Bonhams to Offer American Masterworks On May 22 in New York City

Friday, 18 May 2007 07:45

New York City - Bonhams New York brings American Paintings to auction in May featuring more than 100 works highlighted by artists such as John Singer Sargent, Frederick Carl Frieseke, Theodore Robinson, Norman Rockwell, George Hitchcock, Edward Henry Potthast, John Martin Tracy and Walter Emerson Baum, among others. Public previews of the offering open on Friday, May 18^th and will be open until Monday May 21^st. The sale will be at 1:00 on Tuesday, May 22nd in the Madison Avenue salesroom.

Highlighting the spring sale is an extraordinary oil on canvas work entitled Two Ladies in a Garden by Frederick Carl Frieseke (est. $700/900,000). Early in 1912, the Macbeth Gallery in New York presented Frieseke’s first individual exhibition in New York. An article reviewing that 1912 Macbeth exhibition quotes extensively from the artist, who was in the United States at the time. The author comments on Frieseke’s adoption of a manner now commonly referred to as “impressionism.”

Also being offered in May is Sandali an attractive watercolor on paper by John Singer Sargent (est. $200/300,000). Between 1900 and 1914 John Singer Sargent produced 700 watercolors -- ranging from quick travel notes to elaborate compositions. The auction also includes a Sargent pencil on paper portrait dated 1916, an apparent gift to a family hosting his stay in Colorado (est. $50/70,000).

An inveterate traveler since childhood, Sargent’s European journeys had often consisted of long spells in Venice. Early trips focused not only on the architecture of the city, but also on the relationship between the local people and their surroundings. However, by the time Sandali was painted, c. 1905, Sargent had given full expression to his fascination and love of Venice and by the end of his life he had produced a body of some 150 oils and watercolors depicting that city. His relationship with the city is the subject of the current exhibition there ‘Sargent and Venice,’ which is at the Museo Correr through July 2007.

Another lot expected to interest collectors is Harvest Moon, Giverny by Theodore Robinson. The oil on canvas work features a small winding street through the French village on a moonlit evening. Estimated to bring $100,000 to $150,000, Harvest Moon, Giverny has been exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum, the San Diego Museum of Art, and will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist's work being compiled by Ira Spanierman and Sona Johnston. Another Robinson oil on board being offered is titled Landscape with Houses, estimated at $30,000 to $50,000.

Additional works on offer in May include: a colorful oil on canvas entitled Pink Tulips by George Hitchcock (est. $70/90,000); John Martin Tracy’s Hunter's Rest (est. $150/200,000); a Life magazine cover by Norman Rockwell titled Good Scouts (est. $70/90,000) and a pair of contrasting seasonal representations - Edward Henry Potthast’s Beach Scene (est. $50/70,000) and Carversville in Winter by Walter Emerson Baum (est. $30/50,000). Duck Baby, a wonderful three-foot high bronze from a Connecticut estate signed and inscribed by Edith Baretto Stevens Parsons, is estimated at $20,000 to $30,000.

Previous Bonhams auctions in this category have garnered world record prices for portraiture, landscape and still life. “The market for fine works of American paintings continues to flourish,” said Bonhams Vice President and Director of American Paintings Alan Fausel. “As we are a global company with an international vision of customer service and sales, Bonhams draws from its corporate resources worldwide to place a work where the market is strongest, across a nation or around the globe.”

Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son and Neale UK. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America and in August 2003, Goodmans, a leading Australian fine art and antiques auctioneer with salerooms in Sydney, joined the Bonhams Group of Companies. Today, Bonhams is the third largest and fastest growing auction house in the world with a global network of offices and regional representatives providing sales advice and valuation services in 25 countries. It offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street, and Knightsbridge, and a further seven throughout the UK. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Boston in the USA; Switzerland, Monaco, Hong Kong and Australia. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of more than 50 Bonhams specialist departments, go to www.bonhams.com/us