Classic Examples

Timeless works of American art brought in more than $16.5 million at Christie’s sale of the Max N. Berry Collection.

By Michael Clawson

On January 22 and 23, Christie’s held a two-session sale for the Max N. Berry Collection of American art. After competitive bidding over two days, the sale closed out with more than $16.5 million in sales.

Maurice Brazil Prendergast (1859-1924), The Bridle Path, Central Park, 1902. Watercolor, pastel and pencil on paper, 15¼ x 22 in. Estimate: $500/700,000 SOLD: $2,332,000

The first session, held during one of Christie’s famous evening sales, was where many of the fireworks originated. The evening sale realized $13.5 million, with a 91 percent sell-through rate.

The top lot was Maurice Brazil Prendergast’s The Bridle Path, Central Park, a 1902 painting completed in watercolor, pastel and pencil on paper. The colorful and lively image had a high estimate of $700,000. Competitive bidders bypassed it entirely, settling on more than $2.3 million, triple the high estimate. The artist had a second lot in the top 10, Gloucester Harbor, which sold for $609,000, well over its $500,000 high estimate. Also in the sale was Maurice’s younger brother, Charles Prendergast, whose unique double-sided screen was sold for $762,000, within estimates of $600,000 to $800,000.

Childe Hassam (1859-1935), Gloucester Harbor, 1899. Oil on canvas, 24½ x 22½ in. Estimate: $1/1.5 million SOLD: $2,027,000

Winslow Homer (1836-1910), A Mountain Climber Resting, 1869. Oil on canvas, 10½ x 14½ in. Estimate: $1.5/2.5 million SOLD: $1,778,000

Childe Hassam’s own interpretation of Gloucester Harbor was in the sale with a high estimate of $2 million. It cleared that estimate when it sold for $2,027,000. The Hassam and all three works from the Prendergast brothers are uniquely colorful and full of life, which united them during the winter sale.

Elsewhere in the sale was Albert Bierstadt’s luminist landscape Mirror Lake (Yosemite Valley, Sunset), which sold for $1,778,000, just shy of its $1.8 million high estimate. Another outdoor scene that celebrated nature was Winslow Homer’s 1869 oil A Mountain Climber Resting (est. $1.5/2.5 million) that sold for $1,778,000.

Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902), Mirror Lake (Yosemite Valley, Sunset), ca. 1868. Oil on gessoed board, 13½ x 18½ in. Estimate: $1.2/1.8 million SOLD: $1,778,000

The sleeper hit of the sale as Fidelia Bridges’ Garden Path, painted in 1902 in watercolor and gouache. The outdoor scene with flowers and sunlight was only estimated at $12,000 to $18,000, but bidders kept the auctioneer busy until it closed at $254,000, more than 14 times the high estimate. The lot set a new world auction record for Bridges by more than $70,000. —

Top 10 LOTS
Christie’s Max N. Berry Collection, January 22-23, 2026 (including Buyer’s Premium)
Artist Title Low/High ESt. SOLD
Maurice Brazil Prendergast The Bridle Path, Central Park $500/700,000 $2,332,000
Childe Hassam Gloucester Harbor $1/2 million $2,027,000
Albert Bierstadt Mirror Lake $1.2/1.8 million $1,778,000
Winslow Homer A Mountain Climber Resting $1.5/2.5 million $1,778,000
Charles Prendergast Screen: A Double-Sided Work $600/800,000 $762,000
George Inness Delaware Water Gap $600/800,000 $698,500
Maurice Brazil Prendergast Gloucester Harbor $300/500,000 $609,600
William Merritt Chase Afternoon in the Park $700/1,000,000 $508,000
Sanford Robinson Gifford A Sunrise on Lake George $700/1,000,000 $495,300
Fidelia Bridges Garden Path $12/18,000 $254,000