July 11, 2006
 

2.26 MILLION DOLLARS SOLD AT JACKSON’S

 CEDAR FALLS, IOWA- The Summer auction season at Jackson’s International got off to a sizzling start at their June 14th & 15th auction of American and European Fine Art and Antiques. The sale featured four separate collections together with the estate of the late Dr. Joseph Stork, Des Moines, Iowa.

773 registered bidders participated in the auction representing 34 countries and accounting for total sales of $2,265,450.00. All but a hand full of lots were illustrated in color in the beautiful 245-page auction catalog as well as being illustrated online at Jackson’s web site which is posted one week prior to auctions.

The first session opened with European paintings beginning with three Scottish works that all found their way back home via two competing plaid coated phone bidders. The first lot offered was a large seascape by Peter Graham (Scottish 1836-1921), which sold to a buyer from Edinburgh for $11,162.00.  A painting of children playing in sand dunes by Scottish artist Joseph Morris Henderson (1863-1936) sold for $9,400.00 against a pre-sale estimate of $2-3,000. And a fall landscape by George Houston (Scottish 1869-1947) sold for $7,050.00. 

A lovely watercolor of two women in a boat by British artist Alfred Glendening Jr. (1861-1907) made $8,225.00. A delightful little oil of a peasant girl by German artist Heinrich Hirt (1841-1902) measuring 11 inches by 14 inches sold to a collector from Virginia for $9,987.00. Another painting by a German artist, Ferdinand Wagner (1847-1927), depicting a nun in a courtyard sold to a buyer from Louisiana for $8,800.00. A pair of Paris street scene paintings by French artist Antoine Blanchard (1910-1988) sold to a Texas buyer for $19,975.00. A 20” x 16” oil on panel Cossack hunting scene by Austrian artist Ludwig Gedlek (1847-1904) sold to an in-house buyer from New York for $8,800.00 and a interior genre scene by Dutch artist Hendrik Heyligers (1877-1967) sold to a buyer from Utah for $6,100.00.

American paintings sold next beginning with a very small (10” x 13”) oil on panel sketch by Daniel Garber (1880-1958) that sold to the phone for $70,500.00. That was followed by a 9” x 22” barn painting by Marvin Cone (1891-1965) that sold for $56,400.00. Next up was a 10” x 12” Cabin Scene by William Aiken Walker (1838-1921) that sold to a Florida collector for $37,600.00 against a pre-sale estimate of $15-$20,000. A Glouster Harbor scene by Emile Gruppe (1896-1978) sold to a buyer from New Jersey for $10,800.00. A pair of 10” x 14” floral still lifes by Raoul De Longpre sold for $8,800.00. A calendar illustration of a man and boy fishing by Henry Hintermeister (1897-1972) sold for $5,170.00 and a desert landscape by California artist Paul Grimm (1891-1974) sold for $4,900.00.

Russian works featuring many items from the John Yopp collection sold next with some highlights including a watercolor and gouache village scene by Russian artist Silych Sorokovpudov Goriushkin (1873-1954) that sold to a Moscow phone bidder for $27,000.00. A Bronze grouping titled “Farewell Kiss” by Evgeni Lanceray (Russian 1848-1886) sold to a Dutch buyer for $13,500.00.  A small (8.5 inch) bronze group of a fallen solider by Grachev sold to a buyer in Saint Petersburg, Russia for $6,345.00 and a small shaded enamel bowl by Nikolai Alekseev measuring 4.5 inches sold for $4,230.00.

Russian icons saw a great amount of interest with strong prices realized in every category including a large icon of Saint Seraphim of Sarov, circa 1903, which sold for $19,975.00. A 13” x 10” icon of St. Alexi Man of God, circa 1800 sold to a collector from Moscow for $17,600.00. An icon of the miracle-working saints from Novgorod sold for $15,275.00. A small icon triptych attributed to the Palekh School sold to a German buyer for $8,225.00 and an icon of the Four Births, circa 1800 sold to a phone bidder from Amsterdam for $7,050.00.

A good variety of European works, bronzes and Old Master paintings were also offered with some highlights being a set of carved marble Stations of the Cross, circa 1920 that sold for $30,550.00. An oil on canvas portrait of a wealthy merchant attributed to the studio of Francesco Solimena (Italian 1657-1747) sold for $17,625.00. A lovely Madonna and Child painting by 19th century Austrian artist F. Rufs sold to a buyer from Houston for $8,812.00. A large 19th century German painting of the Annunciation sold for $7,600.00.  A bronze grouping “Pro Patria” by French sculpture Adrian Gaudez (1845-1902) sold for $5,875.00.  A lovely gilt bronze group “First Kiss” by French artist Max Blondat (1879-1926) sold to a California buyer for $5,640.00 and an unsigned bronze grouping depicting the “Education of Achilles by the Centaur Chiron” sold for $5,400.00.

The second session featured glassware, porcelain, furnishings, and decorative arts including items from the Mrs. Lucile Lussenden collection, Choteau, Montana and the Robert Beauchamp collection of Swiss “Black Forest” carvings. The session opened with continental porcelain beginning with a 14” Sevres gilt-bronze mounted centerpiece that sold to a California buyer for $7,600.00. That was followed by a pair of 25 inch Sevres- style urns that sold to a Moscow buyer for $5,500.00. A New York buyer paid $5,800.00 for a lovely Royal Vienna signed portrait vase, and a Sevres style gilt-mounted center bowl sold for $4,000.00. A 13” x 8” KPM plaque depicting a woman (westerner) in oriental costume sold for $14,100.00. An 8-piece Miessen Monkey Band, each figure measuring approximately 5 inches in height, sold for $6,345.00, and a 13” Wedgwood Fairyland Luster console bowl sold for $5,400.00.

Perhaps the most eagerly awaited items on day two were the French ormolu mounted furniture from the Lussenden collection. Some highlights beginning with the first lot offered include a very fine Louis XV style gilt-bronze mounted kingwood and mahogany vitrine stand by Francois Linke. Bidding opened at the high estimate of $15,000 and quickly rose to the final bid of $56,400.00. Next was a beautiful Louis XV style gilt-mounted kingwood Bonheur Du Jour by Joseph Emmanual Zwiener that sold for $44,650.00 against a pre-auction estimate of $8-$12,000. The Zwiener piece was followed by French gilt-bronze mounted ebony Bifouterie table after the model by Adam Weisweiler. It sold to a New York phone bidder for $21,150.00.

Glassware followed furniture beginning with a Duffner & Kimberly 28” hanging leaded glass lamp shade that sold to a Chicago buyer for $22,912.00. That was followed by a small (13”) standard Tiffany table lamp with iridescent green shade that sold for $5,600.00. A small Pairpoint puffy boudoir lamp, 15” in height, sold for $4,900.00 and a rather plain 38” crystal chandelier sold for $6,345.00. A group of six pieces of 1920’s Art Deco period Moser art glass, ranging in size from 3” to 10” totaled $7,500.00. A phone bidder from Paris paid $6,580.00 for a 4 ¾ inch Galle vase and a 5 inch Daum Nancy cameo vase decorated with a rooster also sold to a buyer from Paris for $4,700.00. Although displaying a few flakes and worn gilt, a lovely (probably Baccarat) 3-piece cranberry console set, circa 1860, sold to a New York buyer for $11,750.00

Perhaps some of the most popular items on the auction were the collection of “Black Forest” Swiss carvings.  While the Black Forest region in Southern Germany is well known for Namesake, what is not well known is that it was the Swiss carvers who were the masters artists behind the “Black Forest” carvings of whimsical bears which are so widely admired.  ‘Black Forest’ carvings were for many years thought to have been crafted (as the name would suggest) in the locality of the Bavarian Black Forest, in Germany.  Even today this mistaken attribution enjoys some credence.  However, recent scholarship has established beyond all doubt that “Black Forest” carvings were the sole province of the Swiss.  The misattribution was caused by the fact that German carvers in the Black Forest in the latter part of the nineteenth century were producing heavily carved cuckoo clocks fitted with imported Swiss movements that became instantly popular.  Subsequently the Swiss carvers then produced their own cuckoo clocks in a similar but much lighter style.  These clocks were marketed by the Swiss retailers as “Black Forest” as they imitated the style of the German clocks.  It was therefore a short leap to categorize not only cuckoo clocks but all carvings from the Swiss region as “Black Forest”.  Consequently the term “Black Forest” has now been used by dealers, collectors and auctioneers for so long to describe Swiss wood carvings that to change now would only cause confusion.

Some of the many highlights from the “Black Forest” carvings include a charming bears hallstand depicting a mother bear at the base of a tree on which her young cub has climbed. The 89 inch tall carving sold to a buyer from New York for $19,975.00 against a pre-sale estimate of $6-$9,000.00. A monumental 30-inch carved Swiss “Black Forest” cuckoo clock sold for $11,750.00. A cute carved wood bench supported by a pair of bears sold for $11,150.00. A carved Chamios umbrella or walking stick stand sold for $8,695.00. An interesting carved oak hunt table with a pedestal carved with four animal form legs sold to an in house buyer from Utah for $8,225.00. A 40 inch dancing bear umbrella stand sold to a buyer from Colorado for $5,875.00. A 20-inch figural carving of the monk St. Bernard and his dog sold for $4,700.00. A finely carved antler mount of a stag head sold for $4,465.00.  A pair of matching carved hall chairs sold for $3,290.00 and carved relief wall black of game birds sold for $1,880.00.