There was a broad smile on auctioneer Gene Shannon’s face as he greeted clients into his gallery on April 29, and it was there for good reason. Not only was he offering a fine selection of American and European paintings, drawings and sculpture, but he was also welcoming buyers into Shannon’s Fine Art Auctioneers’ newly expanded gallery for the inaugural sale at that location.
Shannon’s had established a solid reputation with its sales in Greenwich over the years; however, with the increasing amount of absentee, Internet and phone bidding, plus the expense and risk of transporting all of the paintings to a remote site for the auction, it became increasingly difficult for principals Gene Shannon and Sandra Germain to justify the expenses. The simple answer: expand and renovate their existing facility and conduct the auctions from that location.
Judging by the large crowd on hand, the extra 35 miles that buyers west of Connecticut had to travel did not affect the auction in the least. In fact, several buyers from the eastern part of the state that are not normally seen at the auction were in attendance. Shannon summed the decision up as “a good move.”
To celebrate the opening of the gallery, Shannon’s put out a huge spread with complimentary wine and beverages, filet mignon and shrimp, and that put a large smile on the faces of bidders throughout the gallery.
A well laid-out floor plan and a comfortable and cheery auction room made for an enjoyable evening, but it was, after all, the art that made the night. An eclectic mix of paintings was offered, ranging from China Trade to Abstract Modernism, there was a good selection of bronzes and sculpture, and, as usual, virtually all of the art offered was by established, recognized artists from the past, although there were a couple select pieces by living artists, which Shannon humorously refers to as “breathers.”
“We are going to have a lot of peaks tonight,” stated Shannon prior to the auction. “It will just be a question as to how many valleys.” Postsale results confirm Shannon’s prediction, with three paintings eclipsing the $100,000 mark, and he was surely pleased with the minimal number of low points.
Incorporated into the gallery design was a large area in the rear of the room designated for telephone bidders. A crew of some 22 staff members occupied the area and at several times throughout the evening more than half of them were pressed into action competing for a single lot.
One of the “peaks” of the evening came as a Clemente Pujol de Gustavino Orientalist-style painting was offered. With 12 of the phone lines active and Sandra Germain communicating with another client on her cellphone, “The Presentation” was offered. The painting had been consigned from a private collection in Schenectady, N.Y., and interest in the lot had been intense ever since the first advertisements broke.
Estimated at $40/60,000, the lot opened for bidding at $38,000. Several telephone bidders hit the lot immediately, with the auctioneer having his choice of four hands in the air all the way to the $50,000 mark. Two phone bidders tried to hit the lot at $65,000, four hands were frantically waving in the air at $75,000, three hands at $90,000 and two tried to get in at $95,000. At $100,000, a bidder seated in the front of the gallery jumped into the action, although he was countered by a phone bidder at $110,000. After a brief stall in the action, Shannon accepted a cut bid of $115,000 from another phone, where the painting hammered down. The top lot of the auction, it sold for $136,800, including premium.
Another peak in the auction was the offering of a Sanford Robinson Gifford oil on canvas titled “The Lagoons of Venice,” which carried an estimate of $60/80,000. In a colorist style, the painting depicts a brightly colored group of sailing vessels against a muted profile of Venice as the background. The painting was actively bid, selling at $108,000.
An early Nineteenth Century Chinese School painting had been consigned from a New Jersey estate, and it attracted a great deal of interest. “Anchorage at Whampoa,” measuring a hefty 25 by 61 inches, depicts a port filled with more than 20 American and English vessels and was estimated at $30/50,000. Fierce bidding from the telephones and the gallery resulted in the lot more than doubling estimate as it finished at $102,000.
Several contemporary Abstract Expressionist paintings were offered from a corporate collection. Leading the way was a 94-by-78-inch painting by Rainer Fetting titled “Ruckker Der Giganten.” Initialed and dated “80,” the work was inscribed “Van Gogh / Gauguin.” A colorful lot, the corporate consignors must have been pleased when the painting opened at $15,000 with three phone bidders trying to get in on the action. Competition was quick paced, with three bid cards in the air at $40,000, and two bid cards in the air at $50,000. Bids continued to bounce back and forth until a phone bidder claimed the lot at $78,000.
A Hilla Rebay abstract oil on canvas titled “Floating” did well, selling above estimate at $52,800; and two Rolph Scarlett geometric abstracts, “Checkerboard Abstraction” and “Abstraction,” posted solid results, bringing $55,200 and $38,400, respectively.
Another highlight of the Modernist works was a copper and glass sculpture by Claire McCarthy Falkenstein, measuring 86 inches tall, that handily exceeded its estimate at $72,000.
Other paintings to do well included a portrait titled “Man Holding Cigar” by William Merritt Chase that sold between estimates at $66,000; a Walter Launt Palmer winter landscape titled “Melting Snow” that realized $60,000; and a John Frederick Peto trompe l’oeil depicting a plucked and hanging chicken, bringing $52,800.
The next auction at Shannon’s will be October 28 and consignments are currently being accepted. For additional information, 203-877-1711 or www.shannons.com .
