CHICAGO, IL.- Freeman’s | Hindman’s inaugural season of fine art auctions as a newly merged firm achieved remarkable success with a 52% increase in registered bidders compared to the previous six-month period. From three separate salerooms, the company hosted 17 fine art auctions that offered more than 2,200 lots and generated over $19.5 million in total sales for the collecting category. The sales also saw a 16% increase in the average lot price, underscoring the firm's dedication to providing high-quality offerings. These outstanding results demonstrate the powerful synergy the Freeman’s and Hindman merger has achieved in six short months.
Later this month, the firm looks ahead to a multi-act sale series entitled Center Stage: The Laura Pels Collection slated for June 20, 21, and 25 featuring fine art, furniture, decorative art, luxury handbags, and couture. Taking place in Freeman’s | Hindman’s New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago salerooms, the auction celebrates the life and legacy of Laura Pels, a dedicated philanthropist and supporter of the theater.
Reflecting on the season, Alasdair Nichol, EVP, Deputy Chairman states, “The undoubted highlight of the past season for the newly merged Fine Art department of Freeman’s | Hindman was the auction entitled ‘What Do You See?’ featuring works from Sidney Rothberg which achieved just shy of $5 million. Many of the 240 works offered had not been seen on the market for over forty years, contributing to the feverish bidding from over a thousand participants across four continents.
Regarding market trends, we continue to see particular strength in prices achieved for women artists and those of color. A testimony to the former was the sale of an oil dating from 1993 by Pat Steir for $533,400 in our auction of Post War and Contemporary Art this past April in Chicago.”
The Collection of Sidney Rothberg – February 27-28 | Philadelphia
Hundreds of rediscovered Impressionist and Modern masterpieces soared past their estimates in Freeman’s | Hindman’s What Do You See? The Collection of Sidney Rothberg auctions on February 27 and 28, achieving $4.9 million across the two days. After a global tour that saw the collection exhibited in Paris, New York, and Chicago, it was sold in Rothberg’s beloved hometown of Philadelphia before a packed saleroom. 93% of lots sold as 1,099 bidders vied to get their hands on pieces from the enviable collection.
Highlights included:
• Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French, 1841-1919) Pierre Goujon en Costume Marin | SOLD FOR $330,200
• Robert Delaunay (French, 1885–1941) Portrait de Madame Jacques Heim | SOLD FOR $215,900
• Édouard Vuillard (French, 1868-1940) Femme dans une Grotte Executed in 1891 | SOLD FOR $165,100
Post War and Contemporary Art – April 24 | Chicago
Work by Gertrude Abercrombie, Olga de Amaral, Louise Nevelson, and Pat Steir beat their estimates selling for six figures in Freeman’s | Hindman’s Post War and Contemporary Art auction on April 24. On the day, seven works sold for over $100,000, four created by female artists, leading Freeman’s | Hindman to a $2.9 million total.
Works by female artists were the most coveted of the day accounting for just over half of the sale’s total at $1.5 million, including three of the top five lots.
Highlights included:
• Pat Steir (American, b. 1938) Small Ghost Waterfall, 1993 | SOLD FOR $533,400
• Alex Katz (American, b. 1927) Ariel, 2016-17 | SOLD FOR $317,500
• Olga de Amaral (Colombia, b. 1932) Cesta Lunar 35, 1989-90 | SOLD FOR $304,800
Prints and Multiples – April 25 | Chicago
Prints and Multiples by renowned artists Josef Albers, Andy Warhol, and Roy Lichtenstein shattered pre-sale estimates in the firm’s April 25th auction in Chicago. The sale achieved a total of $1.3 million, with top lots showcasing the strength of the collecting category.
Among the day's top lots was a world auction record for Josef Albers’ portfolio Homage to the Square: Edition Keller Ia-Ik (complete portfolio of ten screenprints, with text and portfolio case), 1970, which realized $146,050 against a pre-sale estimate of $60,000.
Additionally, a unique trial proof by Andy Warhol entitled Action Picture from 1986 sold for $107,950 against a pre-sale estimate of $60,000. Reflecting not only the greater shift in Warhol’s oeuvre from references drawn from mass culture to art historical sources, this work also told the fascinating story of Warhol’s collaboration with his publishers and printer in creating his well-known Cowboys and Indians series.
Highlights included:
• Josef Albers (American/German, 1888-1976) Homage to the Square: Edition Keller Ia-Ik (complete portfolio of ten screenprints, with text and portfolio case), 1970 | SOLD FOR $146,050, World Auction Record for Portfolio
• Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987) Action Picture, 1986 | SOLD FOR $107,950
• Roy Lichtenstein (American, 1923–1997) Reflections on Soda Fountain, 1991 | SOLD FOR $95,250
Modern and Contemporary Art – May 11 | Philadelphia
Modern and Contemporary Art sold in Philadelphia at the beginning of May shattered expected targets, realizing a sale total of nearly $1.5 million with outstanding individual results for Lê Phổ, Andy Warhol, and Pablo Picasso.
Highlights included:
• Lê Phổ (French/Vietnamese, 1907-2001) - La Lumière d'Été | SOLD FOR $228,600
• Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973) - Le Repas Frugal, from La Suite des Saltimbanques | SOLD FOR $177,800
• Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987) - $ (9) | SOLD FOR $139,700
Looking Ahead to the Pels Collection and More Continued Growth
As the firm looks to the rest of 2024, Alasdair Nichol elaborates, “We have an exciting and freshly revised sales program that speaks to our ambitions for continued growth. On June 20th, we are offering works from the collection of the philanthropist and doyenne of the theater, Laura Pels. Fresh from a highlight exhibition in Paris, the collection features a large group of works by Pels’ close friend Françoise Gilot who is currently undergoing a timely reevaluation as she emerges from the shadow cast by her former husband, Pablo Picasso.
Other noteworthy events include two ‘firsts’ for the recently merged company: an auction of Post War and Contemporary Art in our beautiful new saleroom on the Upper East Side of New York, and the debut sale in October for our Modern and Impressionist Art department in Philadelphia under the leadership of newly appointed department head, Raphael Chatroux.
With other specialist disciplines ranging from Western Art to European Art, Prints to Contemporary Native American Art, and Old Masters to American Art, Freeman’s | Hindman has brought together many of the leading experts in their respective fields and can now offer our clients one of the strongest Fine Art departments spanning the nation. With this newly found esprit de corps, our team looks forward to more great things in the latter half of 2024 and well into the future.”
Other Notable Highlights from the First Half of 2024
• Tom Wesselmann (American, 1931-2004) - Bedroom Face with Tulip | SOLD FOR $203,200
• Alfred Joseph Casson (Canadian, 1895-1984) - Farm on Kilmer Road (Quebec) | SOLD FOR $63,500
• Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French, 1841-1919) - L’Enfant, Jean Renoir, à la Chaise (L'Enfant au Biscuit) | SOLD FOR $215,900
• Vũ Cao Đàm (French/ Vietnamese, 1908-2000) - Mother and Child | SOLD FOR $190,500
• Andrew Newell Wyeth (American, 1917-2009) - Two Masters, 1986 – SOLD FOR $95,250
