Strong Sales

Bonhams’ American art sale saw another successful run November 19 in New York

Marsden Hartley’s Birch Grove, Autumn was the top lot at Bonhams’ recent American art sale, achieving $500,075, just breaking its high estimate of $500,000. The piece, painted in 1910, was part of a small series of works from Maine that included some of the most modern and avant-garde compositions to have yet been painted in the United States. In addition, three world auction records were achieved for Sally Michel Avery, March Avery and Patsy (Pasquale) Santo. The sale, which took place at Bonhams’ New York auction house on November 19, had a strong sell-through rate of 83 percent sold by lot. John Frederick Kensett (1816-1872), Sunset in the Adirondacks, 1859. Oil on canvas, 40 x 60½ in., signed with the artist’s initials and dated lower left:
‘J.K. 59’. Estimate: $200/300,000 SOLD: $225,075

“We saw strong competitive bidding from collectors on these superb modernist works with their significant provenance and exhibition history,” says Jennifer Jacobsen, Bonhams’ director of American art. “We are also delighted to have achieved world auction records for three artists, including two female artists, Sally Michel and March Avery who deserve this growth in recognition and the market’s attention.”Marsden Hartley (1877-1943), Birch Grove, Autumn, 1910. 12 x 12 in. Estimate: $300/500,000 SOLD: $500,075

Niles Spencer (1893-1952), Ordnance Island, Bermuda, 1928. Oil on canvas, 24 x 36 in., signed lower right: ‘Niles Spencer-’.Estimate: $150/250,000 SOLD: $225,075Other top lots in the November sale include Sunset in the Adirondacks, an oil on canvas by John Frederick Kensett. The 1859 oil, which was estimated to sell between $200,000 and $300,000, fell within estimates when it sold for $225,075. Achieving the same number was Niles Spencer’s Ordnance Island, Bermuda, painted in 1928, from an estimate of $150,000 to $250,000. A property from a New York corporate collection, Wolf Kahn’s 1976 piece The Clark Farm III sold for $56,325.