Rare & Historic

Christie’s 19th Century American and Western Art sale tops $13 million

On January 18, Christie’s sale of 19th century American and Western Art achieved $13,153,212, the most since the inception of the sales platform three years ago. As anticipated, Martin Johnson Heade’s Cattleya Orchid with Two Brazilian Hummingbirds and Thomas Moran’s Afterglow, Green River, Wyoming, led the sale, which was 116 percent sold by low estimate, 84 percent sold by lot, and 90 percent by value.

Martin Johnson Heade (1819-1904), Cattleya Orchid with Two Brazilian Hummingbirds, 1871. Oil on panel, 13¾ x 18 in., signed and dated lower right: ‘M.J. Heade 1871’. Estimate: $1.2/1.8 million SOLD: $3,438,000

Thomas Moran (1837-1926), Afterglow, Green River, Wyoming, 1918. Oil on canvas, 20 x 30 in., signed with initials in monogram and dated with artist’s thumbprint device lower right: ‘TMoran./1918’. Estimate: $1.2/1.8 million SOLD: $2,228,000

The Heade, from the Funger Collection, was the top lot of the sale, realizing $3,438,000, 287 percent above its low estimate. Another highlight from the Funger Collection was the sale of Thomas Cole’s Hudson River School piece, View Near Catskill, which achieved $504,000.

In the Western Masterworks category, and the second highest lot in the sale, Moran’s massive Afterglow, Green River, Wyoming from 1914, made $2,228,000. Other Western pieces among the top lots were James Earl Fraser’s sculpture The End of the Trail, which brought $1,381,000; and Eanger Irving Couse’s Thunder Birds, which achieved $819,000. Albert Bierstadt’s South Dome, Yosemite Valley, California, fetched $655,200. Another highlight with a notable result was David Gilmour Blythe’s Family Prayers and The Sequel: A Pair of Work, which realized $252,000, 630 percent above its low estimate.

Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902), Woodland Pool, ca. 1870. Oil on canvas, 36 x 26 in., signed with conjoined initials lower right: ‘ABierstadt’. Estimate: $500/700,000 SOLD: $693,000

David Gilmour Blythe (1815-1865), Family Prayers and The Sequel: A Pair of Works (1 of 2), 1856. Oil on canvas, 18 x 22 in.; signed lower center: Estimate for pair: $40/60,000 SOLD: $252,000

Head of sale Caroline Seabolt, notes, “Today’s strong results are a testament to the continued strong demand for rare and important historic American art. The cumulative total represents the largest sum yet achieved for our innovative sale platform dedicated to the genre.”