Butterscotch’s Fall Estates Auction
December 4
Bedford, NY
www.butterscotchauction.com
info@butterscotchauction.com
914-764-4609

BEDFORD, N.Y. — A newly discovered first edition copy of Francisco Goya’s most celebrated printed work, Los Caprichos (The Caprices), is crossing the block at Butterscotch Auction on December 4. The set of 80 etchings (embellished with aquatint, drypoint and engraving) explore man’s follies with an acerbic, satirical fervor that ultimately brought Goya fame beyond Spain’s borders and established him as one of the great printmakers in Western art.

About 300 copies were printed in the first edition of 1799, and the copy at Butterscotch is among the earliest in that group, determined by a scratch on plate 45 that appears very early in the first serial printing. The Butterscotch copy is also among only a few known to have contemporary Spanish provenance (about 27 in total). It is in an early Spanish binding and bears an 1833 inscription to the Spanish costrumbrist painter Antonio Pérez Rubio (1822-1888). The front board is also impressed with Rubio’s initials, suggesting that this particular set was presented to Rubio when he was a budding artist of just 11 years in age. It is no surprise then that Rubio’s own paintings, which can now be found in the Prado, are heavily influenced by Goya.

The book exchanged several hands before it was purchased by the grandparents of the current owner, a local resident who was cleaning out their basement and called the auction house to consign a few things. Consigned from the same home is a complete copy of the third edition of Goya’s Los Desastres de la Guerra, 1903, and a collection of 26 framed Goya etchings.

Butterscotch’s fall sale will feature hundreds of items sourced from the New York area estates, including fine art, decorative arts, Asian arts, jewelry, furniture and more. Works by artists such as Yvonne Canu, Paul Jacoulet, and Clorindo Testa will cross the block, along with an original ink and watercolor by Salvador Dali ($4/6,000), an oil on panel painting attributed to Nikola Bogdanov Belsky showing a girl on a forest path ($3/5,000), and one of Marcel Duchamp’s colored aquatint and etching, “La Mariee” [ed. 104/200], signed by Duchamp and Jacques Villon ($9/12,000).

Featured among the decorative arts is a 29-piece set of rare Ambrosius Lamm opera china, hand painted with various scenes from Wagner’s operas ($5/10,000). Furniture offerings are highlighted by a George I burl walnut secretaire cabinet of small and desirable size, alongside an Eighteenth Century or earlier William and Mary oyster veneer chest of drawers. Seekers of jewelry will appreciate the selection of diamonds, including a pendant necklace with two antique 1.4-carat diamonds and an Art Deco double clip brooch with approximately 12.4 carat weight set in platinum. A moonstone and diamond ring (accompanied by a 1928 letter from Edward Good of Good’s Cameo Corner, London) will not disappoint ($2/4,000).

The live auction will commence on Sunday, December 4, at 10:30 am Eastern, with bidding available by phone, absentee and online. For information, www.butterscotchauction.com or 914-764-4609.CHILDE (FREDERICK) HASSAM Chestnut Trees, Old Lyme, CT 1903 Watercolor and pastel on paper 9 x 10-5/8 in., with authentication $10,000-15,000

AFTER DIRCK VAN DELEN Architectural View, 19th Century Oil on board laid on panel 19 x 14-3/4 in. $1,000-1,500
YVONNE CANU Ile Saint Louis – Paris Oil on board 7-1/2 x 9-1/2 in. $3,000-5,000
(ATTRIB) NIKOLAI BOGDANOV BELSKY Girl on a forest path Oil on panel, 13-3/4 x 9-1/2 in. $3,000-5,000
ANTIQUE DIAMOND PENDANT NECKLACE Approx. 6.99cttw | $10,000-15,000
IMPORTANT ANTIQUE MOONSTONE RING $2,000-4,000
CHINESE ENAMELED PORCELAIN “BOYS” PLAQUE $800-1,200
ENGLISH PEAR-SHAPED FRUITWOOD TEA CADDY 18th / 19th Century | $800-1,000

FRANCISCO DE GOYA: Los Caprichos, 1799, Madrid, 1st edition Original set of 80 etchings $8,000-12,000 Provenance:Antonio Pérez Rubio (1822-1888), a costumbrist painter (1 of about 27 known copies with contemporary Spanish provenance)
ALBERT BIERSTADT Soaring Over the Falls Oil on canvasboard 23-1/4 x 18 in. $25,000-35,000
CHINESE FAMILLE ROSE PORCELAIN BOWL $400-600
WILLIAM J. McCLOSKEY Table top still-life with grapes Oil on canvas 20 x 24 in. $3,000-5,000
FACHRALO KAZAK WITH OVERALL BEETLE PATTERN $1,200-1,800
MARCEL DUCHAMP Colored aquatint & etching La Mariee Ed. 104/200 $9,000-12,000
WILLIAM & MARY OYSTER VENEER CHEST of DRAWERS $1,000-1,500
MID-19th C. FRENCH EMPIRE BRONZE CANDELABRA $1,500-2,500
CYPRIOT LIMESTONE HEAD OF A GODDESS, EX-BMFA $3,000-5,000

PAIR CHARLES LIMBERT EBON-OAK ARMCHAIRS, c. 1912 $2,000-3,000

We are now accepting consignments for future auctions. View catalogs and bid online at butterscotchauction.com