PHILADELPHIA, PA.- On April 30, 2019, Freeman’s will hold its bi-annual American Furniture, Folk & Decorative Arts auction, which will feature property from four East Coast institutions, several estates and numerous private collections. Coinciding with the renowned Philadelphia Antiques & Art Show, the exhibition opens on Friday, April 26 and will be open all weekend, running through Monday, April 29.

Institutional offerings
Lots to be sold on behalf of The Brooklyn Historical Society will include an early New Jersey Kas (Lot 20), a Renaissance Revival suite (Lot 312), and a rare Neoclassical marble bust of George Washington attributed to Boston sculptor Horatio Greenough (1805-1852) (Lot 91). Presented to the Society in 1915, the bust is the only known example by Greenough that shows a fully-draped first president.

Deaccessioned property from regional institutions includes a group of 18th and 19th century furniture, including a set of four fine Federal carved mahogany side chairs, probably from Alexandria, VA, circa 1800 (Lot 113), sold on behalf of the Philadelphia Museum of Art to benefit future acquisitions. Furthermore, a grouping of twenty-nine portraits will be sold on behalf of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts to benefit future acquisitions. Highlights from this portrait collection include a Portrait of Baron Friedrick Wilhelm von Steuben (1730-1794) (Lot 60), and a Portrait of Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834) (Lot 75).

Noteworthy Collections
An estate of note is that of Irene and Richard Gachot of Old Westbury, Long Island. Comprised of sixty lots of American Folk paintings, painted boxes, hooked rugs, toys and decorative items, the collection is highlighted by a very rare and charming watercolor of Noah’s Ark, attributed to John Landis (1805-circa 1851) (Lot 238). Interestingly, only one other version of the subject by Landis is known, which was formerly part of the Collection of Ralph O. Esmerian, and was sold in 2014. The Gachot’s Portrait of the Girl in a Red Dress with a Dog by Ammi Phillips set a world record for the artist in January of this year.

Additionally, nearly thirty lots of eighteenth and nineteenth-century Mourning Jewelry from the collection of Jennifer Berman of New York are included in the sale. Highlights include a double-sided "Stuart crystal" gold, enamel, and hair work heart-shaped mourning pendant, late 17th/early 18th century (Lot 321), and a Georgian sandalwood, gold, ivory, and hair work box, circa 1791 (Lot 324).

Moreover, the sale feautures many noteworthy textiles, including a number of appliquéd quilts from the Grant Collection (Lots 24, 27, 126, 137, 199, 208, 210, and 211).

Sale Highlights
An important item from a private collection is the earliest known hand-drawn view of Harvard College, The East Perspective From The Church in Cambridge, by Samuel Griffin (1762-1812), Harvard Class of 1784. The view is accompanied by a Portrait miniature of Samuel Griffin, attributed to William Lovett (1773-1801) (Lot 34).

Other important framed works include two fine Scherenschnitte or cut-work Valentines, Philadelphia, circa 1830 (Lot 197), as well as six paintings by Susan Catherine Waters (1823-1900) (Lots 180-185).

Fine silver is represented by The Griffitts Family Federal silver coffeepot, by Joseph Richardson, Jr. (1752-1831) Philadelphia, circa 1795 (Lot 102), which has descended in the Griffitts/Powel family to the present owner.

Leading a broad selection of Queen Anne and Chippendale furnishings is the impressive Tilghman Family Chippendale carved mahogany and marble-top pier table, Philadelphia or Maryland, circa 1765 (Lot 72). The pier table is accompanied by significant provenance and has been consigned by a Main Line estate.

The sale features a number of Philadelphia and Boston Queen Anne and Chippendale chairs, such as the Bromfield Family Queen Anne walnut compass-seat side chair, Boston, MA, circa 1765 (Lot 35); a Queen Anne walnut side chair in the manner of William Savery (1721-1787), Philadelphia, PA, circa 1760 (Lot 37); and a Chippendale carved mahogany side chair, attributed to Leonard Kessler, Philadelphia, PA, circa 1765 (Lot 78).

An Aesthetic inlaid rosewood table by A. & H. LeJambre, Philadelphia, circa 1880 (Lot 306) is also worthy of note.