NEW YORK, NY.- Sotheby’s annual Americana Week auctions concluded over the weekend in New York with an outstanding total of $19.4 million—the highest Americana Week total at Sotheby’s since 2007*. More than 1,000 lots were sold across six auctions, with a strong overall sell-through rate of 80.4%. These results were anchored by the performance of an impressive number of distinguished private collections, including those of George S. Parker II, Iris Schwartz, Ralph and Suzanne Katz, E. Newbold and Margaret Du Pont Smith, and Joan Oestreich Kend, which were viewed by over 5,000 visitors during our week of exhibitions in our York Avenue galleries.
Erik Gronning, Head of American Furniture & Decorative Arts at Sotheby’s, summarized the week: “The spectacle of this year’s Americana Week was rejoiced by collectors as there was something for everybody. It was an honor to handle such a broad diversity of important collections and the spirited bidding ensued resoundingly confirmed that Americana is alive and well. ”
Below is an overview of some of the highlights that drove Sotheby’s results last week:
THE HIGHLY IMPORTANT AMERICANA COLLECTION OF GEORGE S. PARKER II FROM THE CAXAMBAS FOUNDATION
19 January
Auction Total $5 Million
The dedicated sale of George S. Parker II’s exceptional, encyclopedic and museum-quality collection was the centerpiece of Sotheby’s Americana Week Auctions. Leading the morning session was an Important Queen Anne Carved and Figured Mahogany Block-and-Shell Kneehole Bureau Table, which achieved $672,500. Crafted in Providence, Rhode Island circa 1765, the extraordinary block-front dressing table well surpassed its high estimate of $500,000, further cementing its status as one of the most highly-regarded and sought-after forms of Colonial American craftsmanship.
An Important Hollingsworth-Humphreys Family Chippendale Carved and Figured Piecrust Tilt-Top Tea Table established a strong start to the afternoon session, garnering $636,500− more than double the treasure’s high estimate of $250,000. Created by Thomas Affleck circa 1779 for prominent Philadelphia Quaker and rum merchant Levi Hollingsworth, the table is distinguished by the asymmetrical intertwined acanthus fronds on its knees and it’s near perfect proportions.
THE IRIS SCHWARTZ COLLECTION OF AMERICAN SILVER
20 January
Auction Total $1.8 Million
With pieces spanning from the category’s very beginning circa 1660 all the way to the 20th century, Iris Schwartz’s collection tells the rich story of American silver, encompassing New York Dutch, neo-classical, Empire and 20th Century eclecticism among others. Emerging as an early star of the dedicated sale was a Tiffany & Co. Viking Style Vase from the 1901 Pan-American Exhibition in Buffalo, which brought an outstanding $175,000— more than five times its high estimate of $30,000. Designed by the legendary Paulding Farnham and purchased by one of his descendants during last Friday’s sale, the silver, enamel and gem-set work showcases Celtic knots and stylized fox masks, along with a pierced rim accented with toothy dragon heads; motifs that serve as a testament to Schwartz’s charm and humor, as exhibited throughout her expansive collection.
John Ward, Head of Sotheby’s Silver Department in New York, remarked: “We think the success of the sale is a validation of Mrs. Schwartz’s great eye and the quality of American silver through its history.”
Institutional buying from the sale included the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, which acquired An American silver tureen on stand, circa 1830 for its permanent collection. A member of Montreal's Congregation Shaar Hashomayim purchased a Canadian Silver Kiddush Cup, originally presented as a gift by the synagogue's board of trustees to a noted New York rabbi in 1860, with the intention of donating the rare work back to the congregation in honor of its 170th anniversary.
IMPORTANT AMERICAN FOLK ART FROM THE RALPH AND SUZANNE KATZ COLLECTION
21 January
Auction Total $1.4 Million
The Ralph and Suzanne Katz Collection encompassed outstanding portrait and landscape works from the 19th century. Chief among them was John Rasmussen’s oil-on-zinc landscape View of the Berks County Alms House, which set a new auction record for any work by the artist when it sold for $516,500— more than four times its high estimate of $120,000. The artist’s birds-eye perspective painting exhibits exceptional detail and is regarded as not only an exquisite art object, but also a historical artifact.
Adding to the Katz sale’s list of top performers was John Usher Parsons’s Portrait of a Lady in a Blue Dress, which also set a new auction record for the artist when it brought $50,000 (estimate $25/30,000). The painting portrays Sarah F. Hobbs, a relative of Parson’s through marriage, and showcases the artist’s distinct style particularly in its linear execution and Hobbs’s blushed cheeks.
IMPORTANT AMERICANA INCLUDING PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF JOAN OESTREICH KEND
20 & 21 January
Auction Total $5.1 Million
In keeping with the dedicated sales throughout Americana Week, the ‘various-owners’’ auction of Important Americana was highlighted by additional property emerging from distinguished private collections. Top prices were achieved for rare works across a diverse group of collecting categories.
The sale was led by The Nicholas Brown Important Chippendale Carved and Figured Mahogany Scalloped-Top Tea Table with Open Ball and Talons, which fetched $912,500 (estimate $800,000/1.2 million). An important survival of Colonial Newport furniture, the table is one of only two likely originally owned by Nicholas Brown, a wealthy Providence merchant and member of the prominent Brown family of Rhode Island, and exemplifies stellar American colonial craftsmanship.
The selection of silver on offer included a Japanese style vase by Tiffany & Co. which fetched $275,000— a stunning 22+ times its $12,000 estimate—from the company to be included in their archival collection. Designed by John Curran for Tiffany’s contribution to the 1892 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, a fair celebrating the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the New World, the vase’s description corresponds to the famed jewelry company’s “Trout Vase” and displays chased koi and aquatic plants with stylized water lilies and lily pads throughout. The silver selection was led by an important American silver brandywine bowl (pictured left) by Gerrit Onkelbag circa 1700, which sold for $372,500 (estimate $300/500,000). Descended within the Boudinot-Atterbury family, the bowl was reportedly used by George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Marquis de Lafayette.
PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF E. NEWBOLD AND MARGARET DU PONT SMITH
21 January
Auction Total $3.4 Million
E. Newbold and Margaret Du Pont Smith’s collection celebrates extraordinary examples of 18th-century Pennsylvania fine and decorative arts. An Extremely Fine and Rare Miniature High Chest led the sale of the Smith collection, setting a world auction record for an American miniature when it brought $612,500, surpassing its high estimate of $120,000. The William and Mary, flat-top chest of drawers was designed circa 1725 and served as a keep-safe for prized household possessions and valuables, such as jewelry and silver.
Fine art from the distinguished collection was led by James Edward Buttersworth’s Racing in New York Harbor, an oil-on-canvas which achieved $300,000 during the sale.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON: AN IMPORTANT FAMILY ARCHIVE OF LETTERS & MANUSCRIPTS
18 January
Auction Total $2.6 Million
Sotheby’s Americana Week sales began on Wednesday with the ‘White Glove’ sale of archival letters and manuscripts from Alexander Hamilton, The sale matched the excitement surrounding the wildly-successful Hamilton: An American Musical, setting a new auction record for any manuscript by the founding father with A Previously Unrecorded Autograph Draft of Pacificus Essay No. VI, which sold for $262,500($300/500,000). All 77 lots offered during Wednesday’s sale found buyers, with 11 lots breaking previously held records for any document handwritten by Hamilton.
