May 7 was a momentous day for Heritage Auctions, as its American Art Signature Auction set a record total for the department at more than $10.75 million. The energy of the online-live sale was palpable from the very first hammer drop on Gustave Baumann’s Processional (est. $10/15,000), which sold for $37,500. It continued through lot after lot, leading to a 98 percent sell-through rate.
Joseph Christian Leyendecker (1874-1951), Beat-up Boy, Football Hero, The Saturday Evening Post cover, November 21, 1914. Oil on canvas, 30 x 21 in. Artist World Auction Record. Estimate: $150/250,000 SOLD: $4,121,250
The star of the sale came from the Golden illustration category: Joseph Christian Leyendecker’s Beat-up Boy, Football Hero. The charming work featured several hallmarks of the artistst’s: a child subject, a football theme and a November Saturday Evening Post cover. It hit all the right buttons as collectors competed for the work with an estimate of $150,000 to $250,000. The steady bidding saw the price soar to $4,121,250—a new world auction record that solidifies Leyendecker’s status as one of the top Golden Age illustrators.
Eugene Iverd (1893-1936), The Siege, The Saturday Evening Post cover, January 15, 1927. Oil on canvas, 42 x 33 in. Artist World Auction Record. Estimate: $4/6,000 SOLD: $162,500
Aviva Lehmann, vice president and director of American art at Heritage, has a particular affinity for this period of works. In a press release, she states, “I always vowed that I would be the first one to sell a million-dollar Leyendecker. I am honored to have sold this masterwork for $4.1 million. Not only was it a huge day for Heritage, but it was a historic day for American art.”
The success in Golden Age illustrations continued with Norman Rockwell’s Judge magazine cover Excuse Me! (Soldier Escorting Woman) becoming the second highest earning lot of the day when it sold within estimate at $543,000. A fun wintertime scene by Eugene Iverd, titled The Siege, depicting a group of children in a snowball fight with an elaborate snow fort became a new auction record for the artist when it achieved $162,500 against an estimate of just $4,000 to $6,000. The work, which had 20 bidders, appeared on a Saturday Evening Post cover on January 15, 1927. A Falstaff Beer advertisement by Joseph Francis Kernan titled Hunter’s Luck was another record at $150,000, a price more than 10 times its estimate of $8,000 to $12,000.
Thomas Moran (1837-1926), A Mountain Loadstone – Arabian Nights, 1898. Oil on canvas, 20 x 30 in. Estimate: $150/250,000 SOLD: $375,000 Images courtesy Heritage Auctions, ha.com.
Speaking with Lehmann a few days after the sale, she says, “Since 2002, the star for Golden Age illustrations has been on a steady incline…[We’ve been seeing] many fabulous Saturday Evening Post covers coming out of the woodwork by so many artists, including those artists not as well known. These are truly their best works and show they’re really talented.”
Outside illustration, the auction saw success in a variety of categories. Thomas Moran’s A Mountain of Loadstone—Arabian Nights (est. $150/250,000) sold for $375,000, while two by Albert Bierstadt also found buyers: Mount St. Helens, Columbia River, Oregon (est. $120/180,000) sold for $350,000 and Hetch Hetchy Falls, California (est. $50/70,000) came in just shy of estimate at $47,500. John Singer Sargent’s Santa Maria della Salute, Venice brought $250,000, topping its estimate of $80,000 to $120,000. Andrew Wyeth’s painting St. George sold for its high estimate of $250,000 and his work Hill Orchard (est. $100/150,000) came in at $112,500. Six paintings by Birger Sandzén also found new homes including Aspens, Rocky Mountain National Park Colorado (est. $100/150,000), which more than doubled its low estimate at $225,000, and his painting Cathedral Spires (No. 2) (est. $70/100,000), which sold for $156,250.
“Overall we had great works that came to us from fabulous sources. Everything was from private collectors; there was no dealer property,” says Lehmann. “It’s about finding something that is fresh, fresh, fresh. The sale came together to achieve fabulous results.” —
Top 10 SALES
Heritage Auctions, American Art Signature Auction, May 7, 2021 (including buyer’s premium)
Artist Title Low/High ESt. SOLD
Joseph Christian Leyendecker Beat-up Boy, Football Hero $150/250,000 $4,121,250
Norman Rockwell Excuse Me! (Soldier Escorting Woman) $400/600,000 $543,000
Thomas Moran A Mountain of Loadstone – Arabian Nights $150/250,000 $375,000
Albert Bierstadt Mount St. Helens, Columbia River, Oregon $120/180,000 $350,000
John Singer Sargent Santa Maria della Salute, Venice $80/120,000 $250,000
Andrew Wyeth St. George $150/250,000 $250,000
Birger Sandzén Aspens, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado $100/150,000 $225,000
LeRoy Neiman Roulette Table at Vegas $80/120,00 $200,000
George Welsey Bellows Mill Dam $70/100,000 $187,500
Eugene Iverd The Siege $4/6,000 $162,500
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