When it comes to online sales at Christie’s, the American art department has made headway with consigners and bidders, which has come in handy as spring and summer sales have shifted away from live, in-person events to online-only sales due to the ongoing health crisis.
“We have a well-established online sale platform and American art has always led the way on that front, including over the last five years,” says Christie’s American art specialist Paige Kestenman. “So not only is the department established with an online presence, but so are our clients.”
Jamie Wyeth (b. 1946), Open Sea, 1969. Watercolor on paper, 20 x 30 in. Estimate: $70/100,000
Christie’s next American art auction will take place online starting July 23 and run through August 7. It was originally scheduled for May.
“Expect more than 50 works from the category of American art, including some great examples of modernism, 20th-century realism, Hudson River School artists and impressionism,” Kestenman says. “We’ll also have some great examples of American illustration, including some drawings by the artist.”
Two notable highlights from the sale come from Andrew Wyeth and his son Jamie Wyeth, and both feature similar subject matter. In Andrew’s work, a 1951 watercolor and pencil work titled Prevailing Wind, the artist focuses on the top of a house with a weather vane. The work comes from the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and is estimated at $50,000 to $70,000. In Jamie’s work, a 1969 watercolor titled Open Sea, a turret on a coastal house overlooks the ocean and shoreline. It is estimated at $70,000 to $100,000.
Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009), Prevailing Wind, 1951. Watercolor and pencil on paper, 215/8 x 29¾ in., signed lower left: ‘Andrew Wyeth’. Estimate: $50/70,000
“Open Sea is a beautiful example by the artist. It features Monhegan Island, from the roof of the island inn, looking out toward Fish Beach at the mouth of Monhegan Harbor. It comes from a family that have had it since it was executed in 1969. I just love the atmosphere he can convey with the watercolor medium, and to have it hanging next to an Andrew Wyeth is really wonderful,” the specialist says, adding that Andrew’s work was inspired by Thomaston, Maine. “And when they hang next to each other you really appreciate how Jamie evolved out of his father’s characteristic style and really began developing his own reputation among the top American realists.”
Other works in the sale include Paul Cadmus’ Apple Peeler, a tempera work from 1959. It also comes from the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, and is estimated at $15,000 to $20,000. The narrow vertical work shows a still life arrangement with a peeler and several apples on a white tablecloth. “This is a great little still life from Cadmus, who is mostly known for his figurative subjects. Here he shows his ability with tempera, which is a difficult medium. And he shows he’s on par with the Old Masters, who used the medium more frequently,” Kestenman says. “This is great museum-quality piece and we’re happy to have it in the sale.”
Milton Avery (1885-1965), Vermont Hills, 1939-41. Watercolor on paper, 22½ x 31 in., signed lower right: ‘Milton Avery’. Estimate: $30/50,000
Levi Wells Prentice (1851-1935), Blue Mountain Lake, 1883. Oil on canvas, 18 x 35 in., signed and dated lower right: ‘L.W. Prentice. 1883.’ Estimate: $20/30,000
Milton Avery’s Vermont Hills will be offered with estimates of $30,000 to $50,000. “Avery is a staple of the American modernist market and this is a beautiful watercolor from his summers in Vermont painting the Green Mountains,” Kestenman says. “Here he takes a moody look, with these wonderful blues and greens. He was developing his reputation as the American Matisse with his use of color, which you can see here in this piece.”
Paul Cadmus (1904-1999), Apple Peeler, 1959. Tempera on board, 15½ x 7¼ in., signed lower right: ‘Cadmus’; signed again and inscribed with title on the reverse; and signed and inscribed with title again on the backing board. Estimate: $15/25,000
Also available is Levi Wells Prentice’s Blue Mountain Lake (est. $20/30,000) from 1883. Like the Cadmus piece, this lot is a departure for the artist, who was mostly known for his still lifes of peaches and apples on the forest floor. “Prentice was really taking his time to show us this landscape of Blue Mountain Lake in New York. He painted specific landmarks, including the Ordway House, which was the earliest hotel in the area,” the specialist says. “He probably painted this from the Blue Mountain House, which is now the site of Adirondack Museum.”
The sale will also feature works by Reginald Marsh, Anna Hyatt Huntington, John Frederick Kensett, Sanford Robinson Gifford and others. —
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