Bonhams & Butterfields Auction Sets A World Record |
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| Friday, 21 April 2006 15:38 |
 Los Angeles, CA - Collectors and connoisseurs alike filled the West Coast salesrooms at Bonhams & Butterfields on April 10th for the highly anticipated spring sale of California & American Paintings and Sculpture. Simulcast in both Los Angeles and San Francisco, the $4.2-million auction focused on masterworks from American icons with strong ties to cities and vistas from sea to shining sea. Featured artists included: Edgar Payne, Guy C. Wiggins, William Wendt and Louis Charles Moeller, Joseph Kleitsch, Grandma Moses and Adelheid Dietrich. According to Fine Arts Dept. Director Scot Levitt, “It was a very dynamic sale, reflecting the strength of the market for California & American paintings and the continuing interest in Western scenes, plein air and top quality works of art.” Bidding was strong both on the phone and in the rooms, as the market for these works continues to show growth and strength.  Highlighting the auction's successful sale results is A Small Encampment, El Capitan, in Yosemite Valley by Gilbert Munger. Estimated to garner $100,000-$150,000, the oil on canvas from a private Arizona collection brought $183,250 – setting an auction world record for the artist. Munger favored many subjects - from cityscapes and coastal views, to frontier scenes and landscapes, with a particular fondness for Yosemite National Park. Munger captured one of the most famous and highly visited sites in Yosemite –El Capitan – on several occasions from various perspectives. Called "shooting star" by local Native Americans, the rock formation is one of the major icons of Yosemite. Munger’s representations of El Capitan were reportedly so accurate that Yale University’s Geology dept utilized his works for research on the formations. Located on the north side of the valley, its sheer granite facade has attracted visitors and artists for generations. Michael D. Schroeder, author of Gilbert Munger: Quest for Distinction, said, “While Munger’s works have always been appreciated by the artistic community -- the quality is there – the artist’s name hasn’t been as widely known.
Competitive bidding in the two-session sale resulted in world record prices achieved for Choose Wisely ! (Men Playing Chess) by Louis Charles Moeller which sold for $79,875 (a new at-auction world record for the artist) and for The Bathers, an oil on canvas signed and titled by Mischa Askenazy which sets a new world record for his work at $23,900. Edgar Payne’s 29 x 29 inch masterpiece Home of Golden Trout, Sierras sold for $100,000 while Windy Hilltop, a classic example of colorful windswept scenery from American painter Charles Courtney Curran, brought $94,250. Grandma Moses’ iconic 1956 painting – December (Going to Church) – estimated to bring $30,000 to $50,000 was acquired for much more than a prayer, selling for $88,500.  Additional highlights from the spring sale of California & American Painting and Sculpture included a strong price for the cover lot for the auction catalog -- a New York scene by Guy Carlton Wiggins capturing the beauty of snow falling on a bustling metropolis – 5th Avenue and Madison Square Winter, 1927, estimated to fetch $70,000 to 90,000, brought $183,250. Also on the block this April were two paintings by Joseph Kleitsch depicting scenes of Southern California in the 1920s. Sold to benefit the Laguna College of Art was a bright, energetic 18 x 20 inch oil on canvas painting entitled Laguna Village which brought $161,250 and depicts the corner of Laguna Avenue and Glenneyre Streets in Laguna, California -- an intersection readily recognized by locals and currently in use to this day. This work is characteristic of the artist’s prime period of output and exemplifies Kleitsch’s masterful impressionistic brushwork. Joseph Henry Sharp, Charles Morgan McIlhenney and Jules Tavernier, were among a number of well-known American artists featured in a collection of 24 Hawaiian subject matter paintings. By the early 20th century, with travel and study outside the continental United States becoming mainstream, these artists were inspired by the local colors, flavors and experiences native to the Hawaiian Islands. Typically the works are characterized by their indigenous subject matter, tropical flair and rich color. The Hawaiian paintings offered included: Blow Hole on Koko Crater Coast near Honolulu signed by Joseph Henry Sharp which sold for $4,163; a pair of oil on canvas panels by Charles Morgan McIlhenney entitled Views of the South Pacific (brought $17,925); and Hugo Anton Fisher’s Pali to Kailua View went for $38, 838. From the lavish brushwork of a Western landscape to the myriad of texture embodied by the metropolitan environment, the American landscape was awash in color, texture and light at the spring sale of California & American Paintings and Sculpture in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Next up on the fine art front for the auctioneers is the American Painting sale at Bonhams New York on May 24, 2006. This will be the first Bonhams New York sale entirely devoted to America works of art and will feature early cover illustrations by Norman Rockwell, Hudson River School works by Jasper Cropsey and Northeastern landscapes from a private collection by Hugh Bolton Jones and several other noted artists, as well, a series of important paintings such as a George Washington portrait should attract interest as will a post-Civil War Historical scene by George Boughton. Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. Today, Bonhams is the third largest and fastest growing auction house in the world. Visit Bonhams & ButterfieldsClick on logo below to add this article to your favorite Social Website ~ |
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