The sale’s top lot was an original illustration for a Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz (American, 1922-2000), January 1989, ink on paper, 21¼ by 28¾ inches framed; it achieved $27,300 ($20/30,000).
Review by Carly Timpson
SARASOTA, FLA. — Helmuth Stone Gallery’s Fine Art & Antique auction, conducted on June 16, consisted of 357 lots of paintings, drawings, porcelain, Asian art, sculpture, frames, ethnographic and Indigenous art and artifacts, comics and furniture. Owner Austin Helmuth shared, “It was a good sale, the higher-end things did well as we expected. We always get good visibility for those, and we were pleased overall. Also, we had some good attention on American artworks — they did well.” In total, the sale realized $200,000 and had a handful of post-auction sales.
Earning the top spot in the sale was an original ink on paper Peanuts illustration by Charles M. Schulz. Dated January 29, 1989, the winter comic strip featured Snoopy and Lucy ice skating on a pond, then Snoopy returning home to be with Charlie Brown and Sally. The illustration, which was housed behind glass in a 21¼-by-28¾-inch frame, had provenance to the corporate collection of Zenith Insurance based in Sarasota. After a competitive bout of bidding, the Peanuts strip was claimed, within estimate, by a Connecticut collector for $27,300.
An unattributed copy of Peter Paul Rubens’ “The Drunken Silenus,” which was deaccessioned from the Polasek Museum in Winter Park, Fla., after being acquired by sculptor Albin Polasek (Czech/American, 1879-1965) who obtained the work in Italy. The monumental square canvas depicting the stumbling Greek god was nearly 7 feet high and sold to a museum for $18,750.
A monumental painting after “The Drunken Silenus” by Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577-1640), oil on relined canvas, 82 by 82 inches, sold to an institution for $18,750 ($10/20,000).
Worked in his own vibrant impressionistic style known as Simbaresco, Nicola Simbari’s 1988 oil painting “Scalea” depicts a woman descending an outdoor staircase with a large succulent plant in the foreground. With provenance to the Wally Findlay Galleries, proceeds from the sale of the painting are benefitting the Florida Studio Theatre and its mission as a local performing arts venue. At $18,125, a collector in Chicago won the blue seaside scene.
Henry S. Marks’ Nineteenth Century oil on canvas of two ornithologists seated at a table examining an egg, which appears to be that of a penguin. One of the male figures holds the egg while the other leans in, holding spectacles to observe the specimen. Signed to the lower right of the canvas, the work had a gallery label from Haynes Fine Art of Broadway, England, affixed to the reverse. “Ornithology” will be heading back to the United Kingdom for $7,812.
Won by a phone bidder for $7,187 was a bold 1974 lithograph by Alexander Calder. The unframed print, titled “Trois Arches,” had red, blue and black boomerang-shaped arches with two small primarily red circles secondary. The 29-5/8-by-43¼-inch color sheet was pencil signed and numbered on the front and titled on the reverse.
Exceeding its estimates to achieve $7,187 was “Trois Arches” by Alexander Calder (American, 1898-1976), 1974, color lithograph, 29-5/8 by 43¼ inches ($1/2,000).
From a Greenwich Village, N.Y., collection was “L’Babit Blanc (The White Robe)” by Charles Levier. Featuring a somber-looking seated male figure in white dress with a tri-cornered hat and ruffled collar, the cubist painting was signed at the lower left, titled verso and housed in a reproduction period wood frame. An online bidder claimed the Levier for $4,687.
A signed — though indistinguishably — Nineteenth Century Hudson River School landscape painting made $4,875 and will be joining a private collection in New York. The landscape showed a tree-lined body of water with a small boat rowing in the early morning mist.
An abstract oil painting by Icelandic artist Kristján Davídsson featuring dark swirling brush strokes on a solid white background brought $3,125. Signed “K. Davídsson” to the lower left, the work was housed in a wood frame.
Prices include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. On August 4, Helmuth Stone will be auctioning the collection of the former vice president of Procter and Gamble, Lou Pritchett. For more information, www.helmuthstone.com or 941-260-9703.
