This year’s Spring Auction for Grogan & Company is sure to delight with its newest additions of American fine art. There are approximately 200 lots in the sale, including jewelry, silver, decorative arts and fine arts by many remarkable American artists.
The highlights of the auction include a Jane Peterson gouache painting, Campo Santa Margherita (est. $15/30,000); a Guy Wiggins oil, Winter at the Library (est.$20/30,000); and Gustave Baumann’s color woodcut Grand Canyon (est. $5/7,000), which is the standout piece among a selection of other Baumman woodcuts.
Philip Shelton Sears (1867-1953), Stepping Stones, 1923. Bronze with green patina, 44 in. Estimate: $10/15,000
Among these highlights are favorites mentioned by fine art director Georgina Winthrop. “I’m particularly drawn to the John Singer Sargent pencil sketch of Grace Elvina, Marchioness Curzon,” she says. “With just a few pencil strokes Sargent so deftly captures her elegant pose, drawing the viewer’s eye to her stately figure.”
The piece, titled Preparatory Sketch: Grace Elvina, Marchioness Curzon of Kedleston, is estimated to sell between $10,000 and $15,000, and is a fascinating example of Sargent’s preparatory process for oil portraits. This sketch was used for the final oil portrait Sargent completed before his death. 
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), Preparatory Sketch: Grace Elvina, Marchioness Curzon of Kedleston, 1924. Pencil on paper, 10¾ x 9 in. Estimate: $10/15,000
“I’m also excited about two very different works depicting Native Americans,” continues Winthrop. “The first is a richly hued gouache by Henry François Farny that depicts a woman with a child on her back. The breadth of Farny’s color work is impressive…with the primary red of the mother’s blanket contrasting with the sandy pinks of the landscape behind her. There is a sense of calm and intimacy in the painting that makes me return to it again and again.” 
Jane Peterson (1876-1965), Campo Santa Margherita. Gouache, 18 x 24 in. Estimate: $15/30,000
“The second work,” says Winthrop, “features a three-volume folio edition (1836-1842-1844) of Thomas L. McKenney and James Hall’s History of the Indian Tribes of North America (est. $15/30,000). The 120 striking hand-colored lithographs included in the books are particularly significant as the majority of the paintings of which they were based were destroyed in the 1865 fire at the Smithsonian.”
Another notable favorite in the sale is a gouache painting by David Hockney titled Water. Hockney painted the piece as the poster for the 1989 exhibition Hockney and Water at the Norwalk Maritime Center in Connecticut. Winthrop explains, “The letters ‘WATER’ float on the surface of a light aqua pool, their shadows cast on the bottom, inviting you to jump right in!
Henry Farny (1847-1916), Mother and Child, 1900. Gouache, 57/8 x 43/8 in. Estimate: $15/25,000
“Finally, each time I walk past it in the gallery, I am drawn to Philip Shelton Sears’ Stepping Stones,” says Winthrop. The 44-inch bronze, estimated to sell between $10,000 and $15,000, depicts an athletic male balancing on two stones with his arms outstretched, and is considered one of Sears’ finest pieces.
Winthrop furthers, “The figure’s taught muscles and outstretched arms recall the forms of classical sculpture, while his pursed lips and furrowed brow give the work a more modern twist. The work has been in the same family since Sears created it for them in 1923.”
Grogan anticipates continued enthusiasm for high-quality, fresh to market work. They also offer online bidding at www.groganco.com, Invaluable, Bidsquare and LiveAuctioneers. —
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