NEW YORK CITY – Midtown Manhattan was a bit of a madhouse on September 24 as the city awaited the arrival of Pope Francis at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and world leaders gathered at the United Nations a few blocks away. Nearby, at its Rockefeller Plaza headquarters, Christie’s honored famous Americans, from founding father George Washington to banker and now Broadway star Alexander Hamilton, in a series of portraits in oil and stone. Heading Christie’s $3,600,874 Americana sale was a portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828). Based on Stuart’s so-called “Athenaeum” portrait, the work realized $941,000 against its $200/300,000 estimate. Watch for complete report in Antiques and The Arts Weekly.
