Bringing $250,000 was “Fleurs” by Le Pho (French-Vietnamese, 1907-2001), 1973-74, oil on canvas, 39¾ by 39½ inches ($120/180,000).
Review by Carly Timpson
DALLAS — A John Constable study that was recently rediscovered in a small Texas museum and a vast selection of Impressionist, Old Master and Modernist works headlined Heritage Auctions’ June 5 Important Fine Art sale. As Marianne Berardi, Heritage’s co-director of European art, described it, the auction demonstrated “the extraordinary breadth of European art collecting” with pieces that told compelling stories from “paintings, sculpture, drawings and prints tied to important collections, rediscoveries, evolving scholarship and major artistic movements and personalities that shaped the course of European art.” Comprising about 140 lots in total, the auction was 99 percent sold and realized $2,392,664 when all was said and done.
Earning top-lot honors was a vibrant yellow “Fleurs” painting by French-Vietnamese artist Le Pho. The 39½-inch-square oil on canvas was painted in 1973-74 and had provenance to Findlay Galleries (Palm Beach, Fla.) and a private collection in Lost Tree, Fla. This “Fleurs” painting was accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from the Findlay Institute and will be included in their forthcoming Le Pho catalogue raisonné, in addition to another that is being prepared by the artist’s son, Alain Le Kim. From the artist’s mature period, featuring layered brushwork that merged color, form and ground, the atmospheric still life was bid to $250,000 against a $120/180,000 estimate.
Besting its $25/35,000 estimate, Le Pho’s (French-Vietnamese, 1907-2001) “Femmes cueillette du raisin,” circa 1958-65, oil on board, 18 by 13 inches, achieved $93,750.
An earlier work by the artist, “Femmes cueillette du raisin (Women picking grapes),” which featured figures rather than flowers, brought $93,750, more than doubling its high estimate. According to what Le Kim told Heritage, the painting depicted “Le Pho’s country house around 1958-65, with a view of the gardens and the artist’s studio beyond the grapevine-festooned entryway,” as described in the auction catalog.
The lot that received the most attention before the sale started, as to be expected, was one that astonished art historians and answered centuries-old questions. Hung at the Jefferson Historical Society & Museum in Jefferson, Texas, since 1970 and thought to be a masterful reproduction, researchers determined that the 6-foot-tall painting was, in fact, a full-scale study for John Constable’s famous painting titled “The Cornfield,” which resides in London’s National Gallery. Berardi explained that “The discovery significantly deepens our understanding of how John Constable developed one of his greatest masterpieces,” as the work indicated Constable did not move from small sketches to the final canvas but rather created full-scale preparatory paintings. While the final painting in London is dated to 1826, this study may have originated as early as 1823. After leaving Newhouse Galleries (New York) as a gift to the Texas museum where it remained for decades, Heritage sold the study for $225,000, benefiting the institution’s Development Fund.
Blanche Hoschedé-Monet, the stepdaughter and daughter-in-law of Claude Monet, was represented by two works in the auction, both of which significantly exceeded their high estimates. “Au bord de l’Epte (On the banks of the Epte),” painted in the 1880s, was raised to $150,000, and “Le bignonia dans le Jardin (The bignonia in the garden),” from 1947, went out at $112,500. The earlier work, a lush Impressionistic scene, bore similarities to Claude Monet’s works since it was painted at the time the two worked together closely. The later piece, however, showed the evolution into her own personal artistic style, with broader brushwork and a vibrant, bold palette. Both paintings, which will be included in the catalogue raisonné of Blanche Hoschedé Monet being prepared by Philippe Piguet, had provenance to A. Legall (Paris), P. Bertrand (Oakland, Calif.) and were acquired by a private collector in 1999.
“Au bord de l’Epte,” a circa 1880s oil on canvas by Blanche Hoschedé-Monet (French, 1865-1947), 19½ by 24 inches, was bid to $150,000 ($40/60,000).
A standout work from Russia was Ivan Choultsé’s “Soir de Novembre (Russie),” showing a snowy evening scene. The oil on canvas painting was in a private Boston collection, then descended through two generations in the family before arriving at the auction block. Having a high estimate of just $30,000, the signed and titled work closed at $81,250.
Austrian artist Rudolf Ernst gave bidders “An afternoon show” with his Orientalist street scene that was also pushed to $81,250. The auction catalog described the work, stating, “Ernst depicts a bear mimicking its trainer’s raised arms in a street performance, while onlookers are served tea…he may well have seen such a spectacle during his travels to Turkey. … Drawing on disparate and not always site-specific references, Ernst nevertheless creates a seamless vision of the East and displays a mastery of varied textures and forms-from the cluster of props in the foreground, to the figures’ dress, the worn prayer rug and the Mamluk architecture.”
Several surprises came from lots with four-figure estimates breaking well into the five-figure range. One such work was “Carnations” by French artist Jeanne Selmersheim-Desgrange. The Impressionistic still life, showing a vibrant bouquet of flowers in a blue-and-white vase, left its $7,000 high estimate behind and went out at $35,000.
“Motivo medioval (Medieval subject)” by Luigi Conconi (Italian, 1852-1917), circa 1888, oil on canvas, 42½ by 40½ inches, sold for $35,000 ($7/10,000).
Achieving the same price on a $10,000 high estimate was Luigi Conconi’s circa 1888 “Motivo medioval (Medieval subject).” The well-researched and exhibited painting was featured on the cover of Winds of Change: The Milanese Avant-Garde 1860-1900, a catalog of the Dr Sheldon G. and Irma H. Gilgore collection (Naples, Fla.), from which it came. As the auction notes explained, this work was likely the first in Conconi’s series of costume paintings inspired by the aesthetics of the Middle Ages.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.ha.com or 214-528-3500.
