Louisiana Purchase Auction Caps the Year with a Flourish

November 22nd, 2015

Neal Auction Company, New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans has been a magnet for artists and artisans since the 18th century. All that creativity adds up, and the beautiful results—paintings, furniture, silver, and decorative arts—are exactly the sort of material that the Neal Auction Company seeks out for its fall events. The much-anticipated Louisiana Purchase Auction brought Neal’s sale year to a successful conclusion in New Orleans on November 21 and 22, 2015. The $3.1 million realized for over 1200 lots, combined with the September results (see p. 34-A), produced a two-sale total of $5.85 million, a marked increase over the $4.4 million fall total in 2014.

Consignments from impressive collections are the engine that drives these results. While the diverse sale offered everything from Bavarian Baroque to a really spiffy slot machine, at the heart of the November auction—as well as the September event in recent years—are the southern specialties. Regional paintings are an essential element in the mix. There will always be a catalog section devoted to the classic 19th-century artists—residents or visitors to New Orleans—such as Clague, Buck, Persac, Molinary, and Walker. And there is increased competition for the best works of 20th-century masters Kohlmeyer, Rodrigue, and Anderson.

A dramatic work by a New Orleans sculptor also appeared on the top-ten list from the sale. Enrique Alferez (1901-1999) was born to an artistic family in Mexico and spent some time with Mexican revolutionary legend Pancho Villa before coming to the United States to study in Chicago. By 1929, he had settled in New Orleans where he became an important figure in the artistic life of the French Quarter. For the exhibition Enrique Alferez: Art and Life at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, chief curator David Houston wrote, “For Alferez the expressive possibilities of the human figure in art were endless and preoccupied him over eight decades.”

This dramatic wood carving of Moses presenting the Ten Commandments by New Orleans sculptor Enrique Alferez (1901-1999) doubled its high estimate to reach $54,900 after competitive bidding by local collectors. The Baroque table with rouge marble top, English or possibly German, sold for $10,675. Neal Auction Company, New Orleans, Louisiana, November 21-22, 2015.

The sculptor’s 45½" high carved wooden figure of Moses triumphantly presenting the tablet bearing the Ten Commandments exceeded its modest $15,000/25,000 estimate to bring $54,900 (includes buyer’s premium). Rachel Weathers, Neal’s vice president who handles fine art, said after the sale: “The Enrique Alferez sculpture of Moses had been in the collection of the same New Orleans family since leaving the artist’s studio. I usually see ‘cabinet’ sized bronzes from Alferez in private collections down here. Those small bronzes are intimate and usually closely held by collectors. Moses was a larger scale sculpture with a dynamic pose. I loved seeing his upthrust arm every day as I walked in the gallery. Most importantly for collectors, the hand of the artist is easily seen with this piece; each mark he made on the wood surface is immediate.”

At the heart of the sale’s highlights is an interesting tale of two streetcars, that classic New Orleans conveyance, still by far the best way to access the pleasures of the French Quarter. One streetcar can be seen disappearing into the distance in Richard Clague’s circa 1870 atmospheric painting that graced the cover of the catalog and took top-lot honors at $176,900. The peaceful scene looks decidedly rural, as a flock of geese pecks at the two wooden going-and-coming tracks that stretch diagonally across the painting’s center. Weathers noted, “The Richard Clague canvas, Streetcar Tracks, was one of the largest and most important paintings by the artist we had seen outside of a museum collection. It is a beautifully rendered and balanced composition—and what an amazing sky. Most importantly the painting shows a New Orleans faubourg [suburb] as it transitioned from a country town built on plantation land into a completely modern city.”


The subject of intense interest before the sale, this 24" x 34" quiet landscape by Richard Clague (1821-1873) depicts wooden tracks laid down for the 19th-century horse- and mule-drawn streetcars connecting the older parts of New Orleans with newer residential areas. The skill of the French-born artist, contrasting the dark trees with a luminous Louisiana sky, made this the top lot of the auction. It sold to a local collector for $176,900.


While the streetcar tracks were depicted in the Clague painting, the sale also included a highly detailed silver exhibition model of a mule-drawn streetcar on its way down the line, here proudly displayed by Neal senior vice president Katherine Hovas. The medallion on the front proclaims that it was made by Zimmerman’s Silverware Factory on Canal Street, probably around 1865-70; the top can be removed to view the movable louvered windows and bench seats inside. After a lengthy battle by determined bidders, the unique model sold to a local museum for $45,140 (est. $3000/5000). Neal Auction Company, New Orleans, Louisiana, November 21-22, 2015.

The New Orleans and Carrolton Railroad Company increased the number of routes for the horse- or mule-drawn streetcars in the second half of the 19th century, transporting residents to the city from these outlying residential areas. A perfect companion to the painting was the highly detailed coin silver model of a streetcar of that period, apparently made around 1865-70 as a demonstration of the silversmith’s skill by the Zimmerman firm on Canal Street. Vice president Katherine Hovas removed the car’s roof to reveal the perfect detailing of the interior with its movable louvered shutters. Once in the collection of Richard Mellon Scaife, the unique silver exhibition piece sold for $45,140 after a long bidding battle.

On the furniture front, while the September auction had featured more Rococo Revival from the Service collection, the November sale presented an important Louisiana Creole armoire of cherrywood and cypress, one of the masterworks of the Kleinpeter consignment. The piece has a well-documented path of descent from the original owner, whose initials are inlaid above the doors. The lot with its characteristic mixture of French and Anglo-American elements was acquired for $73,200 by a yet-unnamed museum, as was the coin silver streetcar above, a fact that reflects their historical importance. These significant lots in different mediums are a perfect expression of the spirit of the annual Louisiana Purchase Auction.


Sunlight brings out the complex grain of this Louisiana cherrywood armoire on cabriole legs from the Kleinpeter collection of Baton Rouge. The piece appeared in Furnishing Louisiana: Creole and Acadian Furniture, 1735-1835, a Historic New Orleans Collection reference published in 2010; it sold to a local museum for $73,200.

Finally, there could never be a November auction without a strong block of Newcomb Pottery, with its celebration of regional flora and some crawfish to boot. The top seller was a hefty vase, 12¼" high, decorated with incised irises by Harriet Coulter Joor. Selected for display at the front of the auctioneer’s podium, it sold for $33,550, while a 1904 Aztec Lily vase by Marie Medora Ross brought $14,030. A section of the catalog devoted to a collection formed by a French gentleman who owned a townhouse in the Vieux Carré yielded additional vases with irises and daffodils, which brought $12,200 and $11,980 respectively.


This big, bright 1902 vase decorated with irises by Harriet Coulter Joor was the top Newcomb lot, purchased by a southern collector for $33,550.


Crawfish are a signature element in New Orleans cuisine. Two lots of Newcomb Pottery from the Kleinpeter collection were decorated with the delicacy by Marie Levering Benson in 1907. This bowl (9¼" in diameter) sold for $12,200, and a lot of three matching plates (7½" in diameter—not shown) sold for $18,300.

Marc Fagan, vice president of consignments, said after the sale, “I like to keep my eye on a few items, things that are not necessarily high value but things that interest me, and see how other people respond to them.” He was pleased with the results for the Walter Inglis Anderson watercolor of bananas, the Audubon Baltimore Oriole, and the intricately carved cellarette attributed to Quervelle, all illustrated here. In conclusion, he said, “It was a great sale—pretty much what we thought would happen. The things we thought would do well performed as advertised.”

For complete catalogs and information on future sales, visit the website (www.nealauction.com) or call (800) 467-5329.


Bayou Casino Lories, an exceptionally colorful collection of Hunt Slonem (b. 1951) parrots from 2014, sold above its high estimate for $12,810; the circular mirror with a dragon frame from the carving-laden Service collection brought $3660.


While many of the paintings by William Aiken Walker (1838-1921) in the sale explored familiar plantation themes, this serene Florida coastal landscape achieved the highest price among them when it sold to a collector in that state for $61,000. The 1895 view titled Bringin’ in the Dory includes a depiction of the Pacetti House in the middle distance, the lodging in Ponce Inlet, Florida, where Walker stayed while he was working. Neal Auction Company photo.


A section of the auction was devoted to consignments from the townhouse of a French gentleman in the Vieux Carré. One of the artworks from this run of lots was an 1850 oil portrait of a Creole woman by Bavarian-born New Orleans artist François Fleischbein (1804-1868), which sold to an American museum for $28,060.


Far from their Baltimore home, this pair of gilded and painted maple landscape chairs, circa 1815, attributed to Thomas Renshaw and John Barnhart received phone and absentee bids that took the final price to $4500 (est. $1200/1800). Neal Auction Company photos.


Neal September Sale Sets New Records: A Highlight Review

Following the practice of recent years, Neal’s fall season opened with a strong September sale filled with consignments whose prices rivaled or even exceeded the lots in the November auction. The strong regional focus of both sales drew equal attention from collectors. In fact, the September 12 and 13, 2015, catalog presented the top lot of the entire season, a landscape from the distinguished art collection of D. Benjamin Kleinpeter, Sr., of Baton Rouge. North Shore, Lake Pontchartrain (Fisherman’s Cabin), 1884, 24" x 36", sold for $261,500 to set a record for Gibraltar-born artist Andres Molinary (1847-1915), who became an important figure in the New Orleans art community.


The top lot of both fall sales was this austere Lake Pontchartrain cabin scene, which brought $261,500 (est. $60,000/90,000). The final price set a new record for New Orleans artist Andres Molinary (1847-1915), more than doubling any previous price achieved. Ex-D. Benjamin Kleinpeter, Sr., collection. Neal Auction Company photo.

A new record was set for popular local artist Ida Rittenberg Kohlmeyer (1912-1997) when Cluster #1, 1973, 69" x 104", sold to a collector in the room for $110,250. This was the best price for one of her works in either sale. Another record fell when Abstract Landscape in Blue, 1945, 15½" x 13½", by southern Modernist Will Henry Stevens (1881-1949) brought $28,175. Born in Indiana, Stevens studied in Cincinnati and New York and then moved in 1921 to New Orleans, where he taught at Newcomb College.


The “Cluster series with its strong grid form began in 1973 with this canvas labeled Cluster #1; the painting brought a new record price of $110,250 for New Orleans artist Ida Rittenberg Kohlmeyer (1912-1997). Neal Auction Company photo.


This Abstract Landscape in Blue from the artist’s estate brought a new record price—$28,175—for the work of artist Will Henry Stevens (1881-1949). Neal Auction Company photo.

The best price of the fall for a George Rodrigue (1944-2013) painting was realized when a local collector on the phone bought the large acrylic canvas Blue Dog Looking for a Home, 1995, 60" x 50", for $110,250 (est. $50,000/80,000). The next lot, another blue pup picture from 1992 titled Through the Lavender Woods, brought an above estimate $55,125, and an earlier Cajun series painting of a Crawfish Salesman sold for $44,100. Neal holds the record auction price for a Rodrigue of $173,275 set last April.


The extremely desirable subject matter—a view of St. Louis Cathedral on Jackson Square—helped this lot to double its estimate for a final price of $107,187.50. American Impressionist Louis Oscar Griffith (1875-1956) was active in New Orleans 1916-17, during which time he painted many French Quarter scenes. Neal Auction Company photo.

On the furniture front, Neal presented part II of the Service collection formed by Grant A. Oakes of Warren, Ohio, a gentleman who sought out the most elaborate carving that ever ornamented the American cabinetmaker’s art. The results of part I were reported in M.A.D.’s May 2015 issue, solid proof that interest in Rococo Revival and its 19th-century successors still makes hearts beat faster. Another $700,000 made in the part II sales of furniture and lighting brought the Service collection total to over $1.5 million, and there will be more to come from that source this year. Summing up, the September 2015 sale total of $2.75 million for over 1100 lots gave the November Louisiana Purchase Auction a mark to surpass.


A southern collector paid $107,187.50 (est. $40,000/60,000) for this rosewood sofa in John Henry Belter’s rare “Cornucopia” pattern, most similar to one in the Museum of the City of New York. The sofa lot was succeeded by two armchairs and four side chairs (not shown) in the same pattern, which all sold above their estimates; the seating suite total was $217,437.50. Ex-Service collection. Neal Auction Company photo.


Yet another tour-de-force Rococo Revival center table from the Service collection brought $59,375 (est. $25,000/35,000). The carving on the legs and stretcher is closely related to the Belter table in the Lincoln Bedroom at the White House. Neal Auction Company photo.


The Service collection also contained superb 19th-century lighting fixtures. This English four-light gilt bronze Argand chandelier with Bacchus masks and garlands brought $21,250 (est. $8000/12,000). An American four-light gasolier (not shown) offered on the second day of the sale jumped to $50,000 (est. $3000/5000) on a telephone bid. Neal Auction Company photo.


On View at the Historic New Orleans Collection
in the French Quarter

During the weekend of the Louisiana Purchase Auction, the Historic New Orleans Collection (HNOC) in the French Quarter was closing one exhibition and opening another. The institution is an invaluable asset for scholars and collectors through its informative exhibitions, permanent collections, publications, and research library, all of which are focused on regional history, art, architecture, and music. Important lots that appear in local auctions have often been illustrated or referenced in past catalogs such as Furnishing Louisiana (2010) or Vaudechamp in New Orleans (2007). The museum also continues to acquire significant artifacts of New Orleans and Louisiana interest for its permanent collection.

While Enrique Alferez’s figure of Moses was finding success on the block at Neal, a carved fireplace mantel by the sculptor was on display in HNOC’S decorative arts exhibition It’s Only Natural: Flora and Fauna in Louisiana Decorative Arts, which closed November 28, 2015. Born in Mexico, Alferez enjoyed a colorful career that included a sojourn with Pancho Villa and a lifelong study of the complexities of the human figure—muscular workmen alternate with alligators, birds, and beasts on the mantel surround.


It’s Only Natural: Flora and Fauna in Louisiana Decorative Arts, an exhibition at the Historic New Orleans Collection, drew displays from the museum’s rich permanent collection. The lion terra-cotta architectural ornament came from the Sewerage and Water Board building, circa 1916.

Just opening at the institution was the new exhibition An Architect and His City: Henry Howard’s New Orleans, 1837-1884, which is accompanied by an HNOC publication, Henry Howard: Louisiana’s Architect by Robert S. Brantley with Victor McGee. A frieze of photographs showing Howard’s surviving works reveals his diverse commissions, which included houses, churches, municipal offices, and commercial buildings. The gallery exhibits, however, present an architectural history of the city that goes beyond the work of a single designer.


One of Howard’s surviving projects, the Upper Pontalba buildings on Jackson Square date to the late 1840s. This modern photograph of their façade is part of a new exhibition, An Architect and His City: Henry Howard’s New Orleans, 1837-1884. Courtesy The Historic New Orleans Collection; photograph by Robert S. Brantley and Jan White Brantley.

John H. Lawrence, director of museum programs at HNOC, explains: “The exhibition is not so much about Henry Howard’s work—the book covers that—it’s more about the city in which he operated as an architect and how his work fits into that. Howard’s time in New Orleans saw a lot of change in the city. He arrives here in the Panic of 1837, he experiences numerous yellow fever epidemics, flooding from the river; then he’s here for the Civil War and the aftermath of Reconstruction. Howard was fairly prolific over a career of 40 years, only interrupted by the Civil War, during which he designed over 250 buildings.” The exhibition on one of the most important architectural eras in New Orleans history is on view through April 3. For more information, go to the HNOC website (www.hnoc.org).


New Orleans is famous for its cast-iron fences, balcony rails, and courtyard furniture. This bench in a passion flower pattern was made at Hinderer’s Iron Works in the Crescent City.


 

This carved wood mantel by New Orleans sculptor Enrique Alferez (1901-1999), made bet-ween 1941 and 1955, features Louisiana wildlife and strong human figures.


Originally published in the February 2016 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2016 Maine Antique Digest

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