THOMASTON, MAINE — The stars were aligned for Kaja Veilleux’s August 27-29 sale. He had a superb collection of paintings from a Midwestern collection being sold without reserve the first day, and had a salesroom full of bidders, along with active phone and internet buyers.

Leading the session was Albert Bierstadt’s “Sunrise,” a large oil on canvas, which sold for $386,100 to Mark Brock, Brock and Company, Concord, Mass. The painting had last sold at Sotheby’s in 2006 for $553,600. Brock spent about $850,000, taking home several other fine paintings and a large cased ship model.

Marine paintings were strong, with works by William Howard York and Charles Henry Gifford each selling for $175,500, and two works by James Edward Buttersworth each bringing $40,950,while a third by the same artist went for $100,000.

Cased ship models from the MBNA collection, which Veilleux has been dispersing, did well, with a monumental boardroom model of the RMS Mauretania, nearly 10 feet long, realizing $52,650 and others sold between $2,500 and $9,000.

The second highest price of the day, which was the first of a three-day sale, was achieved by an 1832 fire pumper, known as “Lady Washington.” It had panels painted with historic scenes, brass hose fittings, and had been professionally restored. It earned $70,250. Bidding remained solid across the board, with a cigar store Indian reaching $39,780, and a pair of 41-inch Chinese temple vases went for $6,435.

A complete report on the auction will follow in an upcoming edition.