The highest price on either day, $93,000, went to “The Letter” by Manoucher Yektai (Iranian, 1922-2019), 1967, oil on canvas, 19¼ by 27¼ inches framed ($40/60,000).
Review by Kiersten Busch
DETROIT — DuMouchelles conducted its first sale of the year over the course of two days, January 16-17, offering just under 600 lots for those itching to buy something new at the start of 2025. Day one, Curated Selections, featured fine art from notable Grosse Pointe, Mich., and Bloomfield Hills, Mich., estate collections, as well as a selection of jewelry and other antiques. Day two, Online Only Exclusives, featured additional fine art, jewelry, sculpture and cultural treasures.
With a combined 92 percent sell-through rate, treasurer and advisor for DuMouchelles, Karen Walker Beecher, explained that the firm was “absolutely, very satisfied” with the results. The sales, she continued, were filled with items that were “high quality, fresh to market from private collections and estates with robust bidding.”
“Approximately 20 percent of the successful bids were outside of the US,” shared Beecher, “mainly France, Hong Kong, UK, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and Canada. Forty percent of successful bids hailed from Michigan, with the remaining US bids spread out across the country.”
The sales were led by “The Letter,” a heavy impasto oil on canvas by Iranian artist Manoucher Yektai, which sold to an international collector for $93,000 on day one. The 1967 painting was an abstract floral still life with a letter and vase and was previously only owned by a single person: a private collector from Bingham Farms, Mich., who purchased it in 1970. “The owners of the Yektai married in 1967 and this was one of their first art acquisitions as a married couple,” shared Beecher. “They purchased it from the Gertrude Kasle Gallery, who represented the artist, and it was in their collection all this time.”
“Mother And Child (Nancy And Olivia)” by Alice Neel (American, 1900-1984), 1982, lithograph in colors on wove paper, 31 by 28 inches, numbered “144/175” embraced a $17,360 finish ($2/4,000).
“Alice Neel — as one of the greatest female artists of the Twentieth Century — has been in very high demand (it’s the time for women artists!),” said Beecher of the artist behind “Mother And Child (Nancy And Olivia),” a lithograph in colors on wove paper, published in 1982 by Eleanor Ettinger, Inc., New York. “Mother and child are some of Neel’s most iconic subjects and this one in particular, since it depicts her daughter-in-law and grandchild,” Beecher explained. “The owners of the litho didn’t realize what they had. One of our specialists discovered it in a storage closet.” The print sold for $17,360 to a local collector bidding online.
Rocking and rolling to $16,120 was “One World,” a pen and ink sketch done on Arches wove paper circa 1969 by John Lennon of The Beatles. The work depicted Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, flanking an image of the Earth, with figures and the American flag on the moon in the lower left of the image. Several pieces of authentication documentation were included with the sketch, which is headed to a Florida buyer.
Leading on day two was a circa 1920 bronze and leaded glass dragonfly attributed to Tiffany & Co. The work, complete with green patina, was used as a lamp pendant and had provenance to a prominent Grosse Pointe, Mich., collector. It fluttered to $6,200, heading to a local collector bidding online.
A 49-piece display of Native American stone notched and stemmed points, blades, drills and other artifacts was accompanied by framed photography and a photo album, all of which shot to $3,100, earning more than 10 times its high estimate. The artifacts were presented in a fitted glass case and will head to a Harbor Springs, Mich., collector.
This 49-piece set of Native American stone notched and stemmed points, blades, drills and other artifacts was accompanied by a framed photograph and an album; the lot shot to $3,100 against a $150/300 estimate.
“Christ Giving Key of Heaven to St Peter” by the Circle of Domenichino crossed the block for $1,240. The circa 1650 oil on paper was unsigned and mounted to a frame. It had provenance to Folio Fine Art Ltd., Wisconsin, and had a label from the gallery affixed to the back of its frame. It sold to a Canadian client for the third-highest price of the day.
DuMouchelles’ next sale will take place on February 13 and 14, offering jewelry just in time for Valentine’s Day. Prices quoted include buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 313-963-6255 or www.dumoart.com.
