Date: Fri 01-May-1998

Publication: Ant

Author: JUDYC

Quick Words:

ArthurJames

Full Text:

US Art Records Set At Arthur James

W/5 CUTS - EWM

By Rita Easton

DELRAY BEACH, FLA. -- An April 14 and 15 auction at Arthur James Galleries

featured the art collection and contents of the Palm Beach apartment of Mr and

Mrs Charles W. Steadman, and other Florida estate properties.

Charles Steadman was an attorney for a Washington, D.C., investment firm. The

sale drew heavy response, keeping eight telephone lines busy at times and

drawing international interest. A total of 611 lots brought a gross of

$730,000.

Starring as the top lot of the auction, an oil on canvas by Federico Del Campo

(Peruvian, Nineteenth-Twentieth Century), signed, inscribed "Venezia," and

dated 1912, 14Ô by 23Ô inches, realized $75,000, purchased by a private

collector. The underbidder was a well-known English dealer. The price was an

auction record for the US market, according to the gallery. A previous auction

in London five years ago brought $86,000 for a work by the artist, the record

worldwide.

An oil on canvas by Andre Hambourg (French, born 1909), depicting sailboats

with a lighthouse in the distance, garnered a strong $32,000, going to the

trade, and a Harold Clayton (English, 1898-1979) oil on canvas of a lush

floral arrangement on a table top, at $23,000, reached a United States auction

record, second to only one other, purchased privately.

"Paintings were the strongest element in the auction," said George Martin of

the gallery. "There has been a great improvement in the art market." He named

an Ernest Quost (French, 1844-1931) oil on canvas as an example. It was

hammered down at $20,000; it had been estimated at $7/10,000.

"That is an incredible price for his work. There were only two pieces selling

higher in the past ten years: one for $30,000 and one for $27,000, and they

were considerably larger paintings."

Several Picasso pottery pieces sold well, with a partially glazed faience

pitcher, 11 inches high, inscribed edition Picasso, #208-350 and R-139,

reaching $2,800, and six pieces of pottery, all plates, selling between $1,000

and $2,000. A Picasso lithograph, signed in pencil, #46/50, a typical fantasy

owl, was purchased at $5,500.

A Jean Dufy (French, 1880-1964) oil on canvas, depicting a Paris street scene

(est $12/16,000) achieved $19,000; a Michele Cascella (Italian, 1892-1989) oil

on canvas of a vase of flowers, signed, rang up $8,000, purchased by a dealer;

and a Constantine Kluge (French, born 1912) oil on canvas, signed, depicting a

city street, made $7,500.

Impressively scaled at 32« inches high, a fine pair of French glazed pottery

lions, which had been estimated at $3/5,000, garnered $14,000.

"I think the reason [for the unexpectedly high price] was that everyone

bidding was taking a chance that they might be more than what we thought they

were, because they were mounted on a concrete base so that you really couldn't

see the marking. They were definitely French. They were really wonderful."

A pair of Louis XVI style gilt bronze and cut glass four-light girandoles,

first quarter of the Nineteenth Century, 24 inches high, realized $3,600; a

carved marble sculpture of a woman, by Hippolyte Francois Moreau (French,

1892-1989), signed, 25¬ inches high, was purchased at $4,250; a Nineteenth

Century Italian Rococo painted marble top cabinet went at $5,500; and a set of

12 Queen Anne style walnut dining chairs with slip seats reached $7,500.

A pair of Louis XV style walnut settees with fine floral upholstery was a good

buy at $1,200; a Nineteenth Century Continental fruitwood marquetry inlaid

cabinet with marble top sold at $6,000; a four-piece Tiffany coffee service

achieved $6,750; and a pair of 1860 sterling silver compotes brought $3,200.

Noting once again that the art market is on the rise, Martin commented, "It's

going to be interesting to see what will happen in May at the New York

Twentieth Century art auctions, and where the market will go after that."

Prices quoted do not reflect a required 12 percent premium.