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Maine Antique Digest, April 2017 35-E
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AUCTION -
35-E
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Their sharp boxy outline and welcoming cushions were pluses, pushing the pair of
modern rosewood-footed club chairs to $10,625.
Five Highlights from the
October 14-16 Auction
O
nly two months before the hefty December
2016 auction, NOAG’s October event had
presented 1345 lots in a packed three-day
sale. Although the mix included everything from
chandeliers to silver services, American art offerings
led the top ten list. The success of these paintings
will surely yield more consignments for NOAG’s
first fine art auction in April.
This unusual monumental vase by
George Ohr had reportedly been given by
the Biloxi, Mississippi, potter to friends
in Abita Springs, Louisiana, and then
had descended in that family. The base
bears an incised signature, the date 1899,
and the phrase “Pot R J-P Decoware.”
Decorated with grapevines and grape
clusters in relief, the 17" high vessel
brought $16,250 (est. $5000/8000).
In the October sale, a rare offering from a private
collection yielded three paintings by Kentucky
Impressionist Paul Sawyier (1865-1917). This charming
watercolor of
Mayme Bull Canoeing on the Elkhorn
Creek, Frankfort, Kentucky
, 11¾ " x 20¼", sold for
$22,500, followed by an 11" x 16
⅝
" watercolor view (not
shown) of Mackinac Island, Michigan, for $15,000 and
an 11½" x 18½" watercolor Frankfort scene for $18,125.
Sawyier studied portraiture in Cincinnati but eventually
found his forte in these thoughtful landscapes. After
traveling to New York City in 1889, he developed his
talent at the Art Students League under the tutelage of
William Merritt Chase.
Although not as
well known as
contemporaries Sargent
and Whistler, Irving
Ramsey Wiles (1861-
1948) was a highly
regarded portrait
painter of the Gilded
Age; he studied at the
Art Students League
with William Merritt
Chase, who later
became his friend. This
48" x 28" signed oil on
canvas painting,
Girl
with Bonnet
, had been
offered at Christie’s
New York in 1990 but
had remained unsold
(est. $30,000/50,000). It
came to NOAG from
the estate of Elaine
Smith Frost White of
Houston, Texas, and East Hampton, New York, and brought
$50,000 (est. $25,000/40,000).
George Rodrigue (1944-2013) created this rather
chilling 48" x 72" oil on canvas,
Escort for the Kingfish
,
in 1990. The Kingfish was Huey Long (1893-1935),
who was elected governor of Louisiana in 1928; these
motorcycle patrolmen, dubbed the “Cajun Highway
Police,” were his escort and bodyguards. The painting,
commissioned by one of the officer’s sons, was taken
from a vintage photograph in which the men stand in
front of a corner gas station, but Rodrigue moved the
lineup into the Cajun landscape, as was his practice.
The unusual historical subject matter took the work to
$75,000.
A flamboyant and controversial populist, Long went
on to be a U.S. senator, but shortly after announcing his
plans to run for president, he was assassinated in the
Louisiana State Capitol by a political opponent.
Although it could not be
demonstrated on the gallery
floor, NOAG specialist Greg
Kowles noted that this 89"
high x 48" diameter bronze
fountain was very impressive
in action. “The water spews
out of fifteen spigots on
multiple levels.” The
Classical tour de
force came out of a
mansion garden on St.
Charles Avenue and sold for
$6562 (est. $2500/4000).
Greg Kowles pointed out that
the October sale had “a stunning
assortment of sensational
chandeliers,” many of which
came out of a single mansion,
plus a collection of Louisiana-
related furniture. Great lighting
is always in demand. This
47½" high x 31"
diameter Belle
Époque French
bronze 12-light
chandelier doubled its
$5000 high estimate to
bring $12,500.
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