Traditional Scenes

Christie’s will spotlight Hudson River School paintings, Western art and still lifes in its January 19 American Art auction

January 19

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After a successful November iteration of its American Art sale highlighting modernism, Christie’s will host its next auction for the department on January 19. This sale will be dedicated to more traditional American art, including Hudson River School landscapes, Western art, classic still lifes and maritime paintings. It is scheduled to reach buyers during the famed Americana Week in New York City.Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902), On Route to Yellowstone Park, Company A’s Camp of the 86th U.S. Army, ca. 1881. Oil on paper laid down on canvas, 14 x 19 in., signed with conjoined initials lower right: ‘ABierstadt’. Estimate: $120/180,000

Quincie Dixon, junior specialist in Christie’s American art department, elaborates, “We’re thrilled to capture the relevant markets of the 19th-century works in a context of Americana Week. It will have the spotlight it deserves among sales of folk and decorative art where buyers are looking at this type of material.”

Approximately 80 to 100 lots of art will be available in the American Art sale, with a selection of works coming to market from the James William Glanville and Nancy Hart Glanville Collection including an Albert Bierstadt, two pieces by John Frederick Kensett and a painting by James Edward Buttersworth.James Edward Buttersworth (1817-1894), Clipper Ship in a Hurricane. Oil on canvas, 22 x 30 in., signed indistinctly lower right: ‘JE Buttersworth’. Estimate: $80/120,000

Bierstadt’s On Route to Yellowstone Park, Company A’s Camp of the 86th U.S. Army, which has a presale estimate of $120,000 to $180,000, features a rare subject matter for the artist. “This is a special example because it’s from his first trip to Yellowstone,” says Dixon. “He traveled west first by railroad and then by wagon. His party was joined by a military escort in Montana. This is a rare depiction of his camping experience where he is documenting his companions and equipment. It anticipates his Yellowstone landscapes that become his acclaimed work.”

The Kennsetts—Lake Erie (est. $120/180,000) and Long Island (est. $60/80,000)—were painted within two years of one another, 1865 and 1866-7, respectively. The artist’s interest in luminous land- and seascapes is prominently highlighted in both paintings. “They really encapsulate that interest [of the sublimity of the landscape] and show man and nature with the sailboats off in the distance dwarfed by the landscape,” says Dixon.John Frederick Kensett (1816-1872), Lake Erie, 1865. Oil on canvas, 10 x 18 in., signed with conjoined initials and dated lower left: ‘JF.K 65’. Estimate: $120/180,000

Buttersworth’s Clipper Ship in a Hurricane, estimated at $80,000 to $120,000, is a dramatic scene that has the painstaking accuracy that the artist is known for. “He’s also focusing on the seascape as a whole, and the drama of the waves and the effects of the light coming from the sky,” says Dixon. “There’s the lighting coming through onto the ship and you see the figures struggling to stay on course. It’s a thrilling painting that’s positioned to do well.”

Outside the collection, one of the most notable items is James Peale’s lovely Still Life dated to 1827. This work, carrying a presale estimate of $120,000 to $180,000, has an outstanding provenance that makes it appealing to bidders. “It was donated by the artist’s family to the Florida International University, who is selling it with the proceeds going to Florida Keys education and marine research programs,” Dixon explains.John Frederick Kensett (1816-1872), Long Island, ca. 1866-7. Oil on canvas, 10 x 17 in. Estimate: $60/80,000

Other highlights in the auction include Walter Launt Palmer’s Sunlit Dell, a snowy scene with an estimate of $30,000 to $50,000, and John George Brown’s Sunshine (est. $30/50,000), which is a genre scene of a little girl running out of her home into the woods. The Western category of the auction includes work by Alfred Jacob Miller and Eanger Irving Couse and artwork from the Westervelt collection. There also is a Grandma Moses in the auction that should appeal to collectors who participate in the Americana Week sales. —