“Monhegan Island, Maine,” by Robert Henri was the top lot and work of fine art at $23,125.
Review by Z.G. Burnett, Photos Courtesy Helmuth Stone
SARASOTA, FLA. – The results of Helmuth Stone’s Modern, Fine Art, Antique Auction on April 2 weighed heavily in paintings and jewelry. Artwork in the upper lots ranged from the Nineteenth Century to the Twenty-First Century, and 14K white and yellow gold dominated the jewelry category. “The buyer base was pretty global as usual,” said Brandon Stone. “Most out of the United States but also a handful of buyers from the United Kingdom, China and Australia. We had two lifetime collections of items; one was a collection of Chinese porcelain along with another collection of artwork from a Sarasota, Fla., resident. We are also still offering the massive collection of original illustrations from Unicover, which was the foremost producer of First Day Covers.” The sale totaled about $250,000 with 425 lots.
The highest selling lot of the auction was a pastel by Robert Henri (American, 1865-1929), titled “Monhegan Island, Maine,” that was bid to $23,125 ($14/18,000). Henri was born Robert Henry Cozad, whose father’s various scandals and wanderings caused his family to change their names in the course of moving from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Atlantic City, N.J. Henri studied in Philadelphia and Paris before returning to the former as a teacher, gaining followers and later becoming a leader of the Ashcan School art movement. This pastel on numbered sketchbook paper is unusual for Henri, who usually worked in oil on canvas or board, and it was signed and inscribed. Henri would visit Maine with fellow painter Edward Redfield (1869-1965), and this work is likely from one of those trips.
Following this in price was “Two Woman Conversation,” painted in 2000 by Arturo Roderio Luz (Philippines, 1926-2001), which multiplied its $2/4,000 estimate to $15,930. Luz was a leading Filipino artist who worked in multiple mediums, including printmaking, sculpture and design in addition to painting, and received the country’s National Artist Award in 1997. This acrylic on canvas shows two nude figures against an abstract background and included a certificate of authentication from the Luz Gallery and showed labels on the verso.
Even more abstract was “Tête Fleurie” by Karel Appel (Dutch, 1921-2006), which realized $5,938 ($8/16,000) and came from a private Palm Beach, Fla., collection. Appel was one of the founders of the avant-garde CoBrA movement (so called for Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam) and worked as a painter, sculptor and poet. The colorful oil on board painting is even less figural than his usual two-dimensional work, which typically shows some kind of creature in the brushstrokes.
This ruby cabochon, diamond and 14K white gold necklace sold third in the auction for $6,563.
Third in the auction and first in price of the jewelry category was a ruby cabochon necklace with its strands joined in the center. Every other ruby was encircled with diamonds, mounted in 14K white gold. The necklace weighed approximately 32.7 grams, came with an AIGL appraisal and GIA report, and sold for $6,563. Another necklace in the top lots was also a strand of cabochons, but these stones were colored sapphires that were all encircled with diamonds and mounted in 14K yellow gold weighing approximately 27.6 grams, and it was bid to $5,313. A 14K yellow gold colored sapphire and diamond bracelet was even more successful at $6,563.
Two other bracelets both went to grace new wrists for $5,938 ($1/10,000). The first was a 14K white gold diamond tennis bracelet that weighed approximately 14.1 grams and came with a CGA appraisal. Second was a 14K yellow gold emerald and diamond bracelet weighing approximately 34.7 grams that came with a GAL appraisal.
Prices quoted with buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For further information, www.helmuthstone.com or 941-260-9703.
