An assortment of notable 19th-century American art, headlined by mainstays of the Hudson River School, will go under the hammer live on Jan. 18 at Christie’s Rockefeller Center in New York City.
The auction—titled 19th Century American & Western Art—is part of Christie’s annual Americana Week, which also includes live sales on Jan. 17 (Fine Printed and Manuscript Americana) and Jan. 18-19 (Important Americana), the latter of which boasts a rare portrait of George Washington that is estimated to sell for up to US$2.5 million.
“This is an extremely strong sale and a great snapshot of where the market for American Art is right now,” Edward Lewine, a Christie’s spokesperson, tells Penta. “We’re meeting today’s collectors where they are with the innovative strategy of separating historic American art sales like this one from American Modernism, which we’ll be offering later in the new year.”
This year’s edition of 19th Century American & Western Art is led by items from two significant collections: The Morton and Norma Lee Funger Collection, which includes masterworks by Martin Johnson Heade, Thomas Cole, William Michael Harnett, and Eastman Johnson; and Western artwork from an unnamed consignor, which includes the likes of Thomas Moran, Albert Bierstadt, Eanger Irving Couse, James Earl Fraser, and Ernest Martin Hennings.
“We have fine examples of the varied genres that make this category fascinating, including serene Hudson River vistas; wild frontier landscapes; images from around the globe; and scenes of an America that’s gone forever,” Levine says.
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Earning top billing are an assortment of oil paintings from the Funger Collection. The married couple—avid American-art enthusiasts who amassed what the auction notes describe as “one of the most important collections of their generation”—were chief figures in Washington, D.C.’s business and philanthropic communities until their recent deaths. Morton Funger died earlier this year at the age of 92, while Norma Lee Funger died last year at the age of 90.
“The lead lot in the sale, characteristic of the quality of the Funger Collection, is a masterful example of one of the signature series of paintings from 19th-century America: Martin Johnson Heade’s acclaimed images of hummingbirds,” says Levine.
Painted by Heade in 1871, Cattleya Orchid with Two Brazilian Hummingbirds carries a presale estimate of between US$1.2 million and US$1.8 million. Heade (1819-1904) was one of many American artists at the time who voyaged to foreign lands in search of inspiration; this work was the result of one of his frequent trips to Brazil, during which he studied and painted exotic flora and fauna with rich, fine detail.
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Also of note: View Near Catskill (1828-1829) by Thomas Cole, which is expected to sell for between US$500,000 and US$700,000.
Eastman Johnson’s Cardplay at the Camp, which was created circa 1861-65, is expected to fetch between US$400,000 and US$600,000. Described by the auction house as one of the most ambitious projects of his career, the work—captured in Johnson’s hometown of Fryeburg, Maine—was significant both for its abolitionist fervor and artistic vision. A celebrated genre painter, Johnson (1824-1906) co-founded the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1872
The second collection is headlined by notable oil paintings by Thomas Moran (1837-1926), Eanger Irving Couse (1866-1936), and Ernest Martin Hennings (1886-1956).
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“Demand for Western Art is rising and we have important pieces—many off the market for decades—from notable collections,” Levine says.
Moran’s Afterglow, Green River, Wyoming, an oil painting from 1918, is expected to sell for between US$1.2 million and US$1.8 million. According to the auction notes, the artist’s “imagery of the unique natural wonders of the region furthered popular fascination with this relatively new land … and became virtually synonymous with the American fantasy of the West.”
Hennings’ Along the Greasewood Trail (1918) and Couse’s Thunder Birds (1927) each carry a presale estimate to sell between US$600,000 and US$800,000.
Public exhibition at Christie’s Rockefeller Center galleries will start on Jan. 12, by appointment only.
