Leading all three days of the sale was “Study for Night Neighbors” by Linden Frederick (Maine, b 1953), oil on linen, 25 by 25 inches framed, signed lower right, inscribed on stretcher, which earned $18,750, surpassing its $12/16,000 estimate.
Review by Kiersten Busch
THOMASTON, MAINE — Thomaston Place Auction Galleries began its November auction series with Autumn Majestic, the firm’s last three-day auction of the calendar year, which spanned November 8-10. The sale offered a mixed bag of more than 1,300 lots, including fine art, antiques and decorative rarities of all shapes and sizes.
Day one of the sale brought 509 lots to the block, with a set of seven fantasy postage stamps from the “Correus de Cadaques” series by Donald Evans earning the highest price. Each of the watercolor on paper stamps had edge perforations that were made with a string of periods on a vintage typewriter. The lot was housed in a Lucite box frame, and the stamps were loose inside on their black album shelf page. On the back of the box, there was a label from the Fischbach Gallery of New York City, dated 1974. Evans, according to the auction catalog, was “a successful architect graduate of Cornell, what began as a hobby became his life’s work, cut short by a fire at his apartment in Amsterdam.” Far surpassing their $600/800 estimate, the set of stamps made $11,875.
Shooting past its $1,8/2,200 was a 12-gauge Winchester model 21 hunting shotgun, which came with two spare barrels — one 26 inches long and the other 28 inches long — and its original leather-bound case with a cloth zip-up cover and blue fleece interior liner. The gun, made with dark walnut wood, featured a deep blued finish to both the barrels and its frame; the frame had additional scrollwork patterns throughout. A medallion on the toe of its stock was engraved “Q.A.S. Jr,” while all three barrels included an engraving stating “Custom Built by Winchester for Quincy A. Shaw Jr.” The shotgun hit its mark for $7,800, the second highest price of day one.
Daniel Sullivan received these five medals for heroism in 1904 after saving a man who fell into the Hudson River. Accompanied by a portrait of Sullivan, the medals were awarded to their new owner for $4,500 ($1/2,000).
Rounding out the top three best-selling lots of day one was a photographic portrait and a set of five medals for heroism awarded to New York City patrolman Daniel Sullivan, which realized $4,500. According to the auction catalog, “Sullivan received notice for diving into the Harlem River on August 4, 1904, at around 10:30 pm, to rescue a man named Campbell Glover who had fallen from the docks at 159th Street while fishing.” The five medals housed in a red walnut deep cove frame included a 14K gold City of New York Isaac Bell Medal for Bravery; a 14K gold The Lifesaving Benevolent Society of New York medal, dated August 4, 1904; a sterling silver Congressional Lifesaving Medal, created in 1874; a sterling silver Volunteer Lifesaving Corps for Saving from Drowning medal engraved with Sullivan’s name; and a bronze Honorable Mention NYC Police Department medal.
Of the 504 lots offered on day two of the sale, “Kaaterskill Clove” by Frederic Edwin Church triumphed over the rest, crossing the block for $18,750 — the sale’s highest price. The oil on academy board depicted Kaaterskill Clove, which is “a deep gorge, in New York’s eastern Catskill Mountains, lying just west of the village of Palenville, on the Hudson River trail,” according to the auction catalog. The painting was housed in what may be its original deep cove gesso frame, which included a tag with the poetic stanza “Hills and streamlets are all aglow under the sunset clouds.” It had provenance to the Lockwood-Mathews mansion of Norwalk, Conn.
One of two paintings that achieved the highest price of all three days was “Kaaterskill Clove” by Frederic Edwin Church (New York/Connecticut/Mexico, 1826-1900)), oil on academy board, unsigned, 23 by 20 inches framed, which crossed the block for $18,750 ($10/15,000).
A circa 1900 sternboard of a Bellamy-style spread eagle by H.B. Simmons of Lincolnville, Maine, flew to $9,000, to earn the second highest price of day two. The eagle had both black and gilt paint and was carved from pine. Signed verso, it measured 72 inches long.
Rolling out the third highest price of day two was a Bidjar carpet made in the late Twentieth Century; it made $7,800. In excellent condition, the carpet had a red vine and rosette border, which enclosed an overall design which included palmettes, rosettes, flowering vines and large curved serrated leaves. A diverse array of colors were used against the carpet’s navy blue background, including red, ivory, gold and sky blue.
Day three offered 462 lots, and “Study for Night Neighbors,” an oil on linen by Maine native Linden Frederick, which dawned at $18,750, was the highest price of all three days, sharing the achievement with “Kaaterskill Clove” from day two. The painting, housed in a molded walnut grain-painted frame, was signed lower right and inscribed on its stretcher. The second highest price of the day went to a second Frederick painting, this one titled “Fire Escape.” Also an oil on linen, this painting depicted a view of a Belfast, Maine, harbor from the upper floor of a building in town. It was signed lower right and had a label from Tatischeff Gallery of New York City from 1995 on the reverse of its stepped shadow line, black painted frame. The cityscape earned $13,750.
Tumbling to $9,000 on day three was “Frolicking Fox Cubs” by Maurice “Jake” Day (Maine, 1892-1983), watercolor and gouache on paper, 22 by 27 inches framed, signed lower left ($2,5/3,500).
Another painting popular with bidders was “Frolicking Fox Cubs” by Maurice “Jake” Day, another Maine native. The watercolor and gouache on paper showed five fox cubs playing in a glen surrounded by insects; a bird supervised the cubs from an overhanging tree branch. Housed in a dark oak frame, the painting was signed lower left and trotted to $9,000 against a $2,5/3,500 estimate.
A Russian 88-silver gilt and enamel picture frame in the shape of a life preserver had unique provenance, which helped raise it to $11,400 against a $800-$1,000 estimate. Coming from the estate of Suzanne Massie, author and advisor to President Ronald Reagan, the early Twentieth Century frame had a first Kokoshnik mark and was stamped with the Fabergé Cyrillic imperial warrant mark and potentially a Cyrillic “L.N.” maker’s mark.
Jewelry on day three was led by a ladies’ 14K yellow gold ring, mounted with an emerald and diamonds. In addition to the four baguette accent diamonds and two round brilliant-cut diamonds, totaling an estimated 0.25 carats, the ring also sported a 2.53-carat Columbian emerald which was slightly yellowish green. The lot included an appraisal by a certified GIA gemologist. With an original retail replacement value of $11,500, the new owner of the ring cut a deal, taking it home for $9,600.
Prices quoted include buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 207-354-8141 or www.thomastonauction.com.
