Surprise Attack

Stunning results from a John Clymer Western piece helps push Sotheby’s American art sale past $11 million

Sotheby’s fall American art sale in New York City produced steady results across a variety of works by classic American artists, which helped bring the sales total over $11 million. The December 11 sale featured works from many categories, from American illustration and Western images to impressionism and modernism.Winslow Homer (1836-1910), Two Girls on the Beach, Tynemouth, 1881. Watercolor and pencil on paper, 141/8 x 20 in., signed and dated lower left: ‘Winslow Homer’ and ‘1881’. Estimate: $2.5/3.5 million SOLD: $2,440,000

The top lot of the sale was Winslow Homer’s 1881 watercolor Two Girls on the Beach, Tynemouth (est. $2.5/3.5 million). The painting, with beautiful and vivid color on two figures standing amid a gloomy beach scene, landed just short of its low estimate when it closed at $2.4 million. Not far behind it in the sale was Mary Cassatt’s oil Children Playing with a Cat (est. $2/3 million) that landed within estimates at nearly $2.2 million. Mary Cassatt (1844-1926), Children Playing with a Cat, 1907-8. Oil on canvas, 32 x 39½ in., signed lower right: ‘Mary Cassatt’. Estimate: $2/3 million SOLD: $2,198,000

John Clymer (1907-1989), Attack. Oil on canvas, 24 x 40 in., signed lower right: ‘John Clymer’. Artist World Auction Record. Estimate: $100/150,000 SOLD: $879,100

Though it sold at a fraction of those works, John Clymer’s Western painting Attack might have been the star of the sale. The high-action image, showing a wagon train being attacked by Native Americans on horseback, was estimated at $100,000 to $150,000, but ferocious bidding quickly drove the 24-by-40-inch work up to $879,100, an auction record for the artist. Clymer—who studied under N.C. Wyeth, Harvey Dunn and Frank Schoonover—was a prominent American illustrator doing works for Good Housekeeping, Blue Book and other publications. He later did more than 80 covers for The Saturday Evening Post before moving West to paint Native Americans, mountain men and trappers. Clymer has been highly collectible within the Western market for many decades, but his work has consistently brought high numbers at New York City sales, including at this one.

Another world record was set by J.C. Leyendecker, another Saturday Evening Post cover artist, when his 1930 work Carousel Ride (est. $200/300,000) sold for $516,100.Edward Hopper (1882-1967), Gloucester Factory and House, 1924. Watercolor and pencil on paper, 14 x 20 in., signed and dated lower left: ‘Edward Hopper’ and ‘Gloucester 1924’. Estimate: $800/1,200,000 SOLD: $867,000

J.C. Leyendecker (1874-1951), Carousel Ride, 1930. Oil on canvas, 31¼ x 23 in., signed lower right with monogrammed initials: ‘JLC’. Artist World Auction Record. Estimate: $200/300,000 SOLD: $516,100

Elsewhere in the sale was Edward Hopper’s Gloucester Factory and House (est. $900/1,200,000) that sold for $867,000, Wyeth’s Slag was a Figure for Sculptors (est. $400/600,000) at $504,000 and Frederic Remington’s Custer’s Last Charge (A Sabre Charge) (est. $300/500,000) that finished at $327,600.

“We were pleased with the strong results of our American art sale this December, which saw exceptional results for Western art and illustration, with world auction records set for John F. Clymer and Joseph Christian Leyendecker,” says Kayla Carlsen, head of Sotheby’s American art department. “Last year witnessed both a resilient market and strong results across our American art sales—led by Georgia O’Keeffe’s Nature Forms – Gaspé, which achieved
$6.9 million [in March 2020]—particularly given the challenges presented during such an unprecedented year.”—

Top 10 sales
Sotheby’s, American Art, December 11, 2020 (including buyer’s premiums)
Artist Title Low/High ESt. SOLD

Winslow Homer Two Girls on the Beach, Tynemouth $2.5/3.5 million $2,440,000
Mary Cassatt Children Playing with a Cat $2/3 million $2,198,000
John Clymer Attack $100/150,000 $879,100
Edward Hopper Gloucester Factory and House $800/1,200,000 $867,000
J.C. Leyendecker Carousel Ride $200/300,000 $516,100
N.C. Wyeth Slag was a Figure for Sculptors $400/600,000 $504,000
Frederic Remington Custer’s Last Charge (A Sabre Charge) $300/500,000 $327,600
Edward Willis Redfield Old Ferry Road $200/300,000 $315,000
Charles Sheeler Kitchen of Governor’s Palace, Williamsburg, VA $250/350,000 $315,000
Edward Henry Potthast The Conference $150/250,000 $277,200