New Buyers Buoy Bonhams
August 2nd, 2016
Bonhams, Los Angeles and San Francisco, California
Photos courtesy Bonhams
“As always,” Scot Levitt, Bonhams’ California and Western paintings specialist, was “nervous” before his August 2 Los Angeles/San Francisco auction. Levitt was gratified and sometimes surprised, however, by the sale’s strong prices; sales totaled $3.3 million (includes buyers’ premiums). Levitt was especially buoyed by the strong prices for “artists like Botke and Raphael, who haven’t done that well recently.” In addition, two new record prices were set for John Marshall Gamble and Paul Grimm.
Another reason for optimism—there were at least four first-time buyers in the sale. “This is important for the whole market,” he said. “There is still plenty of activity in the market,” Levitt continued, “Better things went for more money, as usual, but there was good bidding on lesser things as well. It’s nice to see these paintings find homes.”
Levitt’s next sale will be on November 21 in Los Angeles and San Francisco. November highlights include “a very nice view of Monterey” by E. Charlton Fortune and a view of Canyon de Chelly by Edgar Payne. For more information, see the website (www.bonhams.com) or call (323) 850-7500.
Monument Valley, Riverbed, 25¼" x 30¼" (sight), by Edgar Payne (1883-1947) sold to an Orange County collector for $323,000 (est. $140,000/180,000). The painting is illustrated in a two-page spread on the inside front cover and adjoining page of the auction catalog. Levitt called the price “strong for that size.”
Lotus Pond, Shiba, Tokyo by Theodore Wores (1859-1939), 20¼" x 26 7/8" (sight), sold to a Los Angeles collector for $257,000 (est. $100,000/150,000). The painting is illustrated on the back cover of the catalog. Levitt called it “beautiful, with an incredible carved frame that made it seem like three-D.”
A private collector from Puerto Rico paid $50,000 (est. $10,000/15,000) for Casa Jesus Soto Adobe, Monterey, 16" x 22" (sight),by M. Evelyn McCormick (1862-1948). “McCormick is a pretty rare Monterey artist. Look at her beautiful reflection of shadows on the walls of a historic Monterey adobe,” said Levitt.
The same Puerto Rican collector bought Lupine Patch, 25" x 30" (sight), by William Wendt (1865-1946) for $233,000 (est. $120,000/180,000). “This is the only Wendt painting I know of lupine. The price was higher than I thought it would be,” said Levitt.
Gloucester Harbor, 13" x 16" (sight), by Richard Haley Lever (1875-1958) sold for $46,250 (est. $3000/5000), a price “that was a surprise to us all.” Levitt found the painting’s “van Gogh-like swirls exciting.” The buyer was a collector from Oklahoma, “New to me. Small painting, big price,” he added.
House in Belgium, 26" x 32½" (sight), by Joseph Raphael (1869-1950) sold to a private collector from northern California for $100,000 (est. $30,000/50,000). “Besides Belgium, Raphael’s other area of work is San Francisco, and most Raphael buyers live in the Bay Area,” said Bonhams’ specialist Levitt.
Toucans, 25¼" x 30 1/8" (sight), by Jessie Arms Botke (1883-1971) sold for $90,000 (est. $25,000/35,000) to a collector in Hawaii. The price was $400 short of her record, according to Levitt.
Woman Gathering Water in the Placita is a “really nice painting,” according to Levitt. By Victor Higgins (1884-1949), the 16" x 20" (sight) painting sold for $209,000 (est. $120,000/180,000) to a dealer in New Mexico. The painting is illustrated on the front cover of the catalog.
William Wendt’s Governadora Canyon, 25" x 30" (sight), sold to a San Francisco collector (a first-time buyer who bought two other paintings in this sale) for $67,500 (est. $30,000/50,000).
San Jacinto, 43" x 60½" (sight), by Paul Grimm (1892-1974) sold to a southern California collector for $50,000 (est. $25,000/35,000), a new record price for the artist that Levitt called “encouraging.”
Originally published in the October 2016 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2016 Maine Antique Digest
