Good Game

Copley Fine Art Auctions’ Winter Sale features top sporting and decoy art, as well as a robust print and online catalog

March 4-5, 10 a.m.

Copley Fine Art Auctions
170 Lockwood Boulevard
t: 617.536.0030
e: Email Gallery
Visit Gallery Websites

This March 4 and 5, Copley Fine Art Auctions hosts its 2022 Winter Sale. The two-day sale, held in a virtual format, will include noteworthy decoys and sporting art from single-owner estates. Aiden Lassell Ripley (1896-1969), The Rock in the River. Watercolor, 19½ x 29½ in. Estimate: $40/60,000Leading the sale are several works by Ogden M. Pleissner. A watercolor titled Golden Hours is expected to bring in between $60,000 and $90,000. The piece is considered one of Pleissner’s most important and successful fishing scenes. His watercolor Grassing the Boat, depicting a day of hunting at the famed Long Point Club, has a presale estimate of $40,000 to $60,000. Ogden M. Pleissner (1905-1983), Grassing the Boat. Watercolor, 16 x 26 in. Estimate $40/60,000

Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait (1819-1905), Dog with Three Quail. Oil on canvas, 14 x 22 in. Estimate: $50/80,000

Watercolors continue to shine in the auction with three pieces by Aiden Lassell Ripley: The Rock in the River (est. $40/60,000), In the Marsh (est. $20/30,000) and Grouse on a Winter Morning (est. $25/35,000). Sporting scenes featuring hunting dogs are also standouts in the Winter Sale. Among these is an important Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait oil titled Dog with Three Quail, a piece estimated at $50,000 to $80,000 that has resided in the same family for more than 70 years. In addition, an oil by Robert Kennedy Abbett depicting two of the artist’s own dogs, Bo and Duke, is estimated to fetch $18,000 to $24,000.Ogden M. Pleissner (1905-1983), Golden Hours. Watercolor, 27 x 18 in. Estimate: $60/90,000

“The evolution of the auction market continues to amaze me. Our team is pretty incredible,” says Copley Fine Art Auctions principal Stephen O’Brien. He adds that in addition to the sale’s 368-page print catalog, the 2022 auction will feature five distinct online catalogs. “Three of [these] will feature livestream bidding,” he says. “There is just a ton of work that goes into it. While I’m heavily involved in the day to day writing, research, editing and production, it isn’t until we print and post that I get to step back and really enjoy it. As a sportsman myself, I feel fortunate to be surrounded by objects that interpret and speak to the beauty of nature. Given the variety in this year’s edition, our clients are in for a treat.” —