By Carter B. Horsley

This is one of the strongest American Paintings auctions in several years with two great and rare paintings by Winslow Homer and a very fine one by George Bellows as well as two pretty good Thomas Morans, a fine Albert Bierstadt and a major George Inness.

Lot 42, "Girl in the Hammock," by Homer (1836-1919), is a lovely Impressionist scene of a young woman in a hammock. An oil on canvas, it measures 13 1/2 by 20 inches and has a conservative estimate of $1,500,000 to $2,500,000. It sold for $1,659,500 including the buyer's premium as do all results mentioned in this article except where noted otherwise. Homer's work is actually undervalued as he is without question the greatest American artist and this was his favorite model and he was an Impressionist on his own before the French! This was executed in 1873 and comes from the collection of Eleanor Searle Whitney McCollum.

Lot 47, "Sounding Reveille," by Homer, is an important and good Civil War painting. An oil on canvas, it measures 13 1/4 by 19 3/4 inches and has an estimate of only $1,000,000 to $1,500,000. It was once in the collection of Mrs. Norman B. Woolworth. It failed to sell and was passed at $850,000.

A good Homer watercolor is Lot 23, "A Shady Spot, Houghton Farm." This watercolor on paper mounted on board measures 7 by 8 1/2 inches and is dated 1878. An interesting diagonal composition with a young girl standing next to a tree in the center, this has a conservative estimate of $250,000 to $350,000. It sold for $493,500.

A more classic Homer watercolor is Lot 26, "Watching Ships, Gloucester," which measures 8 1/2 by 14 inches. Executed in 1875, it has an ambitious estimate of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000. It failed to sell and was passed at $1,600,000.

William Stanley Haseltine (1835-1900) is best known for his rocky seacoast paintings and Lot 30, "Rocks at Narragansett, Rhode Island," an oil on canvas that measures 12 1/4 by 22 inches, is a classic example. It was painted circa 1863. This lovely painting has an ambitious estimate of $200,000 to $300,000. It sold for $229,500.

Lot 94, "Gramercy Park," is a great painting by George Bellows (1882-1925) that comes from the estate of Eleanor Searle Whitney Mccollum.Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney. It's a very good painting, and would be perfect to buy along with two great Ash Can School paintings in the Sotheby's sale this season from the Arthur Altschul Collection, a John Sloan and an Everett Shinn. These AshCan pictures are top museum quality. This Bellows is very painterly and has a marvelous quality of light. It has an estimate of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000. It sold for $2,900,000 not including the buyer's premium.

Lot 4, "Niagara Falls," by Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902), is a jewel of a small Bierstadt, oil on paper laid down on canvas, 14 by 19 inches, that was once in the collection of James Ricau. It has a modest estimate of $150,000 to $250,000. It sold for $141,500.

Lot 159 is a larger Bierstadt entitled "Golden Light of California." Unlike his more spectacular works that encompass incredible vistas, this is an interior forest scene. The oil on canvas measures 38 1/4 by 60 1/4 inches and has an ambitious estimate of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000. The painting shows a herd of deer in a field framed by large trees against a glowing swath of yellow light. It sold for $1,329,500.

Alfred Jacob Miller is the most romantic of the early painters of the American West and Lots 165 and 166 are delightful watercolor, gouache and pencil on paper works by him. The former is entitled "Crow Indian on the Lookout" and measures 12 1/2 by 9 1/2 inches and has a modest estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. It sold for $83,650. The latter is entitled "Indians on the War Path" and measures 8 1/2 by 12 14 inches and has a modest estimate of $50,000 to $70,000. It sold for $113,525.

Lot 167, "Green River, Wyoming," by Thomas Moran (1837-1926) is a classic large Western scene that is an oil on panel that measures 11 1/2 by 36 inches and has an estimate of $1,500,000 to $2,500,000. It sold for $2,924,500. Painted in 1878, it is a newly discovered work according to the catalogue and one of the artist's earliest versions of this landscape.

Sanford Robinson Gifford (1823-1880) is one of the great Hudson River School painters and Lot 12, "Mote Mountain from Echo Lake, New Hampshire" is a nice example of his beautiful handling of light. An oil on canvas laid down on board, it measures 10 1/4 by 17 inches and was executed circa early 1860s. It has a somewhat ambitious estimate of $300,000 to $500,000. It sold for $581,500.

Lot 15, "Home by The Lake," is a large, nice, bucolic Hudson River School-style landscape by Frederic Church (1826-1900). An oil on canvas, it measures 26 1/2 by 40 1/2 inches and was executed in 1852. It has an ambitious estimate $3,000,000 to $5,000,000 as it is well done, but not exciting. It failed to sell and was passed at $2,200,000.

George Inness (1825-1894) is America's greatest landscape Tonalist and Lot 31, "Spirit of Autumn," is one of his major works. This very beautiful and poetic oil on canvas measures 30 by 45 inches and was executed in 1891. This work was once in the collection of Mrs. Potter Palmer of Chicago. It has a slightly ambitious estimate of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000 that accurately reflects its size and quality but is considerably higher than his market has evidenced. It failed to sell and was passed at $1,600,000.

Lot 72, "Portrait of Mrs. C.(Mrs. H. M. Channing)," is a wonderful portrait by Edmund Tarbell. The oil on canvas measures 40 1/4 by 43 inches and was executed in 1911. It has an estimate of $600,000 by $800,000. It sold for $724,500.

Lot 120, "Eggbeater No., 4," is a very nice abstraction by Stuart Davis (1892-1964). The 14-by-19 1/2-inch gouache on board was painted in 1928. It has an estimate of $500,000 to $700,000. It sold for $889,500.

A perfect companion to the Davis is Lot 142, "Triad Brilliant, Passaic River Hills," a 22 1/2-by-29 1/2-inch oil on panel by Oscar Florianus Bluemner (1867-1938), a stunning abstraction. It also has an estimate of $500,000 to $700,000. It sold for $449,500.

Davis has several other works in this auction. Lot 207, "Anchors," is a 22-by-32-inch oil on canvas, dated 1930, which has an estimate of $600,000 to $800,000. It sold for $779,500. Lot 203, "Still Life with Dial," is a very strong still life dated 1922 that also has a $600,000 to $800,000 estimate. It failed to sell. It is an oil on canvas that measures 49 1/4 by 32 inches.

Lot 197, "The Breakfast Table," is a spectacular still life that out "Johns" Jasper Johns's number series. This very vibrant and painterly work is an oil on canvas that measures 48 1/4 by 34 1/4 inches and has a very conservative estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. It sold for $471,500.

Lot 130, "Lake George Autumn," is quite an unusual and dramatic landscape by Georgia O'Keefe (1887-1986). The 15-by-27-inch oil on canvas has an estimate of $1,500,000 to $2,000,000. It failed to sell and was passed at $1,000,000.

Lot 144, "Mont Sainte-Victoire," is a great landscape by Marsden Hartley (1877-1943). The 32-by-39 1/2-inch oil on canvas has a conservative estimate of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000. It sold for $944,500.

Another very good urban picture is Lot 121, "Convergence II," by Charles Sheeler (1883-1965). This tempera on board measures 6 by 4 inches and was painted in 1952. Sheeler is one of the nation's great Modernist/Precisionist painters and this is very strong and has a conservative estimate of $70,000 to $100,000, which it will probably exceed. It sold for $273,500.