Art/Auctions: American Art at Christie's New York May 19, 2016

By Carter B. Horsley

This May 19, 2016 auction of American Paintings at Christie's New York includes a great New York scene by Max Weber, several works by Georgia O'Keeffe, and two excellent paintings by John Singer Sargent, and fine works by Frederick Church, Frederick Carl Frieseke, George Inness, Martin Johnson Heade, Sanford Robinson Gifford, and Alfred Jacob Miller.

Lot 5 is a large and wonderful oil on canvas by Max Weber (1881-1961) entitled "New York" and it measures 40 by 31 5/8 inches.

The following commentary was provided by Dr. Percy North in the catalogue when the work appeared at Phillips de Pury & Luxembourg December 3, 2002:

"Max Weber's painting New York generated a flurry of media attention when it was first exhibited in London shortly after it had been painted in 1913. Included in the third Post-Impressionist exhibition that opened at the Alpine Club on the closing day of the Armory Show in New York, the painting brought international attention to Weber for the first time as one of American's foremost modern artists. Weber and Wassily Kandinsky were the only non-English artists invited to exhibit by Roger Fry with the Grafton Group of English Modernists who had promulgated the designation Post-Impressionism for their first show in 1910. Weber was the best represented artist in the show and New York was its uncontested star. New York's radical style with its futuristic overtones elicited some jibes from unsophisticated critics who described as 'a concertina that, inextricably mixed up in some fashion with the stars and stripes, has met with a violent end and had stakes driven through it afterwards' and 'nothing but two huge and twisted pythons and series of organ keyboards.' More thoughtful responses, however, noted its abstract beauty, Weber's born colorism, and the influence of Futurism. New York was Weber's breakthrough into a compelling and forcefully personal mode of modernist painting integrating the elements of Cubism and Futurism with American subjects and themes. For Weber as well as Stieglitz, New York represented the city of ambition, the quintessential, ever changing modern arena. Billowing clouds of smoke and swirling patterns of wind in Weber's painting express the city's dynamism pulsating with power and energy made possible by innovative technology."

This is a very great Cubist portrait of the city. At the 2002 auction where it was consigned by the Thyssen-Bornemizsa Collection of Lugano, Switzerland, it was estimated at $500,000 to $750,000, and sold for $1,659,500. It was included in an important traveling exhibition of "Twentieth Century Masters" from that collection in 1983.

At this auction is has a very modest estimate of $1,500,000 to $2,500,000. It sold for $1,925,000 including the buyer's premium as do all results mentioned in this article.

The auction total was $42,737,500 with only 68.4 percent of the 98 offered lots selling.

Lot 14, "Lake George Reflection," by Georgia O'Keeffe, oil on canvas, 58 by 34 inches, 1922

The auction has several works by Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986) of which Lot 14, "Lake George Reflection," is the best. The 1922 oil on canvas measures 58 by 34 inches and is property from the collection of J. E. Safra.

The catalogue entry provides the following commentary:

"Georgia O'Keeffe's Lake George Reflection embodies the contradictions inherent in the artist's best work which came to define her career and cement her legacy as one of the most enduring and intriguing figures in 20th Century American Art. Lake George Reflection, the most ambitious in scale of her works from the 1920s, is a meditation on the sublime, building upon the tradition of 19th Century Hudson River School artists who sought to capture the drama and beauty of the unspoiled landscape surrounding Lake George. Presenting alternataively as both a vertical and horizontal composition, this work is an expression of the artist's experimental thought process as she considered what it meant to be representational in an age of burgeoning abstraction in American Art., Horizontally, the painting exemplifies the boldly colorful landscapes which have become a hallmark of O'Keeffe's career, foreshadowing the abstracted paintings of the New Mexico hills from her later years.
When viewed vertically, as Lake George Reflection was first exhibited in 1923 at the Anderson Galleries, the infinite horizon shifts to a powerful vertical thrust, with the formerly symmetrical reflections of the landscape morphing into the interior folds of a magnified flower or echoing the bold and daring heights of a New York City skyscraper."

It has an estimate of $8,000,000 to $12,000,000. It sold for $12,933,000.

Lot 10, "Red Hills with Pedernal, White Clouds," by O'Keeffe is a 1936 oil on canvas that measures 20 by 30 inches. It has an estimate of $3,000,000 to $5,000,000. It sold for $4,533,000.

Lot 7, "Blue I," by Georgia O'Keeffe, watercolor on paper, 31 by 22 1/4 inches, 1916

The cover illustration of the catalogue is Lot 7, "Blue I," a watercolor on paper by Georgia O'Keeffe. It measures 31 by 22 1/4 inches and was painted in 1916. It is from the collection of Kippy Stroud and has been widely exhibited and published. It has an estimate of $2,500,000 to $3,500,000. It sold for $2.405,000.

Lot 27, "Francois Flemeng and Paul Helleu," by John Singer Sargent, oil on canvas, 20 3/4 by 17 inches, circa 1880

Lot 27 is an excellent double portrait by John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) of "Francois Flemeng and Paul Helleu." An oil on canvas, it measures 20 3/4 by 17 inches and was painted circa 1880. It has been widely exhibited and published. It has an estimate of $1,200,000 to $1,800,000. It sold for $1,325,000.

Lot 80, "At Broadway," by John Singer Sargent, oil on canvas, 18 by 24 1/4 inches, circa 1885

Lot 80 is a stunning and very painterly landscape oil on canvas by Sargent entitled "At Broadway." It measures 18 by 24 1/4 inches and was painted with considerable bravura circa 1885. It was once owned by William Church Osborn of New York and has been widely published.

Detail of Lot 80

It has an estimate of $500,000 to $700,000. It sold for $533,000.

Lot 39, "A New England Lake," by Frederic Edwin Church, oil on canvas, 30 by 42 inches, 1854

Lot 39 is a fine Hudson River School landscape by Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900) that is entitled "A New England Lake." An oil on canvas, it measures 30 by 42 inches and was painted in 1954. It has been widely published.

Detail of Lot 39

It has an estimate of $3,500,000 to $5,500,000. It was passed at $3,100,000.

Lot 41, "The Grand Canyon of the Colorado, Near the Junction of the Little Colorado, Moran Point," by Thomas Moran, watercolor, gouache and pencil laid down on board, 16 1/2 by 23 1/2 inches, 1892

Lot 41 is a fine watercolor, gouache and pencil laid down on board by Thomas Moran of the Grand Canyon. It measures 16 1/2 by 23 1/2 inches and was painted in 1892. It was once owned by Senator Edward Hall Moore of Oklahoma.

Detail of Lot 41

It has an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000. It was passed at $190,000.

Lot 40, "Pawnee Running a Buffalo," by Alfred Jacob Miller, oil on canvas, 20 by 24 inches, oval, 1854

Lot 40 is an excellent oval oil on canvas by Alfred Jacob Miller (1810-1874) entitled "Pawnee Running a Buffalo." It measures 20 by 24 inches and was painted in 1954.

Detail of Lot 40

The catalogue entry notes that the figure is "regally rendered with dignified posture and expression, in a crown of feathers and buckskin outfit that is dripping with jewels, who is identifiably independent, free, honorable, and brace." It has an estimate of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000. It sold for $1,565,000.

Lot 67, "October on the Hudson," by Jasper Francis Cropsey," oil on canvas, 18 by 38 1/4, 1886

Lot 67 is a glorious Hudson River scene by Jasper Francis Cropsey (1823-1900), American's painter of autumn. An oil on canvas, it measures 18 by 38 1/4 inches. It was exhibited at the National Academy of Design in 1886.

Detail of Lot 67

It has a very modest estimate of $80,000 to $120,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 69, "Narragansett Bay," by Alfred Thompson Bricher, oil on canvas, 12 by 22 1/8 inches, 1872

Lot 69 is a splendid Kensettesque lake beach scene by Alfred Thompson Bricher (1837-1908) entitled "Narragansett Bay." An oil on canvas, it measures 12 by 22 1/8 inches and was painted in 1872.

Detail of Lot 69

It was once with Hirschl & Adler and was included in the retrospective on the artist at the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum in 1973-4. It has an estimate of $80,000 to $120,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 66, "Sunset," by Alfred Thompson Bricher, oil on canvas, 22 1/8 by 39 1/4 inches, 1871

Lot 16 is another wonderful Bricher, this time in a Luminist mode. Entitled "Sunset," it is an oil on canvas that measures 22 1/8 by 39 1/4 inches and was painted in 1871. It has an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. It sold for $125,000.

Lot 68, "On the Androscoggin," by Sanford Robinson Gifford, oil on canvas, 12 3/4 by 22 3/4 inches, 1863

Lot 68 is a classic landscape oil on canvas by Sanford Robinson Gifford (1823-1880) entitled "On the Androscoggin." It measures 12 3/4 by 22 3/4 inches and was painted in 1863. It has an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000. It sold for $341,000.

Lot 74, "Almy Pond," by John Frederick Kensett, oil on canvas, 10 1/8 by 18 inches

Lot 74 is a fine oil on canvas of "Almy Pond" by John Frederick Kensett (1816-1872). It measures 10 1/8 by 18 inches. It has an estimate of 10 1/8 by 18 inches and was once with the Alexander Gallery. It failed to sell.

Lot 72, "Summer Montclair," by George Inness, oil on canvas, 38 by 28 1/2 inches, 1887

Lot 72 is a excellent and large Tonalist oil on canvas by George Inness (1825-1894) entitled "Summer Montclair." It measures 38 by 28 1/2 inches and was painted in 1887. It is property from the estate of Edgar M. Bronfman and has been widely published and exhibited. It has an estimate of $250,000 to $350,000. It sold for $660,000 at Christie's New York May 25, 2000 and at this auction it sold for $269,000.

Lot 38, "Shepherdess Resting," by Winslow Homer, gouache, watercolor and pencil laid down on board, 5 3/4 by 8 1/4 inches, 1878

Lot 38 is a nice gouache, watercolor and pencil by Winslow Homer (1836-1910) entitled "Shepherdess Resting." It measures 5 3/4 by 8 1/4 inches and was painted in 1878. It was once owned by William Woodward. It has an estimate of $400,000 to $600,000. It was passed at $320,000.

Lot 71, "Pink Orchids and Hummingbird on a Twig," by Martin Johnson Heade, oil on canvas, 18 by 24 inches, 1875

Lot 71 is a fine oil on canvas of "Pink Orchids and Hummingbird on a Twig" by Martin Johnson Heade (1819-1904). It measures 18 by 24 inches and was painted in 1875. It has an estimate of $600,000 to $800,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 91, "Sunset at Williamsport," by George Luks, watercolor and gouache on paperm, 13 7/8 by 19 7/8 inches, circa 1922

Lot 91 is a strong and bold watercolor and gouache on paper by George Luks (1967-1933) that is entitled "Sunset at Williamsport." It measures 13 7/8 by 19 7/8 inches and was painted circa 1922. It has an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000. It sold for $47,500.

Lot 79, "Cherry Blossoms," by Frederick Carl Frieseke, oil on canvas, 32 by 25 1/2 inches, 1913

Lot 79 is a beautiful oil on canvas entitled "Cherry Blossoms" by Frederick Carl Frieseke (1874-1939). It measures 32 by 25 1/2 inches and was painted in 1913. It shows a naked woman in the artist's garden in Giverny.

Detail of Lot 79

It has a modest estimate of $400,000 to $600,000. It sold for $989,000.

Lot 84, "New Year's Day Celebration in Smolensk," by Leon Shuman Gaspard, oil on linen laid down on board, 24 inches square, 1935

Lot 84 is a fine and very colorful oil on linen laid down on board by Leon Shuman Gaspard (1882-1964). It is entitled "New Year's Day Celebration in Smolensk" and measures 24 inches square. It was painted in 1935. It has an estimate of $150,000 to $200,000. It sold for $173,000.

Lot 1, "Flight of Europa," by Paul Manship, bronze, 20 3/4 inches long, 1925

Lot 1 is an impressive bronze by Paul Manship (1885-1966) entitled "Flight of Europa." It is 20 3/4 inches long and was made in 1925. It has an estimate of $300,000 to $500,000. It was passed at $240,000.

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