Albert Laessle (American, 1877-1954)

Bullfrog, 1908
bronze on green marble base
signed Albert Laessle 1908 Phila.
Height overall 5 width of bronze 6 1/2 x depth 6 1/2 inches.

Property from the Estate of Patricia Ann Black Smyth, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Sold to Benefit Berea College, Berea, Kentucky, offered without reserve

Patricia Ann Black Smyth (1925-2018) was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the daughter of Ernest Bateman Black and Faye Bunyan Black. She attended Miss Crosby's School in Illinois and graduated from Wellesley College in Massachusetts, where she was a lifetime member of the Wellesley Friends of the Library Organization. Mrs. Smyth also served as a member of the Junior League of Kansas City, Missouri, and was a long-time docent at the Art Institute of Chicago. Hindman is thrilled to present Mrs. Smyth’s refined and diverse collection, which will be sold without reserve to benefit Berea College in Berea, Kentucky.

Berea College was founded in 1855 with the express mission of educating both women and men of all racial backgrounds. It is the South’s first racially integrated and co-educational college and is guided by the motto from Acts 17:26: “God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth.”

Only students with high academic promise and limited financial means are accepted, and every student receives a Tuition Promise Scholarship—no student pays tuition. As a Work College, every student works at least 10 hours per week to help pay for housing, meals and personal expenses. Berea students have the lowest amount of student debt in the country, and half graduate debt free.

Today, Berea serves over 1,600 students, the majority of which are from Kentucky and Appalachia, although its student body hails from over 40 states and 70 countries. Berea depends heavily on alumni and friends to continue to fulfill the no-tuition promise made to every student.

In overall fine condition. Maintaining a fairly even brown patina throughout with some traces of light rubbing. Some slight verdigris on back legs. Additional images available upon request. Height of bronze figure 3 1/2 inches; marble base: height 1 1/2 x width 8 x depth 8 inches.

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Please contact the Auction Specialist for details.

Corbin Horn

Vice President, Head of Department, European Furniture & Decorative Arts

[email protected]312.334.4214

Mr. Horn joined the firm in 2009 and has directed numerous sales of important collections, including those of Lilly Pulitzer, Lord Anthony and Lady Jacobs, Lars Bolander, Casa de Sueños in Miami Beach, and Villa Massei in Lucca, Italy. He has also achieved record results for consignments from prominent institutions, including the Toledo Museum of Art, the High Museum of Art, the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Minnesota Historical Society. Mr. Horn is a member of the Antiquarian Society of the Art Institute of Chicago and is an alumnus of the Attingham Trust.

Ben Fisher

Managing Director, Furniture and Decorative Arts

[email protected]312.447.3270

Mr. Fisher rejoined the firm in 2019 after working as a specialist in the American Furniture and Folk Art department at Sotheby’s New York. His areas of expertise include 18th, 19th, and 20th century American, Continental, and English furniture, decorative and folk art. Before coming to Hindman in 2013, Mr. Fisher worked in European Furniture and Decorative Arts in Philadelphia. He began his career working for a prints dealer focusing on works from the 16th through the 20th centuries.

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European Furniture & Decorative Arts

Albert Laessle (American, 1877-1954)

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