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Leading both session one and the sale in its entirety was “Where there is room in the heart there is room in the house” by Elizabeth Mumford (Massachusetts, 1950-2020), oil on board, 25 by 20 inches, which rose to $7,680 against a $2/3,000 estimate.
Review by Kiersten Busch
EAST DENNIS, MASS. — Over the course of two days, from September 12-13, Eldred’s conducted its Americana and Marine Art auction, with only online, phone and absentee bidding available. There were 308 lots offered on each day, for a total of 616 lots. Session one saw Americana, furniture, paintings, decorative arts and more cross the block, while session two focused on marine lots, including scrimshaw and whaling materials, ship models, paintings, Chinese export and more. Between the two days, the sale realized $296,000, which fell within the firm’s pre-sale estimate range.
“There were 282 total buyers, 25 of which were either old-fashioned phone or absentee bids,” explained Cheryl Stewart, head of marketing at Eldred’s. “The remainder were online bidders, split between Eldreds’, Invaluable and LiveAuctioneers and their subsidiaries.” While 282 lucky buyers were able to walk away with something new, there were 291 registered bidders in total, only including in-house, absentee and phone bidders. When adding online bidders, Stewart said there were “several thousand registered bidders online, with an average of 800 following the auction at any given point.”
Leading both days of the sale was “Where there is room in the heart there is room in the house,” an oil on board, which sold during session one, by Elizabeth Mumford. The painting, consigned from a private New York collection, depicted figures and horse-drawn carriages outside a large, coastal home, and earned $7,680, heading to a private collection in Massachusetts.
“Santuit” by Martha Farham Cahoon (Massachusetts, 1905-1999), oil on Masonite, 16 by 13½ inches framed, signed and dated lower right, flew to $7,040, more than doubling its high estimate ($2/3,000).
Finishing just behind Mumford’s painting was an oil on Masonite by Martha Farham Cahoon, titled “Santuit.” The painting was signed and dated “Martha Cahoon 76” in the lower righthand corner and was marked as “good condition” but “slightly soiled” by the auction catalog. Despite these condition notes, the work, depicting a family watching two hot air balloons traveling through the air, floated to $7,040, the second highest price of the day and sale overall. Initially consigned from a Cape Cod collection, the painting will stay on the Cape with its new buyer. Cahoon’s other work in the sale, “A New England Fishing Village,” swam to $4,480. It will also stay in Cape Cod, with a different buyer than her other work.
Adjacent to paintings was the map category; seven were offered on the first day and all of them sold, with prices ranging from $160-$4,800. Headed to a private Massachusetts collection, a map of Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket Counties by Henry F. Walling secured the highest price, $4,800, despite some stains and rips. The 1858 map was published by D.R. Smith & Co. (Boston) and was linen-backed.
Furniture was also popular with bidders during the first session, with a fine Aesthetic Movement credenza in the manner of Pottier & Stymus and Kimbel & Cabus shutting its door for $2,816, selling to the trade. The 57-inch-high piece of furniture was “surmounted by an elaborate backsplash and a smaller stepped case,” according to the auction catalog. It also had ebonized and gilded moldings and edges, an interior made of bird’s-eye maple and a metal figural medallion pressed into its door. Additionally, a Queen Anne-style highboy in tiger maple, hailing from Twentieth Century Massachusetts, earned $2,560.
Standing at 71 inches high, this tiger wood Queen Anne-style highboy by Eldred Wheeler (Massachusetts) was in excellent condition and shut its doors for $2,560, heading to a New Hampshire buyer ($1,5/2,000).
Session two, all things marine-related, had an explosive top-selling lot, a bronze model of a canon, which fired off at $5,760. Hailing from the early Twentieth Century, the model was mounted on an old turned wooden stand and was unmarked. Consigned to Eldred’s from a private collection, the canon was sold to a collector bidding on the phone.
Ship portraits were plentiful on day two, with four of the top 10 best-selling lots belonging to the category. The highest earning of these was “Ships On A Stormy Sea,” an unsigned oil on canvas attributed to Thomas Buttersworth, which sold to a Maryland buyer online for $2,816. Despite some minor craquelure and faint stretcher lines visible under raker light, the painting presented “very well under natural light,” according to the auction catalog. Ship portraits continued to be popular with bidders; other notable lots included “HMS Indefatigable, 38 Gun Frigate” by Derek George Montague Gardner (Scottish-British, 1914-2007) ($2,432), “Sailing Into Vineyard Sound” by David Monteiro (Massachusetts, b 1956) ($2,432) and “Naval Battle Scene” by John Bentham Dinsdale (British, 1927-2008) ($1,920).
Crafted in the Nineteenth Century, this double sailor’s valentine was composed of multicolor shells and contained a heart design on one side, along with the message “Welcome to Barbados” on the opposing face. Despite some small defects, the valentine sold to the trade for $2,688, surpassing its $900-$1,200 estimate.
A double sailor’s valentine from the Nineteenth Century had bidders’ hearts racing for a $2,688 finish, surpassing its $900-$1,200 estimate. Composed of multicolored shells and housed in an octagonal hinged wooden case, the left side of the valentine contained a heart, while the right side spelled out “Welcome to Barbados.”
Looking picture perfect was a walnut frame, inlaid with whalebone stars and modified diamonds. The Nineteenth Century frame measured 18 by 13¾ inches and sold for $1,664. Two other lots achieved this price: three Northwest coastal fishhooks and a Nantucket basket tray by Bobby and Karen Marks (Cape Cod, late Twentieth/early Twenty-First Century).
Eldred’s will conduct their Fall Fling auction on October 16, which will feature an eclectic mix of antiques, paintings and decorative arts.
Prices quoted include buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 508-385-3116 or www.eldreds.com.
