A well-rendered oil on canvas painting of a Florida landscape with figures, painted by the renowned German-born American artist Hermann Herzog (1832‱932), sold for $80,500 at Nadeau’s Auction Gallery’s multi-estate sale October 11. Herzog, a centenarian, was known for landscapes and seascapes. His work was collected by Queen Victoria and Czar Alexander II.
The Herzog painting was the top achiever in a sale that saw more than 375 lots change hands. More than 100 people packed the showroom, while more than 600 bidders participated online. Another 200 people joined the action via phone and absentee bids.
“Overall, this was an excellent sale,” said Heather Nadeau of Nadeau’s Auction Gallery. “There were some soft spots in the mid-range items, but the higher-end items did really well.”
It helped that the merchandise consigned for the sale came from several upscale sources: items from the Holly Williams House Museum in Lakeville, Conn.; the estate of Dorothy Rogers Smith of Bloomfield, Conn.; and prominent estates in Manchester and Old Lyme, Conn. “When you have quality to offer, you’ll do well regardless of what’s going on with the stock market,” Nadeau said.
The second top lot, finishing at $51,750, was a Chippendale mahogany upholstered wing chair, crafted around 1780 in Newport, R.I., and with a provenance listing the Jabez Huntington family of Norwich, Conn., to the present. The chair had an arched crest above shaped wings and out-scrolled arms, set on square-fluted and stop-fluted front legs, square rear legs, a raked back and square stretcher.
A fire screen with mounted wire mesh depicting two playing hounds, circa 1920, attributed to Wilhelm Hunt Diederich (1884‱953), soared to $34,500. Also, an R. Wood & Co. (Philadelphia) iron outdoor stag figure in old paint, showing wear with two broken spikes and a repaired antler, realized $13,225 and a carved and paint-decorated sperm whale figure, signed C. Voorhees, garnered $2,875.
Fine art dominated the top lots. An oil on canvas painting by David Johnson, signed and marked on the reverse, “Spring, a study on the Bronx at Mt Vernon, David Johnson, May 16, 1873,” in its original gilt Victorian frame and mounted in a burl wooden shadow box, hit $25,875, while a signed oil on canvas work by Paul Cornoyer (1864‱923), “Yale University in the Fall,” hammered for $21,850.
An original signed work by the noted artist Guy Wigggins, titled “Springtime in Hartford,” May 5, 1930, depicting Bushnell Park with vintage cars, figures and the Travelers Tower in the background, still in the original gilt frame, coasted to $11,500, and a signed oil on canvas painting by Sergius Pauser (Vienna, 1869‱970), “Bouquet of Flowers in a Pitcher,” soared to $10,350.
Continuing in the category, an oil on canvas winter landscape by Arthur Meltzer (American, 1893‱989), titled “Farm Hill” and signed lower left, topped out at $32,220; an oil on canvas work by Felix Schlesigner (1833‱910), titled “Ready for Dinner,” made $11,500; and a mountainous landscape by Anton Hans Karlinsky (Austrian, 1872‱945), “Town on Water’s Edge,” commanded $8,050.
Returning to period furniture, a Chippendale mahogany library armchair, with a squared upholstered back and open arms resting on Marlborough legs with stretcher base, climbed to $32,200; a Sheraton tiger maple drop leaf table on six turned legs, in old finish, achieved $6,037; and a Chippendale cherry chest-on-chest, with dentil molded cornice and ogee molded feet, hit $6,325.
A primitive Queen Anne mirror with arched crest topped out at $8,050, while a William and Mary Kas pair of paneled cabinet doors and drawers, with deeply molded cornice and resting on turned-ball feet, chalked up $6,325, and an English Victorian silver five-piece tea set with elaborate figural peasant scenes at a tavern (and bearing the hallmark of Charles Stuart Harvis, London, 1873) realized $11,500.
Two clocks are worthy of mention. A cherry tall case clock with a carved fretwork top over a tombstone door over a long door, all set on ogee bracket feet with a calendar and second hand, a dial of painted porcelain, with brass works, chimed on time for $4,887, and a japanned chime clock, marked “Baker, London” and with silver dial and spandrels and a small ogee bracket base, gaveled for $3,162.
Rounding out the top lots, a Middle Eastern hinge-covered brass pen box, rectangular in form and with circular panel designs, circa Eighteenth/Nineteenth Century, rose to $3,162; a Mason factory primitive duck decoy, premier grade, with canvas back, circa 1905, brought $1,380; and 11 boxes of leather-bound books, many in small pairs/sets/groups, gaveled for $1,265.
All prices reported include the 15 percent buyer’s premium. The gallery is at 25 Meadow Road. For information, www.nadeausauction.com or 860-246-2444.
