Freeman's Sells $5 Million Worth of Art in Pair of All-American Sales

Lot 33 | Childe Hassam (1859-1935) | The Bather (The Bather I), 1904 | SOLD FOR $179,200

 

American Art and Pennsylvania Impressionists and Western and Wildlife Art, including Contemporary Native American Art, were held in back-to-back sessions on June 7 

 

Freeman’s, America’s oldest auction, celebrated America’s 250th birthday by selling $5 million worth of American art. The day began with American Art and Pennsylvania Impressionists at 1 pm, followed by Western and Wildlife Art, including Contemporary Native American Art at 3 pm. Both sales easily surpassed their presale estimates. 

 

Lot 75 | Joseph Henry Sharp (1859-1953) | Sunburst Crow Reservation | SOLD FOR $320,000 

 

"We couldn’t be more pleased with what we were able to achieve for our clients,” said Adam Veil, Freeman’s Vice President and Head of Department for American Art. “I can’t think of a more fitting celebration for our nation’s Semiquincentennial than proving just how strong the demand for American art and artists is at the moment.” 

 

Session I: A Cross-section of American Art History

From Left to Right: 
Lot 119 | Edward Willis Redfield (1869-1965) | Overlooking Soho, Pittsburgh, 1918 | SOLD FOR $166,400 

Lot 96 | Jamie Wyeth (b. 1946) | Raven Pair - Portrait, 1998 | SOLD FOR $70,400 
 

American Art and Pennsylvania Impressionists started the day strong with a $2.6 million session, besting its presale estimate of $1.7 million while selling 90% of all lots. The top lot of the session was Childe Hassam’s 1904 oil on canvas, The Bather (The Bather I), which sold for $179,200 against a presale estimate of $100,000– $150,000 (lot 33). Among Pennsylvania Impressionists, Edward Willis Redfield saw the highest price realized in the category with his 1918 work Overlooking Soho, Pittsburgh (119), selling for $166,400, surpassing its presale estimate of $100,000–$ 150,000. 

 

Other Sale Highlights: 

• Lot 35 | Thomas Wilmer Dewing (1851-1938) 
  The Music Lesson, 1921 
  SOLD FOR $140,800 

 

• Lot 113 | Walter Emerson Baum (1884-1956) 
  Late Afternoon, 1933 
  SOLD FOR $76,800 

 

• Lot 96 | Jamie Wyeth (b. 1946) 
  Raven Pair - Portrait, 1998 
  SOLD FOR $70,400 

 

• Lot 73 | Sarah S. Stilwell Weber (1878-1939) 
  Children’s May Day Parade (Saturday Evening Post Cover), 1914 
  SOLD FOR $60,800 

 

 

Session II: Masterworks of Classic Western and Southwestern Art 

 

From Left to Right: 

Lot 18 | Hermon Atkins MacNeil (1866-1947) | The Moqui Prayer for Rain (The Returning of the Snakes)  
SOLD FOR $230,400 
Lot 19 | Bert Geer Phillips (1868-1956) | Water Carrier, c. 1912 | SOLD FOR $140,800 

 

In the second session, Western and Wildlife Art, including Contemporary Native American Art, soared past its presale estimate, ultimately selling for $2.3 million. Joseph Henry Sharp saw not only the top lot of the sale, but the day as a whole, when his Sunburst Crow Reservation (lot 75) sold for $320,000, well above its presale estimate of $120,000– $ 180,000.  

 Bronze sculptures proved to be a hot commodity throughout the sale, headlined by a circa 1897 cast of Hermon Atkins MacNeil’s The Moqui Prayer for Rain (The Returning of the Snakes)(lot 18), which sold for $230,400, nearly triple its $80,000 – 120,000 presale estimate. Another bronze by MacNeil (lot 25; Sold for $128,000), a work by Henry M. Shrady (lot 8; Sold for $166,400), and a sizable outdoor work by Allan Houser (lot 35; Sold for $128,000) also beat their estimates and reached six figures. 

 

Other Sale Highlights: 

• Lot 19 | Bert Geer Phillips (1868-1956) 
  Water Carrier, c. 1912 
  SOLD FOR $140,800 
• Lot 22 | Eanger Irving Couse (1866-1936) 
  Harmony, 1915 
  SOLD FOR $89,600
• Lot 17 | Henry Francois Farny (1847-1916) 
  Fairy Tales 
  SOLD FOR $76,800 
• Lot 24 | Gerard Curtis Delano (1890-1972) 
  Painting the Shield 
  SOLD FOR $76,800 
• Lot 34 | John Nieto (1936-2018) 
  Plains Warrior, 1996SOLD FOR $57,600