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“Venedig, Zattere (Venice)” by Carl Moll, oil on panel, 13-3/8 by 13-7/8 inches, was exhibited by the artist in Vienna the year it was painted, 1926. Inclusion in two publications undoubtedly helped drive interest in the picture, which earned a sale-high of $176,400 (60/100,000).
Review By Madelia Hickman Ring; Photos Courtesy Freeman’s
PHILADELPHIA — A newly rediscovered view of Venice by Viennese artist Carl Moll (Austrian, 1861-1945) earned pride of place in Freeman’s July 18 European Art and Old Masters’ auction, in which 83 lots were presented. The 1926 oil on panel composition, which had been exhibited at the Kunstlerhaus’ “Annual Exhibition of the Cooperative of the Visual Artists of Vienna” of the same year, soared past expectations to bring $176,400. Though it was not a record for the artist — which depicted a serene and elegant interior for which the artist is best known and for which Freeman’s set at $4.7 million in 2021 — the sale’s catalog acknowledged the artist’s colorful landscapes that were inspired by French impressionists; “Venedig, Zattere (Venice)” was described as channeling “both the art of Cézanne and Matisse, whom Moll both revered and defended.”
It’s difficult to conceive of an artist more “Old Master” than Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669) and the sale gave bidders six examples to pursue, all from the collection of Philadelphia’s Dr Beatrice Mintz, PhD, and all selling within or above estimates, to benefit cancer research. A circa 1632 etching and engraving on laid paper that had been estimated the most aggressively of the group at $15/25,000 also achieved the highest result: $37,800. “The Raising of Lazarus” was identified in the catalog as being a lifetime impression, the same state as one in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and one that had provenance to a prominent British lawyer (1871-1946) whose collection of Old Master prints was sold at Sotheby’s in 1911. For bidders whose pockets were not so deep, the artist’s etching, drypoint and engraving of Jacob Haaringh made $1,486, while $7,560 was achieved by an etching and drypoint of Jan Uytenbogaert titled “The Gold Weigher.”
One of two works by Josef Scharl in the auction, “Sonnenblumen (Sunflowers), 1944, oil on canvas, 24 by 31 ½ inches, is listed in the 1992 catalogue raisonné and reflected the influence of post-impressionism. It sold for $35,280 ($10/15,000).
The sale also presented a couple of opportunities for bidders to acquire works by Josef Scharl (American/German, 1896-1954), who trained as a decorative artist in Munich, firstly at Malerschule before he studied at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste. His 1944 oil on canvas composition “Sonnenblumen (Sunflowers)” — as well as the other of his works in the sale — “Wald (Forest),” dated to a period of creative freedom for the artist. Both consigned from a private New Jersey collection, the works each carried presale expectations of $10/15,000; “Sunflowers” bloomed to $35,280, while “Forest” ran to $18,900.
The Philadelphia estate of Gabriele Lee proffered a preparatory drawing by Gustav Klimt’s “Liegender Halbnackt nach rechts (Study for The ‘Virgin’),” one of approximately 15 the artist made in 1913 for the completion of his “Die Jungfrau (‘The Virgin’),” now in the collection of the National Gallery of Prague. The 14-5/8-by-22-inch picture, rendered in red wax crayon on paper, depicts a reclining nude subtly wrapped in ornamental drapery, an allusion to the influence of Japanese art. It found a new home for $25,200.
“Mother and Daughter in an Interior (The Adored One)” by Émile Munier (French, 1840-1895) demonstrated the influence of the great master of the French Academic manner, William Adolphe Bouguereau (French, 1825-1905) in its smooth style and painstaking attention to detail. Previously in two Alabama private collections, Munier’s 1891 oil on canvas composition is characteristic of his oeuvre and was authenticated prior to the sale; it found a new home with a buyer for $23,940, just shy of its high estimate.
“Mother and Daughter in An Interior (The Adored One)” by Émile Munier, 1891, 35 by 25 inches, oil on canvas, depicts an intimate scene between a mother and her child, painted at the height of the artist’s career. Estimated at $15/25,000, it achieved $23,940.
The theme of maternity was represented in three dimensions as well as in two, most notably in Richard Guino’s (French, 1890-1973) “Grand Maternité,” a bronze that was conceived in 1915 during the artist’s collaboration with Auguste Renoir (1841-1919). Cast in 1920, the 37-inch-tall work, from an edition of eight, was accompanied by a 1990 letter of authenticity signed by Michel Guino. Modeled after Renoir’s wife and first son, “Grand Maternité” was the first time the piece had ever been offered at auction.
Several sweeping landscapes were in the sale and saw as a category high in a Venetian harbor scene by Karl Friedrich Christian Welsch (German, 1828-1904), which bidders took to $20,160, more than double its high estimate. It is now the second highest price realized by the artist at auction.
Jacques-Émile Blanche’s (French, 1861-1942) full length “Portrait of a Lady With a Fur in a Chinese Cabinet,” painted circa 1910, descended in the McKean family of Philadelphia and probably depicted Katharine Johnstone Bispham McKean (1875-1957), the wife of Thomas McKean and mother of Nancy, whose portrait by Blanche Freeman’s sold in February 2023. Though initially offered at the same time as Nancy’s portrait, that of Katharine did not sell and was reoffered with a lower estimate; the revised value proved successful, and the portrait of Katherine brought $13,860.
With nearly 90 percent of the sale trading successfully, the auction earned a total of $572,418.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by Freeman’s. For information, www.freemansauction.com or 267-414-1261.
