No. of Lots: 88
No. of Pages: 190
This American Painting auction at Phillips de Pury & Luxembourg is distinguished by a superb collection of marine paintings assembled by Glen S. Foster and a very lovely group of early Hudson River School landscapes.
The Glen S. Foster CollectionIn a catalogue essay on "American Marine Art from the estate of Glen S. Foster," Daniel Finamore, Russell W. Knight curator of Martime Art and History at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass., noted that Glen Foster "was not interested in pictures by casual coastal artists, those who painted a seascape one day and a meadow the next." "The sea requires a faithfulness and practice on the part of the artist to achieve the level of credibility that Glen sought. All of the artists he collected were specialists in their craft, and Glen's eye brought him to the best of their work. A visit to the home of Kay and Glen Foster was like a day at sea. He gave vivid descriptions of the vessels portrayed and recounted events as if he'd been there on race day. But I'm sure that, even when taking such delight in his unparalleled collection, he would rather have been out sailing."
The highlight of the auction and the Foster Collection is Lot 72, "'Star Light' in Harbor," by Fitz Hugh Lane (1804-1865), a masterwork of American Luminism. The 24 1/4-by-36-inch oil on canvas was painted circa 1855 and has a conservative estimate of $800,000 to $1,200,000. It was acquired by Mr. Foster at the December 3, 1998 American Paintings auction at Sotheby's for $772,500 where it had been consigned by the Masco Corporation of Chicago. It sold for $772,500 including the buyer's premium as do all the prices mentioned in this article.
The catalogue provides the following commentary:
"The painting's brilliant clarity of light and resultant translucence of sky and water offer a paean to commerce, technology and progress. The only discordant notes are struck by the broken mast floating in the water and the two stevedores at the lower right, who appear to be animatedly engaged. These incidents offer a degree of complexity to an otherwise overwhelmingly optimistic, orderly presentation. Barbara Novak has persuasively argued that Lane was deeply aware of design, order, and structure in his paintings, and his horizontal alignments of objects, people, or bits of nature within the picture can almost be plotted across with a ruler.......The flawless pyramidal composition stabilizes the clipper ship in a cool, classical treatment that belies the instability and risk of the sea. Lane's painting suggests that the technology and strength of the clipper humbled nature itself; in that belief, he would not have been alone....In spite of its luminist stillness, Lane's 'Star Light in Harbor' contains a narrative aspect that renders it unusual in the artist's oeuvre. His harbor scenes often contain a number of ships and dinghies at varous stages of loading and unloading, arriving and departing, but almost never in so direct a progession as is presented here. In this work, three ships are the centerpieces of the composition, dominated by the Star Light at the center. At the right, a ship arrives escorted by a steam tug, while, at the left, another has turned to depart under sail. Lane's implied narrative is very similar in the form of simultaneous narrative famously employed by Martin Johnson Heade in his 1868 Thunderstorm Over Narragansett Bay.... Heade deployed a series of identical boats headed for the safety of shore in order to convery his narrative. The present work suggests a precedent in American art for Heade's later ocmposition. In contrast to Heade's boats fleeing the wrath of nature, Lanes' narrative conveys the Star Light's preparedness for adversity, simultaneously asserting her predominance over her more dimunitive sisters."
William Bradford (1823-1892) is famed as the best American painter of the Artic and for his dramatic marine paintings. Lot 68, "Ships in Boston Harbor at Twilight," is an atypical work by him that is a major masterpiece of American luminist painting. The oil on panel measures 13 by 19 inches and it was executed in 1859. It has a conservative estimate of $175,000 to $225,000. It sold for $459,000, one of many lots in this auction that significantly exceeded their high estimates. The auction was extremely successful with 87.5 percent of the lots selling and established a much higher plateau of values for 19th Century American art. This museum-class painting has the still clarity of the finest luminist works by Fitz Hugh Lane, but is remarkable for its palette of oranges and blues and it is also a very splendid composition.
The catalogue notes that Bradford studied for a while with Albert Van Beest, who had arrived in New Bedford from Rotterdam where he had been trained in the traditions of Dutch sea painting and for threeyears the two shared a waterfront studio overlooking New Bedford harbor. "In 1857," the catalogue continued, "the pair went to Boston to collaborate on a large harbor view reminiscent of those by Fitz Hugh Lane. They may have known Lane from his visit to new Bedford that year to observe the New York Yacht Club's regatta in Buzzards Bay, a spectacle amply recorded in a large painting by Bradford and Van beest, four separate paintings by Lane and a number of sketches and wash drawings by each of them. The two paintings in the Foster Collection illustrate the diffrering influences of Van Beest and Lane on Bradord's work. In The 'Mary' of Boston Returning to Port (1857) the choppy waves, scudding clouds and general animation of the scene reflect the tutelage of Van Beest, while Ships in Boston Harboar at Sunset (1858), with its measured placement of vessels, luminous rendering and light and the pervasive stillness of the scene derives in part from close acquaintance with Lane's work."
"The 'Mary' of Boston Returning to Port" is Lot 67, an oil on canvas laid down on panel that measures 19 3/4 by 29 3/4 inches. Painted in 1857, it has an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. It sold for $134,500
One of the gems of the Foster collection is Lot 87, "View of Boston Harbor," by Robert Salmon (1775-after 1845). This 9 5/8-by-11 5/8-inch oil on panel is the front-cover illustration of the catalogue. Executed in 1843, it has a modest estimate of $125,000 to $150,000 considering its very high quality and geographic specificity. It was acquired by Mr. Foster at Christie's May 26, 1988 where it had been offered with an estimate of $40,000 to $60,000. It sold for $552,500
Lot 14, "View in the White Mountains," is a classic Hudson River School-style work by William Trost Richards (1833-1905). The oil on canvas over panel measures 13 5/8 by 24 1/8 inches and was executed in 1866. It has an estimate of $80,000 to $120,000. It sold for $178,500
Lot 31, "Near Noroton, Connecticut," is a very fine oil on canvas by David Johnson (1827-1908) that is exceptionally bright for the artist, who was noted in the early part of his career for his meticulous detail and Pre-Raphaelite sensibility. It is a nicely dramatic variation on a coastal scene that was popular with many artists such as John F. Kensett. It measures 16 by 22 7/8 inches and was executed in 1875. It has an estimate of $80,000 to $120,000. It sold for $409,500
Asher B. Durand (1796-1886) is one of the major Hudson River School painters and is noted for his lovely woodland studies, many of which are in the collection of the New York Historical Society. This is a very lovely Durand and has a very conservative estimate of $15,000 to $20,000. It sold for $88,300.
Lot 3, "Moonlight," by Thomas Doughty (1793-1856), a 15-by-16-inch oil on canvas had an estimate of $5,000 to $7,000 and sold for $37,950.
Lot 8, "Promenade on Ring Rock," a pleasant, bucolic, 8 1/4-by-11 1/4-inch arched oil on paper laid down on paper by Alfred Thompson Bricher (1837-1908) had an estimate of $12,000 to $15,000 and sold for $57,500.
Lot 18, another Bricher entitled "Haying," had an estimate of $8,000 to $10,000 and sold for $21,850. The exquisite, 9 1/4-by-16 1/8-inch oil on canvas was dated 1861.
Lot 15, "Saranac Waters," by John Jameson (1842-1864) had an estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. The 20-by-30-inch oil on canvas was dated 1863 and sold for $211,500.
Lot 25, "Rocky Coast at Sunset," a pleasant scene of the Maine coast by William Hart (1823-1894), had an estimate of $15,000 to $20,000. The 10 1/2-by-18 1/8-inch oil on canvas was painted circa 1860 and sold for $46,000.