By Carter B. Horsley

The Fall 2007 American Paintings auction at Sotheby's November 28, 2007 is highlighted by two fine watercolors by Winslow Homer, an impressive work by Andrew Wyeth and a nice selection of 19th Century landscape paintings by such artists as William Merritt Chase, John Twachtman, David Johnson and Francis A. Silva.

Lot 8 is a large and fine 1881 watercolor by Winslow Homer (1836-1910) entitled "Fishergirls coiling tackle." It measures 14 by 19 3/4 inches and has an estimate of $4,000,000 to $6,000,000. It sold for $4,521,000 including the buyer's premium as do all results mentioned in this article.

In early 1881, Homer went to England and settled in a small fishing village of Cullercoats on the northeastern cost of England.

The catalogue entry for this lot notes that "In the Cullercoats watercolors Homer's technique changed - he began building up washes of color, and scraping away paint from the page. Most importantly, he now approached the medium in a way previously reserved for oil painting. Rather than create watercolors on site, he prepared preliminary sketches, executing the finished work in his studio which allowed time for the works to be completed on a grander scale. These significant changes ultimately lend the Cullercoats watercolors a monumentality previously unseen."

While Homer would make many pictures of the fisherwomen in Cullercoats that highlighted their strong work ethic and athletic bearing, his earlier portraits of women tended to be more lyrical, contemplative and beautiful. Lot 15, for example, is an 1875 watercolor entitled "Portrait of a Lady." It measures 12 by 8 inches and has an estimate of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000. It sold for $2,169,000.

The catalogue entry provides the following commentary"

"Painted in 1875, Portrait of a Lady depicts a young woman in an elegant white dress, trimmed with a patterned detail, and accessorized with a black scarf at her neck, a dark belt at her waist and a black ribbon in her hair. This same figure and dress appear in a series of watercolors that Homer painted in 1875, believed to have been executed on his first trip to Prout's Neck, Maine. Several of these, such as Fiction (Detroit Institute of Arts) display the technical variety and free approach Homer sometimes experimented with in his watercolors. This "sketchy" treatment was often the focus of critical attention in Homer's work. When exhibited, critics praised the individuality of these watercolors, but often expressed dissatisfaction with their unfinished qualities....The spot of red on her finger suggests that the woman has just pricked it on the rose branch that falls in front of her. In his depictions of young women, Homer often featured the figure looking away from the viewer, face in profile, body turned slightly away. Only rarely did he depict this particular model's full face, as seen in Young Girl at the Window (1875, New Britain Museum of American Art)....Homer is known to have used floral symbolism to convey specific meanings, which gained widespread interest in the Victorian era. Abigail Booth Gerdts has noted that contemporary critics who saw Portrait of a Lady described the roses as being white. She speculates, "It is possible Homer changed the roses' color, or that he had used white pigment which has oxidized to the color we now see" (Abigail Booth Gerdts and Lloyd Goodrich, Record of Works by Winslow Homer, vol. 2, p. 360). The rose has long been used as a symbol of love, with varying meaning attributed to the color. A white rose would have indicated "I am worthy of you," whereas a blush rose could have indicated "perfect happiness." Regardless of the color of this rose, Homer appears to be conveying a cautionary message regarding love with the prick of the thorn. Though still unexplained, scholars have speculated that the red haired model must have been important to Homer, given her repeated appearance in his work, and dramatic disappearance from Homer's oeuvre in 1878....With their far off gazes and serious expressions, many of these depictions of thoughtful young women have an air of loneliness about them. This loneliness may partially have been Homer's - he had difficulties in relationships and never married - however, his fascination with painting women stayed with him throughout his artistic career."

Lot 81 is a very fine and striking tempera on panel entitled "Sparks" by Andrew Wyeth (b. 1917). It was painted in 2001 and measures 44 by 47 3/4 and is in a frame designed by the artist.

The catalogue entry notes that the work is "rife with autobiographical references, both overt and coded, depicting the grand stone hearth of his Chadds Ford mill house. Within the hearth, a metaphor for home and a vital, creative center, a fire, a dichotomous symbol of destruction and provision, rages. Sending forth burning embers and trails of smoke, the fire interrupts the clean, cool interior. A low ceiling and rustic wooden beams slope steeply towards the hearth and its grid of sand stone tiles cut a sharp diagonal path towards the fire. The frame, designed by the artist, further emphasizes this dramatic use of perspective."

It has an estimate of $2,500,000 to $4,500,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 180 is a marvelous "Study of a Birch," by David Johnson (1826-1908). An oil on canvas, it measures 16 by 26 inches. While Johnson and other Hudson River School painters such as Asher B. Durand often did quite accomplished studies of trees, this is extremely dramatic and compelling. It has an estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 189 is a beautiful luminist painting of "Sailboats at Sunset" by Francis A. Silva (1835-1886). An oil on canvas, it measures 14 1/4 by 26 1/4 inches. It has an estimate of $250,000 to $450,000. It sold for $391,000.

Lot 181 is a good autumn woodland scene by Jervis McEntee (1828-1891). An oil on canvas, it measures 16 by 28 inches and was painted in 1865. It has an estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 169 is an early seascape by Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902) entitled "Beached Ship. An oil on canvas, it measures 17 by 23 1.2 inches and was painted in 1859. It is property from the collection of 7-Eleven, Inc. It was exhibited at Hirschl & Adler Galleries in 1980. It has a modest estimate of $60,000 to $80,000. It sold for $103,000.

Lot 193, "Iceberg," by Albert Bierstadt, oil on canvas, 21 by 48 inches, 1884

Lot 193 is a large and dramatic painting of a iceberg by Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902) made on a voyage to England aboard the S. S. Gallia in May, 1884. An oil on canvas, it measures 21 by 48 inches. It has an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000. It sold for $241,000.

Lot 176 is a lovely and classic beach scene by Alfred Thompson Bricher (1837-1908) entitled "Evening at Scituate - Low Tide." An oil on canvas, it measures 15 by 33 inches and was once in the collection of Gloria and Richard Manney. It has an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. It sold for $121,000.

Lot 170 is a nice landscape by Robert Salmon (1775-1844) entitled "Scottish Sunset." An oil on board, it measures 8 by 9 1/2 inches and has an estimate of $30,000 to $50,000 and is dated circa 1821. It failed to sell.

Lot 190 is a pretty coastal scene by James Renwick Brevoort (1832-1918). Entitled "Half Moon in a cove at Gloucester Bay," it is an oil on canvas that measures 18 by 30 inches. It has an estimate of $25,000 to $35,000.

Lot 196 is an excellent work by William Holbrook Beard (1823-1900) entitled "Bear Carousal." An oil on canvas, it measures 18 by 24 inches. It has superb provenance and was formerly in the collection of Frederick Sturges and William Henry Osborn and William Church Osborn. It has an estimate of $80,000 to $120,000. It sold for $145,000.

Lot 179 is a nice small hummingbird painting by Martin Johnson Heade (1819-1904). Entitled "Racket-tail, Brazil," it is on oil on canvas mounted on board that measures 12 1/4 by 10 1/2 inches and was painted circa 1863-5. It has an estimate of $300,000 to $400,000. It sold for $701,800.

Lot 191 is a superb coastal painting by William Trost Richards (1833-1905) entitled "Blue Waters." An oil on canvas, it measures 18 by 32 inches and is dated 1884. It has an modest estimate of $40,000 to $60,000. It sold for $121,000.

Lot 53 is a lovel oil on panel by James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) entitled "Blue and Opal: Herring Fleet." It measues 4 3/4 by 8 1/2 and is signed with the artist's butterfly monogram. It was painted in St. Ives, Cornwall, England, in early 1884. It has a modest estimate of $300,000 to $400,000. It sold for $361,000.

William Merritt Chase (1849-1916) is considered to be one of the finest American Impressionists and his Shinneock Hills scenes are highly desired. Lot 1 is a nice oil on canvas that measures 6 1/4 by 9 1/4 inches. It has an estimate of $80,000 to $120,000. It sold for $127,000.

Lot 2 is a very good landscape by John H. Twachtman (1853-1902) that is entitled "Grey Day." An oil on panel, it measures 15 3/4 by 20 inches and was painted circa 1887-8. It sold for $73,000.

Lot 79 is a nice watercolor entitled "Venice" Traghetti-Battelli" by Maurice B. Prendergast (1858-1924). It measures 10 3/4 by 15 inches and is dated circa 1898-9. It has a somewhat ambitious estimate of $900,000 to $1,200,000. It sold for $937,000.

Lot 20 is a 10-by-6 1/2-inch watercolor and ink on paper by Childe Hassam (1859-1935) entitled "Flag Day, Fifth Avenue, July 4th, 1916." It has an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000. It sold for $433,000.

Lot 178 is a lovely floral still life entitled "Pink and White Roses" by John Ferguson Weir (1841-1926), one of two artist sons of Robert Weir, who taught painting at West Point. This oil on canvas measures 16 by 12 3/4 inches and has the same soft draftsmanship and palette as his brother, Julian Alden Weir. It has an estimate of $50,000 to $70,000. It sold for $88,000.

Lot 29 is a striking work by Stanton Macdonald-Wright (1890-1973) entitled "Au Café (Synchromy). An oil on canvas, it measures 50 by 28 inches and was painted in 1918. It has an estimate of $400,000 to $600,000. It sold for $2,281,000. In 1909 the artist traveled to Paris where he met Morgan Russell and they studied with Ernest Percyval Tudor-Hart, a Canadian artist and color theorist.

The catalogue entry for this lot provides the following commentary:

"Inspired by European modernism, including the work of the Futurists and Robert and Sonia Delaunay, the two young Americans published aesthetic declarations that they designed to lay claim to a theoretical space for their work. Together, Russell and Macdonald-Wright coined the term 'Synchromism,' using Greek elements meaning 'system of combining color'; and they launched their own movement in Munich and Paris with shows in 1913. They publicized these two shows with posters and catalogues featuring their own bold theoretical declarations. For the Munich show at Der Neue Kunstsalon their statement dismissed the 'brown and white of the Cubists' and promoted 'gradations of color' to express 'the depth of space.' They also argued that 'The Futurists naively believed they had taken a big step forward by subordinating the static element in favor of movement. But static and dynamic qualities in art are two forces that supplement each other, and their concurrence permits us to feel one or the other strongly.' For the Paris show at the Bernheim-Jeune Gallery, the two stressed their emphasis on color as the generating force of painting and their attempt to create tactile sensation in their paintings. After the shows in Paris and Munich, Macdonald-Wright separated from his wife and moved to New York City at the end of 1913. By early March 1914, the Carroll Galleries there opened an Exhibition of Synchromist paintings by Morgan Russell and S. Macdonald-Wright. The artists claimed in this catalogue to have solved 'the problem of the inherent nature of colors in their relationship to form,' to have made 'a close study of the harmonious relation of these colors to one another,' and to have developed the ability to 'convey the notion of time in painting.' By 1916 Macdonald-Wright had established enough presence on the New York art scene that he was one of the sixteen men - including Thomas Hart Benton, Arthur Dove, Marsden Hartley, Man Ray, Morgan Russell, and William Zorach (who shared his space with his wife and others) - featured in the important group exhibition at the Anderson Galleries, The Forum Exhibition of Modern American Painters, for which Macdonald-Wright's brother Willard was both an organizer and catalogue essayist....The next year, Alfred Stieglitz gave Macdonald-Wright a solo show at '291,' the Fifth Avenue address and moniker for his Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession. By March 1918, Macdonald-Wright was the subject of another one-person show, this time at the Daniel Gallery in New York. However, on October 12, 1918, he left to live and paint in Southern California, where he would become active as a teacher, work as a muralist, and serve as an important influence on modernist painters. Macdonald-Wright painted the present Synchromy in 1918 before he left New York. He considered it such an important exemplar of his work that he chose to include it in his retrospective exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum in 1956."

The auction's most stunning work is Lot 49, "A Dream of Butterflies" by Charles Burchfield (1893-1967). A watercolor on paper that measures 33 by 40 inches, it eas executed in 1962. It has an estimate of $500,000 to $700,000. It sold for $1,329,000.

Lot 92 is an almost psychedellic work by Morris Graves (1910-2001) entitled "Ecstatic Gander." An oil on canvas laid down on masonite, it measures 38 by 48 inches and was painted in 1952. It has been widely exhibited. It has an estimate of $80,000 to $120,000. It failed to sell.