Above & Beyond

Soaring above estimates, the Wolf Family Collection achieves nearly $70 million with historic American art leading the way

Over the course of 10 cross-category live and online sales that began on April 19, Sotheby’s brought 1,000-plus lots to auction that comprised the Wolf Family Collection, lauded as one of the greatest collections of American art and objects of its kind. The historic auction series brought a remarkable breadth of exceptional American-focused works of fine and decorative arts to market, with extraordinary examples of paintings and watercolors, sculpture, furniture, silver, design, jewelry and Chinese export porcelain spanning the 18th through 20th centuries.

Fitz Henry Lane (1804-1865), Bar Island and Mount Desert Mountains from Somes Settlement, 1850. Oil on canvas, 201⁄8 x 301⁄8 in. Estimate: $1/1,500,000 SOLD: $6,079,500

Paul Manship (1885-1966), Indian Hunter and His Dog, 1926. Bronze, 23¼ in. Estimate: $600/800,000 SOLD: $1,143,000

While nine out of the 10 auctions met or exceeded their high estimates, the crown jewel was undeniably The Spirit of America, the evening sale that launched the series and brought in more than half of the $68 million the Wolf Collection garnered in total, with all 58 lots selling for a grand sum of $38,743,700. In addition to decorative pieces by Louis Comfort Tiffany, Frank Lloyd Wright and Greene & Greene, Spirit of America contained the collection’s historic American fine art offerings featuring works by some of the most renowned artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The sales yielded deep bidding for prominent names in American art history such as Marsden Hartley, Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent and Paul Howard Manship, setting significant new benchmarks for each artist. Impressively, the body of works by Manship was led by the sculptor’s life-size Indian Hunter and His Dog, which soared above its high estimate of $800,000, selling for $1.1 million, among the highest values for the artist at auction.

Winslow Homer (1836-1910), On the Beach at Marshfield, 1872. Oil on panel, 13¼ x 21½ in. Estimate: $2/3,000,000 SOLD: $4,295,000

Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907), Victory, ca. 1912. Gilded bronze, 42½ in., inscribed along the 4 in. marble base: ‘AVGVSTVS SAINT GAVDENS / FECIT M·CM·II and COPYRIGHT BY A H SAINT. GAVDENS. / 1912’. Estimate: $500/700,000 SOLD: $1,168,400

Bar Island and Mount Desert Mountains from Somes Settlement by marine artist Fitz Henry Lane was the top lot, achieving $6 million and change, six times above its low estimate of $1 million. Not far behind was Homer’s On the Beach at Marshfield, which more than doubled its low estimate of $2 million, topping out at $4,295,000. The third top lot, Hartley’s Summer Sea Window, went to the highest bidder for $3,750,00. Selling for close to $3 million, were notable works by William Merritt Chase (which had an estimated value of $300/500,000) and sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

“The tremendous success of the collection is a tribute to the life and legacy of my family whose collective curiosity and passion for discovery will be treasured by many for generations to come,” says Mathew Wolf, Erving and Joyce Wolf’s son.

Marsden Hartley (1877-1943), Summer Sea Window, ca. 1939-40. Oil on board, 28¼ x 22 in., inscribed on the reverse: ‘Sea Window #2 / Summer / Marsden Hartley’. Estimate: $700/1,000,000 SOLD: $3,750,000

William Merritt Chase (1849-1916), In the Studio, 1892. Oil on canvas, 29 x 23½, signed lower left: ‘Wm. M. Chase’. Estimate: $2.5/3,000,000 SOLD: $2,843,000

“This unprecedented sale series is reflective of the superlative quality and unparalleled depth of the Wolf collection,” says Jodi Pollack, Sotheby’s chairman of 20th century design. “Sotheby’s had the great privilege of holding a very close and special relationship with the Wolf Family from the onset of their collecting, and it has been an incredible honor to celebrate their unique vision and impeccable taste, culminating in one of the greatest collections of American art and objects of its kind.”

Top 10 LOTS
The Spirit of America: The Wolf Family Collection, April 19, 2023 (including buyer’s premiums)