Le Pho’s (French/Vietnamese, 1907-2001) “Fleurs,” 1972, oil on canvas, 46 by 32¼ inches, bloomed to the sale-high price of $137,500 ($50/60,000).
Review by Carly Timpson
DALLAS — “Our successful November 18 sale featured a wide, yet focused, selection of paintings and drawings spanning 400 years of art historical periods, styles and countries of origin,” shared Heritage Auctions co-directors of European art, Marianne Berardi and Seth Armitage. “We were incredibly pleased with the results and the energetic, international bidding which came from established and new European art collectors, including several gallerists and dealers, as well as collectors from other Heritage categories.” The 116-lot Fine European Art auction had a sell-through rate of 92 percent by value and 81 percent by lot, and, according to Berardi and Armitage, the “proprietary Heritage Live bidding platform, and partnership with LiveAuctioneers, helped drive a result of nearly $1.25 million.”
The team reported, “The bidding was strongly international, with clients bidding from locations in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. In fact, in this sale, as in a great many European art auctions at Heritage, we saw that specific sale selections brought in a wave of first-time buyers. Our incredible internet reach found new clients in Dubai, Lithuania, the UK, Italy and France, who ended up with winning bids. Of the 490 registered bidders in the sale, over 450 were internet bidders!”
The sale was led by a 1972 “Fleurs” painting by French/Vietnamese artist Le Pho. This oil on canvas composition showed orange, yellow and white flowers arranged in a white vase against a blue and yellow background. The work was acquired by Findlay Galleries from the artist’s studio in 1972, obtained by George and Eunice Nolley (Tulsa, Okla.) later that same year and was most recently in a private Dallas collection by descent. It sold, with a letter of authenticity from the Findlay Institute, to a private collector for $137,500 and will be included in their forthcoming Le Pho catalogue raisonné.
“Paysage de Ciboure avec le chemin du vieux cimetière et le clocher” by Tobeen (Félix Bonnet) (French, 1880-1938), circa 1916-20, oil on canvas, 250190 by 18¼ inches, was taken to $40,000 ($12/18,000).
“Early Modernist works by Jean-Pierre Cassigneul, Henri Charles Manguin and Tobeen, performed strongly, pointing toward our audience’s appreciation of bold, expressive, forward-thinking works,” noted Berardi and Armitage. “The Tobeen brought $40,000, more than twice the high estimate and a record price for the artist in the United States!” This record painting, “Paysage de Ciboure avec le chemin du vieux cimetière et le clocher,” was featured on the auction catalog cover and married “Cubist structure with the lyricism of the Basque landscape.” Painted around the time of the First World War, this scene had provenance to the Flast family of New York and was later given to a private collector in Eugene, Ore.
Cassigneul’s 1972 seaside balcony scene titled “Devant la fenêtre” was acquired from the artist’s studio by Wally Findlay Galleries (New York City) the year it was painted; from there, it was acquired by a private collection in River Forest, Ill., then descended into a Plainfield, Ill., collection. Its authenticity was confirmed by the artist’s daughter and was sold with a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist. It brought $87,500.
“Still life with a pitcher of flowers and a platter of fruit on a table” by Henri Charles Manguin, a prominent member of the Fauve circle, had provenance to a San Diego, Calif., collection and sold for $18,125.
Additionally, “among the top results were several Nineteenth Century European paintings by artists such as Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, John Simmons and Maximilien Luce, illustrating our audience’s continued appreciation of the era,” added Berardi and Armitage. Bidding for Corot’s circa 1865-70 “Le torrent pierreux (crépuscule),” or “The stormy torrent (twilight),” found a reprieve at $62,500. The oil on canvas landscape was included in volume three of Alfred Robaut’s L’oeuvre de Corot, catalogue raisonné et illustré (1905) and had extensive recorded provenance, including Admiral Constant Jean Benjamin Jaurès (French, 1823-1889), Henry Graves, Sr, Mary Boyd McCormick, Mrs George L. Eaton and Grant Suiter, among others.
Inspired by Shakespeare, John Simmons (British, 1823-1876) painted “There sleeps Titania” in 1872. The 25-by-30-inch oil on canvas awoke bidders for $47,500 ($20/30,000).
Painted in 1872 after Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Simmons’ “There sleeps Tatiana” showed the Fairy Queen at rest in an enchanted forest, surrounded by other fairies and vibrant flowers. As catalog notes stated, the scene “would have resonated deeply with a Victorian audience fascinated by both science and the supernatural.” It appeared that modern bidders felt similarly, as the whimsical painting was pushed to $47,500.
Five paintings by French post-Impressionist Edouard-Léon Cortès were offered, and two matched the high price of $35,000. “Marché aux fleurs, Place de la République” and “Boulevard de la Madeleine au crepuscule” both had provenance to a private Chicago collection, acquired from Findlay Galleries. The other three to sell were “Quai Montebello et Notre-Dame” ($32,500), “Place Saint-Michel et Notre-Dame sous la neige” ($27,500) and “Le Café de la Paix et l’Opéra sous la neige” ($21,250).
“We also had a very strong result for an exceptionally fine Eugène Galien-Laloue gouache on card of the Parisian landmark the Moulin Rouge,” shared Berardi and Armitage. “Although the artist painted many iterations of this subject, the example in Heritage’s sale was a particularly beautiful example, with a very delicate rendering of the large crowd outside the nightclub under the lights at night. It realized $22,500.”
Also realizing $22,500 was a summer scene by Maximilien Luce. “La buvette au bord de la Seine” showed adults and children enjoying a day by the water, with figures swimming and relaxing on the banks.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.ha.com or 877-437-4824.
