American and European Paintings Auction

Lita Solis-Cohen | August 7th, 2012

Early Morning Sunlight, Spring by Edward Willis Redfield (1869-1965) came to auction from Canada. Signed at lower right and inscribed "Early Morning Sunlight, Spring $5000" in pencil on the upper stretcher, the 50" x 56" oil on canvas in its original Harer frame sold for $362,500 (est. $300,000/ 500,000) to a phone bidder, underbid on the phone.

Freeman's, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

by Lita Solis-Cohen

Photos courtesy Freeman's

Twenty-nine works by Pennsylvania Impressionists sold for a total of $771,882 (including buyers' premiums), which was 42.5% of the $1,815,856 sale of American and European paintings at Freeman's in Philadelphia on Sunday, June 3. Edward Redfield's 50" x 56" landscape Early Morning Sunlight, Spring accounted for $362,500. Two smaller Fern Coppedge landscapes sold for $74,500 and $68,500, and John Folinsbee's High River, a Japanesque painting of reflections on the water, fetched $68,500. Redfield's 26" x 32" Pittsburgh landscape, however, sold for only $37,500; had it been a New Hope, Pennsylvania, scene, it might have brought more. Of the 35 lots of Pennsylvania Impressionist works, only six failed to sell. Of the 192 lots offered in the sale, two were withdrawn and 40 failed to sell, giving a sold rate of 78%.

A few European paintings sold over their estimates. A charming picture of women punting on a river by the Russian/French artist LÃ©opold-Franz Kowalski sold for $21,250 (est. $6000/10,000). Huntsman, Bay Hunter and Foxhounds outside Kennel by John Emms brought $50,000, and a pair of paintings of foxhounds by Heywood Hardy sold for $37,500.

Generally, sporting art did not perform well, and paintings by John Nost Sartorius, Benjamin Marshall, and Henry Stull with ambitious estimates did not find buyers. Drawings by Sir Alfred Munnings and Thomas Rowlandson with reasonable estimates sold in the $2000 to $3000 range, and an Edward Burne-Jones drawing of a standing male nude surpassed its $5000 high estimate to sell for $16,250.

For more information, contact Freeman's at (215) 563-9275; Web site (www.freemansauction.com).

Edward Burne-Jones (British, 1833-1898), Standing Male Nude, signed and dated "EBJ 1885," pencil on paper laid to paper, $16,250 (est. $3000/5000).

William Woodward (1859-1939), French Opera House, New Orleans, signed "W Woodward, New Orleans" bottom left and inscribed "French Opera House" bottom right, pastel on paper, 13Â¾" x 9Â½", $24,320 (est. $8000/ 12,000).

A 22Â¼" x 26" canvas with an oil painting by Ben Kamahira (1925-2004) on each side— Bathers on the front, signed and dated '53 bottom right, and Mother and Child on the back— sold for $11,875 (est. $1500/2500).

DÃ©sir d'Ã©tÃ© by LÃ©opold-Franz Kowalski (Russian/French, 1856-1931), signed bottom right, oil on canvas, 26" x 55Â½", $21,250 (est. $6000/10,000).

Drawing and watercolors sold well at Freeman's. This pencil sketch by Sir Alfred Munnings (British, 1878-1959), Sir Alfred and Lady Munnings with a Jockey, on a 4" x 4" invitation from The Cooling Galleries of London, signed bottom right and on the back, sold for $2625 (est. $1000/1500). Not shown, a 5Â¾" x 9 1/8" ink and watercolor on paper by Thomas Rowlandson (British, 1756-1827), At the Races, signed and dated 1816, sold for $2875 (est. $1000/1500).

William Aiken Walker (1838-1921), Sharecroppers outside Cabin, signed bottom left, oil on board, 9" x 12", $13,750 (est. $8000/12,000). It had been found in Scotland and sent to Freeman's for sale by Lyon & Turnbull, their Scottish partner. "The consignor will be pleasantly surprised," said Alasdair Nichol. "She had no idea that her painting was American or what her picture was worth."

Patterns of Flowers and Leaf I by Mary Elizabeth Price (1877-1965), signed bottom right, inscribed and titled on back, mixed media with silver leaf on board, 18 7/8" x 23Â¾", sold for $35,000 (est. $15,000/25,000) to someone who left a bid with the auctioneer.

Rockwell Kent (1882-1971), Tierra del Fuego, signed bottom right, oil on panel, 15Â½" x 20", $40,625 (est. $20,000/30,000).

A 26" x 32" oil on canvas Pittsburgh scene by Edward Redfield (1869-1965), Aetna Valley, signed at bottom right, title inscribed on the stretcher, sold for $37,500 (est. $60,000/100,000).

Fern Isabel Coppedge (1888-1951), Woodland Brook, signed bottom center, signed and titled in pencil on upper stretcher, oil on canvas, 20" x 18", $68,500 (est. $40,000/ 60,000).

Fern Isabel Coppedge (1888-1951), Snow Covered Valley, signed lower left, title inscribed on back, oil on canvas, 30 1/8" x 30 1/8", $74,500 (est. $40,000/60,000).