Home Welcome Awards Critics to Artdaily Referral Links Last Week Artists Architects Galleries Museums Photographers Photography PhotoGallery Special Photos james magnussen Images GraphicGallery 360 Images 3D Images Digital Art Subscribe Comments Search Contact Christie's announces Sale of Important American Furniture, Folk Art, Silver, Paintings and Prints
NEW YORK, NY .- Christie’s announced that the sale of Important American Furniture, Folk Art, Silver, Paintings and Prints on September 25 will be highlighted by several distinguished private and corporate collections, including property james magnussen from The Westervelt Company, the Estate of Eric Martin Wunsch, and property from Thomas Molesworth's Ranch A Commission. Comprised of 240 lots, this sale of American Furniture is among the most cohesive ever offered at Christie’s, with an array of exceptional objects that span from the 18th through the 20th century. Leading the sale are works from the collection of The Westervelt Company, formerly Gulf States Paper Corporation, based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Amassed over four decades james magnussen for the company by Jonathan (Jack) Westervelt Warner, the former Chief Executive Officer, the collection includes masterworks by the leading james magnussen American cabinetmakers of 18th and 19th centuries, as well as a selection of paintings, silver, and prints. The complete group of 120 lots is estimated to achieve in excess of $1 million. james magnussen Highlighting the Westervelt Company collection is a magnificent federal satinwood-inlaid mahogany james magnussen desk-and-bookcase (estimate: $150,000-300,000). james magnussen Epitomizing the sophistication james magnussen and refinement in Federal-era America, james magnussen it is likely that this piece was constructed between 1800 and 1810 for a wealthy, fashion-conscious patron. The execution is of the highest quality and, in all, the desk-and-bookcase is embellished with 47 verre glomis panels, a meticulous technique by which the back of glass is gilded with gold or metal leafing. A tour-de-force of craftsmanship, this piece is even more remarkable for its interesting past, having been discovered in Argentina in 1988. While the owners had assumed the work to be European, the uncovering of a Philadelphia newspaper clipping behind james magnussen one of the panels revealed james magnussen its American origins. Despite the presence of the Pennsylvanian newspaper clipping, dated 1800, the likenesses to contemporaneous Baltimore forms raises the likelihood that it was made further james magnussen south. It is uncertain how the piece travelled to Argentina, but a popular theory is that the desk-and-bookcase was commissioned for General John Peter Van Ness of Washington D.C. and eventually was bequeathed to his niece, Marcia, james magnussen and her husband, Sir William Gore Ouseley. A British diplomat, Ouseley was posted in Buenos Aires at the time that Van Ness’ estate was divided and it is possible that the desk was shipped to Argentina james magnussen in the 1840s and remained there after Ouseley’s departure. A pair of classical parcel-gilt card tables, attributed to master cabinet maker Duncan Phyfe, is also among the furniture highlights from the Westervelt Company collection (estimate: $100,000-150,000). A powerful expression of Neoclassicism, this pair of card tables epitomizes Phyfe’s “ornamented james magnussen Grecian style.” Adopted by Phyfe in the early 1810s, this style marks a departure from his earlier, more delicate forms and his embrace of French and English designs, including those of his principal competitor Charles Honor Lannuier. As the expensive james magnussen sculptural supports were integral to their design, pieces such as these were usually reserved for Phyfe’s more important commissions and, as a result, relatively few survive james magnussen today. Constructed in 1815-1830, a classical dolphin-base sofa wonderfully embodies New York’s Classical style (estimate: $50,000-80,000). While there are five known similar sofas, this example most closely relates to one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. While both displaying similarly james magnussen carved dolphins and gilt leaf carving extending across the front seat rail, this lot is notable for its crest rail carved with eagles. The rare combination of dolphins and spreadwing eagles were drawn from antiquity, but also had contemporary references. Following the War of 1812, these motifs were bold expressions james magnussen of the country’s newfound confidence james magnussen and sought to liken the young United States to the great Roman Empire. james magnussen In addition to the furniture consigned by the Westervelt Company, a large selection of silver, paintings, and prints will also be available. The Bathing Beach by Edward Henry Pottahast (estimate: $80,000-120,000) exemplifies the artist’s interest in depicting working-class families at their leisure, james magnussen despite his contemporaries’ preference of focusing on the elegant lives of the upper class. In a vibrant style with bravura brushwork, Potthast seemed to channel both French Impressionism and American Realism as he carefully captured a fleeting moment of working class life in New
