Results: Sotheby's American Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture

Last Thursday Sotheby's held its American Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture sale in its New York City salesroom. I would have liked to have reported on this sale earlier, but I was involved in the Antiques in Alexandria show, which took much time, and unfortunately, with very little return for the effort (but thats another story, or should I say post).

The sale offered 121 lots with 84 selling for a near acceptable buy through rate of 69.4%. The 84 lots that did sell totaled $27.12 million, including buyers premium. This total was just above the total pre sale low estimate of $25.3 million (without buyers premium). The sale sold 77.6% by value, but this ratio appears low becuase of the numerous buy ins, and  it does seem that those paintings which sold, as has been the case in many sales, sold well. It appears that those items which sold and did well were quality items, reasonably priced and were in demand.

The top selling lot was by George Bellows, Dock Builders (1916) for $3.89 million with buyers premium against a pre sale estimate of $2 million to $3 million. Six paintings in the sale totaled over $1 million, and three artists set auction records including William Aiken Walker (see image). The Walker, titled The Cotton Wagon was estimated at $150,000 to $250,000 and sold for $434,500 with buyers premium.

Of the top ten lots, 9 sold for above the pre sale high estimate and only one sold below the low estimate.

I find it interesting that of the top ten sellers, all 10 were purchased by American private collectors. No dealer purchases, again blurring the auction market as both a wholesale and retail market place.  Also, no foreign buyers in the top 10.  Very interestings.

Sotheby's reported on the sale

Six of the paintings on offer brought prices over $1 million, and new artist records were set for Ernest Leonard Blumenschein, William J. McCloskey and William Aiken Walker. The sale featured works from two remarkable private collections–Property from the Collection of Edward P. Evans and Property from a Distinguished East Coast Collection–and was led by George Bellows’s Dock Builders from the Evans Collection, which sold for $3,890,500 (est. $2/3 million). The first of a series of works by the artist that focus on Maine’s rugged seamen, the canvas exhibits the same compositional dynamism that Bellows made famous in his iconic boxing scenes. Sotheby’s now holds the top four prices for the artist at auction.

Property from the Collection of Edward P. Evans performed well today overall, with a cumulative total of $12,726,750 that was well above the pre-sale low estimate of $9.5 million, and with 85% of the lots on offer finding buyers. In addition to Bellows’s Dock Builders, the Collection was highlighted by Quai St. Michel by Childe Hassam, which brought $2,098,500, and The Old Sand Road by William Merritt Chase, which sold for $1,202,500 above a high estimate of $900,000. A new artist record was set for William J. McCloskey, whose Wrapped Oranges on a Tabletop more than doubled its high estimate in achieving $782,500.