By Carter B. Horsley

The Fall 2007 American Paintings auction at Christie's came packaged in five catalogues and contains many works of high caliber.

To a certain extent, the sale was a disappointment as a court ordered that some works consigned by Randolph-Macon College be withdrawn including a large and very fine New York harbor scene by George Bellows that carried the highest low estimate in the sale, $25,000,000.

About 24 percent of the 218 offered lots did not sell, furthermore, a high percentage for a major sale.

The good news, however, is that the sale total of $71,299,925 was the highest American Painting auction total in Christie's history with 20 lots selling for more than $1,000,000 and records being set for 21 works.

Lot 182 is a small but fabulous and classic western landscape by Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902) entitled "In Platte River Country." An oil on board that measures 12 by 18 inches, it was painted in 1864. It has an estimate of $1,500,000 to $2,500,000. It sold for $2,505,000 including the buyer's premium as do all results mentioned in this article.

The auction has several very good works by Winslow Homer (1836-1910).

Lot 161, "Herring Fishing," is a large watercolor on paper by Homer that is dated 1894. It measures 13 3/4 by 20 1/2 inches. It has an estimate of $2,500,000 to $3,500,000. It sold for $3,065,000.

Lot 71 is a simple but beautiful watercolor and pencil on paper by Homer entitled "Boating Boys in Gloucester." It measures 10 by 14 inches and is dated 1880. The work is very dramatic. It has a modest estimate of $300,000 to $500,000. It sold for $1,161,000.

Lot 96 is beautiful charcoal, chalk pencil drawing on paper of Elizabeth Loring Grant by Homer. It is 10 inches square and is dated 1866. The beautiful woman, who lived in Belmont, Massachusetts, portrayed in the drawing was given it as a gift by the artist. It has a modest estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. It sold for $313,000.

Lot 170 is a superb small oil on panel by Thomas Cole (1801-1848) that is entitled "View of Mount Etna." It measures 11 1/2 by 17 inches and was painted circa 1843-44. It has a modest estimate of $120,000 to $180,000, a reflection of the relatively, and absurdly, low prices works by Cole,the founder of the Hudson River School of Painting, have brought recently. It sold for $541,000.

Lot 100 is an excellent and masterly and luminous view of Mount Chocorua in New Hampshire, by Sanford Robinson Gifford (1823-1880). An oil on canvas, it measures 18 1/4 by 30 1/4 inches and is dated 1863. It has a modest estimate of $600,000 to $800,000. It sold for $657,000.

A small and less dramatic mountain scene in New Hampshire by Gifford is Lot 164, an oil on canvas that measures 10 3/4 by 20 inches. Entitled "Moat Mountain, New Hampshire," it is dated 1868. The foreground of the painting contains tree stumps and two people by a cabin. It has a modest estimate of $300,000 to $500,000. Surprisingly, it sold for $881,000, considerably more than the Mount Chocorua painting.

Lot 74 is a nice landscape by John F. Kensett (1816-1872) of Bash-Bish Falls. An unsigned oil on canvas, it measures 18 by 22 1/4 inches. Kensett did many versions of this scene, most vertical compositions. It has an estimate of $150,000 to $250,000. It sold for $289,000.

Lot 73 is a fine landscape by Alexander Helwig Wyant (1836-1892) entitled "Storm Ahead." An oil on canvas tacked on panel, it measueres 22 3/4 by 31 1/2 inches. It has a modest estimate of $50,000 to $70,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 157 is a jewel of a luminist marine painting by Dwight William Tryon (1849-1925). Tryon is not known for luminist works and this is a beauty. Entitled "Connecticut River Shore," it is an oil on canvas that measures 11 1/4 by 18 1/4 inches. It is dated 1872. It is one of numerous works in the auction that is property from the Samuel B. and Marion W. Lawrence Collection. It has a very modest estimate of $20,000 to $30,000. It sold for $67,000.

Another work from the Lawrence collection is Lot 158, a classic shore scene by Francis Augustus Silva (1835-1886) entitled "Evening (Twilighton the New Jersey Shore)." An oil on canvas, it measures 20 by 36 inches and is dated 1881. It has an estimate of $500,000 to $700,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 16 is a large and sumptuous work by Leon Shuman Gaspard (188201964). Entitled "The Finish of the Kermesse," it is an oil on canvasboard that measures 37 by 47 inches and is dated 1918. It has an estimate of $800,000 to $1,200,000. It sold for $2,001,000.

Lot 177 is a good Arctic scene by William Bradford (1823-1892). Entitled "Locked in Ice," it is an oil on canvas tacked over panel that measures 20 1/4 by 30 inches. It is dated 1882. It has an estimate of $300,000 to $400,000. It sold for $881,000.

Lot 171 is a nice Italian landscape by Elihu Vedder (1836-1923). Entitled "Near Perugia," it is an oil on board that measures 8 1/2 by 13 1/4 inches and is dated 1870. It has an estimate of $40,000 to $60,000. It sold for $46,600.

Another landscape scene near Perugia is Lot 169 by George Inness (1825-1894). An oil on panel that measures 12 1/4 by 18 1/4 inches, it was painted circa 1873-6. It has an estimate of $60,000 to $80,000. It sold for $163,000.

Lot52 is a very dramatic Venetian scene by Robert Frederick Blum (1857-1903). Entitled "Woman in a Gondola," it is an oil on canvas that measures 14 b 21 1/2 inches and was painted circa 1887. The work has been widely exhibited and published. It has a conservative estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. It sold for $85,000.

Lot 54 is a very fine sketch by Robert Frederick Blum for one of his most famous compositions, "Venetian Lace Makers." It is an oil on panel that measures 8 1/2 by 6 1/4 inches. It has an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. It sold for $193,000.

Lot 78 is a rare work by Albert Pinkham Ryder (1847-1917), the great mystic and romantic painter. Entitled "The Farmyard," it is an oil on canvas that measures 12 2/4 by 10 3/4 inches. It was property formerly in the collection of Sam and Margaret Lewisohn and was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of art in its 1951 show on The Lewisohn Collection. The work is not signed and has an estimtae of $80,000 to $120,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 58 is a lovely oil on canvas entitled "The Pet Canary" by William Merritt Chase (1849-1916). It measures 19 1/2 by 12 inches and was painted circa 1886. It has appeared in three recent publications. It has a modest estimate of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 68 is a sensational seascape by Childe Hassam. Entitled "Sunset at Sea," it is an oil on canvas that measures 34 3/4 by 34 1/2 inches and was painted in 1911. It is property of the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University and is being sold to benefit its acquisition fund. The highly abstract work that a harbinger of the oeuvre of Rotho, it has a conservative estimate of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000. It sold for $3,737,000.

Lot 34 is a lovely muted abstraction by Manierre Dawson (1864-1939). An oil on panel, it measures 14 by 10 inches and is dated 1913. It has a modest estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. It sold for $51,400.

Lot 125 is a superb tempera on plexigass by Charles Sheeler (1883-1965). Entitled "Stacks in Celebration," it measures 7 1/2 by 9 inches and was executed in 1954. It has a modest estimate of $150,000 to $250,000. It sold for $325,000.

Lot 113 is a very beautiful watercolor and pencil on paper by Charles Demuth (1883-1935). Entitled "Rooftops, Provincetown," it measures 10 by 14 inches and was executed circa 1918. It has a modest estimate of $250,000 to $350,000. It sold for $481,000.

Lot 139 is a beautiful floral painting by Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986). Entitled "Pink Spotted Lilies," it is an oil on canvas that measures 20 by 16 1/4 inchesand was painted in 1936. It has an estimate of $1,200,000 to $1,800,000. It failed to sell.

Another O'Keeffe, Lot 112," is the cover illustration of the catalogue. Entitled "Trees at Glorieta, New Mexico," it is an oil on canvas that measures 30 by 40 inches and was painted in 1929. It has an estimate of $3,000,000 to $5,000,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 119, "The Intruder," is a large tempera on panel by Andrew Wyeth (b. 1917). It measures 30 1/2 by 50 1/4 inches and was painted in 1971. It has an estimate of $3,000,000 to $5,000,000. It sold for $5,753,000.

Lot 101, "The Last of the Mohicans," is a large and impressive work by Emanuel Leutze (1816-1868). An oil on canvas, it measures 41 3/4 by 30 inches. It has an estimate of $700,000 to $1,000,000. It sold for $2,169,000.