Stanislas Lépine, “An Outing on the Seine,” oil on canvas, pre-Impressionist landscape, signed lower left, giltwood frame with artist name plate, was the sale’s top lot, finishing at $21,600.
Review by W.A. Demers, Photos Courtesy Winter Associates
PLAINVILLE, CONN. – Winter Associates scoured New England estates to fill its June 27 auction with a selection of artwork, jewelry, silver and antique American, English and Continental furniture. The sale, which was led by works by blue-chip European artists, also offered coins, Oriental rugs, Asian artwork and ceramics. Approximately 3,350 bidders registered to watch and vie for 339 lots crossing the block.
“This sale was a reflection of the uptick in the marketplace, and it was exciting to have a few very good paintings with provenance from a private home,” said the firm’s owner, auctioneer and appraiser Linda Stamm.
A Massachusetts home contributed two of the sale’s leading lots, including an oil by Alberto Pasini (Italian, 1826-1899), “Bargaining for Pots,” featuring a Middle Eastern marketplace, and by Julien Dupré (French, 1851-1910), “An Idle Moment,” an idyllic, pastoral scene.
Alberto Pasini’s painting was possibly a view of an Istanbul market scene. Signed lower right and in a gilt frame, it was bid to $18,000, also by a trade buyer. It stemmed from a Worcester, Mass., estate and measured 8¼ by 6¼ inches.
Alberto Pasini, “Bargaining for Pots,” oil on canvas, possibly a view of an Istanbul market scene, went out at $18,000.
The Dupre, which was purchased for stock by New York City art dealer Howard Rehs for $13,200, was inscribed verso in ink “J’ai fait de tableau pour Monsieur Jackson, Julien Dupré.” Rehs, the genre painting expert, said the gallery had contacted him before the sale to assist with authenticating the painting but the consignor balked at doing that. “I thought to myself, well, that will benefit me in the long run,” said Rehs. And who was “Monsieur Jackson?” The dealer said he has Dupre’s account book. “It shows a painting that he did for Jackson in 1895.” But there’s no other information about him. Rehs said more research will be needed.
Top lot in the sale, won by the trade at $21,600, was a pre-Impressionist oil landscape, “An Outing on the Seine,” by Stanislas Lépine (French, 1835-1892), which depicted a tranquil view of the famous French river. It was signed lower left and housed in a giltwood frame with artist name plate and measured 14½ by 21½ inches. It had been owned by banker Alexander De Witt, born in 1854 in Worcester, Mass., and who married Caroline Murdock in 1880. The couple had no children so the painting was given to a friend and then inherited by his son, also of Worcester.
American artists also factored into the sale’s top highlights. John Marin’s (1870-1953) “Footbridge at Meaux,” a watercolor depicting a loosely rendered grey cityscape surpassed its $5,000 high estimate to realize $8,400. The work was signed and dated in lower left corner “Marin 09,” framed and matted behind glass with an old label and a certificate adhered verso, 14 by 17 inches.
Convex wall mirror, American or British, first quarter Nineteenth Century, with gilt frame with griffin/dragon crest, sold for $3,480.
A patinated bronze sculpture of a horse’s head, its mouth open and ears back after Ann Vaughn Hyatt Huntington (1876-1973) performed well above its $600/900 estimate to finish at $4,500. “Horse,” inscribed “AHH, 1937, 3/12” stood 13 inches high on its base.
Another American artist, George Henry Clements (1854-1935), was represented by “Nassau,” 1913, a framed watercolor of sailboats at a dock, lighthouse in distance against a cloudy sky. Signed, titled and dated at lower left, matted and framed behind glass, 13½ by 19¾ inches, it took $3,600, more than three times its high estimate.
Fetching $3,480, more than four times its high estimate, was an American or British wall mirror from the first quarter of the Nineteenth Century. The convex looking glass with gilt frame decorated with a griffin/dragon crest featured molding surrounding the round mirror with attached balls, carved foliate pendant and detached spiral candle arms. Overall, without arms, the mirror measured 46 by 26 inches.
Prices given include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house.
Winter Associate’s next auction is set for August 1. For information, 860-793-0288 or www.auctionsappraisers.com.
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