Throughout his career, Fairfield Porter (1907-1975) often painted the landscape around his summer house on Great Spruce Head Island, Maine. In Bonhams’ May 20 American Art sale, a stunning work by Porter of the Maine coast will arrive to the market from the Los Angeles estate of Yvonne de Chavigny Segerstrom, whose family was prominent in the luxury retail industry and who herself was involved in philanthropy for the arts in California. The piece, titled Yawl in the Channel, is from the last few years of the artist’s life and is a culmination of his talents.Fairfield Porter (1907-1975), Yawl in the Channel, 1974-75. Oil on canvas, 22 x 37 in., signed and dated lower center: ‘Fairfield Porter 74-5’; signed again, inscribed with title and dated again on turnover edge. Estimate: $700/1,000,000

“This work was likely done in his studio on Great Spruce Head Island in Maine. It was one of his favorite spots throughout his life and where he felt at home,” says Aaron Anderson, an American art specialist and cataloguer at Bonhams. “The way in which Porter executes the work, with the paint handling and its layers, it’s equal in weight and balance between the ode to abstract expressionists he ran in circles with and the realism that he was very steadfast on.”

Yawl on the Channel, measuring 22 by 37 inches, has an estimate of $700,000 to $1 million and according to Anderson “is in pristine condition. It’s everything that one could want in a Fairfield Porter coming to market.”Milton Avery (1885-1965), Sunflowers, 1963. Oil on canvasboard, 28 x 217/8 in., signed and dated lower right: ‘Milton Avery 1963’. Estimate: $100/150,000

Additional pieces from the estate are a smaller Porter watercolor of a similar subject, an Edwin Walter Dickinson work of Provincetown Harbor, and a William Merritt Chase still life.

Coming from the estate of the Barter Family Collection of American Paintings is Milton Avery’s painting Sunflowers (est. $100/150,000). “For Avery, it’s everything we want to see in his work,” Anderson says. “It has that wonderful, bright pastel color palette. For being in the final years of his working life, 1963, it’s almost poetic when we think about the imagery, and the meaning and symbolism of sunflowers in art history throughout the ages. What he was focusing on then has dual meaning of a still life as well as this cycle of life.”Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937), Return from the Cross. Oil on panel, 397/8 x 29⁷/8 in., signed lower right: ‘H.O. Tanner.’ Estimate: $100/150,000

Three other works by Avery will hit the auction block from the Barter collection including two watercolors—one a spring landscape and the other with the artist’s lollipop trees—and a sentimental portrait done in ink on paper.

Henry Ossawa Tanner is represented in the auction by one of his religious paintings, a genre that helped him earn international acclaim and reflects his upbringing as a minister’s son. The painting, Return from the Cross, has a unique crop compared to the other works he painted in the genre. It places the viewer in the middle of the scene rather viewing it from afar. “We’re looking at the moments after the crucifixion of Jesus. We’re seeing a scene of Mary walking back to Jerusalem being followed by John,” Anderson describes. “It’s a very classic religious scene for Tanner. It’s one that would have been painted in the final years of the artist’s life around circa 1935. It’s in beautiful condition, and really just a museum-quality piece.”John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), Gardiner Greene Hammond, Jr., 1895. Oil on canvas laid down on panel, 26½ x 20¾ in., signed and dated upper right: ‘John S. Sargent 1895’. Estimate: $80/120,000

The painting, which hasn’t been presented to public since it’s inception and has descended in the Tanner family, has a thick applique of oil and tempera and creates the effect that is sought-after in his works. It also has a stained-glass window style design. The painting is expected to sell between $100,000 and $150,000.

Another highlight of the sale is a John Singer Sargent portrait of Gardiner Greene Hammond, Jr. from 1895. The work, which has an estimate of $80,000 to $120,000, descended through the Hammond family and is being sold by Gardiner Greene Hammond V. “In terms of its execution and style, it’s what we’d expect of a Sargent portrait from the 1890s. It’s one of those prolific decades for Sargent, working in America and also having commissions in London. It is a bust portrait and free-flowing, painterly brushstrokes comprise the jacket and facial features.”Herbert Haseltine (1877-1962), Man O’ War, modeled in 1945. Gold plated and patinated bronze, 14½ in. high on a 7 in. wooden base, inscribed on the base ‘© II / HH / 1945’; inscribed on wooden base: ‘MAN O’ WAR’. Estimate: $30/50,000

The Hammond family was prominent in high-society Boston during the time, and the sitter’s wife was also painted by Sargent in 1903, with that work belonging to the Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts. “It’s great to bring the other half of the couple out into the public sphere for others to see,” Anderson adds. 

Other paintings in the auction include Anthony Quarterly’s The Queen’s Birthday, May 24th, Port of New York (est. $15/25,000) and an Edward Henry Potthast beach scene titled The Bathing Hour (est. $50/70,000), which differs than most of the artist’s works as it has an easily identifiable location. A mixed media work on paper by Louis Comfort Tiffany that depicts Luxor, Egypt, from his travels in the late 1900s and a Guy Carleton Wiggins painting looking down Fifth Avenue help round out the category.Arthur Quarterly (1839-1886), The Queen’s Birthday, May 24th, Port of New York, 1883. Oil on canvas, 44½ x 77½ in., signed and dated lower left: ‘Arthur Quarterly / 1883’; signed again, titled and inscribed verso: ‘New York.’ Estimate: $15/25,000

Sculpture is also prominent in the auction with works available from William Zorach, Harriet Whitney Frishmuth and Sargent Johnson. Herbert Haseltine’s sculpture of racehorse Man O’ War (est. $30/50,000), who was considered to be one of America’s greatest racing horses in the 20th century.

Bidding for the sale will be available online, by telephone or absentee, beginning at 4 p.m. in New York. For complete updates and additional details on how to preview the auction, contact Bonhams. —

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