“Soir de Novembre (November Evening) by Ivan Federovich Choultse, oil on canvas, 32 by 37½ inches framed, sold to a buyer in Latvia for $46,125, the highest price of the day ($15/25,000).
Review by Madelia Hickman Ring,
BEACHWOOD, OHIO — According to Cynthia Maciejewski, Neue Auctions manager and managing partner, the Beachwood house’s June 29 Oh, Lovely June! auction of 337 lots attracted a mix of private and trade bidders from 24 countries, including but not limited to Chile, Latvia, Estonia, Singapore, Bahrain and Mexico. A particularly impressive statistic of the auction, which was about 80 percent sold by lot, was that 45 percent of the bidders were new to the company. When Antiques and The Arts Weekly spoke with Maciejewski, she said they were still making post-auction sales but that the total was “about $300,000 and counting!”
Heading the sale and nearly doubling its high estimate for a $46,125 result was “Soir de Nuvembre (November Evening),” a wintry landscape by Ivan Federovich Choultse (Russian/French, 1874-1913). The oil on canvas had provenance to Henry T. Bannon of Portsmouth, Ohio, and had descended in his family who lived in Elyria, Ohio. Also part of its provenance was Wunderly Galleries of Pittsburgh, Penn. Maciejewski confirmed that a buyer in Latvia had the winning bid.
The catalog noted that Bannon was a two-term US representative from Ohio, from 1905 to 1909. A lawyer in Portsmouth, Bannon was personal friends with both Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft and had a deep interest in Native Americans. Bannon’s descendants had one other lot in the sale: “Turkey Hunter” by Eanger Irving Couse (American, 1866-1936), which stalked a second-place finish. Painted around 1926, the painting had been exhibited at the Salmagundi Club the same year. “Turkey Hunter” will be included in the forthcoming catalog raisonné and featured Ben Lujan, one of Couse’s favorite models. The painting exceeded expectations, rising to $27,675.
Eanger Irving Couse’s “ Turkey Hunter,” oil on canvas board, signed, 13½ by 11½ inches framed, brought $27,675, the second-highest result of the auction ($15/25,000).
The vibrantly colorful “Porch Still Life” by Joseph B. O’Sickey (American, 1918-2013), painted in oil on canvas in 2012, came from the estate of the artist and his wife, Algesa O’Sickey, and sold to benefit the Cleveland Sight Center.
The subcategory of contemporary ceramics was topped by three vessels by Claude Conover (American, 1907-1994), all with an applied slip over a multi-patterned surface. Offered consecutively towards the front of the sale were “Chaac” ($7,995), “Tamnes” ($9,225) and “Kokom” ($4,797). The auction house did not disclose if these were purchased by the same buyer or not.
Though the jewelry category was small, a few lots provided a lot of bling and earned prices high enough to place high among the sale. An 18K yellow gold brooch with granulated decoration by John Paul Miller (American, 1918-2013) was the most notable of these, bringing $20,910 and quadrupling its high estimate. The catalog noted that Miller was one of the leading goldsmiths in the United States who was a pioneer in the use of granulation, a technique he taught himself in the 1940s.
Israeli silversmith Dan Givon (b 1955) made a sterling silver kiddush cup fountain that featured a spherical base enclosing six conical kiddush cups that featured an openwork Star of David. Wine would be poured into the large cup through the top of the sphere, filling the small kiddush cups inside. Numbered 6 of 72 and standing 10½ inches high, bidders topped the piece off at $4,551.
Sterling was the medium of choice for Israeli silversmith Dan Givon for this kiddush cup fountain, 10½ inches tall overall. From an edition of 72, it brought $4,551 ($1/2,000).
Modern Old Master Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973) is perennially popular with bidders and the sale gave collectors two opportunities to add to their collection. Bringing $3,936 to sell at the midpoint of its $3/5,000 estimate was a “Modele et Grande Tete Sculptee” etching from the Vollard Suite, 1939. It was described as in very good condition with some light toning. Following it across the block to a $3,444 result was a 1953 Madoura Plein Feu “Picador” white earthenware plate dated 1953.
The Pittsburgh, Penn., estate of Paul G. Benedum Jr was the source for a delightful Triana ceramic tile top and wrought iron base made by Manuel Garcia Montalvan in Seville, Spain, circa 1910-20. It achieved $2,706, more than triple its high estimate.
Neue Auctions’ next sale is scheduled to take place on September 7 and will include Picasso ceramics, furniture by Charles Rohlfs, a vintage poster collection and original works by Joan Miró, Peter Max and Richard Lindner.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.neueauctions.com or 216-245-6707.
