The art of Maxfield Parrish has long captivated collectors with its precision and detail, as well as by the signature blue hue that is found on many of his canvases. Being an illustrator, his artwork was often mass-produced for calendars and other items that ended up in homes across America. During Sotheby’s November 19 American Art auction, four pieces by the artist hit the block. Three of them achieved prices above their presale estimates and landed in the top 10 lots of the auction, including the sale’s highest two earners: Mill Pond and Cleopatra.
Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), Boy Hiding Under Couch Sneezing (The Sneezing Spy). Oil on canvas, 26½ x 22 in., signed lower right: ‘Norman/Rockwell’. Estimate: $600/800,000 SOLD: $920,000
“[Parrish] simply created beautiful images through his finely honed attention to detail and his luminous treatment of color,” says Kayla Carlsen, head of Sotheby’s American art department. “Mill Pond, the most popular image Parrish ever created for a Brown & Bigelow calendar, proved to have truly stood the test of time as collectors from across categories showed high levels of interest in the jewel-like image of a bucolic New Hampshire mill.”
Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966), Mill Pond. Oil on Masonite, 23 x 18½ in., signed and dated lower right: ‘Maxfield Parrish’, ‘1945’; signed and dated again and titled verso: ‘Mill Pond’. Estimate: $600/800,000 SOLD: $2,420,000
After the dust settled from the competing bidders, Mill Pond achieved $2,420,000, easily besting its presale estimate of $600,000 to $800,000. Cleopatra, painted for the cover of a 1917 Christmas gift box of Crane’s Chocolates, was a commission along with two other boxes. To prepare Parrish asked Mabel, the wife of his neighbor, author Winston Churchill, to model. The painting brought in $2,300,000 against an estimate of $800,000 to $1,200,000. The third work by Parrish to land in the top 10 was Giant with Jack at His Feet (Poems of Childhood) (est. $400/600,000), which sold for $740,000.
Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966), Cleopatra. Oil and collage on paper laid down on board by the artist, 30½ x 34 in., initialed and dated lower right: ‘M.P’, ‘17’; signed and dated verso: ‘Maxfield Parrish’, ‘April of 1917’. Estimate: $800/1,200,000 SOLD: $2,300,000
Another illustrator, Norman Rockwell, continued to show his prominence in the market during the auction. Boy Hiding Under Couch Sneezing (The Sneezing Spy) (est. $600/800,000) landed above estimate at $920,000. “Sneezing Spy was originally painted by Norman Rockwell for the cover of The Saturday Evening Post,” says Carlsen. “Executed in 1921, the work dates to an early period in the artist’s career, yet it is a highly accomplished example of the nostalgic, charming and humorous imagery for which Rockwell has become best known. We have also seen a growing interest among collectors in the work of this earlier period in the past few years. Consequently, the prices for the works from the 1910s and 1920s have risen in tandem.”
Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986), My Backyard, 1945. Oil on canvas, 10 x 8 in., signed verso: ‘Georgia O’Keeffe’. Estimate: $400/600,000 SOLD: $1,340,000
Several pieces by Georgia O’Keeffe also landed in the top 10 lots, including My Backyard (est. $400/600,000), which more than doubled its high presale estimate at $1,364,000. The work, as Carlsen describes, was a smaller gem that had quintessential subject matter and highlighted her technique. “Furthermore, the back of the canvas featured a beautiful signature by the artist—something you rarely find on her work,” Carlsen adds. “Potential collectors also responded quite positively to the $400,000 to $600,000 presale estimate, which showed the importance of the work but also remained attractive enough to engage bidders.”
Other notable pieces in the auction included Frederic Edwin Church’s South American Landscape (est. $1.5/2.5 million) at $1,580,000; Albert Bierstadt’s Estes Park, Colorado (est. $500/700,000) at $548,000; and Milton Avery’s Homework (est. $1.5/2.5 million) at $1,580,000. —
Top 10 Sales
Sotheby’s, American Art, November 19, 2019 (including buyer’s premium)
Artist, Title, Low/High ESt., SOLD
Maxfield Parrish, Mill Pond, $600/800,000, $2,420,000
Maxfield Parrish, Cleopatra, $800/1,200,000, $2,300,000
Milton Avery, Homework, $1.5/2.5 million, $1,580,000
Frederic Edwin Church, South American Landscape, $1.5/2.5 million, $1,580,000
Georgia O’Keeffe, Anthurium, $1.5/2.5 million, $1,364,000
Georgia O’Keeffe, My Backyard, $400/600,000, $1,340,000
Norman Rockwell, Boy Hiding Under Couch Sneezing (The Sneezing Spy, $600/800,000, $920,000
Fredric Remington, The Round-up, $600/800,000, $740,000
Maxfield Parrish, Giant with Jack at His Feet (Poems of Childhood), $400/600,000, $740,000
Albert Bierstad, Estes Park, Colorado, $500/700,000, $548,000
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