Sold together, Samuel F.B. Morse’s “A View of Cazenovia Lake” (left) and “View of Parapet Fall At Trenton” (right) outperformed their $3/5,000 estimate to hit $65,500, headlining the January 29 Americana auction.
Review by Andrea Valluzzo
HUDSON, N.Y. — Stair Galleries wasn’t content to do its usual fine job mounting an Americana sale in late January timed with New York City’s quintessential Americana Week (Antiques Week) events. Instead, the firm decided that two sales was better than one, so on January 28 Stair offered a prelude to the main Americana event with The Antiquarians: The Collection of Susan and Alan Miller, which nearly doubled its high estimate to total $376,117. The next day, the Americana auction also performed above estimate to attain just over $1 million.
“When the opportunity to present the collection of Susan and Alan Miller came along, we knew it would be a sensible complement to our standard Americana Week in January,” said Colin Stair, founder and president. “While the collection did not have a sole emphasis on American furniture, decoration, or fine art, it represented the way an American family lived with works that spanned cultures and centuries of art history, and an understanding of how objects in a collection can speak to each other.”
The firm was not only gratified to see positive results in their auctions but also — like a rising tide lifts all ships — the effects on the trade as a that resulted from the flurry of recent activity associated with Antiques Week. “We are very pleased with the results of both sales, but more importantly, we are invigorated by the current moment and enthusiasm across the industry. Between The Winter Show and other wonderful antiques shows in January, and the successful sales in New York, there is a great deal of renewed enthusiasm for the market, and you can feel it in the salesroom,” he noted. “As we run from strength to strength in the categories we know best, our client base continues to expand and we’re feeling a renewed vitality in the world of furniture and decoration.”
The top lot of the Miller collection sale was this Tiffany & Company silver flatware service in the Windham pattern that sold for $19,650 ($1/$1,500).
Kicking off the two sales, the January 28 sale of the Millers collection had a through line of historical references guided by thoughtful collecting, starting with Susan’s keen interest in textiles and expanding to a celebration of the decorative arts in many forms, including European drawings, Asian works of art and European and American furniture.
Not surprisingly, given how red hot, albeit volatile, the silver market has been of late, the top lot of this session was a Tiffany & Company silver flatware service in the Windham pattern that chewed through its $1/1,500 estimate to sell for $19,650. Another set by Tiffany & Company also sold over estimate at $12,445.
“The services offered were a quite classic, which easily complement modern and traditional tastes. That, balanced with the price of silver trading where it is, helped the property really take off,” Stair added.
Reflecting the Millers’ diverse interests, the auction had highlights across the board, ranging from an unsigned European School watercolor of two tulips that realized $12,445 to a Chinese kraak porcelain bowl, 6½ inches tall with a 14¼-inch diameter that took $11,790 ($800/$1,200). Of the latter, Stair commented that it “had quite a bit of pre-sale interest, which made for enthusiastic live bidding between private collectors, dealers and interior designers. What makes this Chinese kraak porcelain bowl special comes down to quality, condition and size. It’s an exceptional size for a bowl of this nature, where traditionally we see examples half to a third of the size.”
A Chinese ‘Kraak’ porcelain bowl, 6½ inches tall with a 14 ¼-inch diameter, went out well above estimate at $11,790.
Rounding out the session was a Navajo wearing blanket, possibly First Phase, 44 by 55½ inches, which also took $11,790.
The January 29 Americana session featured works sourced from prominent private estates and long-held family collections. Designed to celebrate 250 years of the rich material history of the United States, the auction presented a select grouping of furniture, fine art and artifacts that highlighted the best of American decorative arts.
The top lot was two small paintings with local interest that crossed the block to earn a big price. The pair of oil on board paintings headlined a grouping of works by Samuel F.B. Morse (1791-1872) and topped the overall auction results. “A View of Cazenovia Lake” and “View of Parapet Fall At Trenton” rocketed past their $3/5,000 estimate to sell together for $65,500. The circa 1827-28 paintings were both signed “S F B Morse” and titled on the reverse; each measured 8½ by 11 inches (sight). “The group of Samuel F.B. Morse works came from the collection of Martha Brandt Bolton and Robert Bolton of Princeton, N.J. They were scholars, collectors and lifelong students of the world, whose Princeton Federal home was restored to pristine detail and accuracy for the time period,” shared Stair. “They followed the same rigor of historically appropriate detail when it came to assembling furniture, decoration and fine art for the home.”
This 1850 oil on canvas by Mary B. Melen, “Norman’s Woe, Gloucester, Massachusetts,” earned $31,440, about triple its high estimate.
He continued, “‘A View of Cazenovia Lake’ and a ‘View of Parapet Fall At Trenton’ had well documented provenance and an exhibition record within the National Academy of Design and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Many of these works by Morse came to the Bolton collection through the Hubbard family, who have a deep history and connection to the upstate region of the state of New York.”
Fine art was well represented throughout the day with a signed circa 1850 marble “Fisher Boy” sculpture by Hiram Powers (1805-1873), set on a stone base, going out at $32,750, and an oil on canvas by Mary B. Mellen (1817-1882) titled “Norman’s Woe, Gloucester, Massachusetts” that sailed past its $7/$9,000 estimate to attain $31,440.
The parade of oil paintings across the block that sold above their estimates continued with Thomas Chambers’ “View of Manhattan from Bedloe’s Island,” which achieved $26,200, and a Gilbert Stuart portrait of Frances Torrey, which earned $20,960.
This Matthew Clarkson, New York, Chippendale mahogany four leg serpentine-front card table made $34,060.
When it comes to American furniture, few styles exude luxury with a graceful flair more than Chippendale, as seen in this auction with a Matthew Clarkson Chippendale mahogany four-leg serpentine-front card table from New York, which brought a strong $34,060. Of this table, Stair said it had “a bold and lovely design and was in great condition.” This particular lot was underbid by the trade, but ultimately sold to a private collector bidding on the firm’s website. “Provenance matters, and this table from the Vincent Dyckman Andrus family collection, proves it.”
Rounding out the second session were several gilt sheet copper and cast metal weathervanes, including a horse through the hoop example attributed to A.L. Jewell, Waltham, Mass., which brought $13,100, and a ram attributed to J.W. Fiske, New York, that made $12,445. Another bright spot in the auction was a Gorham sterling silver two handle tray, measuring 19¼ by 29 inches over handles, that brought $12,445 ($2/3,000).
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. Stair’s next sale will be The Fortress: 500 Years of Furniture and Decorative Arts auction on February 26, offering collections from the Troy, N.Y., historic property.
For information, www.stairgalleries.com or 518-751-1000.
