Carlsen Gallery, Inc., Freehold, New York
Photos courtesy Carlsen Gallery, Inc.
Carlsen Gallery strives to bring to the masses a nice mix from a variety of genres when putting together a sale. The company’s June 7 auction in Freehold, New York, was a great example. Three major consignments made up the auction, with small groups of other items added to keep things interesting.
If the 98% sell-through rate is any indication, Carlsen has the formula down to a science. What the Carlsens offered, shoppers were buying.
“It was a nice sale but a bit uneven in my opinion,” Russ Carlsen stated. When asked to clarify, he explained, “In some instances furniture, for example, went begging. Then other pieces of furniture brought all the money. I miss the old days where I felt I knew what everything was worth. Nowadays, I have to wait and see how it all shakes out.”
What did shake out well was the top lot of the day: a marble bas-relief of Mary and Child from the studio of Antonio Rossellino (Italian, 1427-1479), the youngest brother of the architect and sculptor Bernardo Rossellino. Housed in an ornately carved surround, the 53" tall piece sold for $36,000 (includes buyer’s premium), well above the $5000/15,000 estimate.
Attributed to Samuel Anderson Robb (1851-1928), this 19th-century tobacconist figure of a Native American stands 59" high and sold for $16,800 (est. $1000/3000).
From a completely different genre, a 19th-century tobacconist figure realized $16,800 (est. $1000/3000). Attributed to sculptor Samuel Anderson Robb (1851-1928), the 59" tall figure retained its old surface.
Numerous lots of sterling flatware and dinnerware went home with new owners. Of the top ten lots at this event, three were sterling. Leading the pack was a set of eight Gorham sterling silver dinner plates in the Maintenon pattern, each 11¼" in diameter. Together the set weighed 198 troy ounces. The set sold for $13,200 (est. $3000/6000).
Other sterling silver included a 178-piece (190 troy ounces) Gorham Chantilly pattern flatware set that sold for $9600 (est. $6000/9000); and a 130-piece sterling flatware set by Wallace, a service for 16, 110 troy ounces, that sold for $6000 (est. $4000/8000).
Twilight, this oil on canvas by Walter Launt Palmer (1854-1932), measures 26" x 20" and sold for $11,400 (est. $8000/12,000).
Fine art saw lots of interest. Twilight, an oil on canvas by Walter Launt Palmer (1854-1932), was bid to $11,400 (est. $8000/12,000). Palmer is known for his winter landscapes where light and ambiance are dominant features.
This oil on canvas titled Winter Landscape was the top lot of paintings by William Lester Stevens (1888-1969). Measuring 34" x 38", it made $10,200 (est. $2000/4000).
Another winter scene, Winter Landscape, an oil on canvas by William Lester Stevens (1888-1969), sold for $10,200 (est. $2000/4000). It was one of several by this artist selling that day. “We had four Stevens works in the auction, and all came out of the same house,” Carlsen noted.
Where furniture was concerned, this event had not one but two Hudson Valley kas pieces on hand. “I do not think I have handled a kas for more than ten years, and at this auction we had two,” Carlsen stated. “And we will have another in our upcoming September auction,” he added.
A 76" tall Hudson Valley red gumwood kas from the Barent Pietersen Coeymans House, also known as the Ariaantje Coeymans House, in Coeymans, Albany County, New York, sold for $6600 (est. $4000/6000). Built around 1690 and made of stone and brick, the house was the home of Ariaantje Coeymans (1672-1743), an heiress of a 17th-century flour and sawmilling business.
The second kas from the Hudson Valley in red gumwood was attributed to the workshops of Elting-Beekman, a prominent 18th-century cabinetmaking shop in Kingston, New York, from 1672 to 1814. The 73½" tall kas sold for $3600 (est. $3000/5000).
For more information about the June 7 and upcoming sales, visit the website (www.carlsengallery.com) or phone (518) 634-2466.
From the studio of Antonio Rossellino (1427-1479), this marble bas-relief of Mary and Child sold for $36,000 (est. $5000/15,000). The marble is 31" x 22"; with the surround it is 53" x 37" overall.
Having a four-board top and shoe feet, this trestle table with original surface sold for $2700 (est. $1000/3000). It measures 31¾" x 105¼" x 37".
Done in the Maintenon pattern, this set of eight Gorham sterling silver dinner plates with a total weight of 198 troy ounces sold for $13,200 (est. $3000/6000).
A 38" x 28" American school portrait of two children with a hoop, deaccessioned by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, sold for $3600 (est. $2000/3000). It has a 1971 temporary loan label on the reverse.
Possibly by Charles-Honoré Lannuier (1779-1819), this New York Federal period cheval mirror with dolphin feet and ormolu mounts sold for $1920 (est. $1500/2500). It measures 76" x 42" x 36".
The Catskills, a 33" x 48" oil on canvas by George Gunther Hartwick (1817-1899), sold for $4800 (est. $6000/8000).
Having an eagle crest, this circa 1815 convex mirror, wearing its original gilding, sold for $1920 (est. $500/1500). It measures 35" x 23".
Haying in the Hudson Valley, an oil on canvas by Frederick Rondel Sr. (1826-1892), measures 10" x 14" and sold for $4800 (est. $1000/3000). Rondel, who was born in Paris but later came to America, is best remembered as the only art teacher of Winslow Homer.
Charleston Doorway by William Lester Stevens (1888-1969), a 24" x 18" watercolor, sold for $2280 (est. $1000/2000).
Artist Jervis McEntee (1828-1911), a noted Hudson River school painter, was born and died in Rondout (later a district of Kingston, New York), on the river’s west bank. Other artists might have come to the Hudson River Valley from far and wide, but McEntee spent his whole life there painting the valley and nearby Catskills. The untitled 12" x 10" oil on board landscape sold for $5100 (est. $1000/4000).
Made of cast lead, this 21" tall English hare went home with a bidder selling for $2700 (est. $400/800).
This 71¾" x 73½" x 25" Hudson Valley red gumwood kas attributed to the workshop of Elting-Beekman sold for $3600 (est. $3000/5000).
Once housed in the Ariaantje Coeymans House in Coeymans, New York, this 76" x 70½" x 24" Hudson Valley red gumwood kas sold for $6600 (est. $4000/6000).
Originally published in the October 2026 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2026 Maine Antique Digest
