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34-D Maine Antique Digest, March 2017
-
AUCTION -
NPY
Elizabeth Shippen Green
(1871-1954),
New Kodak
, mixed
media on board, 14¾" x 15",
signed “Elizabeth Shippen
Green” left, sold for $40,625
(est. $10,000/15,000). It was used
as a 1906 Eastman Kodak Co.
advertisement. Elizabeth Shippen
Green was one of the Red Rose
Girls, who lived at the Red Rose
Inn in Villanova, Pennsylvania,
and then at an estate they named
Cogslea for 15 years. The others
were artists Violet Oakley and
Jessie Willcox Smith.
George William Sotter (1879-1953),
The Bathers
, oil on canvas, 10" x 12",
signed “Sotter” bottom right, also inscribed with the title on a label on
the back, sold for $23,750 (est. $12,000/18,000). This is an appealing small
painting of an unusual subject for Sotter, who is known for his night scenes
and works that are generally larger.
Bessie Potter Vonnoh (1872-1955),
Girl Reading
, bronze with a brown
patina, signed and numbered
“Bessie Potter / no XIII” on the
base, inscribed “copyright 1903,”
and with a “Roman Bronze Works
NY” foundry mark, 9¼" high, sold
for $16,250 (est. $6000/10,000).
Jessie Willcox Smith (1863-1935),
Seated Young Girl Reading
a Book
, mixed media on board, 22¾" x 15
7
/
16
", signed
“Jessie Willcox Smith” lower right, sold for $53,125 (est.
$25,000/40,000). According to the auction catalog, Smith
designed every cover for
Good Housekeeping
magazine from
December 1917 until April 1933 and is the artist with the
longest run of magazine covers.
Arthur Meltzer (1893-1989),
The Robe of Winter
, oil on canvas, 42
⅛
" x 46
⅛
",
signed and dated “Arthur Meltzer ’67” bottom right, also labeled with artist and
title on the back, sold for $81,250 (est. $80,000/120,000). At Garth’s on January 30,
2010, it had sold for $156,875 (est. $2000/4000), a record for the artist.
Paulette van Roekens
(1896-1988),
Philadelphia
City Hall
,
oil on board,
8
⅛
" x 6
⅛
", signed
“Paulette van Roekens”
bottom left, sold for
$10,625 (est. $2500/4000).
Van Roekens, the wife of
Arthur Meltzer, taught
for years at the Moore
College of Art, and
Meltzer was the head of
the fine arts department.
This good little painting
demonstrates the artist’s
robust use of paint to
portray the bustle of
Center City Philadelphia.