Christie’s is pleased to announce its annual sale of Important Americana
IMPORTANT AMERICANA
LIVE AUCTION: 18-19 January 2024
| THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM, SOLD TO BENEFIT THE ACQUISITION FUNDGILBERT STUART (1755-1828) George Washington (Vaughn type) 29 x 23 ¾ in. Oil on canvas Painted 1795 Estimate: $1,500,000-2,500,000New York – Christie’s is pleased to announce its annual sale of Important Americana, taking place live over two days at Christie’s Rockefeller Center on 18 and 19 January 2024. Important Americana is the cornerstone of Americana Week, which includes live sales of Fine Printed and Manuscript Americana on 17 January and 19th Century American & Western Art on the morning of 18 January. As always, Important Americana will feature a wide range of American fine art, furniture, folk art, and silver, as well as Chinese Export Porcelain and American ceramics. |
1. FOUNDING FATHERS: Leading the sale is a rare lifetime depiction of George Washington by the first President’s greatest portraitist, Gilbert Stuart, from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This magisterial picture is one of the most significant of the artist’s renditions based on Washington’s first sitting with Stuart in 1795. Named after one of the early owners, these Vaughan-type portraits show the sitter facing to the right and of the fourteen known to survive today, only four are in private hands. The example being offered in January was among the earliest of this group and was owned in England by the Philips family, Manchester-area textile merchants who had supported the American cause during the Revolution. In addition to the magnificent Vaughan type portrait, the auction includes a significant group of works depicting other Founding Fathers, including pieces from direct descendants of Benjamin Franklin and powerful images of Washington by Rembrandt Peale.
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| THOMAS SULLY (1783-1872) AND JANE COOPER SULLY (1807-1877), AFTER DAVID MARTIN BENJAMIN FRANKLIN Later inscribed 1834 TS from a Portrot of / Franklin in Peales / Museum Phila / COPP FROM OLD CANVAS (on reverse) oil on canvas 51 x 44 in. Painted in 1834 Estimate: $100,000-200,000 | REMBRANDT PEALE (1778-1860) GEORGE WASHINGTON signed Rembrandt Peale. (lower left), together with an autograph letter signed Rembrandt Peale to Enoch Dean, Philadelphia, 24 December 1852 oil on canvas 36 x 29 1/4 in.Painted circa 1852 Estimate: $300,000-500,000 | REMBRANDT PEALE (1778-1860) AFTER JEAN-ANTOINE HOUDON (1741-1828) SKETCH FOR GEORGE WASHINGTON, COLOSSAL PROFILE AFTER HOUDON signed, dated and inscribed Rembrandt Peale. 1855. / from Houdon Bust of [erased] / Washington 1783. graphite on paper 8 3/8 x 6 5/8 in. Executed in 1855 Estimate: $20,000-40,000 | THOMAS SULLY (1783-1872) DR. BENJAMIN RUSH initialed and dated TS 1813 (lower left) oil on canvas 44 1/4 x 34 1/4 in. Painted in 1813Estimate: $100,000-300,000 |
2. FOLK PAINTINGS: The sale includes major works by some of the most renowned artists in the field. An intimate portrait of a mother and child by the first known Black American professional portraitist, Joshua Johnson, which has remained in the family of the sitters to date; a group of works from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Martin S. Himeles, Sr., of Pikesville, Maryland that includes an ethereal Ammi Phillips portrait and a signed William Prior portrait of a sister and brother. An overmantel by Winthrop Chandler, which remained in a tavern in Leominster, Massachusetts until the 1980s, is an extremely early example of landscape painting in America.
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| JOSHUA JOHNSON (C.1763-AFTER 1824) MRS. MARTHA (HALL) DORSEY AND MARY ANN DORSEY oil on canvas 26 x 25 in. Painted circa 1804-05 Estimate: $100,000-200,000 | WILLIAM MATTHEW PRIOR (1806-1873) PORTRAIT OF A GIRL IN A PINK DRESS AND HER BROTHERsigned, inscribed and dated Painted By / W.M. Prior. East Boston / 1852 (on reverse)oil on paperboard19 3/4 x 24 in. Painted in 1852 Estimate: $50,000-80,000 | WINTHROP CHANDLER (1747-1790) THE KENDALL TAVERN OVERMANTEL oil on panel 29 x 41 1/4 in. Painted circa 1785 Estimate: $100,000-150,000 | AMMI PHILLIPS (1788-1865) MRS. RUTH (HAYNES) PALMER oil on canvas 36 x 30 in. Painted circa 1818 Estimate: $200,000-300,000 |
3. FOLK SCULPTURE: Leading this section of the sale are pieces in extraordinary condition from a private collection, including a rare Figure of a Racetrack Tout largely retaining its original painted surface and a large, stylized peacock feather church banner weathervane discovered on a church in Orono, Maine. Other sculptural gems include an “Index” horse weathervane of impressive scale and condition.
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| A STYLIZED PEACOCK FEATHER SHEET-IRON, ZINC AND GLASS CHURCH BANNER WEATHERVANE USE UPDATED CAPTION 74 3/4 in. long Estimate: $60,000-90,000 | A CARVED AND PAINTED TRADE FIGURE DEPICTING A RACETRACK TOUT PROBABLY NEW YORK CITY OR CHICAGO, CIRCA 1880 on original trapezoidal base 76 in. high, 20 in wide, 18 1/2 in. deep Estimate: $300,000-500,000 | A MOLDED COPPER AND ZINC HORSE “INDEX” WEATHERVANE ATTRIBUTED TO J. HOWARD AND CO., WEST BRIDGEWATER, MASSACHUSETTS, CIRCA 1760 23 1/2 in. high, 30 in. long, 2 3/4 in. deep Estimate: $10,000-20,000 |
4. FURNITURE: Highlights include two important chairs that reveal the skill and range of master carver John Pollard: the Deshler side chair and the Dickinson side chair from the Wunsch Collection. Other significant works include a rare and exceptional “Lighthouse” shelf clock (also from the Wunsch Collection) and a Paint-Grained Chest-of-Drawers with sophisticated grain painting that remains in remarkable original condition.
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| A CLASSICAL MAHOGANY VENEERED AND ORMOLU MOUNTED “LIGHTHOUSE” TIMEPIECE SHELF CLOCK THE DIAL SIGNED BY SIMON WILLARD (1753-1848), ROXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS, CIRCA 1825 the white enamel dial inscribed SIMON WILLARD’S / PATENT 29 in. high (including dome)Estimate: $60,000-90,000 | THE DESHLER FAMILY CHIPPENDALE CARVED MAHOGANY SIDE CHAIR THE CARVING ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN POLLARD (1740-1787), PHILADELPHIA, CIRCA 1769 38½ in. high Estimate: $100,000-150,000 | THE JOHN DICKINSON CHIPPENDALE CARVED MAHOGANY SIDE CHAIR THE CARVING ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN POLLARD (1740-1787), PHILADELPHIA, CIRCA 1770marked VII on inside of rear rail, the seat frame marked V37½ in. highEstimate: $60,000-90,000 | A FEDERAL PAINT-GRAINED BASSWOOD CHEST-OF-DRAWERS SOUTH SHAFTSBURY, VERMONT, CIRCA 1825 with original painted decoration 42.1/4 in. high, 42.1/2 in. wide, 18 in. deep Estimate: $100,000-150,000 |
SILVER: A strong selection of around 100 lots, with pieces from four important single-owner collections: Colonial silver from the Wunsch family; small gold items like mourning jewelry (including another Myer Myers ring) from the Manney family; 40 lots from the Orange Blossom Collection – the subject of a highly successful sale this past spring – including Tiffany, Whiting and more; and the colonial tankard collection of the late Mr. and Mrs. Bowen Blair of Lake Forest, IL.
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| PROPERTY FROM THE WUNSCH COLLECTION AN AMERICAN SILVER SMALL TWO-HANDLED BRANDYWINE BOWL MARK OF HENRICUS BOELEN II, NEW YORK, CIRCA 1720 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm.) long, over handles3 oz. 16 dwt. (118 gr.)Estimate $15,000-$25,000 | PROPERTY FROM THE ORANGE BLOSSOM COLLECTION AN AMERICAN SILVER THREE-HANDLED CUPMARK OF TIFFANY & CO., NEW YORK, CIRCA 18989 1/2 in. (24.1 cm.) high 76 oz. 18 dwt. (2,392 gr.)Estimate $3,000-$5,000 | PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF GLORIA MANNEY AN AMERICAN GOLD AND ENAMEL MOURNING RINGMARK OF MYER MYERS, NEW YORK, CIRCA 17687/8 in. (2.2 cm.) diameter2 dwt. (3 gr.) gross weightEstimate $3,000-$5,000 | PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF JOAN AND BOWEN BLAIR, LAKE FOREST, ILLINOIS AN AMERICAN SILVER TANKARDMARK OF JACOB TEN EYCK, ALBANY, NEW YORK, CIRCA 1725 7 in. 17.8 cm.) high 36 oz. 6 dwt. (1,129 gr.) Estimate $30,000-$50,000 |
CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN AND AMERICAN CERAMICS: The selection is led by a group of 40 items from the Estate of Marvin Davidson and includes a very rare pair of dragon-carp tureens and stands, a figure group of Europeans formerly in the famed Mottahedeh collection, an ‘erotic’ pedicure group, and armorial wares, including a plate from the Okeover service. Other highlights include a beautifully enameled pair of court ladies and European subject wares, encompassing everything from plates with scenes from Don Quixote to barber’s basins and ‘hunting’ punchbowls.
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| PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF MARVIN DAVIDSON A CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN ‘PEDICURE’ EROTIC FIGURE GROUPQIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)8 1/4 in. (21 cm.) wide Estimate: $8,000-12,000 | PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF MARVIN DAVIDSON A CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN ‘ENGLISH MARKET’ ARMORIAL SOUP-PLATE FROM THE LEAKE OKEOVER SERVICE QIANLONG PERIOD (1739-1743) 8 7/8 in. (23.5 cm.) diameter Estimate: $7,000-10,000 | PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF MARVIN DAVIDSON A PAIR OF CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN DRAGONCARP TUREENS, COVERS AND STANDS QIANLONG PERIOD (1735-1796)9 1/4 in. (23.5 cm.) long Estimate: $40,000-60,000 |
(This story has not been edited by News Mania staff and is published from a Media Release)
