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"An Avalanche of Cash" for American Paintings

by Ann E. Berman

The organizers of Christie's American paintings sale of December 2, 2004, had a very serious problem: Sotheby's American paintings sale of December 1, 2004. Already boasting one of the most important collections ever to come to auction, Sotheby's went blithely on to snag the lion's share of potential consignors this season. (Who wouldn't want to sell his works in a sale guaranteed to attract every collector in the American paintings market?)

With no effective property magnet of its own, Christie's was left struggling to amass material and, in the end, could offer only 133 lots. Nor was the day-after time slot kind to the gang at Rockefeller Center. After all of the fireworks the previous day, Christie's sale, in which only three lots sold for over $1 million, seemed particularly anticlimactic.

In fact, it did perfectly well. About 85% sold by lot and dollar amount, the sale brought a total of $24,561,420—within the projected estimate range—and just a couple of million less than its May 2004 total. "People were afraid that, with all of the money spent at Sotheby's, there would not be enough to go around," said John Driscoll, director of New York City's Babcock Galleries. "But everything sold pretty well."

"There is an avalanche of cash out there," said New York City dealer Howard Godel. "It's focused on the great material, but there is also a trickle-down effect, and people are bidding up good secondary material. There are buyers for everything."

Especially, it seems, for images of the father of our country. Perhaps this GW is someone upon whom blue staters and red staters can agree. In any event, Equestrian Portrait of George Washington by Rembrandt Peale (est. $600,000/ 800,000) sold for a very healthy $1,071,500 (including buyer's premium) to Baltimore designer Stiles Colwill on behalf of a collector whom Christie's described as new to the field. The Passage of the Delaware, a beautiful circa 1819 drawing by Thomas Sully, depicting Washington on that famous riverbank (est. $50,000/70,000), went to Babcock Galleries at $175,500. A collector on the telephone outbid New York City's Hirschl & Adler Galleries to pay $511,500, within estimate, for Equestrian Portrait of George Washington, an 1850 oil en grisaille by Rembrandt Peale depicting our first president framed in an oval stone window.

The sale's smattering of other good 19th-century material also did very well. Five bidders were eager to buy the lovely Forest Interior by William Trost Richards (est. $40,000/60,000); underbid by Hirschl & Adler Galleries, it sold to a collector on the telephone for $276,300. Sailing a Dory, a watercolor by Winslow Homer that, according to the catalog, was "partly or wholly owned by Christie's," was expected to sell for up to $500,000. The house did fine, as the watercolor went to an anonymous buyer at $679,500.

A collector on the phone paid $399,500 for a dramatic charcoal drawing by Homer, Mackerel Fishing, which had been expected to sell for only $150,000/ 250,000; New York City's Spanierman Gallery and Hirschl & Adler Galleries were underbidders. Although Wharf Scene with Ship at Dock by Albert Bierstadt (est. $30,000/50,000) is a very good picture, observers were a bit surprised when bidding on it soared to $253,900. The price resulted from a protracted battle between the New Bedford (Massachusetts) Whaling Museum, which was trying hard to buy this painting depicting New Bedford, and a persistent collector on the telephone who finally prevailed.

Perhaps because of the difficulty of attracting enough property, Christie's sale also included a number of 19th-century works that were overestimated or overly familiar to the market. Buyers reacted accordingly, with two works just squeaking by on one bid against their reserves. Winslow Homer's Return of the Gleaner (est. $600,000/800,000) went to New York City's Berry-Hill Galleries at $545,100, and Coming Rain on Lake George by Sanford R. Gifford (est. $200,000/300,000) sold to Hirschl & Adler Galleries for $220,300.

Several other works failed to sell at all, including another Gifford, The Beach at Cohasset (est. $500,000/700,000), which had been around the block a few times, and Still Life with Fruit by Severin Roesen, which carried an overly ambitious $200,000/300,000 estimate.

The sale's small selection of Impressionist works posted similarly mixed results. As Sotheby's and this sale illustrated, works by Pennsylvania's Bucks County Impressionists are developing a broader audience. At Christie's The Old River Road by Edward Redfield was estimated at $50,000/70,000 but went at $220,300 to a dealer on the phone. The perfectly nice but not fabulous Mrs. Hassam in the Garden (est. $2.5/3.5 million), which Christie's had hyped to the sky, giving it its own separate catalog and the place of honor at the exhibition, just managed to sell, to Spanierman Gallery, for $2,471,500, against the reserve. But Cathedral Spires, Spring Morning by Childe Hassam (est. $2/3 million), which once belonged to Frank Sinatra, was overly familiar to the market, and not even a fetching photo of Ole Blue Eyes in the catalog could keep it from being bought in.

Portrait of Carolus Duran, a drawing by John Singer Sargent (the man of the hour) of his famous Parisian teacher, needed no such props. Estimated at $30,000/50,000, it attracted bids from Adelson Galleries, Mrs. Peter Terian, a New York collector, and others before selling to a collector on the phone for $724,300, a record for a drawing by the artist. In fact, successful works on paper seemed to be something of a theme at this sale. Regatta, a wash, gouache, and ink drawing by Childe Hassam (est. $40,000/60,000), went at $89,625 to another collector on the phone. Washington Square Park in Winter, a 1952 watercolor and gouache by Everett Shinn (est. $30,000/50,000), was underbid by New York City dealer Debra Force, among others, before selling to New York City art advisor Leslie Rankow for $89,625.

Also in the Ashcan school line, Rock Bound by George Bellows sold to a collector on the phone for $365,900. Underbid by New York City dealer Gerald Peters, the charming Pegeen by Robert Henri (est. $200,000/300,000) went to New York City dealer Hollis Taggart at $455,500.

The sale boasted little Western material of particular interest beyond a handful of works by Albert Bierstadt. His Landscape, Rockland County, California failed to sell against a $300,000/500,000 estimate, while Campfire Site, Yosemite (est. $250,000/350,000) did fine, selling to a collector on the phone for $522,700.

Early 20th-century works were better represented, and once again, works on paper attracted their share of attention. Fertility, a quintessential Grant Wood charcoal drawing (est. $200,000/ 300,000), was underbid by Hirschl & Adler Galleries then went to a collector on the phone at $455,500. Another charcoal drawing, Edward Hopper's strong, melancholy Home by the Railroad (est. $150,000/250,000), attracted bids from Hirschl & Adler Galleries and Adelson Galleries, but it finally sold to New York City private dealer Mary Lublin, who had to pay $511,500 to get it.

Landscape by Moonlight, a painting by Edward Steichen, an artist whose work one doesn't see in every sale, went to Hollis Taggart at $101,575 (est. $50,000/ 70,000). Minneapolis collector Myron Kunin had to pay $298,700 to take home Acrobat, a bronze by Elie Nadelman (est. $20,000/30,000) from the prestigious William S. Paley collection, but he was able to snag Road to the Ranch by Georgia O'Keeffe at $545,100 on one bid against the reserve (est. $500,000/ 700,000).

Another O'Keeffe, the very colorful, sexy The Red Maple at Lake George (est. $600,000/800,000), was underbid by Berry-Hill Galleries and sold on the phone to a collector for a hefty $2,191,500. A third work by the artist, Abstraction, might have been too abstract, as it failed to sell against an estimate of $200,000/ 300,000. At the other end of the objectivity spectrum, The Stone Fence by Andrew Wyeth, another work owned by Christie's, sold to Atlanta collector Terry Stent for $410,700, right in the middle of its $300,000/500,000 estimate.

Christie's was able to offer a particularly juicy selection of illustrations, and many sold very well. The Rewards of Patience (Man on Dock Fishing) by Norman Rockwell (est. $150,000/250,000) attracted many bidders, including Vermont dealer Grier Clarke, but sold to New York City art advisor Rick Lapham at a buoyant $701,900. A collector on the phone, apparently impatient to acquire another Rockwell, Young Couple Looking at a Catalogue (The Engagement), kept jumping his bid ahead of the auctioneer's increments and finally prevailed at $343,500, the high estimate. In spite of its title, Sick Puppy, a third work by Rockwell, was practically irresistible. Estimated at $120,000/180,000, it was underbid by New York City dealer Judy Goffman but sold on the phone to a collector for $511,500.

Three beautiful landscapes by Maxfield Parrish also attracted a lot of interest. Evening: By the River (est. $250,000/ 350,000) was underbid by Judy Goffman and sold to Adelson Galleries for $477,900, and Morning Glow (est. $30,000/50,000) went to Grier Clarke at $130,700. Birches in Winter (est. $150,000/250,000), with its dramatic coloration, brought the most, $545,100, paid by a collector on the phone.

After the vertiginous prices the previous day, savvy observers welcomed Christie's more modest results and unsold lots. When a market loses its selectivity, a correction is usually around the corner. "This market is still discriminating," said New York City dealer Betty Krulik. "Anything not great or fresh isn't doing well."

And everything else? "Buyers are scrambling for it," said Howard Godel. "The American market is growing, it's thriving, it's great."

For more information, contact Christie's at (212) 636-2140; Web site (www.christies.com).