Date: Fri 15-May-1998

Publication: Ant

Author: DONNAM

Quick Words:

Skinner

Full Text:

American Paintings Top Skinner Auction

(W/5 cuts)

BOSTON, MASS. -- Works by American artists Thomas Moran and George Luks

garnered the top prices at Skinner/Boston's auction on May 8. The sale

attracted an international audience and a standing-room-only crowd, grossing

more than $1 million.

"Colburn Butte, S. Utah," a watercolor and gouache by Moran, had descended

through the family of Justin E. Colburn, a New York Times correspondent, who

traveled with a civil engineering surveying expedition along with Moran. The

butte depicted in the composition was named for Colburn and was first mapped

during this expedition. Accompanying the lot were several stereoscopic views,

including an image of Colburn and Moran with their guide during the

expedition, and a letter of condolence from Mr and Mrs Moran (written and

signed by both) to Mrs Colburn, on the death of her husband.

Numerous bidders on the floor pushed the price far beyond the estimate of

$15/25,000, yielding in the end to a telephone bidder whose single bid of

$101,500 purchased the painting. George Luks' "St Botolph Street," portraying

women sitting on stoops in a city neighborhood, was a prime example of the

artist's work. At one time part of the collection of artist Margaret W.

Sargent, the painting has since passed from her estate to the family of the

consignors. It realized $112,500.

Bidders in the audience competed eagerly and persistently for "The Toy Boat,"

an engaging work by Francis Luis Mora, sending the price to a hefty $46,000.

"The Yacht Race/A New England Coastal Scene" by Charles Henry Gifford

generated so much interest prior to the sale it opened at $25,000, above its

$10/15,000 estimate, and sold for $37,950.

Additional highlights in American works included William Trost Richards'

"Shoreline with Passing Front" for $36,800, and Sanford Robinson Gifford's "At

Play in the Surf" at $20,700. Walter Launt Palmer's "Snow and Sunlight" sold

for $21,850; Emil Bistram's "Taos Mountains" took $18,400. John Joseph

Enneking's "Spring Fields" went for $14,950 and "Water at Sunset" by Arthur

Wesley Dow reached $9,200.

Early lots in the auction included a selection of Old Masters, including

"Animated View with Ruins and Figures," attributed to Leonardo Coccorante, for

$37,375. "Portrait of a Gentleman," attributed to Isaack Luttichuijs, brought

$10,350.

Other European paintings included "The Merchant Under the Castle Walls" by

Adrianus Eversen. It sold for $26,450 after spirited bidding from the floor

and the telephone, and "Morning Light" by Jakub Obrovsky more than doubled

expectations selling for $13,800.

Skinner's next auctions of American an European paintings and prints include

the summer studio auction on July 16 at the Bolton gallery, and the September

25 auction of American and European paintings, prints and works on paper in

Boston. For information, 978/779-6241.