Date: Fri 26-Mar-1999

Publication: Ant

Author: DONNAM

Quick Words:

Bidders

Full Text:

Bidders Bark At Doyle

with 4 cuts as slides

NEW YORK CITY -- The canine competition at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog

Show was reflected at William Doyle Galleries, as New York's first auction of

"Dogs and Cats in Art" fetched $767,285.

A standing-room-only crowd of buyers from around the world sought a variety of

sporting and pet paintings and dog ephemera, bringing the overall selling rate

to 72 percent, with 70 percent of lots selling within or above estimate.

Alan Fausel, of William Doyle, and Charles O'Brien, of Bonhams, commented on

their first joint auction in this category. O'Brien, associate director and

specialist in the department of Nineteenth Century pictures at Bonhams

remarked, "The cooperation between the two galleries in compiling such a large

sale was an important contribution to its success. We also saw a great number

of new buyers who actively participated in the sale."

Fausel, Doyle's paintings department director, attributes the capacity

attendance to the series of popular events held that weekend at William Doyle

Galleries in conjunction with the sale. These gatherings included a dog brunch

for the canine competitors in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, as well as

a lecture on "A Social History of the Dog in Art" by dog painting specialist

and dealer William Secord of William Secord Gallery.

The "Best in Show" at Doyle's was "The Good Shepherd," Victorian animal

painter Richard Ansdell. A delicate rendering of the shepherd caring for his

flock with his faithful dog by his side, this work brought $57,500 from a New

York buyer.

Highlights also included a selection of sporting paintings, particularly those

portraying English Setters. Serious bidding occurred over Arthur Wardle's "At

the End of the Day, a Group of Four English Setters." Depicting a grouping of

setters resting after a successful hunt, the competition ended with a final

sale price of $46,000. Also by Wardle is a pair of paintings, "English

Setters" and "Pointers." Each set against a subtle autumn landscape, these

works achieved $34,500. Another popular item, "English Setter" by Percival

Rosseau sold for $31,050, well over its pre-sale estimate, to a buyer in

Virginia.

Also from the sporting group, John Emms' "A Group of Clumber Spaniels"

demonstrated. Emms' strong following in the dog market as well as the rarity

of images of this particular breed of dog, perhaps contributing to the sale

price of $21,850 from a private collector in New Orleans, more than double its

pre-sale estimate.

Bulldog paintings brought strong prices as well: "Press Gang: A Brindle

Bulldog" by Arthur Wardle was purchased for $23,000 by a buyer in New York;

and "Bulldogs and Bull-Bitches of the 20th Century," a pair of lithographs

after Arthur Wardle, commanded $2,530, an extremely good price for this

category.

In the category of pet paintings, "Waiting for Master" by George Earl was the

champion. The charming image of a terrier waiting eagerly by a door topped the

sale with a final bid of $34,500 from an English buyer. William Woodhouse's

painting of a retriever in its basket, entitled "Bedtime," was purchased for

$24,150. Thomas Earl's "A Winning Look" won a successful bid of $21,850. Also

fetching a lot of attention, "Basset Hounds at Rest," by Valentine Thomas

Garland, sold for $12,075 to a bidder from England.

Cat paintings were also represented in the sale with examples from two of the

foremost cat artists. Henriette Ronner-Knip's "Anticipation," a painting of

two kittens playing hide-and-seek, sold for $34,500 to a Dutch bidder.

"Kittens at Play," Julius Adams II's rendering of three kittens observing a

bee brought $17,250 from a German buyer. Also a strong seller, "Cornered,"

depicting two cats stalking a bird, by Horatio Henry Couldery, was purchased

for $18,400.

Heated bidding was noted for a Victorian carved fruitwood mantel clock, which

depicts a fully sculpted hound standing on a rocky outcrop and holding a

gilt-metal satchel in his mouth. The piece is also inset with a brass clock

face as well as a hunting horn inset with a thermometer and barometer

alongside the "satchel." An unusual item, the mantel clock more than doubled

its high estimate, with the final sale price of $13,225.

A rare French papier mache "Barking Bulldog," circa 1900, with a flocked body

and bristle rug, leather collar and articulated jaw, went for $2,300, more

than double its pre-sale estimate.

The firm's next sale of "Dogs and Cats in Art" is scheduled during the next

Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in February 2000. For information,

212/427-2730.