19th-Century Treasures

Christie’s offers two major Martin Johnson Heade paintings in its winter American art sale in New York

Christie's Fine Art Auctions
20 Rockefeller Plaza
t: (212) 636-2000
Visit Gallery Websites

On January 23, Christie’s will be presenting its annual 19th Century American Art auction at its New York City location. The sale will coincide with the 2023 Americana Week in New York.

Martin Johnson Heade (1819-1904), Jersey Meadows at Sunset, ca. 1866-76. Oil on canvas, 14¼ x 30¼ in., signed lower right: ‘MJ Heade’.
Estimate: $600/800,000

“Dedicated to the finest 19th-century American paintings, drawings and sculpture, the sale is anchored by two noteworthy collections—Property from the May Family Collection and Property from a Southern Estate—which features important examples by Martin Johnson Heade, Alfred Thompson Bricher, William Merritt Chase and William J. McCloskey. The auction will also include historical Western art by Frederic Remington, Alfred Jacob Miller and Albert Bierstadt; a significant painting by J.G. Brown; and important works by Thomas Moran, James McNeil Whistler and Charles Ethan Porter.”

William J. McCloskey (1859-1941), Oranges in Tissue Paper, 1889. Oil on canvas, 12 x 16 in., signed and dated lower right: ‘WJ. McCloskey/copyright/N.Y. 1889.’ Estimate: $200/300,000

Two Heade paintings are sure to be of interest to collectors of American art since both show subjects that the artist was well known for painting: a majestic landscape scene with sunset, and a floral image with a hummingbird. The landscape is Jersey Meadows at Sunset completed between 1866 and 1876. The work was shown at the Milwaukee Industrial Exposition in both 1882 and 1886. The 30-inch-wide painting is estimated at $600,000 to $800,000. The other Heade, Fighting Hummingbirds with Pink Orchid, a classic image for the artist with small subjects in the center of the picture with a larger landscape fanning out behind them. The work is estimated at $400,000 to $600,000.

John George Brown (1831-1913), A Thrilling Moment, 1880. Oil on canvas, 24 x 40 in., signed and dated lower left: ‘J.G. Brown. N.A./N.Y. 1880.’ Estimate: $200/300,000

Other works include Oranges in Tissue Paper (est. $200/300,000) by William J. McCloskey, who is primarily known for his oranges in careful arrangements. Nine of McCloskey’s top 10 auction records are oranges in tissue paper—the one exception is lemons.

Part of the May Family Collection includes Alfred Thomas Bricher’s Seascape, Scituate, showing two women reading books along a rocky shoreline at low tide. The piece is estimated at $100,000 to $150,000.

Alfred Thompson Bricher (1837-1908), Seascape, Scituate, 1877. Gouache on paper, 19 x 37 in., signed with initials in monogram and dated lower left: ‘ATBricher. Scituate./1877.’ Estimate: $100/150,000

Other works in the sale are Remington’s bronze of The Rattlesnake (est. $150/250,000), Porter’s Thistles with Butterfly (est. $20/30,000) and, from a prominent private collection, is John George Brown’s A Thrilling Moment (est. $200/300,000), showing eight children fishing from a pier or dock.