Sotheby’s Americana Week: American Furniture, Folk Art, Silver, Chinese Export Art, and Prints
January 9-23
1334 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021
www.sothebys.com/americana
Erik.Gronning@sothebys.com
+1 212-606-7130

NEW YORK CITY — Sotheby’s upcoming Americana Week will include many notable works from important American private collections and institutions. Fine furniture, decorative arts, folk art, silver, Chinese export ceramics, prints, historic maps, books and manuscripts are all part of the sales held live and online, January 19-23, at Sotheby’s New York.

Sotheby’s is delighted to present two single-owner sales, the first being the Important Americana Collection of Charles & Olenka Santore, featuring an eclectic and visually stunning array of early American folk art and some of the finest Windsor chairs ever made in America. Charles Santore, a noted children’s books illustrator, and his wife Olenka had an artistic eye and imagination from which this collection is curated.

Santore wrote and illustrated The Windsor Style in America, a book that became an essential reference guide for folk art collectors. This book remains a staple in libraries for early American design and construction. Santore tenderly illustrated the turnings and joining, representing them in a fashion that reflects why appreciation of Windsor furniture remains pervasive today.

Altogether, this remarkable collection represents a beautiful collection filled with color and bold form. Uniquely playful, this collection will delight seasoned and new collectors alike. The Important Americana Collection of Charles & Olenka Santore will take place in New York on January 19, beginning at 10 am ET and has approximately 362 lots scheduled; it is estimated to achieve $1.33/2.06 million.

Highlights include an exceptional circa 1900 carved and polychrome paint-decorated carousel horse, carved by either Daniel Carl Muller (1872-1952), Gustav Dentzel Carousel Co (1867-1928) or D.C. Muller Brothers (1903-1914), Philadelphia ($25/35,000); an important and exceptional reddish brown-painted scroll-carved comb-back Windsor knuckled armchair, Philadelphia, circa 1775 ($200/300,000); an important and rare Moravian glazed redware fish flask, attributed to Rudolph Christ, Salem, N.C., circa 1805 ($12/18,000); and a carved and paint-decorated Native American tobacconist trade figure, attributed to Samuel Robb, New York City, circa 1890 ($30/50,000).

On January 21, Sotheby’s will offer The Kindig Collection: Important American Furniture, Paintings, Silver & Decorative Arts, the product of over a century of collecting. This remarkable assembly of property was cultivated by one of the most famous families of antique dealers — Joe Kindig Jr and his son, Joe Kindig III. The discerning taste and acumen of the father and son team directly influenced scholarship of the field and cultivated numerous renowned public and private collections throughout the Twentieth Century.

The Kindig collection reflects their deep affinity for early American life, featuring superb examples of highly carved Rococo furniture, rare and early lighting devices, beautifully handcrafted textiles, as well as prominent portraiture and genre paintings. With a profound understanding of the Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Centuries and an eye for aesthetics to match, the Kindigs were uninhibited by criteria of origins and instead collected objects appraised on the quality of their design, craftsmanship and beauty — whether the item be a meticulously stitched English quilt that was brought to America in the Eighteenth Century or Dutch engraved brass snuff boxes that lived in many early American homes, they understood that life and material culture were fluid as America formed its identity.

The second single-owner sale, the Kindig Collection: Important American Furniture, Paintings, Silver & Decorative Arts, will take place in New York beginning at 10 am ET on January 21 and has approximately 299 lots scheduled. The sale is estimated to achieve $1.38/2.16 million Highlights include a very fine and rare Chippendale carved and figured mahogany desk-and-bookcase, Philadelphia, circa 1770 ($60/120,000); the important Colonel George Watson Queen Anne walnut and maple easy chair, Newport, R.I., circa 1755 ($80/120,000); a set of four very fine Chippendale carved mahogany side chairs, possibly the workshop of Thomas Tufft (circa 1740-1788), carving possibly by John Pollard (1704-1787), Philadelphia, circa 1775 ($20/30,000); and a very fine and rare William and Mary quillwork sconce, Boston, circa 1740 ($50/80,000).

The various owners’ auction of Important Americana will take place in New York on January 23 at 10 am ET and has approximately 70 lots scheduled. The sale is estimated to achieve $3.96/6.09 million. Highlights include the important Bowen family Chippendale carved and figured mahogany block-front chest of drawers, possibly by John Carlisle Jr (1727-1796), Providence, R.I., circa 1775 (estimate upon request); an important pictorial sand bottle by Andrew Clemens (1857-19894), McGregor, Iowa, dated 1885 ($80/120,000); the important Corlis-Bowen family Chippendale block and shell carved and figured mahogany desk-and-bookcase, attributed to the shop of John Carlile Sr, Providence, R.I., circa 1770 ($600/800,000); and the important Francis P. Garvan Chippendale carved and figured walnut scroll-top high chest of drawers, carving attributed to Nicholas Bernard (1732-1789), Philadelphia, circa 1755-60 ($200/300,000).

The remaining approximately 325 lots of American furniture, folk art, silver, Chinese export art and prints will be offered in an online-only sale that will close at noon ET on January 23. The sale is estimated to achieve $939,900-$2,940,000. Highlights include a portrait of a gentleman, purportedly of Pittsford, Vt., attributed to William Matthew Prior, circa 1830 ($8/12,000; an Imperial albumen print portrait of Abraham Lincoln by Alexander Gardner, 1863 ($30/50,000); an American silver tankard by Thomas Savage of Boston and Bermuda, circa 1705 ($15/25,000); an American silver and mixed-metal “Japonesque” vase, designed by Edward C. Moore for Tiffany & Co., New York City, circa 1870-74 ($7/10,000); and a rare American molded copper lighthouse weathervane, late Nineteenth Century ($20/30,000).

Sotheby’s is at 1334 York Avenue. For information, 212-606-7000 or www.sothebys.com.

EXHIBITION FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC 13–21 JANUARY