Printed on July 18, 1776 by Edward Eveleth Powars and Nathaniel Willis was this issue of The New-England Chronicle (Volume VIII, No. 413), which was one of 11 known copies to contain the Declaration of Independence. It sold to a collector of American history for the top price of $150,000 ($80/120,000).
Review by Kiersten Busch
BOSTON — On May 3, Grogan & Company kicked off the month with its Fine Art Auction, which offered 179 lots of paintings, prints, sculptures and drawings. A special section of the auction was A Modern Collection of Works on Paper, a 104-lot single-owner collection from the Twentieth and Twenty-First Century. After the final lot was gaveled down, the sale totaled $1.75 million, with a 96 percent sell-through rate.
Of the sale, president Georgina C. Winthrop commented, “The Fine Art Auction did incredibly well overall. We saw robust demand for almost every lot, as demonstrated by the sale’s 96 percent sell-through rate and the fact that 57 percent of lots sold above their estimated ranges. I was particularly pleased to note the number of private collectors bidding in the sale: for example, all of the top ten American artworks sold to private collectors. The results of the sale highlight Grogan & Company’s ability to maximize the auction value of significant works of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century American and European art for our consignors.”
Winthrop continued, “We experienced remarkable global engagement, with a mix of in-person, online and telephone bidders contributing to a highly competitive atmosphere. Bidders from 19 countries participated in the sale, with notable international demand for European works of art. We saw strong demand from private collectors throughout the sale.”
Fine Art
The winning lot was a July 18, 1776, issue of The New-England Chronicle (Volume VIII, No. 413) printed by Edward Eveleth Powars and Nathaniel Willis, which contained one of the earliest newspaper printings of the Declaration of Independence. “It was an honor to bring this rare printing of the Declaration of Independence to market, just steps from where the document was first read aloud in Boston on July 18, 1776, the day this document was printed,” explained Winthrop. “Bidders recognized the significance of the piece (it is one of only 11 known copies), and it ended up selling for $150,000 to a collector of American history.”
Pablo Picasso’s (Spanish, 1881-1973) “Femme assise et dormeuse (B. 455, M. 104),” a 1947 lithograph in black and grey on Arches paper, 31⅜ by 37¼ inches framed, sketched out a $34,375 finish ($15/25,000).
The Declaration of Independence led a small selection of just under 40 lots of prints and multiples, which was followed by a figural lithograph in black and gray on Arches paper by Pablo Picasso realizing $34,375. Titled “Femme assise et dormeuse (B. 455, M. 104),” the 1947 work was numbered “48/50,” signed “Picasso” in pencil and had extensive publication history. Its provenance was also traced back to Pace Master Prints (New York City), from which it was acquired in March 2017 by the consignor, a private Maine collector.
Also performing far over estimate in the prints and multiples category was “Snowy Owl,” from “Twenty Birds of Mount Desert Island,” a lithograph in colors by Caroll Sargent Tyson, Jr. “After our record-setting sale of a complete folio of Tyson’s ‘Twenty Birds of Mount Desert Island’ last year, we were delighted to have the opportunity to offer this selection of birds from the estate of a Massachusetts lady,” Winthrop commented. “Although she did not have a complete set, we were able to maximize the value of the selection by strategically grouping the birds into several lots. The ‘Snowy Owl’ captivated bidders, and ended up selling for $17,500 to a Massachusetts institution. It will be joined at the institution by the ‘Great Blue Heron,’ which sold for $10,625.”
The more than 100 lots of paintings were led by American artist Frank Weston Benson’s watercolor on paper “Eiders (Ducks Aflight),” painted in 1924. Winthrop expounded, “This striking Benson work set an auction record for a watercolor of birds in flight, an impressive achievement given the softening of the artist’s market over the past two decades. Numerous private collectors bid with confidence for the work. Eventually, a three-way bidding war drove the lot to sell for $137,500, with a Massachusetts collector coming out on top.”
“Eiders (Ducks Aflight)” by Frank Weston Benson (American, 1862-1951), 1924, watercolor on paper, 22¾ by 29¼ inches framed, flew to new heights at $137,500, earning a new world auction record for a watercolor of birds in flight ($15/30,000).
“Artist’s Buff, Franconia, New Hampshire” by William Trost Richards earned the third-highest price of the sale, perhaps due in part to its similarity to Richards’ “Franconia Notch, New Hampshire,” which resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. “Because the vast majority of Richards’ work from his 1872 trip through the White Mountains remain in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, collectors clamored for ‘Artist’s Bluff,’ one of the few examples of Richards’ White Mountains scenes to remain in private hands,” said Winthrop. “It ultimately sold for $93,750 to a New England collector bidding via telephone and was underbid by a private collector bidding through our website.”
“Graycliff: The Artist’s Conanicut Island Home,” another work by Richards, also excelled, according to Winthrop. “Several private collectors vied for this view of [Richards’] Conanicut Island home. Ultimately, it sold for $28,125, and it will now hang in a home just a few miles along the coast from where it was originally painted in 1882.”
Landscapes and cityscapes continued to be popular with bidders, as “The Opening of the Porto di Ripetta,” an oil on canvas attributed to Dutch artist Gaspar van Wittel made more than ten times its $7,000 low estimate. According to catalog notes, the painting depicts Pope Clement XI (r 1700-1721) celebrating the opening of the Porto di Ripetta in Rome. Winthrop added, “Numerous European galleries competed for this large-scale work attributed to the Italian-Dutch master Gaspar van Wittel. The work, which had descended within a Boston-area family, ended up selling to an overseas telephone bidder for $87,500.”
Attributed to Gaspar van Wittel (Dutch, 1652/53-1736), “The Opening of the Porto di Ripetta,” oil on canvas, 38⅛ by 61¼ inches framed, bested its $7/10,000 estimate to make $87,500.
One of the most represented artists of the sale was Aldro Thompson Hibbard (American, 1886-1972). His 1917 oil on canvas “The Catboat” sold for the highest price of the five paintings offered: $28,125. “This early Hibbard work was a highlight of our auction exhibition, the energy of catboat coming toward the viewer under full sail drawing people to it as they explored our gallery,” explained Winthrop. “Ultimately, a collector bidding on our website beat out several telephone bidders for the work.”
Winthrop highlighted another successful landscape, this example a watercolor on paper by Ogden Minton Pleissner: “[The] Pleissner landscape titled ‘Sand Dunes and Spanish Bayonets, Sea Island, Georgia’ flew beyond its presale estimate, selling for $28,125, and achieving a near-record result for a non-sporting landscape by the artist. Despite its diminutive size, collectors were drawn to Pleissner’s masterful rendering of light and shadow on the Sea Island dunes.”
Bahamian self-taught folk artist Amos Ferguson was represented by two works in the sale, led by the enamel on paperboard “The Fishermen,” which changed hands for $34,375 against an $8/12,000 estimate. It was signed “Paint by Mr. Amos Ferguson,” an indication that it may have been one of the artist’s early works. “The Fishermen” was followed by “Date Tree,” another enamel on board, which surpassed its $10/15,000 estimate to make $20,000.
A Modern Collection Of Works On Paper
Leading A Modern Collection of Works on Paper was “Black Loops & Curves No. 4” by Sol LeWitt (American, 1928-2007), 1999, sugar lift aquatint on paper, 43 inches square framed, which realized $8,750 ($2/4,000).
The single-owner collection was led by Sol LeWitt’s “Black Loops & Curves No. 4,” a 1999 sugar lift aquatint on paper. The work was signed and numbered “LeWitt 6/10 (4)” to its lower right and more than doubled its $2/4,000 estimate at $8,750.
The second-highest price of the collection was a powder coated steel work by contemporary British artist Julian Opie, which totaled $7,500. Titled “City Walkers 2,” the 2014 piece was numbered “1/50” and was signed by the artist.
Two works totaled $5,000, “Border House (from Ten Etchings),” an etching with aquatint by Peter Doig, and “Ballast I,” an etching on paper by Richard Serra. Doig’s print, done in 1996, was numbered “22/35” and signed “PeterD,” while Serra’s 2011 work was marked with a publisher’s stamp and signed “37/50 R. Serra 2011” on its reverse. Two additional works by Serra, also done in black and white, found new homes. “Venice Notebook #15,” a 2002 etching on paper measuring 20⅛ by 22¾ inches framed, realized $4,375, while an Untitled etching on paper numbered “27/49” and signed “R Serra 91” to its lower right made $3,438.
Bringing a splash of color to the highest performing lots were Untitled (River Bathers) by Grace Hartigan and “Dawn” by Howard Hodgkin. Hartigan’s untitled work, a 1953 screenprint in colors on paper, was numbered “Special Edition #3” on its lower left and contained a label on its reverse for the New York City-based G.W. Einstein Company, Inc, which may have assisted the work in earning an above estimate $4,375 ($1/2,000). “Dawn” was an etching and aquatint with hand coloring on paper and was printed between 2000-02. Numbered “3/60” and signed “HHodgkin,” the work earned a colorful $4,375, landing on the high end of its $3/5,000 estimate.
Grace Hartigan’s (American, 1922-2008) Untitled (River Bathers), 1953, screenprint in colors on paper, 18⅜ by 22⅜ inches, was numbered “Special Edition #3” and sold for $4,375 ($1/2,000).
American abstract expressionist Helen Frankenthaler was represented by two works in the collection, led at $4,375 by “Earth Slice,” a 1978 etching and aquatint on paper that was number nine in a series of 46. Sticking with the earthy theme, “A Slice of the Stone Itself,” a lithograph in colors done in 1969, was marked “Frankenthaler ’69 23/24” to its lower right and finished at $4,063.
Robert Motherwell’s “Beau Geste I” was accompanied by its original folio and featured in Stephanie Terenzio’s The Prints of Robert Motherwell: Catalogue Raisonne 1943-1990 by Dorothy C. Belknap (New York City: Hudson Hills Press, 1980-91). Its provenance and good condition may have been part of the reason the lithograph on paper, initialed “AP IV/XV,” surpassed its $3,000 high estimate to make $4,375.
Eight paintings were offered and sold, ranging in price from $125 for contemporary Filipino artist Gregory Halili’s watercolor on paper “Broadway Looking Towards Downtown,” to $875 for “Landscapes of Future, 2919 in the Valley,” a watercolor and pen on paper by contemporary Russian artist Pavel Pepperstein.
Grogan & Company’s spring auction season will conclude with A Connoisseur’s Eye: The Jason King Binder Collection of Chinese Export Porcelain for the American Market on June 4 at the firm’s Beacon Hill gallery.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 617-720-2020 or www.groganco.com.
