On the Mark

A piece by Ernie Barnes accounts for nearly 40 percent of Bonham’s $2.3 million fall sale

Bonhams
580 Madison Avenue
t: (212) 644-9001
e: Email Gallery
Visit Gallery Websites

Bonhams’ fall sale on November 7, 2023 brought works by some of the most sought-after names in historic American art to the market including Martin Johnson Heade, Childe Hassam, Jasper Francis Cropsey, Frederick Carl Frieseke, Mary Cassatt, George Tooker, Andrew Wyeth, Wolf Kahn and Ernie Barnes.

Ernie Barnes (1938-2009) High Aspirations, 1971, 36 x 18 in. Estimate: $500/700,000 SOLD: $857,750

The sale saw a 72 percent sell through rate and totaled just over $2.3 million.

As anticipated, Barnes’ 1971 painting High Aspirations led the sale as the top lot when it achieved $857,750, far exceeding its high estimate of $700,000.

Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009), White Dress, ca. 1980, 15 x 235⁄8 in. Estimate: $150/250,000 SOLD: 210,050“This is one of the artist’s most prized works and remains today one of the most popularly reproduced as an open edition print,” says Bonhams’ American art specialist Aaron Anderson. Of Barnes’ peach basket basketball scenes, High Aspirations is the most recognizable of the group and has inspired numerous similar works of his El Greco styled figures of ‘the ghetto’ playing ball. High Aspirations was one of several select paintings included in his most celebrated exhibition, The Beauty of the Ghetto of 1972 and, along with 12 other works, was reproduced and sold in a portfolio to accompany the exhibition.”

Many of the lots offered in last season’s sale met Bonhams’ expectations for the current market. In addition to High Aspirations, Andrew Wyeth’s White Dress and Wolf Kahn’s Woodland Density were among the pieces that led the auction with strong results.

Wyeth’s White Dress, a prime example of his exhaustive depictions of his Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, neighbor Helga “Testy” Testorf with another of his favorite subjects, windows, sold just below its high estimate for $210,050. Woodland Density, a highly chromatic depiction of a stand of aspens, far exceeded its high value of $70,000 when it went to the highest bidder for $114,800.

George Tooker (1920-2011), Sleepers IV, 1978, 12½ x 243⁄8 in. Estimate: $200/300,000 SOLD: $165,327

There were a few pleasant surprises in the auction’s outcome as well. “We saw a very healthy level of bidding—more than initially anticipated—for Charles Sprague Pearce’s Across the Common, Jasper Francis Cropsey’s Evening, and Joachim Ferdinand Richardt’s View of the Niagara River Looking Toward Lake Ontario,” notes Anderson. “Each soared far beyond their high estimates and proved to us again that the desire for exceptional works of American art from the 19th century is still strong and lasting.”

In addition to indicating that the market for American art and the demand for quality works is still holding steady, despite the retraction in the art market overall last season, notable trends are emerging.

Charles Sprague Pearce (1851-1914), Across the Common, ca. 1884, 445⁄8 x 32¼ in. Estimate: $40/60,000 SOLD: $127,500

According to Anderson, “One of the strongest trends I believe we’ve seen this season in the American art market, and the art market as a whole, is that collectors have grown even more selective about which works they wish to add to their collections and, in turn, use their buying power for. Our challenge—which is part of the fun—is to continue to listen closely to the collecting needs of our clients and present them with what they truly want when the opportunity arises.”