $8,125 and “Winter Near Belmont” by RAA&M co-founder Aldro T. Hibbard finished for $7,500. The later was exhibited in the 2012 RAA&M’s “A. T. Hibbard: American Master” retrospective and featured in Judith A. Curtis’ book of the same name.

Antonio Cirino, RAA&M co-founder and the inspiration for the Annual Auction, was represented by seven works in this year’s auction. The offerings were led by “House With Blue Door,” which had been professionally relined and achieved $5,938.

“I was surprised some of the most beautiful paintings did not sell during the auction, but already some have after the auction, including Emile Gruppé’s ‘Mending The Nets,” Redington shared. “The buyer had come to see the preview exhibition with her brother and daughter. She fell in love with the painting but wasn’t able to bid on it during the auction. Afterwards, she called and asked if it was still available — and it was! She said she had never bought a painting before, but she definitely has good taste! She was thrilled it was still available and came to pick it up today. She had tears in her eyes and just kept falling in love with the painting. It was such a great experience for me to help someone with buying her first painting and seeing her fall in love with the work.”

“Winter Near Belmont” by Aldro T. Hibbard (1886-1972), 1912, oil on canvas, 28½ by 24½ inches framed, was taken to $7,500 ($5/7,000).

Interested collectors can view available lots in a special exhibition in the Rockport Art Association & Museum’s Martha Moore Room and on the RAA&M website through May 31. Redington shared, “With this special exhibition, we are providing an opportunity to view and purchase a selection of works that are still available from the auction to continue our fundraiser.”

Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by RAA&M.

The Rockport Art Association & Museum is at 12 Main Street. For information, www.rockportartassn.org or 978-546-6604.