The fall edition of Bonhams Skinner’s American Art auction will take place at the auction house’s Marlborough, Massachusetts, location. Featured in the upcoming sale are approximately 90 lots emphasizing 19th- and 20th-century American artwork, including the Hudson River School, Ashcan School and Cape Ann artists, as well as American illustrations.
N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945), Ramona, frontispiece illustration (Señora Gonzaga Moreno and Ramona). Oil on panel, 251⁄8 x 167⁄8 in., signed upper left: ‘N C WYETH’ and on verso: ‘N.C. Wyeth’ in ink on Weber Renaissance Panel label. Estimate: $200/400,000
Numerous highlights are sprinkled across the sale for collectors to explore and keep a keen eye out for. Among these is an illustration by N.C. Wyeth, titled Ramona, which has a presale estimate of $200,000 to $400,000. “N.C. Wyeth contributed four illustrations to the 1939 edition of Helen Hunt Jackson’s Ramona (originally published in 1884),” explains Robin Starr, Bonhams Skinner’s vice president of American & European Works of Art. “Jackson’s novel tells the story of a half Scottish, half Native American orphan living in Southern California after the Mexican-American War. In this image, Wyeth deftly portrays the tension between Ramona and her rigid and overbearing foster mother, Señora Moreno. The two figures lock eyes, and the mother has a clenched jaw and a stern, sour expression. The illustration as published in the book crops the edges of Wyeth’s composition, very slightly focusing our attention more closely on the tension between the two.” Starr adds that among Wyeth’s four illustrations for this novel, only one other has been located. “This work was just recently re-discovered in a little antiques shop in New Hampshire.”
Robert Henri (1865-1929), Blanche. Oil on canvas, 24 x 20 in., signed lower left: ‘Robert Henri’; inscribed, signed and titled on verso: ‘150/K/Robert Henri/…’, with a label from ACA American Heritage Gallery, New York (affixed to the back of the frame) and their ink stamp (applied to the reverse, stretcher, and back of the frame). Estimate: $150/250,000
Another major lot is Robert Henri’s portrait of a little girl, titled Blanche (est. $150/250,000), painted in Monhegan, Maine, in 1918. “During his first summer visit to Monhegan in 1903, Henri focused on oil sketches of the rugged landscape. As his interests evolved, he turned to local portrait subjects including a group of gypsies in Ogunquit in 1915, and local children like the dynamic subject of this vibrantly painted work,” says Starr. “In painting Blanche, Henri displayed the virtuosity of his brushwork and his keen ability to match a vivid palette with complex pattern[s] as exemplified by the sitter’s dress. Her direct gaze and slightly tousled hair make her an engaging child without a hint of saccharine. This combination of qualities makes Henri’s portraits of children compelling to collectors.”
Lilla Cabot Perry (1848-1933), Marie at the Window, Hancock, New Hampshire. Oil on canvas, 40½ x 301⁄8 in., signed lower right: ‘L.C. Perry’. Estimate: $30/50,000
Jane Peterson (1876-1965), Oriental Poppies, Blue Chinese Vase. Oil on canvas, 35¼ x 30¼ in., signed lower right: ‘JANE PETERSON’ and titled on a partial label from O. Rundle Gilbert, New York (affixed to the stretcher). Estimate: $10/15,000
Also included in the forthcoming sale are Marie at the Window, Hancock, New Hampshire (est. $30/50,000) by Lilla Cabot Perry; Oriental Poppies, Blue Chinese Vase (est. $10/15,000) by Jane Peterson; and James Fitzgerald’s watercolor on paper Woodsmen, Vermont, estimated at $6,000 to $8,000.
The sale begins at noon Eastern Time.
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