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26-D Maine Antique Digest, April 2017
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AUCTION -
26-D
Garth’s Auctions, Delaware, Ohio
American Antiques and European and
Asian Furniture and Decorative Arts
by Don Johnson
Photos courtesy Garth’s
T
he first sale each year for Garth’s
Auctions in Delaware, Ohio, tends
to be not only a mixed affair but also
a mouthful. Described by the company as
offering “American Antiques and European
& Asian Furniture & Decorative Arts,” the
January 14 event included all the above, but
the day belonged largely to the American
side of things. That’s not surprising, considering
that country antiques and Americana are still
the company’s strong suit.
Even so, the top lot of the day wasn’t what
most bidders might have expected. It certainly
wasn’t a stereotypical piece of Americana.
Trophy Wives
by Terry Rodgers (b. 1947), a
large oil painting of nude men and women at
a pool party, sold within estimates for $10,800
(includes buyer’s premium).
A resident of Columbus, Ohio, Rodgers is
known for his oversize works of nudes.
Trophy
Wives
probably comes from an earlier series of
paintings, since it featured a few overweight,
middle-aged men surrounded by numerous
younger, slenderer females. More current works
pictured on the artist’s website tend to portray
seminude and nude young women and men in
party settings, although the subject matter can
vary.
According to that website, “Rodgers’s current
work focuses on portraying contemporary body
politics. His rendering of an imaginary leisure
life stands as an iconic vision of the tensions
and confusions endemic to today’s society.
These images are not snapshots or slices of life,
but rather a compression and dissection of our
rampant imaginations and mediated influences.
The seductive and marvelous glamour of the
outer world jars against the vulnerability and
delicacy of our inner and private selves.”
However one describes the work, it
deviates from the type of material Garth’s has
traditionally handled. While the auction house
hasn’t abandoned painted country furniture
for contemporary paintings of nudes,
Trophy
Wives
suggests a willingness to accept a
broader spectrum of material. The painting
wasn’t an isolated case. The company’s annual
Thanksgiving sale in November started with
more than 100 lots of artwork that included a
number of abstract pieces.
Then again, there’s more to the story of
Trophy Wives
. It wasn’t originally intended to
be sold at the auction house. Amelia Jeffers,
president of Garth’s, said the consignment
came from a collector in Columbus, Ohio, who
had acquired the painting ten to 15 years ago
at a gallery show. When Jeffers first saw the
work, she immediately knew it was a better fit
at Selkirk, Garth’s sister auction house in St.
Louis.
The painting was shipped to St. Louis, where
it was offered at the auction on September 24,
2016, estimated at $15,000/20,000. “It drew no
bids,” said Jeffers. “We bring it back, put it in
the very next Garth’s auction.” The estimate
was lowered to $8000/12,000, and the painting
sold.
“It was so interesting to me,” Jeffers added.
“Sometimes we think we know the salesroom,
but at the end of the day all you need are two
people looking.”
The European and Asian material in
the auction played a relatively minor role
during the sale, highlighted by a Continental
image of the Crucifixion that realized $3360
against a conservative estimate of $400/800.
In watercolor and gilt on vellum, the work
had portrait medallions of the 12 disciples
surrounding the main image.
Jeffers noted that Tom Porter,
former owner of Garth’s, used
to say there are two things
auctioneers can’t sell—religion
and politics. That has changed.
“We’ve had other religious
artifacts over the past few years
that have done very well,” she
noted. “Jeff [Jeffers, CEO of
Garth’s] always says we’re not
running the same business we bought. It’s a totally
different business, both Garth’s and the industry
itself.”
“It’s a form that people like. When they were made,
they were so functional,” she added. “It’s a popular
form because of that flexibility.”
Brown furniture, which has seen a slight uptick at
Garth’s, continued to do well. Leading the way was
a Hepplewhite chest of drawers in cherry with inlay,
western Pennsylvania origin, late 18th or early 19th
century, that realized $2400.
“My goodness, that’s a happy day. It’s not often
right now you’re seeing brown furniture go so well,”
Jeffers noted. “This had a great look, great figure.
The inlay was fun. It was just a good country piece
of furniture. Western Pennsylvania is always hot with
us, too. It falls right into our sweet spot.”
Among the other material in the auction were quilts,
led by a Diamond in the Square pattern in rust, green,
and blue-gray. From Lancaster County, Pennsylvania,
and dating to 1920-40, it sold for $2160.
“The quilt market, I was thrilled,” said Jeffers.
The quilts did well overall, considering that textiles
have been less than robust in recent years. The slow
turnaround might have something to do with ease of
handling.
“Western Pennsylvania
is always hot with us,
too. It falls right into
our sweet spot.”
Trophy Wives
by Terry Rodgers (b. 1947), oil on canvas, depicting a
nudist pool party, signed, 58" x 109", unframed, the tacking edge
painted, $10,800.
American carnival sign, “Spin A
Drum / Players Please,” first half of
the 20th century, two hinged wooden
boards with original paint, edge
wear, 36" x 48", $600.
Portraits of a husband and
wife identified as Mr. and Mrs.
Daniel Runyon of Lexington,
Kentucky, oil on canvas,
American, unsigned, 30" x 25"
(sight), late frames, backed on
masonite, tears, repairs, and
inpainting, together with two
half-plate daguerreotypes (not
shown), $1800.
Pennsylvania decorated blanket chest in walnut, Deep
Run Valley, first half of the 19th century, attributed to
the Mennonites, six-board dovetailed case with original
grain decoration, turned legs, 25" x 44" x 19½", age
split, stains, fading, $780.
“Paint is so strong,” said Jeffers. Buyers were
clearly seeing red, not just on the pewter cupboard
but also on an American hutch table in pine, the base
and underside of the top having worn, old red paint.
Dating to the mid-19th century, the piece sold for
$2520, more than four times its upper estimate.
One thing hasn’t changed over the years—the
demand for Americana and paint at Garth’s. The
best of the American furniture was a country pewter
cupboard in pine with old red paint, 1830s-40s, 94" x
49½" x 16½" , that sold for $3720. The simple one-
piece form had an open top with shelves, all over a
narrow, plank door.