A Beloved Lot

Heritage’s American Masters Signature Auction tops $6 million in sales

On May 12, a frenzy of bidders partook in the Heritage sale Diverse Visions: Important Works by American Masters Signature® Auction, ramping up prices to the extent that a handful of artists broke previous auction records, including George Tooker, Arthur Wesley Dow and Emerson Burkhart. The 68 lots—which took more than two hours to sell out due to the sheer numbers of bidders—comprised works by beloved greats as well as artists seeing a robust resurgence of interest in their work. On the block were pieces by Thomas Moran, Winslow Homer, Ernie Barnes, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Joseph Leyendecker, Charles White and many more.

Theodore Robinson (1852-1896), Normandy Mother and Child (Marie Trognon and Baby), 1892. Oil on canvas, 22 x 18 in., signed lower left: ‘Theo Robinson’. Estimate: $70/100,000 SOLD: $645,000

George Tooker (1920-2011), Sleepers I, 1951. Egg tempera on panel, 18 x 30 in., signed lower left: ‘Tooker’. Estimate: $300/500,000 SOLD: $615,000

Tooker’s masterpiece of magical realism Sleepers I, from 1951, a work that employs neoclassical elements but remains unequivocally modern, achieved $615,000. In another record-breaking sale, Dow’s expansive 1912 landscape Cosmic Cities, Grand Canyon of Arizona went for $375,000. Life of the Spirit is Elevated by Pain, a 1943 painting by Burkhart, brought a new record for the artist at $68,750; and Roger Norman Medearis’ 1947 painting Milking Time brought $118,750, just a hair under his all-time record.

When the hammer came down at $645,000, it heralded the top lot of the sale—Theodore Robinson’s painting Normandy Mother and Child. The piece was created in 1892 during his “Giverny period,” a stretch of time when the artist is thought to have completed his best work. Also bringing $645,000 was Barnes’ highly sought-after jazz scene Quintet, which he completed circa 1989.

Other historic American art highlights include a 1911 cover for The Saturday Evening Post by the great illustrator J.C. Leyendecker, and Norman Rockwell’s mentor, that fetched $275,000; a charming piece by Nicolai Fechin titled Taos Studio Interior, which sold for $237,500; and Hughie Lee-Smith’s oil on Masonite Seascape, from 1954, which sold for $206,250. Birger Sandzén saw two impressive sales with Sea and Rocks, 1924, going for $100,000 and Lake at Moonrise, Estes Park, Colorado, 1949, bringing $93,750.

Ernie Barnes (1938-2009), Quintet, ca. 1989. Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 60 in., signed lower right: ‘Ernie Barnes’. Estimate: $500/700,000 SOLD: $645,000

Nicolai Fechin (1881-1955), Taos Studio Interior. Oil on canvas, 20 x 24 in., signed lower right: ‘N. Fechin’. Estimate: $150/250,000 SOLD: $237,500

“We took risks this season, getting out of our comfort zone by expanding into areas that are not traditionally in our wheelhouse,” says Aviva Lehmann, Heritage’s senior vice president of American art. “And we did not disappoint. We continue to demonstrate our commitment to the American art field, and this sale is just the beginning of great things to come.”

Collectors can look forward to another historic American art sale presented by Heritage Auctions this November in Dallas.