Art/Auctions: American Art at Christie's New York, May 23, 2017

By Carter B. Horsley

This May 23, 2017 auction of American Paintings at Christie's New York includes several good sculptures and paintings from the impressive collection of the estate of Richard J. Schwartz, and fine works by Albert Bierstadt, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Frederic Remington, William Leroy Metcalf, John Haberle, Jasper Francis Cropsey, Asher B. Durand, Mary Cassatt and Childe Hassam.

Lot 7 is a well-known bronze by Frederic Remington (1861-1908) entitled "Coming Through the Rye." It was modeled in 1902 and cast in 1906 and is numbered 3. It was formerly with Tiffany & Co., the W. R. Coe Foundation, and the Buffalo Hill Historical Center in Wyoming. Another example has been very widely exhibited. This lot is from the collection of Richard J. Schwartz, a former chairman of the New York State Council for the Arts and president of the Bryant Fellows of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The lot has an estimate of $7,000,000 to $10,000,000. It sold for $11,223,500 including the buyer's premium, an auction record for the artist, as do all results mentioned in this article.

The sale total was $41,315,750 with about 75 percent of the offered lots selling.

Lot 4, "Victory," by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, bronze, 42 1/4 inches high, 1912

Lot 4 is another very major work from the Schwartz collection, "Victory," a 1912 bronze by Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907). It is one of eight known reductions of the figure from the artist's much larger equestrian statue of General William Tecumsah Sherman in the Fifth Avenue plaza across from the Sherry-Netherlands Hotel at 59th Street. It has a very modest estimate of $600,000 to $800,000. It sold for $2,047,500, an auction record for the artist.

Lot 5, "Diana of the Tower," by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, bronze with reddish-brown patina, 21 5/8 inches toe to top of head, circa 1895

Lot 5 is a small, modified version of the great "Diana of the Tower" statue that Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907) created in in 1886 to grace the top of the tower of Stanford White's great Madison Square Garden at the northeast corner of Madison Square Park in Manhattan. This smaller version was created circa 1895, according to the catalogue version and is also from the Schwartz collection. It is 21 5/8 inches toe to the top of head and does not have the dramatic furling of a banner behind her back that balanced the bow and arrow. The Madison Square Garden version is 18 feet tall as removed in 1892 and then installed atop the Mckim Mead & White Pavilion at the Columbian Exposition. Saint-Gaudens created a 13-foot-high version that was installed atop Madison Square Garden in 1894 and it is now at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This lot has an estimate of $400,000 to $600,000. It sold for $655,000.

Lot 8, "Twilight, Lake Tahoe," by Albert Bierstadt, oil on canvas, 36 1/2 by 52 1/2 inches, circa 1870s

Lot 8, "Twilight Lake Tahoe," is a nice, large oil on canvas by Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902) that measures 36 1/2 by 52 1/2 inches and was painted circa 1870s. It is from the Schwartz collection. It is missing the majesty and spectacular grandeur of Bierstadt's major works, but it is not too bad. It has an estimate of $3,000,000 to $5,000,000. It sold for $3,247,500.

Lot 62, "Mount Hood, Oregon," by Albert Bierstadt, oil on canvas, 35 by 60 inches, circa 1860s

An earlier Bierstadt, also from the Schwartz Collection, is Lot 62, "Mount Hood, Oregon." It measures 35 by 60 inches and was painted circa 1860s. A much better, "monumental," and more distant composition is at the Southwestern Museum in Los Angeles, which is illustrated in the catalogue entry, which noted that it "became so popular that in 1869 Bierstadt painted a smaller version that is in the Portland Museum of Art. This lot has an estimate of $1,500,000 to $2,500,000. It sold for $1,567.500.

Lot 87, "Lake in Moonlight," by Albert Bierstadt, 14 by 20 inches, 1882

Lot 87, a smaller oil on canvas by Bierstadt, also from the Schwartz collection of a boat very similar to the one in the Tahoe picture, is perhaps the better picture for its luminosity better demonstrates the artist's immense skills. Entitled "Lake in Moonlight," it measures 14 by 20 inches and was painted circa 1882 when the artist gave this picture to Ogden Mills as a wedding present and painted a dedication to the couple on the boat's sails. It has a modest estimate of $300,000 to $500,000. It sold for $247,500.

Lot 61, "Mountain Stream," by Asher B. Durand, oil on canvas, 39 1/2 by 59 1/2 inches, 1848

Lot 61 is a major oil on canvas by Asher B. Durand (1796-1886) from the Schwartz collection. Entitled "Mountain Stream," it measures 39 1/2 by 59 1/2 inches and was painted in 1848. It was exhibited in 2007-8 in "Kindred Spirits: Asher B. Durand and the American Landscape" at the Brooklyn Museum, the American Art Museum in Washington, and San Diego Museum of Art. It has an estimate of $500,000 to $700,000. It sold for $967,5000, an auction record for the artist.

Lot 12, "Just Off the Avenue, Fifty-third Street, May 1916," by Childe Hassam, oil on canvas, 31 1/4 by 26 1/2 inches, 1916

Lot 12 is a bright Impressionistic scene of 53rd Street, "Just Off the Avenue," by Childe Hassam(1859-1935). An oil on canvas, it measures 31 1/4 by 26 1/2 inches and was painted in 1916. It is property of the estate of Richard J. Schwartz. It was included in 1998-9 exhibition of "The Flag Paintings of Childe Hassam" at the National Gallery in Washington, the Los Angeles County Museum, the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth and the New York Historical Society. It has an estimate of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000. It sold for $2,407,500.

Lot 55, ""Torn in Transit," by John Haberle, oil on canvas, 14 1/2 by 20 1/4 inches, 1890-1895

Lot 55 is a very fine trompe-l'oeil oil on canvas by John Haberle (1856-1933) entitled "Torn in Transit." It measures 14 1/2 by 20 1/4 inches and was painted 1890-1895. It is from the Schwartz collection. The catalogue entry notes that Alfred Frankenstein "described Haberle as 'sly and wacky, full of bravado, self-congratulating virtuosity and a kind of sly flamboyance." The lot has an estimate of $300,000 to $500,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 48, "Portrait of My Sister (Hattie)," by William Merritt Chase, oil on canvas, 65 by 39 1/4 inches, 1886

Lot 48 is a large and very painterly oil on canvas portrait of the artist's sister, Hattie, by William Merritt Chase (1849-1916) that is property of the Schwartz collection. It measures 65 by 39 1/4 inches and was painted in 1886, It has been widely exhibited and has an estimate of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000. It was withdrawn.

Lot 12, "Girl in a Bonnet with a Large Pink Bow," by Mary Cassatt, oil on canvas, 26 3/4 by 22 1/2 inches, 1908

Lot 12 is a very fine and charming oil on canvas of a "Girl in a Bonnet with a Large Pink Bow" by Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) that is property of The Wethersfield Foundation, named after the Amenia, New York estate of Chauncey Stillman, whose family had a controlling stake in what is now known as Citibank. Mr. Stillman also owned Pontormo's "Halberdier" that was bought in 1989 at Christie's by The J. Paul Gerry Museum for $35.2 million. This lot measures 26 3/4 by 22 1/2 inches and was painted in 1908. It has a modest estimate of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000. It sold for $2,287,500.

Lot 11, "The Yellow Room," by James McNeill Whistler, watercolor and gouache on paperboard, 9 3/4 by 7 inches, 1884

Lot 11 is a small watercolor and gouache on paperboard, entitled "The Yellow Room," by James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) that is property from the collection of Hunt Henderson of New Orleans, a sugar magnate from New Orleans whose collection included fine works by Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, Braque,and O'Keeffe. This lot measures 9 3/4 by 7 inches and was painted in 1884. It has been widely exhibited and published. It has an estimate of $500,000 to $700,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 9, "October on the Hudson," by Thomas Worthington Whittredge, oil on canvas, 13 1/4 by 21 1/2 inches

Lot 9 is an excellent landscape by Thomas Worthington Whittredge (1820-1910) entitled "October on the Hudson." An oil on canvas, it measures 13 1/4 by 21 1/2 inches. It is from the collection of Richard J. Schwartz. It has a modest estimate of $70,000 to $100,000. It sold for $75,000.

Lot 88, "Back of the Village, Saugerties, New York," by Jasper Francis Cropsey, oil on canvas, 12 1/8 by 20 1/8 inches, 1886

Lot 88 is a very pretty and excellent 'Back of the Village, Saugerties, New York" by Jasper Francis Cropsey (1823-1900). An oil on canvas, it measures 12 1/8 by 20 1/8 inches and was painted in 1886.

Detail of Lot 88

It has an modest estimate of $70,000 to $100,000. It sold for $75,000.

Lot 30, "The Shell Heap," by Winslow Homer, watercolor and pencil on paper, 19 5/8 by 13 7/8 inches, 1904

Lot 30 is a watercolor and pencil on paper by Winslow Homer (1836-1910) that is entitled "The Shell Heap." It measures 19 5/8 by 13 7/8 inches and was painted in 1904. It is from the collection of Esther and Howard Freeman of Worcester, Mass., and was once owned by the Brooklyn Museum. It was included in the 1915 exhibiton of Homer watercolors at the Brooklyn Museum, the retrospective Homer show at the National Gallery of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1959 and the National Gallery of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Metropolitan Museum in 1995-6. It has an estimate of $2,500,000 to $3,500,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 76, "Washington Bridge," By Ernest Lawson, oil on canvas, 20 1/4 by 24 1/4 inches, 1912

Lot 76 is a fine landscape by Ernst Lawson (1873-1939) entitled "Washington Bridge." An oil on canvas, it measures 20 1/4 gby 24 1/4 inches and was painted in 1912. It is from the Freeman collection. It has an estimate of $70,000 to $100,000. It sold for $68,750.

Lot 80, "The White Mantle," by Willard Leroy Metcalf, oil on canvas, 25 1/2 by 28 1/2 inches, 1908

Another fine work from the Freeman collection is Lot 80, "The White Mantle," by Willard Leroy Metcalf (1858-1925). An oil on canvas, it is very poetic and measures 25 1/2 by 28 1/2 and was painted in 1908. It has an estimate of $300,000 to $500,000. It failed to sell.

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Lot 90, "A Saw Mill in the Woods," by Ralph Albert Blakelock, oil on canvas, 23 1/2 by 40 1/4 inches, circa 1870

Lot 90 is a fine early, large landscape oil on canvas by Ralph Albert Blakelock (1845-1919) that was painted in 1870 before he began his famous moonlight and very painterly works. It is entitled "A Saw Mill in the Woods" and measures 23 1/2 by 40 1/4 inches. It has an estimate of $60,000 to $80,000. It sold for $77,500.

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