By Carter B. Horsley

This afternoon auction follows the morning session in which Sotheby's is auctioning the important collection of Meyer and Vivian Potamkin (see The City Review article.) This auction is highlighted by an important work by John Sloan and good paintings by Frederic E. Church, William Bradford, Thomas Hill and Georgia O'Keefe.

The cover of the auction catalogue is illustrated with Lot 141, shown above, "Easter Eve," an impressive oil on canvas by John Sloan (1871-1951). A major member of the so-called Ashcan school that concentrated its focus on urban life rather than academic subjects, important early works by Sloan are rare. In his book, "The Story of American Painting: The Evolution of Painting In America from Colonial Times to the Present," art critic Charles Caffin illustrated this painting and noted that it was the prime example of "the efforts of a few of our younger painters to shake themselves from the fetters of prettiness and sentimentality in which much American Art is confined." "While the rendering of the spectacle presented to the eye is his first concern, his mind also is busy with the human comedy and tragedy that beats below the surface. it is the humanity of the scene, as well as its pictorial suggestions, that interest him.

The lot has an estimate of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000. It sold for $3,032,000 including the buyer's premium as do all results mentioned in this article. This afternoon sale was very successful with a very very high percentage of the offered lots being sold.

Lot 191 is a fine small work by Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900) that was created for The U. S. Sanitary Commission to benefit the Union Hospital Fund during the Civil War. Entitled "The Setting Sun," it is a 9 1/2-by-14-inch oil on canvas. Created in 1864, it has a a very conservative estimate of $150,000 to $200,000. It sold for $192,800. The catalogue notes that for the sale the artist also lent five paintings for exhibition including his very famous "Heart of the Andes" that is now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Lot 217 is a good scene of "Yosemite" by Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902). The oil on canvas measures 20 1/2 by 30 1/4 inches and the treatment of the trees at the left and the waterfall in the center is very painterly. Although not in pristine condition, it is a dramatic scene and has an estimate of $300,000 to $500,000. It sold for $512,000.

Another Bierstadt is Lot 203, "The Wetterhorn," a 59 1/2-by-47 1/2-inch oil on canvas. Dated 1857, it is a dramatic scene of the Alps, but an early work that is not as painterly as the artist is capable of. It has an estimate of $300,000 to $500,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 200 is a group of 10 paintings each 13 3/4 by 18 3/4 inches in a large frame by Bierstadt of various scenes. The individual scenes of sketches of various subjects and quality. It has an estimate of $400,000 to $600,000. It sold for $467,200.

Thomas Hill (1829-1908) is best known for his many views of Yosemite down in almost an impressionistic style. Lot 215, however, is a very fine, non-impressionistic scene of the Rocky Mountains. An oil on canvas executed in 1869, it measures 18 by 34 inches. It has a very modest estimate of $25,000 to $35,000. Lot 216 is one of Hill's conventional "Yosemite Valley" paintings, an oil on canvas that measures 18 1/2 by 25 1/2 inches. It has an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000. It sold for $48,000.

William Bradford (1823-1892) is America's most famous painter of the Artic and Lot 208 is a very fine small oil on board by him that was executed in 1878. It measures 9 by 14 inches and has a modest estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. It sold for $108,000.

Lot 170 is a very lovely watercolor and gouache on paper by Winslow Homer (1836-1910) entitled "Fishing." The work measures 7 by 8 1/2 inches and has an estimate of $400,000 to $600,000. It sold for $1,128,000.

Lot 158 is a fine, very colorful and Cubistic tempera on gessoed panel by Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928). Entitled "Heart's Hansel," it measures 16 by 11 inches and has a modest estimate of $15,000 to $25,000. It sold for $30,000.

Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986) is represented in this auction by two works, Lots 119 and 123. The former is entitled "Red Hills with Pedernal, White Clouds. An oil on canvas, it measures 20 by 30 inches and has an estimate of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000. It sold for $1,352,000. The latter is entitled "Little Barn." It is a 10 1/2-by-13 1/2-inch oil on panel. Painted in 1932, it has an estimate of $300,000 to $500,000. It sold for $848,000.