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“Orbit” by Dorothea Tanning (American, 1910-2012), 1986, graphite and watercolor on paper, 40 by 60 inches, signed and dated “Dorothea Tanning 86” had impressive provenance, exhibition and literary history, which pushed the artwork to $44,450, the highest price of both sales ($5/8,000).
Review by Kiersten Busch
PHILADELPHIA — Freeman’s | Hindman finished out the month of August in their Philadelphia salesroom with two separate sales on August 21 and 22. The Tastemaker, conducted on August 21, offered 358 lots of fine, decorative and folk art from the United States, Europe, China and Japan, as well as objects of vertu, rugs and carpets, garden objects, fine silver and furniture. The sale earned $486,220 with a sell-through rate of nearly 80 percent. On August 22, the Art + Design sale was comprised of 314 lots of fine and decorative arts, ceramics and glass, furniture, photographs, prints and multiples and sculpture from the US and Europe crossing the block. With a 92 percent sell through rate, it earned just over $1 million total.
The Tastemaker
Leading The Tastemaker auction was a pair of mounted, gilt-bronze and rouge marble torchères, manufactured in France in the Twentieth Century. Sculpted bronze female figures held up the lighting fixtures on the 115-inch high torchères, which had traces of green patina. Despite some chipping and flaking on both, the “visually impressive” pair lit up for $19,050, comfortably within their $15/25,000 estimate.
Andrew Taggart, specialist in American furniture, folk and decorative art at Freeman’s | Hindman, said that the auction “was a long but steady sale with genuine interest across many collecting categories. The results were mixed, with lots of bidding on select items. In particular, garden objects were very popular.”
Streaming to $16,510 was this 52½-inch-high Venetian carved-marble fountain, most likely from the Seventeenth Century ($3/5,000).
The top-earning garden object, and second-highest selling lot of the sale, was a Venetian carved-marble fountain, most likely from the Seventeenth Century. “This piece came from a prominent, private Florentine collector who acquired things on his travels throughout Europe,” explained Taggart. “The fountain was cherished and used in his garden before it made its way to the US. It is remarkably intact overall given the age.” The 52½-inch-high fountain showed evidence of having been painted, with some traces of white paint appearing on certain parts of its form. However, this did not detract from its appeal, and the piece spouted forth to earn a $16,510 finish, more than three times its high estimate.
Rounding out the top three lots was a collection of 15 Russian, German and Norwegian shaded enamel, plique-à-jour, and silver and silver gilt items. They were crafted by various makers and hailed from the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries. The items were mostly Russian, including an oklad icon depicting the Virgin of Kazan, which had hand-painted faces and enamel and silver gilt mounts. The icon bore an “AP” maker’s mark, which possibly represented Pavel Akimov Ovchinnikov, an assay master; it also bore a “Moscow, 1885” mark.
Additional Russian items in the lot included a kovsch, an egg-form box, two pill boxes from separate makers, a compact, two salt cellars, a salt spoon and a spoon, knife and fork. From Germany, there was a plique-à-jour spoon marked “800” and engraved “Berlin/1892” on its bowl. From Norway there were two plique-à-jour Viking boat-form salt cellars. The lot of 15 finished at $12,700, completely surpassing its $3/5,000 estimate.
Attributed to the Herter Brothers (New York City, 1865-1905) this set of 10 Aesthetic Movement chairs, two armchairs and eight side chairs, with provenance to two private collections, realized $11,430 against a $3/5,000 estimate.
The furniture category was led by a set of 10 carved oak dining chairs from the Aesthetic Movement, sitting pretty at $11,430. The set was attributed to the Herter Brothers around 1880 and comprised of two armchairs and eight side chairs. Each piece bore its original casters made by the India Rubber Comb Company (New York City) and were upholstered in a reproduction “Orakelblume” patterned fabric. The reproduction fabric was manufactured by North American textile company, Maharam, who modeled their fabric after the original, designed by Koloman Moser in 1901. The lot’s finish at two times its high estimate could also be attributed to its provenance; it sold with Christie’s New York in a January 21, 2000 sale, where it became the property of a private collector until it was auctioned off to another private collector in 2020 by Toomey & Co.
Leading the folk art category was a finely crafted needlework sampler by Ann Buchanan, which was dated “1821.” The sampler was worked with polychrome silk threads on a linen ground and depicted a “large gated mansion flanked by two smaller houses and fruit baskets, surrounded by an array of trees teeming with birds; a dog watches beneath, with swagged curtain and floral garlands above,” according to the auction catalog. There was also a pious verse displayed on the backside, along with an inscription reading “Ann Buchanan Her Work Aged 11.” “This proved to be a surprise — during the auction preview, we received feedback that it is a rare example of a Scottish needlework sampler,” shared Taggart. “It was sought after by a few serious collectors of this material.” The sampler, with provenance to a Massachusetts collection, stitched its way up to a $11,430 finish, more than five times its high estimate.
Inscribed “Ann Buchanan Her Work Aged 11” and dated “1821,” this 16-by-16½-inch sampler depicting a large, gated mansion surrounded by luscious gardens and animals blossomed to $11,430, surpassing its high estimate over five times ($1/2,000).
“A strong percentage of the buyer’s pool included serious collectors and the trade, which is always a promising sign that the market for traditional antiques is alive,” shared Taggart, when asked about the diversity of the bidding pool. He also explained that, of the top-selling lots, “four were purchased by US buyers, with representation from Pennsylvania, New York, New England, the Midwest and the South. Interestingly, some of the Chinese Export porcelain made for the Portuguese Market was sold to Portuguese buyers. France was also represented by at least one lot.”
Art + Design
Leading Art + Design was a graphite and watercolor on paper by Dorothea Tanning titled, “Orbit.” The 40-by-60-inch painting was signed and dated “Dorothea Tanning 86” and had provenance to the Mangel Gallery in Philadelphia, after which it was acquired directly by a private Pennsylvanian collector in 1987. The work also boasted an impressive exhibition history, appearing at Kent Fine Art (New York City), the Hooks-Epstein Galleries, Inc., (Philadelphia) and the Mangel Gallery (Philadelphia) in 1987 and the Malmö Konsthall (Malmö, Sweden) in 1993. It had been featured in The Print Collector’s Newsletter, Art News and Art in America, as well as Jean Christophe Bailly’s 1995 book Dorothea Tanning (New York: George Braziller). Its extensive provenance helped raise the piece to a $44,450 finish, going out for more than five times its high estimate of $8,000.
“We were very satisfied with the results,” said Lauren Colavita, associate specialist in post-war and contemporary art at Freeman’s | Hindman. “This was our first collaboration as a newly merged department, and the organization and follow-through of the cataloging process leading up to the sale paved a path for success.”
Colavita also shared that the majority of buyers were from different parts of the US, but the firm did see some overseas participants as well. The pool “included dealers, collectors and designers as well as bidders new to auction.”
Out of nine George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990) furniture pieces sold, this coffee table in American black walnut from the mid Twentieth Century came out on top, earning $31,750. It measured 65¼ inches in length ($20/30,000).
George Nakashima was well-represented in the sale, with nine pieces of furniture from the American designer crossing the block. Leading the Nakashima pieces with the second-highest price in the sale was a coffee table from the mid Twentieth Century designed and manufactured at the US-based Nakashima Studio. The table was made with American black walnut and marked “Craig” on the underside, with three straight lines etched underneath the marking. Additional lucrative Nakashima furniture pieces included a Frenchman’s Cove II dining table ($31,750), a double chest of drawers ($25,400), a pair of nightstands ($25,400), a “Hi Boy” tall chest of drawers ($25,400) and a set of six New chairs ($17,780).
“Miniature Quan,” a painted cast resin sculpture by Carole A. Feuerman, crossed the block for $17,780, more than seven times its high estimate of $2,500. The 11-inch-high work was completed in 2012, signed and dated in ink and numbered “14/99” on its underside. The sculpture had provenance to Baker Sponder Gallery in Boca Raton, Fla., where it was purchased in 2014 by the estate of Jordan and Cynthia Katz (Pennsylvania), residing in the estate’s collection until it was consigned to Freeman’s | Hindman.
“Ladies Of The 80s: Lady By Window — Ver” by Peter Max (American, b 1937), 1988, acrylic on canvas, 36 by 48 inches, signed “Max” top right led sales for Max’s artwork, earning $16,510 ($5/7,000).
Five works by Peter Max went under the hammer with “Ladies of the 80s: Lady By Window — Ver” (1988) leading the group with a $16,510 finish. The acrylic on canvas was signed “Max” on the top right and had provenance to a corporate art collection. “American Flag” (1991), also sold well, hoisted to more than five times its high estimate at $13,970. The work was painted cast bronze and had a cast signature and was incised with the date and numbered “170/250.” It had provenance to a private collection in New York.
Upcoming sales at Freeman’s | Hindman’s Philadelphia location include a September 22 single-owner auction featuring the collection of Dr Richard J. Wattenmaker, and an October 17 Post-War and Contemporary Art online auction.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For additional information, 215-563-9275 or www.hindmanauctions.com.
