This Long Island farm scene by Gaines Ruger Donoho returned home to the featured home’s current owner, thanks to John Chaski’s diligence, for $22,800 ($5/10,000).
Review by Z.G. Burnett, Photos Courtesy of Dixon’s Auction at Crumpton
CRUMPTON, MD. – On January 26, Dixon’s Auction at Crumpton conducted its first Americana & Decorative Arts auction of the year, selling 100 percent of the 363 lots offered with sales totaling just over $199,000. Online bidding was split between Dixon’s in-house platform, LiveAuctioneers and Bidsquare. “Americana seems to do well in January,” said John Chaski, a Delaware-based Americana dealer and consultant for Dixon’s.
Leading the top lots was a Long Island Farm scene by Gaines Ruger Donoho (American, 1857-1916) for $22,800. “In researching the painting, I found a neat little blog from a historical society about the artist’s house in East Hampton which included an antique postcard with a view of the place and its current address,” shared Chaski. “I printed out the blog, a copy of our auction listing, and put it all in a priority mail envelope addressed to ‘Current Owner.’ It seemed like a long shot… I never heard anything back. Post-auction I received an email from the successful buyer, and sure enough she was the ‘Current Owner’ I had sent the mailing to. A very gratifying result.”
Sketches in ink by illustration artist Dan Smith (American, b Greenland, 1854-1934) populated the auction, literally saved from a dumpster by their consignor. The most successful of these showed a highly stylized scene of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, placing second in the sale for $7,995. Third was a signed and numbered print by Jacob Lawrence (American, 1917-2000) that achieved $6,765. Both were sold to trade via LiveAuctioneers.
Prices quoted with buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. Dixon’s at Crumpton will conduct its next quarterly Americana sale on April 20. For information, 410-928-3006 or www.crumptonauctions.com.
