Topping the sale at $36,300 was this full-length, life-size oil on canvas portrait painting of Lady Bridget by Thomas Gibson (English, 1680-1751).
ATLANTA — A full-length oil portrait painting of Lady Bridget by Thomas Gibson, and a bust oil portrait painting of a young man done by a French School artist in the late Eighteenth or early Nineteenth Century, sold for $36,300 and $9,680 respectively, at a two-day New Year’s Signature Estates auction conducted January 15 and 16 by Ahlers & Ogletree. The auction was watched by more than 400 customers from around the world and attracted 20-25 in-person bidders to the gallery; it grossed $814,270. Internet bidding was provided on three platforms and there were 31 phone bidders.
The auction had an array of items that included a selection of Asian art, Nineteenth Century furniture, fine and decorative arts and collectible sports memorabilia. In all, close to 800 lots crossed the auction block. January 15 featured many Asian items, while January 16 showcased an array of fine art from many established estates.
The full-length, life-size oil on canvas portrait painting by Thomas Gibson was the top lot overall. Measuring an impressive 68¼ by 44¼ inches (excluding the frame), the work was titled “Lady Bridget Daughter of John First Earl Poulett and Wife of Polexfen Bastard Esq.” It carried an estimate of $2/4,000, but bidders pushed that to $36,300.
The French School oil on canvas painting, titled simply “Portrait of a Young Man,” was a bust-length portrait that came into the sale with a modest estimate of just $500/700 but, like the Gibson portrait, bidders blasted through expectations to finish at $9,680.
This seven-piece Reed & Barton sterling silver hot beverage service in the Francis I pattern, all marked appropriately and totaling 213.09 troy ounces, topped off at $16,940.
A seven-piece Reed & Barton sterling hot beverage service in the Francis I pattern — comprising a tilting kettle on a stand, coffee pot, teapot, covered sugar bowl, cream jug, waste bowl and tray, all marked appropriately — settled at $16,940 against an estimate of $7/9,000.
An Egyptian Revival style glass top and sphinx base center table with a silvered and gilt bronze base supporting a round glass top, apparently unmarked, changed hands for $10,890 against an estimate of $1,2/2,400.
An untitled (Forest Landscape with a Pond) oil on canvas painting by Auguste Emmanuel Pointelin (French, 1839-1933), rendered in 1869, and signed “Aug. Pointelin” had a $2/3,000 estimate but realized $9,680.
An American Continental currency $20 bank note dated May 10, 1775 (Friedberg CC-9), printed on marbled polychrome paper sailed past its $1/2,000 estimate to ring up $7,865. The paper for the note was supplied by statesman Benjamin Franklin.
A pair of French Nineteenth Century cast stone winged gargoyle architectural elements, each depicted crouching on a square base with their tongues out, accompanied by wood pedestals, bested the $800-$1,600 estimate by garnering $6,050.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 404-869-2478 or www.aandoauctions.com.
