images: Edward Hopper prints offered through Sotheby’s online auction Oct. 22, 2024
A Corner, etching 1919 (presale estimate 10,000- 12,000) sold $18,000 (hammer price, excluding fees)
Evening, The Seine, etching circa 1915-1918 (est. 20,000-40,000) sold $24,000
Railroad Crossing, drypoint 1923 (est 80,000-180,000) did not sell
Aux Fortifications, etching 1923 (est. 130,000-200,000) did not sell
Les Deux Pigeons, etching 1920 (est. 175,000-225,000) sold $204,000
The Monhegan Boat, etching 1919, (est. 240,000-280,000) did not sell–reserve not met at $190,000
The Open Window, etching circa 1915-1918 (est. 25,000-40,000) did not sell
*Reserves weren’t met for unsold works.
I did not appraise these particular impressions selling today and don’t know their provenance. I have inspected other impressions of these editions from public and private collections in the past and was excited to see a stunning impression of Aux Fortifications for sale earlier this year.
Stuart Davis drawings circa 1912-1913, Houses on the Shore (Summer Cottages) est. 12-18,000 and Clam Diggers est. 7-10,000, failed to sell in Sotheby’s Oct 1 Modern Discoveries sale.
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Illustration: C. Ryan. Stuart Davis in Gloucester. Stuart Davis paintings hint of memories and impressions of Gloucester, Paris, and New York | 192 East Main St., 51 Mt. Pleasant Ave., and Romany Marie. And Marsden Hartley’s Dogtown Common.
At Sotheby’s Modern art auction November 15, 2022, approximately 460 lots were primed to go, minus several pulled ahead of (and announced before) the sessions. Gloucester inspired several works including one that was a deaccession from the Whitney Museum of American Art. Did Stuart Davis and Marsden Hartley sell?
STUART DAVIS
photo captions for above grid: (1)Stuart Davis 1912 w/c. (2)black and white photo, Smithsonian collection, documents a Romany o/c portrait by Robert Winthrop Chanler, circa 1916-1925. (3)Stuart Davis Flags, 1931, Lot 331 had a presale estimate of $300,000-$500,000. Bidding opened at $160,000 and then passed, failing to climb past $190,000. Unsold.
About Stuart Davis Flags, 1931
The letters in the band of green on the black flag spell “Romany Marie”, the name of restaurants owned by Marie Marchand, an immigrant from Romania. Her modest bistros and support were safe harbor for creatives whether serving just one customer or impromptu salons. Many of her habitual customers, like Davis, ascended to the top of their field. Davis painted a watercolor portrait of her in 1912 when he was 20 years old. He painted Flags 19 years later, a full generation spent building into his voice and career, much of it split oscillating between New York City and Gloucester. In 1928-29 he spent a momentous year+ studying abroad in Paris and married his first wife. The trip was made possible thanks to Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. The painting hints of memories and impressions of all three cities: Gloucester, Paris, and New York.
Liquor, coffee and conversation can make some taverns and cafes legendary. Romany Marie served strong coffee, no booze. Florent Morellet’s all night diner, Florent, on Gansevoort in the meatpacking district 1985-2008 was a place that I imagine was like Romany Marie’s was a century before. Gloucester has had its fair share; Duckworth’s Bistro is one now and an apt one to mention for its ardent support of the community, French nod, and address at 192 East Main. (Its customer base is more akin to Chanterelle than Florent.)
Helen Davis, artist and Stuart Davis’s mother, operated “Davis Sculpture Studio” from that same building, and resided at the back in later years. She was 96 when she died in Gloucester in 1965, one year after her son. Marie Marchand died in 1961 (obit: La Reine Est Morte, Village Voice March 2, 1961, Vol. VI, No. 19).
Davis’s parents bought a home on 51 Mt. Pleasant in Gloucester in 1930. They were summer renters prior, famously at the Red Cottage on East Main. Davis said John Sloan raved about Gloucester so much that he finally took him up on visiting in 1915.
About Stuart Davis Anchors,
Davis felt Gloucester was the best locale on the Atlantic seaboard, and you can feel his devotion in the second Davis work for sale at this auction, Anchors, illustrated below, on the left, paired with an earlier Davis, Rue Lipp, 1928 on the right, for comparison.
It’s a beauty. Gloucester and Paris are past and present in Anchors, flipping back and forth, shaken and stirring. Anchors’ prominent black and red double anchors look like the siphon on the blue soda bottle in Rue Lipp, 1928, while the delicate fizzy line contained in the carafe branded “La Cressonee” is bold, unbound, and skybound in Anchors.
Anchors is jazzed up with witty pairs. The circle inventions are solid and light–wheels on a cart, parasols, poppies, proto pop inspiration for Thiebaud’s suckers decades later?–no matter. Analogues for Davis and viewers may not be the same, yet land a connection.
Meanwhile at the auction in 2022, Stuart Davis Anchors, Lot 341 failed to find a buyer for less than 1 million despite having reached 1.8 million when it last sold at Christie’s in 2014. Sotheby’s presale estimate was 1.2-1.8 million.
Other highlights from the sale failed to sell including a Cassatt and Avery.
photos above: Private Way, 1915 (Gloucester=blue skies); The Morning Walk, ca.1919 collection Earl Davis; Boats, 1917, Philadelphia Mus. of Art; La Cressonnee ad circa 1914-1920s–which Davis spins in Rue Lipp ,1928; Anchors, 1930; anchor E. Glou. 2022; 51 Mt. Pleasant Ave; Reed’s Wharf; 192 E. Main – Duckworth’s
MARSDEN HARTLEY
Unsold- The bidding for Lot 338 Marsden Hartley Autumn Hillside, circa 1909 (double sided) opened at $110,000, then $120,000, then ‘passed’ at $130,000, failing to meet its reserve. The presale estimate was $150,000-$200,000.
Sold- Lot 340 Marsden Hartley Autumn Dogtown Commons, 1934, was deaccessioned by the Whitney Museum of Art. The bidding started at $130,000 on to $140,000 and $150,000 then stopped at $160,000. Sold. Phone bidder ($201,600 with fees). The presale estimate was $200,000-$300,000. Sounded like the reserve was $150,000. A third Hartley, a still life, fetched $40,000.
The Whitney Museum deaccessioned other works including a vivid Maurice Prendergast. Picnic Grove exceeded its pre sale estimate ($60,000-$80,000). Bidding started below $60,000 and eventually reached $120,000.
Not Gloucester. lovely, too
Charles Burchfield watercolor Lot 339 The Butterfly Tree, 1960 opened at $250,000 and soared to $480,000. Burchfield Lot 510 Hemlock in November No. 2 sold for $800,000. Lot 572, Maxfield Parrish New Moon 1943 (presale estimate $500,000-$700,000) sold for $700,000.
There weren’t strictly American sales this season so this one covered a lot of ground. Consignors assigned the morning sale face a B-side slot. Session 1 began at 9:30 AM, first lot #202 | session 2 began at 11:20AM | session 3 began at 2:30pm with lot 501.
Session 2 offered Stuart Davis and Marsden Hartley works inspired by Gloucester. While helping clients bid at auctions with 20th C material, it’s inevitable that I come across inventory with Gloucester ties.
photo caption: With hours of lots to move through, Sotheby’s split up the gavel duties. The auctioneer opening session 3 was lively and engaging!
Sotheby’s marquee modern 2022 fall sale was the day before.
Sotheby’s November 14 Modern sale
Aggregate sales from Sotheby’s Modern evening sale (Nov.14, 2022) Part 1 were $116.3m ($137.9m with fees) for the first half comprised of the Solinger collection. Lots sold from Part 2 of the evening sale sold for 220 million (with fees bringing the total press release report north of 250 million, and aggregate to 360 mil). Potential collectors are identified or queued on wait lists ahead of sales. The Piet Mondrian Composition No. II, 1930 sold for 51 million plus fees (a new ‘personal best’ for Mondrian at auction). Last it came up at auction was 1983. 1930 was the same year of the Davis painting. It’s fascinating how parallel ideas evolve.
The Nolde poppies circa 1930 sold –with fees– for 151,200 in the morning sale.
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The Sotheby’s sale Two Centuries American Art closing March 3, 2021 highlights work by artists inspired by Gloucester and/or with Gloucester ties including these few: illustrations for Harper’s and Redbook by Frank E. Schoonover; work by Leon Kroll including a Good Harbor Beach scene; and views of Gloucester harbor by Frederick John Mulhaupt and Mary Blood Mellen:
Lot #16: Leon Kroll Figures on a Beach, o/c, circa 1919 (about 9″ x 11″ unframed), pre sale est. $3,000-$5,000Lot #87 Frank Earle Schoonover Approaching Camp oil on canvas 1924 31″ x 25″ unframed auction presale est. $15,000-$25,000 Lot #58: Frank Earle Schoonover 1877 – 1972 “Take Her!” 1914 oil on canvas 25 x 34 unframed – (illus. for WD Steele story in Harper’s published 1915) presale estimate $4,000-$6,000Mary Blood Mellen, Moonlight Seascape, Gloucester Harbor, oil on canvas, 12 ¼” x 17 ¼” unframed, presale estimate $10,000-$15,000Lot #33: Frederick John Mulhaupt, Harbor Scene, oil on canvas, approx. 25 x 30 unframed presale estimate $30,000-$50,000
More Mulhaupt Gloucester Harbor
Gloucester Harbor, a central panel from one of Mulhaupt’s monumental mural masterworks, has been on display at Gloucester’s O’Maley school for decades. The center panel was commissioned under the auspices of the WPA-era programs and ultimately moved from its original site at Central Grammar to City Hall in 1972, and then again to O’Maley. Other sections of this mural were disconnected and dispersed within City Hall in 1972, and not all on display, which has confounded understanding of the sections individually and as a whole. All will be reunited one day–temporarily or permanently– back to the artist’s original, immersive art experience intent. Here are several photos of the mural to compare with the artist’s treatment of the harbor scene at auction.
Photo of Gloucester Daily Times article – Catherine Ryan research
photos L-R Catherine Ryan: Ron Gilson photographing Mulhaupt section at O’Maley 2018- note monumental scale of art; Mulhaupt unmoored panel and natural lighting 2017; and Mulhaupt deliberately stylized panels at City Hall, disconnected from their scope
courtesy photo Williamstown Art conservation Center 2019
Sections of Mulhaupt mural- courtesy photos- Williamstown Art Conservation Center 2019
Head to Cape Ann Museum
Fine examples by all the artists coming up at auction can be found at Cape Ann Museum within the permanent collection and/or special temporary exhibits.
photos c ryan: installation views at Cape Ann Museum (double click or pinch and zoom depending upon your device; right click to see credit info)
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A classic Edward Hopper inspired by Gloucester will be sold at Sotheby’s auction this morning*. Architectural and natural elements in the drawing remain recognizable today. The scene overlooks the same house on East Main, Capt. Joe & Sons, and Cripple Cove (see then/now comparison photos below). The Gorton’s factory building there burned down. Cripple Cove playground is the green on the right of the Hopper image.
The drawing last changed hands in 1989 when the Horchows purchased the drawing from Kennedy Galleries in New York. Will it land in another private collection or an institution?
Edward Hopper (1882-1967), Gloucester Factory and House, 1924, watercolor and pencil on paper, 14″ x 20″, from the Carolyn & Roger Horchow collection (Dallas,TX) They purchased the drawing in 1989 from Kennedy Galleries, NYC.
Lot 8 estimate $800,000-$1,200,00 currently at $600,000 bid before the auction opens
*Update- With just 56 lots to sell and two withdrawn ahead of sale, Lot 8 came up quickly with a few competing bids and a hammer price of $700,000 ($867,000 with fees), below estimate.
Many lots before and after were short of estimate or passed (unsold) including a Winslow Homer watercolor which was “reoffered” by pausing the bidding on the final lot #56 to return to Lot #16 (which sold for 2 million hammer price) before moving back to the final lot, an Edward Willis Refield (which sold for $250,000). That whoopsie “reoffer” is highly unusual**. The auction house scrambled to bring that phone bidder forward before the close of the sale. A second Homer watercolor passed at 850,000.
The Sotheby’s December 11, 2020 auction offered a variety of American art from various collections. The sale results were a mixed bag of purchases, passes, and pulled works. Only one work sold far above estimate, thanks to a bidding war, a western scene by John F. Clymer. Scroll below the Hopper and Gloucester images to see the Homer.
above photo: Catherine Ryan
above: page from Edward Hopper all around Gloucester by Catherine Ryan, 2010
above: Sotheby’s catalogue entry page
In 2017, Christies sold a Rockefeller Hopper painting, Cape Ann Granite, also in December, which I wrote about here: Bring it Home.
**December 11, 2020 Winslow Homer Lot 16 sold at Sotheby’s after passing first in the live sale and then “Reoffered” before the close of sale. For both the first and second offer window, the bid opened at 1.8 million. In the first round the bidding went back and forth, but “passed” at 2.2 million, presumably failing to meet reserve or presale estimate (2.5 – 3.5 million). Before the final lot of the sale, the auctioneer annouced a “re-offer” for Lot 16 after the audio went silent for a brief time. The drawing was sold to a buyer placing a phone bid for 2 million hammer price (2,440,000 after fees), less than the “pass” of the first time through. This move is nearly an aftersale during the sale. Perhaps the first time around the buyer was late to the call or there was confusion determining the “up to” amount, factoring in the fees.
Property from a Prominent Private Collection
Winslow Homer
1836 – 1910
Two Girls on the Beach, Tynemouth
signed Winslow Homer and dated 1881 (lower left)
watercolor and pencil on paper
14 1/8 by 20 inches
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Justice Lowy’s JUDGEMENT was released April 5, 2018. The Museum may sell Shuffleton’s Barbershop, and — via Sotheby’s– the remaining 39 works free of any restrictions.
“The museum has satisfied its burden of establishing that is has become impossible or impracticable to administer the Museum strictly in accordance with its chartiable purpose, thus entitling the Museum to relief under the doctrine of equitable deviation. Accordingly the court allows the Museum’s request for equitable relief to sell the designated artwork.”
Justice Lowy MEMO OF UNDERSTANDING
Reaction from Sotheby’s Auction House:
“We are very pleased that the court approved the agreement reached between the Berkshire Museum and the Massachusetts Attorney General. We look forward to working with the museum to ensure a bright future for the people of Pittsfield and Western Massachusetts.” Judge Lowy’s decision came in just in time to meet the auction’s press deadline clearing for art sales this spring, else sales would have been pushed back till the fall at the earliest. The catalogue pages are ready from last fall’s prep.
Reaction from Elizabeth McGraw, President, Berkshire Museum Board of Trustees:
“This is great news for the people of Berkshire County and everyone who visits the Berkshire Museum for one-of-a-kind experiences in history, art, and science. We recognize this decision may not please those who have opposed the museum’s plans. Still, we hope people will be able to move forward in a constructive way to help us secure and strengthen the future of this museum, at a time when our community needs it more than ever. “
“Save the Art-Save the Museum continues to oppose the sale of the Berkshire Museum’s art treasures and its unrestricted use of the resulting funds. We also regret the judge’s disregard of the public trust in which the museum held its collections. The impending sale will not only diminish Pittsfield as a city claiming to be of cultural import to Berkshire County, but will reverberate destructively for years through collections similarly held in trust throughout the state and country. As a group, we will make a more detailed statement after meeting in person to consider the loss to our community and its impact.”
1953
Have a look back at an inspiring 1965 Berkshire Eagle profile about Berkshire Museum Director Stuart C. Henry, and an earlier feature from the Berkshire Evening Eagle, published Thursday, Aug. 20, 1953, heralding the Berkshire Museum’s 50th anniversary. Both convey the museum’s seamless blend of high art, science, community and education.
11/10/2017 Motion for stay under M.R.A.P. 6(a) filed by Maura Healy.
11/10/2017 Memorandum of law in support filed for Maura Healy
11/10/2017 Record Appendix Volume I filed by Maura Healy
11/10/2017 Record Appendix Volume II filed by Maura Healy
11/10/2017 IMPOUNDED Record Appendx filed by Maura Healy
11/10/2017 Response to Motion to Stay, filed by Tom Patti, Tom Patti Design LLC.8
(none)
11/102017 Motion to exceed page limit filed for Trustees of Berkshire Musuem by Attorney William Lee.
11/10/2017 Opposition to Motion to Stay, filed by Trustees of Berkshire Musuem.
11/10/2017 Supplemental Record appendix filed for Trustees of Berkshire Musuem
11/10/2017 ORDER: The motion for a stay pending appeal pursuant to Mass. R. App. P. 6(a) from the November 7, 2017, order of the Superior Court denying the request for a preliminary injunction, is allowed. The Attorney General’s Office shall forthwith file a notice of appeal in the Superior Court if it has not already done so. The Attorney General’s Office shall file a status report on or before December 11, 2017, regarding the status of the appeal. (Trainor, J.). Notice/attest/Agostini, J.
11/10/2017 ORDER: After reviewing the parties’ submissions, the request for a preliminary injunction prohibiting the defendant, Trustees of the Berkshire Museum from selling, auctioning, or otherwise disposing of any of the artworks that have been listed for auction commencing on November 13, 2017, is allowed. The balance of the risk of irreparable harm to the petitioner and the respondent in light of each party’s chance of success on the merits weighs in favor of the petitioner. Packaging Industries Group, Inc. v. Cheney, 380 Mass. 609, 615-617 (1980). The injunction shall expire on December 11, 2017. Prior to the expiration of the injunction, the Attorney General’s Office may move to extend the injunction with a date certain by which the investigation will be completed. (Trainor, J.). Notice/attest/Agostini, J.
This 11th hour move is not the last word on the case. Stay tuned!
On Monday, November 13, 2017, collectors CAN purchase Martin Johnson Heade’s Crimson Topaz Hummingbirds from Sotheby’s.
But not Norman Rockwell’s Shuffleton’s Barbershop, or any of the Berkshire Museum 40, for now.
Good Morning Gloucester 