On January 23, Christie’s will offer around 100 American artworks to bidders during a winter sale in New York City. Titled American Paintings, the auction will feature works from a number of consignors, as well as two private collections that have been identified by Christie’s as Grand Views of America: Property from a Distinguished Private Collection and Property from an Important Northeastern Collection.
Thomas Moran (1837-1926), Grand View Trail, 1904. Oil on canvas, 14 x 20 in., signed with initials in monogram and dated in lower left: ‘TMoran. 1904.’ From Grand Views of America: Property from a Distinguished Private Collection. Estimate: $600/800,000
The curated selection of material being offered to bidders will represent some of the most important American painters and sculptors of the last two centuries, with their works telling classic American stories about natural beauty, exploration and diverse cultures. One segment that speaks to these ideals, Hudson River School paintings, will play a large role in the sale, says Quincie Dixon, an associate specialist at Christie’s and head of sale, who adds that the two featured collections both contain excellent examples from the category.
Another area that will be well represented are works from the American West, many of which are coming from the Grand Views single-owner collection. “Some of the strongest examples of this sale are in the area of Western Art, including our leading Western lot, which is a painting of the Grand Canyon by Thomas Moran,” says Dixon. “Grand Views is primarily oils and sculptures, many that go beyond Western. Each oil is dramatic and features a sublime subject. All are fresh to market.”
Martin Johnson Heade (1819-1904), Magnolias on a Shiny Table. Oil on canvas, 14 x 22 in., signed lower left: ‘MJ Heade’. Property from a Distinguished American Collection. Estimate: $700/1,000,000
The Moran painting is the 14-by-20-inch Grand View Trail, which was painted in 1904 from the Grand View Trail on the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. “It’s one of the finest Grand Canyon paintings I have had the pleasure of seeing,” Dixon says. “It has exquisite detail and shows the grandeur of the canyon with an emotional color story with these stunning periwinkles and lavenders. It’s a fabulous painting.”
Christie’s not only has the Moran world auction record of $17.7 million, it also has a record for Moran’s Grand Canyon subject matter, set at $12.4 million in 2014. Grand View Trail is smaller than both of those paintings, but should still draw considerable interest. The work is estimated at $600,000 to $800,000.
George Inness (1825-1894), Leeds, New York, 1867. Oil on canvas, 22¼ x 30 in., signed and dated lower right: ‘Geo Inness 1867’. Property from an Important Northeastern Collection. Estimate: $200/300,000.
Other works from the Grand Views collection are Joseph Henry Sharp’s 1922 painting An Insurgent (est. $250/350,000), William R. Leigh’s Grand Canyon (est. $120/180,000), Thomas Hill’s Campfire with Indians (est. $70/100,000) and Arnold Friberg’s In the Water of Manitou (est. $60/80,000), a 1983 oil from the artist who famously painted George Washington praying at Valley Forge. “The Friberg is a later Western example in an otherwise more traditional sale. You can see from the painting that the artist paid attention to every detail,” Dixon says.
Highlights from the Important Northeastern Collection include George Inness’ Leeds, New York (est. $200/300,000), John Fredrick Kensett’s Waterfall in the Woods with Indians (est. $250/350,000) and Thomas Worthington Whittredge’s The Hayfield (est. $70/100,000). “I’m so excited about this grouping from the Important Northeastern Collection,” Dixon says. “These are the landscapes that make up a stunning portion of our sale. The Inness, in particular, is very special because of its scale and detail. It originates from the Upstate New York in the Hudson River Valley. And that view just sweeps out way into the distance. It’s a beautiful painting.”
Sanford Robinson Gifford (1823-1880), Sunset Over New York Bay, 1873. Oil on canvas, 12 x 20½ in., signed and dated lower left: ‘SR Gifford 1873’. Estimate: $250/350,000
John Frederick Kensett (1816-1872), Waterfall in the Woods with Indians, 1850. Oil on canvas, 17 x 23¾ in., signed with conjoined initials and dated lower left: ‘JFK.50’. Property from an Important Northeastern Collection. Estimate: $250/350,000
The Whittredge painting is also full of detail, with a farmer and cottage in the foreground as the valley spreads out through the background. The artist painted so much detail that several distant buildings—possibly church steeples rendered in tiny dots of paint—can be seen in the far distance. In the Kensett painting, Dixon has narrowed the location down to Kaaterskill Falls in New York, although information about which Native American tribe is represented in the painting is harder to confirm without more information in the painting. “It is an unbelievable piece, one that once belonged to the Amon Carter Museum,” Dixon says. “The piece has sunlight beaming through, creating these wonderful shadows.”
Joseph Henry Sharp (1859-1953), An Insurgent, 1922. Oil on canvas, 30 x 36 in., signed and dated lower right: ‘JH Sharp. 22’; signed again and inscribed with title on the reverse prior to the lining: ‘J.H. Sharp’. Grand Views of America: Property from a Distinguished Private Collection. Estimate: $250/350,000
Another important piece in the sale is Martin Johnson Heade’s Magnolias on a Shiny Table, with estimates of $700,000 to $1 million. “As far as still lifes go, Heade was at the pinnacle of his design and detail with this piece, which is also quite romantic,” the specialist says, noting that Heade has done very well at recent auctions. “He was one of the top artists of that period, and a member of the Hudson River School, so there is always significant interest in Heade’s work.”
Also in the sale is Sanford Robinson Gifford’s Sunset Over New York Bay (est. $250/350,000), and two important bronzes: Frederick William MacMonnies’ Nathan Hale (est. $100/150,000) and a lifetime cast of Frederic Remington’s Broncho Buster (est. $200/300,000).
Frederick William MacMonnies (1863-1937), Nathan Hale, ca. 1890. Bronze with dark brown patina, 27½ in., inscribed and stamped with foundry mark along the base: ‘F. MacMonnies 1890’ and ‘Roman Bronze Works N-Y-‘; inscribed underneath the base: ‘R.B.3’. Estimate: $100/150,000
The sale will be held live in Christie’s New York headquarters. American bidding is expected to be high, but so is international bidding, which the auction house has seen rise within this segment. Its most recent sale of American works saw competitive bidding from nine countries across four continents. —
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