American Art New York I July 29, 2020 - Bonhams
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American Art New York I July 29, 2020
American Art
New York | Wednesday July 29, 2020 at 4pm
BONHAMS AUCTIONEER INQUIRIES ILLUSTRATIONS
580 Madison Avenue Jeff Olson - No 2070005-DCA Jennifer Jacobsen Front Cover: Lot 11
New York, New York 10022 Director Inside Front Cover: Lot 35
bonhams.com Bonhams & Butterfields +1 (917) 206 1699 Opposite: Lot 20
Auctioneers Corp. jennifer.jacobsen@bonhams.com Inside Back Cover: Lot 19
Bonded pursuant to California 2077070-DCA Back Cover: Lot 4
Civil Code Sec. 1812.600; Aaron Anderson © 2020 The Milton Avery Trust /
Bond No. 57BSBGL0808 BIDS Junior Cataloguer Artists Rights Society (ARS)
+1 (212) 644 9001 +1 (917) 206 1616
PREVIEW +1 (212) 644 9009 fax aaron.anderson@bonhams.com
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SALE NUMBER: 25830 estimate in excess of $1000
Lots 1 - 68
Please see page 83-87 for
CATALOG: $35 bidder information including
Conditions of Sale, after-sale
collection and shipment. All
items listed on page 87 will be
transferred to offsite storage
along with all other items
purchased, if not removed by
5pm on August 4.
Bonhams
© 2020 Bonhams & Butterfields Auctioneers Corp.
All rights reserved.
American Art at Bonhams
New York
Jennifer Jacobsen
Director
Aaron Anderson
Junior Cataloguer
Los Angeles
Scot Levitt
Vice President
Kathy Wong
Specialist
San Francisco
Aaron Bastian
Director
PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF DOMINIQUE RIVIERE
1
MARCH AVERY (BORN 1932) March Avery’s inspiration for the present work painted in 1963
Sally Sketching most likely came from her summer spent that year with her parents
signed and dated ‘March Avery ‘63’ (upper left) and signed and in Lake Hill, New York, several miles north of Woodstock, and the
dated again and inscribed with title (on the stretcher) surrounding Catskills region. March depicts her mother Sally wearing
oil on canvas a loosely fitted light blue and white striped shirt and a wide brimmed
18 x 24in (45.7 x 61cm) sun hat. The inground swimming pool of one of the homes they
Painted in 1963. rented that summer is visible in the background. Sally looks down
intently sketching the landscape around her.
$3,000 - 5,000
Provenance
Private collection, New York.
Sale, Freeman’s, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 4, 2012,
lot 89, sold by the above.
Acquired by the present owner from the above.
AMERICAN ART | 5
PROPERTY OF A NEW YORK CORPORATE COLLECTION 2 SALLY MICHEL AVERY (1902-2003) Provenance Spring Landscape The artist. signed and dated ‘Sally Michel 1980’ (lower left) and signed and Acquired by the present owner from the above, circa 1980-85. dated again and inscribed with title (on the reverse) oil on canvasboard The present work most likely depicts a landscape in the Catskills 22 x 28in (55.9 x 71.1cm) region of New York where Sally Michel Avery frequently spent time Painted in 1980. with her family. $5,000 - 7,000 6 | BONHAMS
PROPERTY OF A NEW YORK CORPORATE COLLECTION
3
SALLY MICHEL AVERY (1902-2003) Provenance
White Amaryllis The artist.
signed and dated ‘Sally Michel / 1980’ (lower right) and signed and Acquired by the present owner from the above, circa 1980-85.
dated again and inscribed with title (on the reverse)
oil on canvas
48 x 28in (121.9 x 71.1cm)
Painted in 1980.
$6,000 - 8,000
AMERICAN ART | 7
PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF PATRICIA NICHOL
BARNES, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS
4
MILTON AVERY (1885-1965)
Dunes and Blue Sea
signed and dated ‘Milton Avery 1961’ (lower left)
oil on canvasboard
24 3/4 x 29 7/8in (62.9 x 75.9cm)
Painted in 1961.
$150,000 - 250,000
Provenance
The artist.
Felix Landau Gallery, Los Angeles, California.
André Previn, acquired from the above, 1961.
Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago, Illinois.
Acquired by the late owner from the above, January 28, 1971.
Exhibited
Los Angeles, California, Felix Landau Gallery, Milton Avery: Recent
Paintings, October 16-November 4, 1961, no. 38.
Chicago, Illinois, Richard Gray Gallery, Milton Avery, Important
Paintings, April 18-May, 1981, no. 38.
Dunes and Blue Sea is a bold example of Milton Avery’s maturing Avery’s inspiration for Dunes and Blue Sea most likely stems from
style of the 1950s and 1960s. At this stage in his career, Avery’s his summers of 1957 through 1960 that were spent in Provincetown,
pictorial focus shifted from describing the individual parts of his Massachusetts. Reflecting on these summers, Avery remarked, “I
subjects to instead focusing on a harmony among the composition’s have always been drawn to the sea. After a number of summers
elements. Avery began exploring ways to create compositional spent inland, I came to Provincetown - to a little house on the bay.
harmony through the simplification of shape and reduction of detail Birds and sea surrounded me and many wonderful hours were
as early as 1944, but by the 1950s and onward, he mastered this spent just watching.” (as quoted in University of Illinois at Urbana-
vision that allowed him to achieve balance and to better express Champaign, College of Fine and Applied Arts, Contemporary
more universal qualities of experience. His mature painting technique American Paintings and Sculpture, exhibition catalogue, Champaign,
incorporated large thin washes of paint, sometimes one over the Illinois, 1959, p. 192) Though he remained in New York during the
other, to create textural, veiled strokes of color. The result was a body summer when the present work was painted, due to his deteriorating
of work that is reminiscent of the Color Field paintings that would be health, his memory of the beaches of Provincetown stayed with him.
popularized by his contemporaries and close acquaintances, such as Avery masterfully evokes a tenderness for these familiar beaches and
Mark Rothko (1903-1970) and Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011) who celebrates the beauty of life itself in Dunes and Blue Sea. In Avery’s
were at the forefront of abstract expressionism. final years, he continued to paint as long as he could, living by his
own credo to “keep painting - day in, day out. Be absorbed by it.
In the present work, Avery has deconstructed land, sea and sky Hold on to the dream - try to make the great dream a reality.” (as
so they serve as both simplified abstract forms and as referential quoted in Contemporary American Paintings and Sculpture, 1959,
objects. Furthermore, he uses flat planes of color—a deep navy and p. 192) The rising generation of American color painters would look
golden yellow—to depict these elements. Avery maintains the illusion toward Avery’s achievements with admiration and for inspiration,
of depth through bold diagonal lines that divide the work into three making his work eternal. Avery’s color harmonies and relationships
parts. The division of the work creates slanted diagonal planes, a between his simplified forms from this mature stage in his career
compositional device that he often favored in earlier decades and continue to remain captivating and fresh.
would continuously revisit later, such as in Sand, Sea and Sky (1960,
The Larivière Collection, Montreal, Canada) and in White Umbrella
(1961, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Lederman). In Dunes and
Blue Sea, the viewer’s eye moves upward from the sandy shore
at the foreground to the dark blue sea and then finally through the
grassy dunes and yellow sky above. Though not depicted, it is
strongly implied that the shoreline in the foreground curves around at
left beyond the picture plane to connect with the dunes and form an
inlet. This provides an interesting and more abstracted perspective
compared to other works Avery completed in earlier years depicting
this type of landscape or seascape. In Dunes and Sea I (Milton Avery
Trust, New York) from 1958 for example, Avery more clearly defines
and describes the boundaries of the shoreline and chooses a more
aerial view of the scene.
8 | BONHAMSPROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, LOS ANGELES,
CALIFORNIA
5
LUIGI LUCIONI (1900-1988) Provenance
Close Harmony (No. 1) Gerold Wunderlich & Co., New York.
signed and dated ‘Luigi Lucioni 1950’ (lower right) and inscribed with Acquired by the late owners from the above, April 10, 1992.
title and dated again (on a label affixed to the backing board)
oil on canvas Exhibited
14 x 16in (35.6 x 40.6cm) (probably) New York, Associated American Artists Galleries,
Painted in 1950. Luigi Lucioni: Twenty-Five Years of Paintings, 1925-1950, 1951.
Literature
$5,000 - 7,000
S.P. Embury, The Art and Life of Luigi Lucioni: A Contribution
Towards a Catalogue Raisonné, Holdrege, Nebraska, 2006, p. 193,
no. 50.7.
10 | BONHAMSPROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, LOS ANGELES,
CALIFORNIA
6
KONRAD CRAMER (1888-1963) Exhibited
Still Life with Black Stove Annandale-On-Hudson, New York, Edith C. Blum Art Institute,
oil on panel and elsewhere, Konrad Cramer: A Retrospective, November 21,
24 x 21 1/8 (61 x 53.7cm) 1981-January 24, 1982, p. 58, no. 21 (as Still Life with Stove).
Painted circa 1920.
The present work retains an inscription by the artist’s son on the
reverse, which dates the work as circa 1920.
$7,000 - 10,000
Konrad Cramer was one of the founders and directors of the
Provenance Woodstock, New York Art Association and the Woodstock School
The artist. of Painting. His style was considered more radical compared to
Estate of the above. the other artists working at the Woodstock school, often aiming to
[With] Martin Diamond Fine Arts Inc., New York. adapt cubism to local landscape and still life subjects. His floral still
Louis Stern Galleries, Beverly Hills, California. lifes, especially those he painted in the early-1920s, are rendered in
Acquired by the late owners from the above, May 30, 1991. a structured, realist style with subtle Cubist intrusions. These earlier
works, including the present work, often recall traditional European
floral still lifes, but Cramer modernizes them by twisting his tables
and vases out of perspective or by tilting or dissolving the planes
around the central subject.
AMERICAN ART | 11PROPERTY FROM THE MILLER FAMILY COLLECTION
7
ELIZABETH CATLETT (1915-2012) Provenance
Legacy The artist.
inscribed ‘EC’ (on the base) Private collection, acquired from the above.
bronze with dark brown patina By descent to the present owner.
29in high (73.6cm high)
Modeled circa 1994; Cast by 1994. The present bronze model was made by Elizabeth Catlett in
preparation for a mahogany wood carving that she executed in 1994,
entitled Standing Woman with Blue Eyes (Private Collection).
$15,000 - 25,000
12 | BONHAMSPROPERTY FROM A SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO COLLECTOR
8
JOHN MARIN (1870-1953) Exhibited
Shapes, Colors, Delaware Country, PA. New York, The Downtown Gallery, Abstract Painting in America,
signed and dated ‘Marin 16’ (lower right) 1903-23, March 27-April 21, 1962.
watercolor and pencil on paper laid down on board Iowa City, Iowa, The University of Iowa, Vintage Moderns,
16 1/2 x 19 5/8in (41.9 x 49.8cm) May 24-August 2, 1962, no. 33.
Executed in 1916. Tucson, Arizona, The University of Arizona Art Gallery, John Marin
1870-1953, February 9-March 10, 1963, p. 11, no. 16.
Greensboro, North Carolina, The Weatherspoon Art Gallery,
$20,000 - 30,000
University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Art on Paper,
November 16-December 14, 1975.
Provenance
Alfred Stieglitz. Literature
Edith Halpert. S. Reich, John Marin: A Stylistic Analysis and Catalogue Raisonne,
The Downtown Gallery, New York, until 1963. Tucson, Arizona, 1970, p. 423, no. 16.41, illustrated.
Sale, Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas, May 8, 2008, lot 33029.
Acquired by the present owner from the above.
AMERICAN ART | 13PROPERTY FROM A SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO COLLECTOR
9
MANIERRE DAWSON (1887-1969) Provenance
Modules The artist.
signed ‘Dawson’ (lower right) and signed again and dated Estate of the above.
(on the reverse) Frank J. McKeown, Jr., Lefferts L. Mabie, Jr. and Dr. Lewis Obi,
oil on canvas acquired from the above, 1978.
16 x 28in (40.6 x 71.1cm) Sale, Sotheby’s Arcade, New York, March 20, 1996, lot 196, sold by
Painted in 1920. the above.
Acquired by the present owner from the above.
$8,000 - 12,000
Literature
R.J. Ploog, M. Bairstow, A. Boyajian, Manierre Dawson (1887-1969):
A Catalogue Raisonné, Jacksonville, Florida, 2011, p. 251, no.
1920.06, illustrated.
14 | BONHAMS(actual size)
10
ALTON PICKENS (1917-1991) Provenance
Children Playing Buchholz Gallery / Curt Valentin, New York, by 1946.
signed with artist’s initials and dated ‘AP / 4-44’ (lower right) William Slattery Lieberman, New York.
and signed again (on the reverse) Estate of the above, 2005.
oil on panel Acquired by the present owner from the above, 2006.
3 1/2 x 5 1/2in (8.9 x 14cm)
Painted in 1944. Exhibited
New York, Museum of Modern Art, Fourteen Americans, September
10-December 8, 1946, p. 79, loan no. 46.1465.
$3,000 - 5,000
The present work was once in the collection of William Slattery
Lieberman (1923-2005), a legendary and influential museum curator
who held positions at both the Museum of Modern Art, New York and
the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
AMERICAN ART | 15PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, LOS ANGELES,
CALIFORNIA
11
WALT KUHN (1877-1949)
Lady in Vest
signed and dated ‘Walt Kuhn / 1939’ (lower left)
oil on canvas
36 x 23in (91.4 x 58.4cm)
Painted in 1939.
$100,000 - 150,000
Provenance
The artist.
Estate of the above.
Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, Inc., New York.
Acquired by the late owners from the above, March 22, 1984.
Exhibited
Los Angeles, California, Terry Delapp Gallery and elsewhere,
Walt Kuhn, February 1984.
Walt Kuhn was an aficionado of theatrical, vaudeville and circus 1910. The following year Kuhn and a small group of fellow artists
performances, and he would often study his subjects backstage. founded the Association of American Painters and Sculptors (AAPS),
Studying his subjects offstage, away from the fanfare of their which aimed to promote contemporary artists through non-juried
performances, contributed a psychological directness to Kuhn’s exhibitions. With Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928) as its president, the
portraits. As is evident in Lady in Vest, his compositions focused on AAPS organized the International Exhibition of Modern Art, a major
the sitter, often with an engaged gaze with the viewer. Portraits of show that included representative works from avant-garde artistic
performers became the most significant subject in the artist’s oeuvre movements in Europe. Serving as the Association’s secretary, Kuhn,
and his unique approach to portraiture was fresh and modern. Lady Davies and Walter Pach (1883-1958) traveled to Europe in 1912 to
in Vest is a fantastically bold example of the artist’s work, painted in find the best and most progressive examples of fresh art to introduce
Kuhn’s assured, mature style. to New York audiences. Known as the Armory Show, the exhibition
opened in New York on February 17, 1913, and introduced Cubism,
Kuhn was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1877 and beginning at an Fauvism, Expressionism, and other styles of European Modernism
early age, he developed an interest in drawing and theater. At the to American audiences. Kuhn continued his work with the AAPS
age of fifteen, Kuhn sold his first drawing to a magazine and in 1893 after the Armory Show and also began serving as an art advisor to
he decided that he would benefit from formal training and began art prominent American collectors, such as John Quinn (1870-1924)
classes at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. In 1899, he made his and Lillie P. Bliss (1864-1931), a lender to the Armory Show and a
way to California and settled in San Francisco where he took a job as founder of the Museum of Modern Art.
a cartoonist and illustrator for The Wasp, a weekly satirical magazine.
After a year of working for The Wasp, he realized that if he was going Over the next decade, Kuhn experimented with Modern styles
to be taken seriously as an artist, he needed to further his studies including Cubism and Fauvism and tested a variety of mediums. In
and expose himself to the Old Masters and contemporary Modernists 1925, following a close call with death caused by a duodenal ulcer,
of Europe. In March of 1901, Kuhn traveled to Paris to study at the Kuhn shifted his focus to developing a signature style of his own and
Academie Colarossi and later that year he went on to Münich to by the end of the decade, his signature portrait technique of boldly
study at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste to study under Heinrich rendering single figures against stark backdrops had emerged. By
von Zügel (1850-1941), a member of the Barbizon school. During 1939 when Kuhn painted Lady in Vest, his style had matured and
his two years abroad, he went on sketching trips to the Netherlands, the subject of theatrical and vaudeville performers, circus acrobats,
toured the museums of Venice, and exposed himself to the works of and clowns that he often studied backstage had become his most
the Impressionists and the Post-Impressionists. noteworthy subject. Despite the colorful costumes and staged
poses of his sitters, Kuhn’s portraits are dignified and psychologically
In 1903, Kuhn moved back to New York where he studied at probing. In his portraits, as seen in the present work, Kuhn omits the
the Artists’ Sketch Class and began painting landscapes in an spectacle of the performance choosing instead a bare background.
Impressionist style. For the next decade, he supported himself as an He often composed the sitters with a direct and engaging gaze
illustrator and cartoonist for local journals and publications including with the viewer that imbues his works with a psychological intensity.
Life and New York World. Through his commercial illustration work, Exhibiting its vibrant color palette, a lively costume design, and the
Kuhn became acquainted with Robert Henri (1865-1929), John Sloan arresting gaze of the woman’s piercing blue eyes, the present work is
(1871-1951), and other artists in their circle. He worked with Henri a thoroughly modern and striking example by the artist.
and Sloan to organize the Exhibition of Independent Artists in April
16 | BONHAMS12
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, LOS ANGELES, PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, LOS ANGELES,
CALIFORNIA CALIFORNIA
12 13 W
GUY PÈNE DU BOIS (1884-1958) EUGENE EDWARD SPEICHER (1883-1962)
Mother, Daughter and Doll Cowboy
signed ‘Guy Pène Du Bois’ (lower right) signed ‘Eugene Speicher’ (upper left)
oil on canvas oil on canvas
36 1/8 x 29in (91.8 x 73.7cm) 44 1/4 x 42 1/4in (112.4 x 107.3cm)
Painted in 1932.
$8,000 - 12,000
$7,000 - 10,000
Provenance
Terry De Lapp Gallery, Los Angeles, California. Provenance
Acquired by the late owners from the above, February 19, 1980. The artist.
Frank K.M. Rehn Galleries, New York, by 1933.
Guy Pène Du Bois’ Mother, Daughter and Doll exhibits the artist’s Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, Inc., New York.
refined and modern style that broke away from more conventional Acquired by the late owners from the above, October 6, 1981.
approaches to portraiture during the early-20th century. In the
present work, as is common with Pène Du Bois sitters, both mother
and daughter can be interpreted as taut with elusive, distant gazes.
The sitters’ connection is evident in their seated pose as the mother
wraps her arm around the young girl.
18 | BONHAMS13
Exhibited Gallery to Continue to Feb. 3,” New York Herald Tribune, January 3,
New York, College Art Association of America, International, 1933, 1934, vol. XCIII, no. 31,823, p. 14.
February 6-26, 1933, p. 9, no. 46. E.A. Jewell, “Speicher Returns with 23 Canvases; One-Man Show at
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Carnegie Institute, Thirty-First Annual the Rehn Gallery Is His Fist Similar Exhibit in 5 Years; Has a Personal
International Exhibition of Paintings, October 19-December 10, 1933, Triumph; ‘Cowboy’ Only One of Pictures of This Period to Have Had a
no 45, pl. 12, illustrated. Previous Showing Here,” The New York Times, January 3, 1934, vol.
New York, Frank K.M. Rehn Galleries, Eugene Speicher, January LXXXIII, no. 27,738, p. 17.
2-February 3, 1934. E.A. Jewell, “In The Realm of Art: The Season’s Activity is Resumed;
New York, Slander-O’Reilly Galleries, Inc., Paintings and Drawings Three One-Man Shows; Eugene Speicher, John Sloan and Ernest
by Eugene Speicher (1883-1962): For the benefit of the Hassam and Fiene Step Into the Dawn of a New Year,” The New York Times,
Speicher Purchase Fund, The American Academy and Institute of Arts January 7, 1934, vol. LXXXIII, no. 27,742, sec. 10, p. X12.
and Letters, New York, New York, October 1981, no. 7, front cover R. Cortissoz, “Two Americans In Full Length Shows,” New York Herald
illustration (as Allen). Tribune, January 7, 1934, vol. XCIII, no. 31,829, sec. V, p. 10.
“Woodstock: Catskill colony has nurtured some great names,” LIFE,
Literature August 22, 1938, vol. 5, p. 26, illustrated (as Woodstock Cowboy).
“International Exhibition of Living Art,” New York Herald Tribune,
February 5, 1933, vol. XCII, no. 31,493, sec. VIII, part 1, p. 5, Eugene Speicher divided his time between New York City and the
illustrated. Woodstock art colony where he was closely associated with prominent
E.C. Sherburne, “An International Show for 1933,” The Christian artists of the time, such as George Bellows (1882-1925), Guy Pène
Science Monitor, February 11, 1933, vol. XXV, no. 66, p. 12. du Bois (1884-1958), Robert Henri (1865-1929) and Rockwell Kent
F.H. Taylor, “The ‘International’ at Worcester,” The American Magazine (1882-1971). Painted on a large-scale format, Speicher’s model for
of Art, March 1933, vol. 26, no. 3, p. 137, illustrated. Cowboy was Allen Stoutenberg, one of nine children of the stone
H. Gaul, “Jury of Art Directors Succeeds in Selecting Splendid Group cutter that helped Speicher to rebuild his home. The writer Inslee A.
of Paintings, Signalizing A “New Deal” in Juries; It Is a Modern, Hopper of The American Magazine of Art observed that the character
Contemporary Show, With Various Abstracts and the “isms” and “isis” of his portraits “often centers in the eyes and hands, and when these
Of Art in Background,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 19, 1933, are heavily painted the effect remains more tricky than convincing.”
vol. 7, no. 69, p. 24. (I.A. Hopper, “New York Shows,” The American Magazine of Art,
D. Naylor, “International Exhibit Works Conservative; Art Show March 1934, vol. 27, no. 3, p. 134). Allen had never traveled far from
Promises Not to Shock the Public So Much This Year; Reviewer Woodstock, but he had strong ambitions to become a cowboy and
Impressed; European and U.S. Artists Have 351 Paintings On Display,” did his best to dress the part. The clothes that he is depicted wearing
The Pittsburgh Press, October 19, 1933, vol. 50, no. 118, p. 18. in the present work are noted as coming from the department store
“Eugene Speicher Shows Paintings of Last 5 Years: Exhibition at Rehn Montgomery Ward.
AMERICAN ART | 19PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, LOS ANGELES,
CALIFORNIA
14
EUGENE EDWARD SPEICHER (1883-1962) Exhibited
November Landscape New York, M. Knoedler & Co., Exhibition of Paintings by Eugene
signed ‘Eugene Speicher’ (lower right) and inscribed with title and Speicher, February 2-14, 1920, no. 7.
signed again (on the reverse) Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard Art Museums, Fogg Museum,
oil on canvas n.d.
27 1/4 x 34 1/4in (69.2 x 87cm)
In 1920, Eugene Speicher had his first solo show at the then
celebrated M. Knoedler & Co. gallery in New York City in which the
$2,500 - 3,500
present work was included. That same year Speicher was awarded
the prestigious Beck Gold Medal from the Pennsylvania Academy of
Provenance the Fine Arts for his portrait of a Russian woman.
George A. Harris.
L. Vernon Briggs.
F.B. Horowitz Fine Art, Ltd. Hopkins, Minnesota.
Acquired by the late owners from the above, June 18, 1986.
20 | BONHAMSPROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, LOS ANGELES,
CALIFORNIA
15
LEON KROLL (1884-1974)
Boats on the Harbor
signed and dated ‘Kroll 1915’ (lower right)
oil on canvas
26 x 32in (66 x 81.3cm)
Painted in 1915.
$20,000 - 30,000
Provenance
Bernard & S. Dean Levy, Inc., New York.
Acquired by the late owners from the above, June 26, 1978.
AMERICAN ART | 2116 ¤ EVERETT SHINN (1876-1953) Nude Woman with Black Stockings Disrobing signed and dated ‘E. Shinn / 1911’ (lower left) charcoal on paper laid down on board 13 7/8 x 10 7/8in (35.2 x 27.6cm) Executed in 1911. $1,500 - 2,500 Provenance Graham Gallery, New York. Acquired by the present owner from the above, May 16, 1989. 22 | BONHAMS
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, LOS ANGELES,
CALIFORNIA
17
RAPHAEL SOYER (1881-1961) Exhibited
Charlotte Los Angeles, California, Loyola Marymount University, Laband Art
signed ‘Raphael / Soyer’ (lower left) Gallery, The Spirit of the City: American Urban Paintings, Prints, and
oil on canvas Drawings, 1900-1952, February 18-April 7, 1986.
16 x 10in (40.6 x 25.4cm)
Painted circa 1935. Literature
S. Muchnic, “City Spirit: N.Y. Comes To Loyola,” Los Angeles Times,
March 10, 1986, part VI, p. 1, illustrated.
$3,000 - 5,000
According to a letter written by Raphael Soyer, the present work
Provenance depicts Charlotte Trowbridge who was an artist and a staff member
[With] The Moskowitz Gallery, Los Angeles, California. of the Museum of Modern Art in New York (unpublished letter, n.d.).
Sale, Sotheby Park Bernet, Los Angeles, California, 1982, lot 408. Trowbridge worked as an installer during her time at MoMA and is
Acquired by the late owners from the above. credited for her work on the exhibition Modern Handmade Jewelry
that ran from September 17 through November 17, 1946. She also
had her work shown at MoMA in the exhibition World of Illusion:
Elements of Stage Design that ran from October 14, 1947 through
January 4, 1948.
AMERICAN ART | 23Property of the Mary Duke
Biddle Trent Semans Foundation
Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans was born on February 21, 1920 Mrs. Semans was also instrumental in establishing a number of
in New York City. She was the great-granddaughter of Washington pioneering institutions, including the University of North Carolina
Duke, the granddaughter of Benjamin Newton Duke and Sarah School of the Arts, the nation’s first state-supported conservatory
Pearson Duke and the daughter of Mary Duke Biddle and Anthony for the arts, which she helped found with her husband James H.
J. Drexel Biddle, Jr. She moved to Durham, North Carolina when she Semans, M.D., the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, and
was 15 years old to attend Duke University, founded by her family the Mary Duke Biddle Gallery for the Blind at the North Carolina
just a decade before, and she remained a Durham resident for the Museum of Art, where sight-impaired visitors could experience
rest of her life. a museum, feeling masterpieces by artists such as Rodin. For
Mrs. Semans, art was essential to life–telling stories, promoting a
Mrs. Semans accomplished an extraordinary amount in her lifetime. greater understanding of others, and bridging cultures and lifestyles.
In the 1940s, she immersed herself in her marriage, giving birth She was an accomplished piano player and maintained lifelong
to four little girls, raising her family and establishing her home in friendships with the artist John Koch (1909-1978) and composer Iain
Durham. But, after the tragic death of her first husband, Dr. Josiah Hamilton (1922-2000).
Charles Trent, in 1948 at the age of 34, she re-directed her energy
to serving others and giving of her time and resources. Initially, The Dukes were a family of extraordinary wealth and exceptional
her focus was political: in the early 1950s, she was elected to the generosity. Their informed commitment to fine art spanned multiple
Durham City Council, then rose to become the city’s mayor pro- generations. In 1956, Mrs. Semans’ mother, Mary Duke Biddle
tempore, both firsts for women. Propelled by her strong convictions established a charitable organization in her own name, originally to
and democratic ideals, she advocated ardently for social justice, focus on the arts and education in North Carolina and New York.
economic opportunity, racial equality, grassroots arts programming, Since its founding, the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation has disbursed
housing for the poor, cultural enrichment opportunities for the blind nearly $45 million to worthy causes.
and deaf, and humane medical care. Her leadership style garnered
admiration and respect from across the community. That style was In the early 1980s, Mrs. Semans established her own foundations,
characterized by steadfast determination, a willingness to listen and the Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans Foundation, to make small,
learn from others, an unshakeable faith in the goodness of all people, creative grants in the Durham community and beyond, and the Duke-
and, ultimately, the courage to fight for what she knew was right. Semans Fine Arts Foundation, which was created to hold and loan
many of Mrs. Semans’ most valuable pieces of art. Her collecting
Although she remained an active voice in social causes throughout style was diverse and eclectic, but always informed by a love for the
her life, she pivoted from politics in the 1960s, turning her attention beauty and emotion that the art conveyed. Her two foundations were
to, among many other things, the institutions created by her family. merged into a single foundation, the Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans
As a powerful member of the Board of Trustees of Duke University, Foundation, after her death. The Foundation board has recently
she played an integral role in every major decision over half a made a determination to sell much of its art and build its corpus in
century, helping guide the University’s rise to its current status as order to focus on making impactful grants in North Carolina, in honor
a global leader in higher education. She also served as a trustee and memory of Mrs. Semans’ legacy.
of The Duke Endowment for 55 years, including serving as its first
female chairman, guiding the Endowment to increase the impact and Bonhams is honored to offer lots 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23 on
relevance of its grants through changing times, and building on the behalf of the Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans Foundation.
philanthropic legacy of her great uncle, the Endowment’s founder,
James Buchanan Duke.
24 | BONHAMSPROPERTY OF THE MARY DUKE BIDDLE TRENT SEMANS
FOUNDATION
18
JOHN KOCH (1909-1978) Literature
Siesta Time Magazine, January 24, 1964, vol. 83, no. 4, front cover
signed ‘Koch’ (lower left) illustration.
oil on canvas
30 1/8 x 25 1/4in (76.5 x 64.1cm) The subject of the male and female nude is a traditional one for
Painted in 1962. artists throughout the ages. However, John Koch’s perspective on
this subject was unique in that he explored both physical beauty
and social issues, including race, sexual norms, and domestic
$40,000 - 60,000
relations. The present work is a superb example of both Koch’s
realist style and his ability to depict the complexities of the male-
Provenance female relationship in the guise of a domestic bedroom scene. In
The artist. 1964, the present work was chosen for the cover of Time Magazine
Kraushaar Galleries, New York. for a special issue entitled SEX in the U.S.: Mores & Morality. Koch’s
Mrs. Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans, acquired from the above. painting was printed and reproduced on the cover in tandem with
Dr. Rebecca Trent Kirkland, by bequest from the above, 2012. the article, “Morals: The Second Sexual Revolution.” Siesta, as with
Gift to the present owner from the above, 2013. Koch’s other bedroom scenes, is not intended to be an overtly erotic
or lustful image, as the artist composes his subjects in an idyllic
Exhibited state, comfortably relaxing in warm light that streams through the
New York, The New York Historical Society, John Koch: Painting a windows.
New York Life, October 16, 2001-January 27, 2002, pp. 84-85, 106,
no. 42, illustrated.
AMERICAN ART | 25PROPERTY OF THE MARY DUKE BIDDLE TRENT SEMANS
FOUNDATION
19 W
JOHN KOCH (1909-1978)
Summer Night
signed ‘Koch’ (lower right)
oil on canvas
78 x 44in (198.1 x 111.8cm)
Painted in 1965.
$80,000 - 120,000
Provenance
The artist.
Kraushaar Galleries, New York.
Mrs. Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans, acquired from the above.
Dr. Rebecca Trent Kirkland, by bequest from the above, 2012.
Gift to the present owner from the above, 2013.
John Koch is recognized as one of the leading Realist painters of the With combined funds from his commissioned portraiture and
20th century, best known for his elegant depictions of fashionable life Dora teaching music lessons, the Kochs were able to support
in and around New York City. Summer Night is a significant example a sophisticated lifestyle in New York and in 1954, moved into a
of the genre, painted on a monumental scale, that showcases fourteen-room apartment in the famed El Dorado building on the
Koch’s adept skill for arranging interactions and intrigue between Upper Westside. Many of Koch’s works depict well-dressed figures
his subjects. The scene suggests a refined home’s porch, captured socializing and living out their lives in spacious and well-decorated
at a moment after an evening gathering. There is the sensibility of interiors of New York apartments, often using his own apartment at
leisurely, relaxed elegance, while the meticulously arranged still life the El Dorado. Koch painted numerous domestic still lives, interior
elements and relationships between the figures enliven the scene scenes of his studio, men and women interacting at parties and
with narrative. at home, children playing, and attractive nudes. While much of his
work focuses on close relationships between his subjects, Koch
Koch was born in Toledo, Ohio in 1909 to businessman Edward John never posed models physically together, but rather carefully arranged
Koch and Marian Joan Koch. He was raised in the university town of compositions based on working from models posed individually.
Ann Arbor, Michigan and beginning at the age of fourteen, he briefly
studied charcoal drawing. During his high school years, he spent Summer Night is an impressively large-scale, multifigure composition
two summers in Provincetown, Massachusetts where he attended showing a group at leisure at a country home on a warm summer’s
lectures by Charles Hawthorne (1872-1930) at the Cape Cod School night. There is an atmosphere of intrigue between the figures who
of Art. After graduating high school, Koch went to Paris at the age of are painted under dramatic lighting effects with warm highlights and
nineteen and stayed for five years where he studied independently strong cast shadows. While the composition is visually unified, there
and supported himself by drawing commissioned portraits. Koch are disconnected vignettes within the work of people engrossed
credited the city as the place where he learned the major lessons of in a pair one-on-one or isolated alone. The young men watching
his life as a painter and credited the Louvre as one of his greatest television in the foreground are scantily clothed, presumably due
teachers. After his time spent in Paris, Koch returned to New York to the summer heat. While a homoerotic sensibility can be found
City. In 1935, he married Dora Zaslavsky (1904-1987) and had his in many works in Koch’s oeuvre, the figures are not sexualized but
first New York exhibition at Valentine Dudensing Gallery. A few years rather are shown as attractive, partially nude models with an air of
later, in 1939, he signed on with Charles W. Kraushaar Gallery, innuendo. Behind these men, a woman huddles close to another
where his first show sold out. That same year, his painting East male to light a cigarette alongside a side table full of intricately
River (circa 1930) was acquired by the Brooklyn Museum of Art and depicted bottles and glassware. Another woman in the background
was one the first museum acquisitions of his work. He continued to displays more standoffish body language with crossed arms, as a
exhibit at Kraushaar Galleries regularly and it was there that Siesta man in the shadows appears to be engaged in conversation with her.
(Lot 18) and Summer Night (Lot 19) were first shown. His time
working with the gallery brought him great commercial success for Summer Night is a complex and curated, yet seemingly carefree
the remainder of his career. scene. While Koch’s best works show a world refined and reformed,
they are engaging and generate commentary on a facet of society
At the turn of the 1940s, Koch’s success and recognition continued and relationships. As exemplified in Summer Night, Koch’s subjects
to grow. From 1942-45 he joined the United Service Organizations are unique in their perspective and for their blending of domestic
(USO) in the art sketching and portrait division in veterans’ hospitals idleness and social commentary.
and from 1944-46, Koch taught figure painting at the Art Students
League in New York. During these years, he became a featured
artist of classical portraits at Portraits Inc., which further allowed
him to earn a substantial income. Additional recognition and fame
came in 1950, when his painting The Monument (1950) was
exhibited at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s national competitive
exhibition American Painting Today and later that year, his work was
featured on the cover of Life magazine for the first time. His work
would grace the cover of Life again in 1955, when the publication
chose his portrait of Princess Margaret (1930-2002) as their cover
illustration. Koch continued to gain recognition for his work as a
figurative artist, receiving several awards from the National Academy
of Design in 1952, 1959, 1962 and 1964.
26 | BONHAMSPROPERTY OF THE MARY DUKE BIDDLE TRENT SEMANS
FOUNDATION
20 W
JOHN SINGER SARGENT (1856-1925)
Mrs. John C. Tomlinson
oil on canvas
58 1/8 x 37 7/8in (147.6 x 96.2cm)
Painted circa 1904.
$200,000 - 300,000
Provenance Literature
The artist. W.H. Downes, John S. Sargent: His Life and Work, Boston,
Mr. John Canfield Tomlinson, acquired from the above, circa 1904. Massachusetts, 1925, p. 214.
Mrs. John Canfield Tomlinson, the sitter, by descent, 1927. W.H. Downes, John S. Sargent: His Life and Work, London, 1926,
Mr. Daniel Grant Tomlinson, by descent, circa 1936-37. p. 214.
Sale, Parke-Bernet, New York, May 11, 1939, lot 51, sold by the E. Charteris, John Sargent, London, 1927, p. 272.
above through Carroll Carstairs. C.M. Mount, John Singer Sargent: A Biography, New York, 1955,
Braus Gallery, New York, acquired from the above. p. 438.
Samuel Hart Gallery, Houston, Texas, acquired from the above, D. McKibbin, A Complete Checklist of Sargent’s Portraits, Boston,
circa 1962. Massachusetts, 1956, p. 126.
Mrs. Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans, acquired by 1962. C.M. Mount, John Singer Sargent: A Biography, London, 1957,
Gift to the present owner from the above, December 29, 1981. p. 347.
G. O’Brien, “Room Settings Put Art in Perspective,” The New York
Exhibited Times, December 6, 1961, vol. CXI, no. 37, 937, p. 56, illustrated.
New York, Society of American Artists, Twenty-sixth Annual C.M. Mount, John Singer Sargent: A Biography, New York, 1969,
Exhibition, March 26-May 1, 1904, no. 81. p. 453.
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, M. Robertson, W. Adelson, John Singer Sargent: His Own Work,
One Hundredth Anniversary Exhibition, January 23-March 4, 1905, New York, 1980, n.p.
no. 461. A. Barnwell, Dora: Relationships Within A Portrait, Ph.D. paper,
New York, M. Knoedler & Co., Exhibition of the National Association Durham, North Carolina, 1993.
of Portrait Painters Inc., February 2-14, 1914, no. XXVI, illustrated. R. Ormond, E. Kilmurray, John Singer Sargent: The Later Portraits,
Washington, D.C., United States National Museum, National New Haven, Connecticut, 2003, vol. 3, pp. 124-25, no. 467,
Association of Portrait Painters: Third Annual Circuit Exhibition, March illustrated.
14-April 12, 1914 (as Portrait of Mrs. John C. Tomlinson).
Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University, European and American
Paintings from Princeton Alumni Collections, 1972, no. 24.
Durham, North Carolina, Duke University Museum of Art British
American Festival of Sargent’s Works, 1984.
Lawrenceville, New Jersey, Lawrenceville School, Collector’s Choice,
October 1987-November 1988.
Charlotte, North Carolina, Mint Museum of Art, North Carolina
Collects: Traditional Fine Arts and Decorative Arts, July 9-
September 18, 1994, p. 57, no. 49, illustrated.
Salem, Virginia, Roanoke College, Olin Hall Galleries, From the
Collection of: Works on Loan From Trustees and Friends of the
College, October 24-November 21, 1997.
Asheville, North Carolina, Asheville Art Museum, Looking Back,
February-July 2010.
Durham, North Carolina, North Carolina Central University Art
Museum, January 2013-May 31, 2013.
Durham, North Carolina, Duke University, Nasher Museum of Art,
2016.
28 | BONHAMSJohn Singer Sargent’s studio at 31 Tite Street, Chelsea, England, circa 1920. R.L. Ormond material relating to John Singer Sargent, 1851-1979.
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
By the turn of the twentieth century, John Singer Sargent had Sargent painted the famed portrait of Isabella Stewart Gardner from
solidified his reputation as a leading portraitist for American and Boston, Massachusetts (1886, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum,
European high society. Mrs. John C. Tomlinson is an exemplary Boston, Massachusetts).
portrait showcasing Sargent’s elegant painterly technique and is
executed on a grand scale fit for the apparent stature of the subject. By the late-1890s, Sargent moved significantly away from the use
Sargent remained steadfast in his unique and modern approach to of sharp lighting that characterized his earlier portraits and instead
realism, which contributed to some of the most significant works adopted a soft chiaroscuro technique and fluid brushwork that
in the grand manner of portraiture. A reviewer wrote of his work enhanced the elegance of his portraits. The vigor and freedom of the
that “his brushwork boldly challenges you by presenting a definite works that he produced in the United States in the 1890s and 1900s,
tone for every inch of surface... he never permits some pleasantly including the present work, serve as clear indications of Sargent
warmed juice to veil his view of air, color and form... he puts all working in an assured style. Sargent used his New England ancestry
straightforwardly to the touch of right or wrong.” (Art Journal, 1893, p. and his Parisian style to his advantage to establish connections with
242) Mrs. John C. Tomlinson showcases Sargent’s trademark artistic Boston and New York’s elite families. The artist had effectively won
techniques and his maturity as a portrait painter who describes his over American high society and its reigning members, including the
sitters in truth while revealing their alluring elegance and grace. Tomlinsons, who would call on him to endow them with glamour and
panache by the hand of his brush.
John Singer Sargent was born in 1856 in Florence, Italy to American
parents living abroad. He spent most of his formative years travelling Mrs. Dora Morrel Tomlinson was born in Canada in 1866 as
throughout Europe including Italy, France, Switzerland and Germany. Dora Morrel Grant to Daniel J. Grant, a successful sea captain
It was not until 1876, when the artist was twenty years old that he and ship owner from Camden, Maine, and to his wife, Elizabeth
first visited the United States. During this trip, Sargent met family, ‘Bessie’ Crane. She spent most of her formative years in Boston,
artists and friends and traveled to iconic destinations such as the Massachusetts with her family receiving a proper education and
Hudson River and Niagara Falls. Although much of his life was spent on July 20th, 1888, she married the prominent and wealthy New
outside of the United States, Sargent regularly worked with fellow York lawyer, John Canfield Tomlinson. John and Dora had one son
American artists in Paris and would later become involved in the together, Daniel Grant Tomlinson or “Sporty” as they lovingly called
Society of American Artists, originally founded as the Association of him. In the 1890s, they resided on the Upper Westside of Manhattan
American Artists. Sargent’s return to the United States in 1887 after and kept a country home in Goshen, Massachusetts (L.H. Weeks,
a number of years abroad was highly anticipated among American Prominent Families of New York: Being an Account in Biographical
socialites and upper class patrons wishing to sit for a portrait. By this Form of Individuals and Families Distinguished as Representatives of
time, he had established himself among his peers and word of his the Social, Professional and Civic Life of New York City, New York,
talents had reached far beyond Europe. It was on this excursion that 1898, p. 566).
30 | BONHAMSThe couple and all of Tomlinson’s children, including those from
a previous marriage, appeared regularly in the Social Register of
New York, noted for their frequent moves and memberships to
organizations and clubs that complimented their affluence. Dora
lived an extravagant lifestyle alongside her husband, traveling to
Europe and playing bridge with New York’s socialites. In 1901, the
Tomlinsons made their growing financial position known when they
moved to a more refined part of the city at 45 West 57th Street and
this is possibly where the present work hung. John died in 1927 and
in 1928, Dora moved to Beverly Hills, California to be near her son.
Dora eventually passed away in 1936 after a battle with cancer and
most of her estate including the present work was bequeathed to
Daniel. Devastated by the loss of his mother, Daniel couldn’t bear
to keep her portrait and in 1939, he sold it through Parke-Bernet
Galleries under the auspices of Caroll Carstairs to Brause Gallery.
By 1962, the present work was acquired by Mrs. Mary Duke Biddle
Trent Semans and the level of scholarship and exhibition history for
the work grew.
In Mrs. John C. Tomlinson, Sargent depicts the subject wearing
a striking, dark, Empire-style evening gown. She rests her right
arm on the edge of the mantlepiece of the white Neoclassical
marble fireplace and with her left hand, pulls back a plush, scarlet
red curtain hanging behind her. The artist relies on costume to
create an air of opulence and draped over the mantlepiece is the
sitter’s black and white fringed shawl. Sargent utilized a limited
number of props within his studio to suggest rather than describe
the grand space that his sitter occupies. Mrs. Tomlinson was
posed in Sargent’s studio at 31 Tite Street in London, where he
worked and lived until his death in 1925. An archival photograph
features Sargent posed in front of the mantlepiece in a similar
fashion as Mrs. Tomlinson and similarities can also be seen in the
style and setting between the present work and his portrait of
Mrs. Louis E. Raphael (circa 1906, Montgomery Museum of Fine
Arts, Montgomery, Alabama, The Blount Collection). Mrs. John C.
Tomlinson is an engaging portrait in part due to the inviting pose
that Sargent has chosen for his sitter as well as her strong gaze
and enigmatic expression.
According to Juliette Tomlinson, Dora’s step-granddaughter, the
reason the present work is unsigned is supported by a family
anecdote that records a dispute between Sargent and Mr.
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), Mrs. Louis E. Raphael (Henriette
Tomlinson over the asking price of the portrait. Mr. Tomlinson
Goldschmidt), circa 1906, oil on canvas, 59 x 39in, Montgomery
refused to pay Sargent, thus resulting in him refusing to sign or date
Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, Alabama, The Blount Collection,
the portrait after it was finished (A. Barnwell, Dora: Relationships
199.2.36
Within A Portrait, Durham, North Carolina, 1993, p. 3). Despite
the dispute between Sargent and Tomlinson, the portrait was
included in the 1904 Society of American Artists’ exhibition in
New York alongside the artist’s important triple portrait The Misses
Hunter (1900-02, Tate Gallery, London). The request to have the
present work exhibited shortly after its completion was possibly at
the insistence of the Tomlinsons. Such exhibitions were equally a
tribute to the ambitions of the patrons to have their portraits seen
in prominent public spaces to elevate themselves socially as they
were to the talents of the artists. The sitter and her husband were
active in high society and were cognizant that a portrait from the
brush of a leading artist of the day with an exhibition to follow could
only benefit their rise in stature in society.
Mrs. John C. Tomlinson is rendered gracefully with the
quintessential hallmarks of Sargent’s best portraiture, when he was
working at the height of his popularity and abilities. These include
soft, delicate facial features, varied, rich tonal qualities and visible,
spontaneous brushstrokes. The jewel-toned drape and deeply hued
gown stand in dramatic contrast with the glowing, porcelain skin
of the sitter. Mrs. John C. Tomlinson is an engaging achievement
in portraiture for its fresh painterly qualities and stands in Sargent’s
oeuvre as a superb example of the artist imbuing his subjects with
elegant grandeur.
AMERICAN ART | 31PROPERTY OF THE MARY DUKE BIDDLE TRENT SEMANS
FOUNDATION
21
THOMAS POLLACK ANSHUTZ (1851-1912) Provenance
Self-Portrait Mrs. Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans.
oil on canvas Estate of the above.
23 1/4 x 16 1/4in (59.1 x 41.3cm) Gift to the present owner from the above.
Painted in 1910.
The present self-portrait painted by Thomas Pollack Anshutz is
believed to be an oil sketch for a self-portrait he intended to exhibit
$6,000 - 8,000
for his induction as an associate member to the National Academy
of Design. Ultimately, a final version of the present composition was
unrealized and Anshutz exhibited instead a self-portrait painted in
1909.
32 | BONHAMS(front) (verso)
PROPERTY OF THE MARY DUKE BIDDLE TRENT SEMANS
FOUNDATION
22
THOMAS EAKINS (1844-1916) Lawrenceville, New Jersey, Lawrenceville School, The Collector’s
Baby Girl Playing and Seated Boy with Book: A Double-Sided Work Eye...Two, May 3-17, 1996.
oil on board Salem, Virginia, Roanoke College, Olin Gallery,
13 3/4 x 10 7/8in. (34.9 x 27.6cm) October 17-November 24, 1997.
Painted in 1876. Durham, North Carolina, Duke University Museum of Art,
July-August 1999.
Durham, North Carolina, Duke University Museum of Art,
$15,000 - 25,000
November 2002-February 2003.
Asheville, North Carolina, Asheville Art Museum,
Provenance March 1, 2009-March 1, 2010.
The artist. Durham, North Carolina, North Carolina Central University,
Mrs. Thomas Eakins, wife of the above. January-June, 2013.
James Graham & Sons, New York.
Mrs. Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans, acquired from the above, Literature
April 13, 1962. L. Goodrich, Thomas Eakins: His Life and Work, New York, 1933,
Gift to the present owner from the above, December 31, 1985. p. 169, no. 100 (as Studies of a Baby).
L. Goodrich, Thomas Eakins: His Life and Work, New York, 1970,
Exhibited p. 169, no. 100 (as Studies of a Baby).
Lawrenceville, New Jersey, Lawrenceville School, Collector’s Choice,
October 1987-November 1988. The primary side of the present work is believed to be a study
Charlotte, North Carolina, Mint Museum of Art, North Carolina for Eakins’ painting Baby at Play (1876, National Gallery of Art,
Collects: Traditional Fine Arts and Decorative Arts, July 9- Washington, D.C.) that depicts his two-year-old niece, Ella Crowell.
September 30, 1994, p.25, no. 16 (as Study of a Baby at Play).
AMERICAN ART | 33PROPERTY OF THE MARY DUKE BIDDLE TRENT SEMANS
FOUNDATION
23
THOMAS SULLY (1783-1872) Literature
Mrs. John Redman Coxe (Sarah Cox) C.H. Hart, A Register of Portraits Painted by Thomas Sully 1801-
signed with conjoined initials and dated ‘TS 1813’ (lower center) 1871, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1908, p. 47, no. 362 (as Cox Mrs.
oil on canvas Dr.).
36 1/4 x 29 1/4in (92.1 x 74.3cm) E. Biddle, M. Fielding, The Life and Works of Thomas Sully (1783-
Painted in 1813. 1872), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1921, p. 129, no. 382.
G. O’Brien, “Room Settings Put Art in Perspective,” The New York
Times, December 6, 1961, vol. CXI, No. 37,937, p.56, illustrated.
$7,000 - 10,000
E. Biddle, M. Fielding, The Life and Works of Thomas Sully, New
York, 1970, p. 129, no. 382.
Provenance
The artist. This half-length portrait painted by Thomas Sully in 1813 is of Mrs.
Dr. John Redman Coxe, husband of the sitter, commissioned from Sarah Coxe, the wife of Dr. John Redman Coxe of Philadelphia,
the above, 1813. a prominent pharmacist and professor at the University of
Mrs. Edward Parke Custis Lewis, Hoboken, New Jersey. Pennsylvania. Mrs. Coxe was also the daughter of the American
Mrs. James Millar Cumming. Revolutionary War Colonel John Cox of New Jersey. Sully has
James Graham & Sons, New York. painted her resting her arm on a draped chair next to her and
Mrs. Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans, acquired from the above, staring off into the distance. She is wrapped in an elegant shawl and
1962. adorning a fashionable empire wasted dress. The vivid pigments,
Gift to the present owner from the above, 1995. emphasized by the contrast between Mrs. Coxe’s deep red shawl
and the green cloth that covers the blue chair against her luminous
Exhibited white dress, is characteristic of Sully’s work. Sully was also well
Durham, North Carolina, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, known for his adept brushwork and his ability to depict various
August 2006-March 2007. textures, as seen in the technical virtuosity used to render the shawl
Durham, North Carolina, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, and dress.
until May 2016.
34 | BONHAMSPROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF GLORIA AND
RICHARD MANNEY
24
ATTRIBUTED TO JAMES SHARPLES (CIRCA 1751-1811) Literature
Portrait of George Washington K.M. Knox, The Sharples: Their Portraits of George Washington and
pastel on paper His Contemporaries; A Diary and an Account of the Life and Work of
9 1/2 x 7 5/8in (24.1 x 19.4cm) James Sharples and His Family in England and America, New Haven,
Connecticut, 1930, pp. 70-78, nos. 15-29, 31-37, 39-41, 43, 45-48,
other examples illustrated.
$8,000 - 12,000
K.M. Knox, The Sharples: Their Portraits of George Washington and
His Contemporaries; A Diary and an Account of the Life and Work
Provenance of James Sharples and His Family in England and America, New
Sallie Brownback, New York, by 1950. York, 1972, pp. 70-78, nos. 15-29, 31-37, 39-41, 43, 45-48, other
Sale, Sotheby’s, New York, December 12, 1975, lot 1. examples illustrated.
Acquired by the present owners from the above.
AMERICAN ART | 35PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 25 ALFRED THOMPSON BRICHER (1837-1908) Seascape and Shore (New England Coast) signed with conjoined initials ‘ATBricher.’ (lower right) oil on canvas 15 1/4 x 33 1/8in (38.7 x 84.1cm) $30,000 - 50,000 Provenance Kennedy Galleries, Inc., New York. Acquired by the late owners from the above, June 19, 1975. Exhibited Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Pertaining to the Sea, March 23-May 2, 1976, no. 8, illustrated. 36 | BONHAMS
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