The top lot of the auction overall was Ernst Christian Frederik Petzholdt’s oil on canvas, titled “Bjerglandskab (Mountain landscape),” which achieved $8,680 ($600/800).
Review by Andrea Valluzzo
SUDBURY, MASS. — The rule of thumb at Tremont Auctions in its April Estate Fine Arts & Antiques Auction on April 12 was that important things did well and, while the sale didn’t have any six-figure high flyers, the standouts performed well and many sold over estimate.
“We were pleased overall,” said Tremont co-owner Matthew Buckley. “The things that were important did well, and there were some good surprises.”
Fine art was well represented, accounting for about 20 percent of the sale overall. The top lot was an Ernst Christian Frederik Petzholdt oil on canvas, titled “Bjerglandskab (Mountain landscape),” which achieved $8,680, handily besting its $600/800 estimate. The painting had an early label on the reverse of its stretcher. Known as Fritz Petzholdt, the artist was a Danish landscape painter who spent much of his career painting landscapes in Italy.
Most of the bidding was online, and these buyers eagerly pounced on key lots, especially Midcentury Modern offerings, including a circa 1965 Phillip and Kelvin LaVerne Lo Ta side table in a hexagonal cube form, which brought $6,820. Retaining a LaVerne gallery receipt, the table had acid-etched and enameled patinated brass over pewter and wood and was signed, “Philip & Kelvin LaVerne.”
This Phillip and Kelvin LaVerne hexagonal Lo Ta side table, circa 1965, made $6,820 ($5/7,000).
Another table was a George Nakashima Wohl example that had a rounded triangular top with turned tripod legs. It outperformed its $300/500 estimate to sell for $5,588. According to family history, the table was purchased at Nakashima’s gallery.
The tables were among several items that drew much presale interest once they were posted online, Buckey noted. “As soon as they went up online, their price shot right up, so there’s a willing audience waiting for those things to hit the market.”
Another nice surprise, going well over estimate, was an Olin Levi Warner patinated bronze plaque that went out at $3,416, about ten times its $300/400 estimate. The profile bust plaque was inscribed, “To my friend C.E.S. Wood / Olin L. Warner / 1891.” As described by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Warner was noted for a restrained classical style that emphasized Parisian aesthetics and modeling techniques.
The lineup of fine art offerings was diverse, ranging from paintings to bronzes as well as lithographs. A signed artist proof lithograph of Salvador Dalí’s “The Stillness of Time” went out at $3,556, easily beating its $500/700 estimate and another signed Dalí artist proof lithograph, “King of Hearts ($200/300) made $2,540. A Joan Miró color lithograph, “Les Voyants [The Seers III],” pencil signed, realized $3,302.
Selling well past its estimate was this Salvador Dalí artist proof lithograph, “The Stillness of Time,” which earned $3,556 ($500/700).
Doubling its high estimate was an abstract composition by Byron Browne (1907-1961), a mixed media watercolor and gouache titled “Boats.” The 1954 composition depicted two small boats on the shore and sold for $2,540 against an $800-$1,200 estimate.
The decorative arts category featured such standouts as a circa 1820 Boston banjo clock with stenciled frames and classical decorated tablet, which chimed at $2,600, selling over its high estimate. It had a gilt finial that topped a dial with Roman numerals and a throat panel with grapevine and floral decorations, while the lower panel showed woman in a classical garden with urns.
Rounding out the auction were a Nineteenth Century China trade ship’s portrait painting of the SS Stronsa at nearly full-sail, which achieved $2,159 ($1/1,500), and a pair of early Bruno Mathsson Pernilla chairs in beechwood and original jute that sold for $1,397 ($400/600).
Tremont Auction’s next sale, on May 31, will be its largest of the spring season: its annual Spring Fine Arts & Antiques Auction.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.tremontauctions.com or 617-795-1678.
