Christie’s, the world’s leading art business, held its auction of “Important American Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture” in New York on Wednesday, May 18.
There was a broad selection of styles and genres from different eras, including the Hudson River School, American Impressionism, Regionalism, Modernism, and Western Art. The sale also included 29 works from the Westervelt Company Collection, considered to be one of the best assemblages of 19th and 20th century American art in private hands.
With a total of 138 lots and individual estimates ranging between $10,000 and $5 million, only 88 lots sold. The sale achieved $22.2 million, with a pre-sale estimate of $29 million. A large number of the lots expected to bring the highest prices didn’t sell, but the sale still beat the December 2010 total, according to a press release.
“The sale also saw the return of many private American collectors to the saleroom in addition to a few foreign buyers, including the purchaser of a top lot from the Westervelt Collection: Frederick Carl Frieseke’s delightful Sunspots, which achieved a robust $1 million,” said Eric Widing, head of American Paintings, after the sale.
Sunspots is a romantic piece that depicts a close-up of a female nude reclining in the woods, with sunspots scattered across her skin as the sun filters through the trees.
The sale “highlight” artwork, expecting the highest price at the hammer (estimated at $3 million to $5 million), Frank Weston Benson’s Eleanor and Benny, remains unsold. Benson was one of the first American artists to introduce figures into Impressionist landscapes. The portrait of his daughter and grandchild was painted in 1916.
There was a broad selection of styles and genres from different eras, including the Hudson River School, American Impressionism, Regionalism, Modernism, and Western Art. The sale also included 29 works from the Westervelt Company Collection, considered to be one of the best assemblages of 19th and 20th century American art in private hands.
With a total of 138 lots and individual estimates ranging between $10,000 and $5 million, only 88 lots sold. The sale achieved $22.2 million, with a pre-sale estimate of $29 million. A large number of the lots expected to bring the highest prices didn’t sell, but the sale still beat the December 2010 total, according to a press release.
“The sale also saw the return of many private American collectors to the saleroom in addition to a few foreign buyers, including the purchaser of a top lot from the Westervelt Collection: Frederick Carl Frieseke’s delightful Sunspots, which achieved a robust $1 million,” said Eric Widing, head of American Paintings, after the sale.
Sunspots is a romantic piece that depicts a close-up of a female nude reclining in the woods, with sunspots scattered across her skin as the sun filters through the trees.
The sale “highlight” artwork, expecting the highest price at the hammer (estimated at $3 million to $5 million), Frank Weston Benson’s Eleanor and Benny, remains unsold. Benson was one of the first American artists to introduce figures into Impressionist landscapes. The portrait of his daughter and grandchild was painted in 1916.
