By Carter B. Horsley
This auction has several major works, a nice group of early landscape paintings and some charming genre paintings.
Its highlight is Lot 7, "The Death of General Wolfe," a 17-by-24-inch oil on panel by Benjamin West (1738-1820), the American painter who became the second president of the Royal Academy of Art in London.
It is a reduced replica of the artist’s 59 ½-by-84-inch 1770 painting of the same title that is in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. According to the catalogue, it "apparently was sold during West’s lifetime, along with a small version of William Penn’s Treaty with the Indians (oil on panel, 17 1/8 by 23 7/8 in., Chicago Historical Society) as a copy made by the artist for the engraver to work from….because of the special interest of West’s first exhibited paintings of modern subjects, both showing events set in America, the artist took special pains to ensure the success of the engravings….Major-General James Wolfe (1727-1759) was mortally wounded while commanding the British forces against the French at Quebec on September 13, 1759."
The catalogue notes that Sir Joshua Reynolds was reported as having tried to dissuade West from painting the scene in modern costume but West argued that "the same truth that guides the pen of the historian should govern the pencil of the artist," adding that West also noted that the event depicted took place "in a region of the world unknown to the Greeks and Romans, and at a period of time when no such nations, nor heroes in their costume, any longer existed." According to John Galt, a biographer of West, Reynolds eventually withdrew his objections and announced that he foresaw "that this picture will not only become one of the most popular, but occasion a revolution in the art."
The lot has a conservative estimate of $180,000 to $200,000. It sold for $2,600,000, not including the buyer's premium.
Lot 196, "Mountebanks" is a large and impressive work by Gifford Beal (1879-1956) that has been by the Collection of Mrs. Irving Felt. The 42-by-60 ¼-inch oil on masonite was painted in 1936 and has an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000. Although Beal studied under William Merritt Chase and his early career painted in an impressionist style, he switched, according to the catalogue, in the 1920s to a "bolder, more vigorous style evident in Mountebanks…[which] exudes the passion, joy and romanticism of the circus with its writhing figures, awestruck faces and loud use of color."
Lot 170 is a fine and impressive depiction of "The Municipal Building, New York City," that the catalogue describes only as "American School" and states was painted circa 1916. The 36-by-30-inch oil on canvas is a superb cityscape and has a conservative estimate of $10,000 to $15,000.
Lot 85, "The Path Along the River," by Charles Harold Davis (1856-1933) is a very strong and beautiful painting, 20 by 27 inches, dated 1890. The lot has an estimate of $80,000 to $100,000 and is quite dramatic with a lovely quality of light.
A small, but fiery landscape by Robert William Vonnoh (1858-1933), Lot 68 has a modest estimate of $10,000 to $15,000. It sold for $16,000 not including the buyer's premium. The oil on panel measures 6 ½ by 10 1/8 inches and shows haystacks under a bright yellow and orange sky.
John Henry Twachtman (1853-1902) is one of the foremost American Impressionists and lot 77, "A Venetian Scene" is a very good early work by him. The 16 7/8-by-12 1/8-inch oil on canvas is dated 1877 and is a very complex, interesting and rather precise architectonic composition that predates his subsequent softer palette and more abstract and poetic work. It has an estimate of $40,000 to $60,000. It sold for $38,000 not including the buyer's premium.
Two other interesting works by late 19th Century painters are Lots 78 and 79. The former, "Orchard Giverny" by Theodore Wendel (1857-1932) is a lovely pastel with very excellent brushwork and an estimate of only $4,000 to $6,000. The latter, "Moonlight Capri," by Charles Caryl Coleman (1840-1928), is a very interesting night-time scene that is quite striking and has an estimate of $18,000 to $22,000. It sold for $16,000 not including the buyer's premium.
The highlight of the Hudson River School section of the auction is Lot 20, "On the Path," a 34-by-56-inch oil on canvas by John W. Casilear (1811-1893). Casilear traveled to Europe for three years with Asher B. Durand and John F. Kensett and began his career as an engraver of banknotes.
The catalogue provides the following commentary:
"On the Path stands as a quintessential example of nineteenth-century American landscape painting with symbolic elements frequently found in other masterworks of the Hudson River School: the radiant sunlit sky, the rock outcroppings and the lone figure with turned back walking towards a township representing man’s progress and combination over the American nation’s unbridled nature. The large format is also unique to Casilear’s oeuvre reflecting the seriousness of the painting and its existence a one the artist’s largest known works to date.
The dramatic and very beautiful painting has a conservative estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. It sold for $150,000 not including the buyer's premium.
Another famous Hudson River School painter was Worthington Whittredge (1820-1910). Lot 16, "Sunrise on the Wetterhorn," was painted in Rome in 1858 and measures 38 ¾ by 53 1/8 inches. Most of the Hudson River School painters spent considerable time traveling in Europe as did Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902) who depicted the Alps many times around the same time as Whittredge. Both Whittedge and Bierstadt would become famous for their scenes of the American West, although they also would paint many "Hudson River School" works. This very dramatic view of the precipitous Wetterhorn has an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. It sold for $70,000 not including the buyer's premium. Lot 50 is one of Bierstadt’s small "butterfly" paintings that he made in Rorshalk Test-fashion by folding paper in two and has an estimate of $10,000 to $15,000. It sold for $18,000 not including the buyer's premium.
Jervis McEntee (1828-1891) was a Hudson River School painter well known for his wintry and twilight scenes. Lot 49 is a fine example of his meticulous style and subtle palette. Entitled "River Landscape," it is a 24-by-19 ¾-inch oil on cradled panel and is dated 1880. It has an estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. It sold for $30,000 not including the buyer's premium.
Similar in temperament is Lot 88, "Grey December," a very fine work by Bruce Crane (1857-1937) that is dated 1919 and has an estimate of $20,000 to $25,000. It sold for $20,000 not including the buyer's premium.
Perhaps the most classic Hudson River School painting in the auction is Lot 31, "Picnic Along the Hudson," by Robert Walter Weir (1803-1889). The medium-size canvas is dated 1881 and has an estimate of $80,000 to $100,000. It sold for $80,000 not including the buyer's premium. Weir taught for several decades at West Point. James McNeil Whistler, Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant were among his students. Two of his sons, John Ferguson Weir and Julian Alden Weir, would also become well known artists. The catalogue describes this lot as "a marvelous example of Weir’s achievements as a Hudson River School landscape painter," adding that he painted several earlier versions of this scene in the 1860s, one of which hangs in the West Point Museum Collection.
The auction has numerous paintings of specific and famous locations.
Another impressive and large landscape is Lot 27, "Lake Placid and the Adirondack Mountains From Whiteface," by James David Smillie (1833-1909). The 23 1/8-by-40 1/8-inch oil on canvas was painted in 1878 and has a fine sense of depth and light. It has an estimate of $80,000 to $100,000. It sold for $80,000 not including the buyer's premium.
Smillie had a brother, George Henry Smillie (1840-1921), who was also an excellent landscape paper as evidenced by Lot 19, "Boating on Lake George," a fine 12 1/8-by-20-inch oil on canvas that is dated 1864 and has a conservative estimate of $6,000 to $8,000. It sold for $16,000 not including the buyer's premium.
Lot 51, "Tuckerman’s Ravine and Mount Washington," by Samuel Lancaster Gerry (1813-1891) is a very handsome oil on canvas, 13 7/8 by 20 1/8 inches and has a modest estimate of $12,000 to $15,000. It sold for $15,000 not including the buyer's premium.
Lot 1, "Trenton Falls, Near The Mohawk River, New York," is an impressive oil on canvas, 22 by 30 1/8 inches, by James Burt (active 1835-1849), a relatively obscure artist. This is a very good and lively composition enlivened with several figures and it has a conservative estimate of $10,000 to $15,000. It sold for $9,000 not including the buyer's premium.
Lot 35, "Sunset," is a very lovely work by James Renwick Brevoort (1832-1918). The 10 ½-by-20-inch oil on canvas is dated 1868 and has a conservative estimate of $6,000 to $8,000. It sold for $13,000 not including the buyer's premium.
The auction has some nice genre paintings, notably Lots 30 and 66. The former is a sweet and very lovely watercolor and gouache on board, 18 ¼ by 12 3/8 inches, by Albert Fitch Bellows (1829-1883). Entitled "Safely Landed," it depicts a young woman by a pond or river under a large tree and is dated 1873. It has a very conservative estimate of $4,000 to $5,000. It sold for $7,000 not including the buyer's premium. The latter is a fine beach scene at Trouville by Conrad Wise Chapman (1842-1910) that measures 8 3/8 by 19 ¾ inches, oil on canvas, and has a conservative estimate of $8,000 to $12,000. It sold for $14,000 not including the buyer's premium.
Pairs of genre paintings are rather uncommon and Lot 22, "Nominated and Elected," is a fine example by Thomas Waterman Wood (1823-1903). Both oil paintings on canvas measure 14 by 10 inches and the pair has an estimate of $35,000 to $45,000. The lot sold for $46,000 not including the buyer's premium. In one a man is holding out one hand and holding his hat in his other hand and in the other painting he is wearing his hat at a cocked angle and assuming a rather arrogant pose.
Another fine genre painting is Lot 39, "The Rivals," by James Brade Sword (1839-1915), which shows a young girl in a chair holding a cat while a small dog barks at her feet. The finely painted, 24-by-16-inch oil on canvas has an estimate of $8,000 to $12,000. It sold for $7,600 not including the buyer's premium.
Two 9 ¾-by-7 ¾-inch oil on canvas still life paintings by George E. Forster, Lots 41 and 42, are superb and have conservative estimates each of $10,000 to $15,000. They sold for $13,000 and $10,000, respectively, not including the buyer's premiums.