Showstoppers

N.C. Wyeth steals the show during Bonhams Skinner American Art sale

The star of Bonhams Skinner’s most recent American Art sale was N.C. Wyeth’s Ramona, breaking well past its $150,000 low estimate when it sold for $191,000. “The work, one of four illustrations the artist created for the 1939 publication of Helen Hunt Jackson’s novel, Ramona, showcased Wyeth’s uncanny ability to create a complete narrative through subtle body language, glances and facial expressions of his figures,” says Robin Starr, vice president and director of American & European Works of Art at Bonhams Skinner. “Here, the young and beautiful Ramona has a climactic showdown with her formidable foster mother. The painting’s whereabouts had been unknown until recently, when it was purchased from a New Hampshire thrift store for $4.”

Newell Convers Wyeth (1882-1945), Ramona, frontispiece illustration (Señora Gonzaga Moreno and Ramona). Oil on panel, 251/8 x 167/8 in., 28 x 19½ x 1¼ in (framed), signed upper left: ‘N C WYETH’ and ‘N.C. Wyeth’ in ink on Weber Renaissance Panel label (affixed to the reverse). Estimate: $150/250,000 SOLD: $191,000

William Trost Richards (1833-1905), Sunrise Seascape. Oil on canvas, 14 x 26 in., 25½ x 37½ x 3¾ in. (framed), signed and dated lower left: ‘Wm T. Richards.1872’. Estimate: $15/25,000 SOLD: $70,350

In total, the September 19 sale achieved $661,798 with a 78 percent sell-through rate. Other noteworthy lots included works by William Trost Richards, Edward Hopper, Jane Peterson, Sydney Burleigh, Paul Howard Manship, Lilla Cabot Perry, Frank William Cuprien and more.

Jane Peterson (1876-1965), Zinnias. Oil on canvas, 18 x 24 in., 26½ x 32½ x 3 in. (framed),signed lower left: ‘JANE PETERSON’; titled on a partial handwritten label (affixed to the reverse). Estimate: $6/8,000 SOLD: $23,040

Lilla Cabot Perry (1848-1933), Marie at the Window, Hancock, New Hampshire. Oil on canvas, 40½ x 301/8 in., 475/8 x 37¾ in. (framed), signed lower right: ‘L.C. Perry’; titled on labels from Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, and Santa Fe East Galleries, Santa Fe (affixed to back of frame). Estimate: $30/50,000 SOLD: $32,000

Starr fills in some of the details: “The auction started off strongly with lot 1,” she says, “a serene shore view by William Trost Richards [titled Sunrise Seascape]. Estimated at $15,000 to $25,000, the work finally sold at $70,350 after contentious bidding by telephones and online. Several other works far exceeded their estimates including a small Edward Hopper pencil sketch that sold at $28,160, more than four times its low estimate of $6,000.” Starr adds that Peterson’s Zinnias, fetched nearly three times its $8,000 high estimate when it sold for $23,040, and A Day at the Beach by Burleigh shattered its $3,000 high estimate, ultimately achieving $16,640. In addition, a particularly successful sculpture by Manship, titled Danae, fetched $35,840 against a presale estimate of $12,000 to $18,000.

Paul Howard Manship (1885-1966), Danae. Bronze, 11¾ x 17¼ x 7 in. Estimate: $12/18,000 SOLD: $35,840