Examples from the 19th and early 20th century are up for grabs at Christie’s 19th-Century American and Western Art sale on January 18 in New York City. Categories represented in the sale include the Hudson River School, Taos Society of Artists and a major focus on Western artwork, which will include a magnificent Thomas Moran painting.
Martin Johnson Heade (1819-1904), Cattleya Orchid with Two Brazilian Hummingbirds, 1871. Oil on panel, 13¾ x 18 in. Estimate: $1.2/1.8 million
The Moran piece, 1918 oil painting Afterglow, Green River, Wyoming, shows one of the painter’s most iconic subject matters. “This is as good as it gets with Moran and Green River,” says Caroline Seabolt, who is leading the sale. “Alongside the Grand Canyon, this is his signature subject. This can go into a collection that has other Morans or it can be your sole Moran if you wanted it to be.” The work is estimated at $1.2 million to $1.8 million.
Other Western lots in the sale include William R. Leigh’s The Grand Canyon (est. est. $70/100,000), Frank Tenney Johnson’s Two Moons (est. $40/60,000), Thomas Worthington Whittredge’s A Wagon Trail on the Plains, Platte River, Colorado (est. $300/500,000), two Charles M. Russell bronzes estimated at $150,000 to $250,000 each, and two works from Taos Society of Artist members, Eanger Irving Couse’s Thunder Birds (est. $600/800,000) and E. Martin Hennings’ Along the Greasewood Trail (est. $600/800,000).
Thomas Moran (1837-1926), Afterglow, Green River, Wyoming, 1918. Oil on canvas, 20 x 30 in. Estimate: $1.2/1.8 million
In the early lead-up to Christie’s sale, the original title was simply 19th-Century American Art. But as the spectacular Western material piled up, it quickly became obvious that a change was in order, which is how the amended title, 19th-Century American and Western Art, came to be. “We are the house with the highest-quality Western art, and that is what we are speciliazing in this season. This sale won’t have the quantity of some of our recent single-owner sales, but the quality is quite high,” says Seabolt. “When it comes to this high-end Western material, we have been doing very well. Historically, Western art has been one of the most consistent sub-markets in American art…It’s a very good market and a steady market.”
Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902), Woodland Pool, ca. 1870. Oil on canvas, 36 x 26 in. Estimate: $500/700,000
Another major work in the sale is Martin Johnson Heade’s 1871 oil on panel Cattleya Orchid with Two Brazilian Hummingbirds, estimated at $1.2 million to $1.8 million. Heade’s landscapes with floral elements and hummingbirds are some of his most sought-after works, and important examples such as this one rarely come to market.
Thomas Cole (1801-1848), View Near Catskill, 1828-29. Oil on panel, 24¾ x 35 in. Estimate: $500/700,000
Three other landscape painters will be featured in the sale: Thomas Cole’s painting View Near Catskill (est. $500/700,000) will be available to bidders, as will Albert Bierstadt’s Woodland Pool (est. $500/700,000) and a smaller version of Frederic Church’s Cotopaxi (est. $500/700,000).
Eastman Johnson (1824-1906), Cardplay at the Camp, ca. 1861-65. Oil on canvas, 187/8 x 29 in. Estimate: $400/600,000
The sale will feature around 90 lots. Most of the works come from different sellers, but five of the works—including the Moran, Couse, Hennings and Bierstadt—all come from a single distinguished Western collection. The sale will take place January 18, with a preview available from January 12 to 17.
Powered by Froala Editor
