AUCTION FINDS OF THE WEEK- JANUARY 20TH: 19TH CENTURY EUROPEAN PAINTING AT BONHAMS

by Kelly Keating on 01/21/14

This week's auction finds will be slightly different in that it focuses solely on 19th century European paintings rather than decorative arts or furniture.  The 19th Century European, Victorian and British Impressionist Art auction will be held at Bonhams London on January 22, 2014.  I have posted some artwork finds in the past, but there has never been a post solely devoted to painting.  All of the 9 works I selected are not by big name artists who we all know and see in museums, but they do all command substantial prices for their accomplished work,  My choices this week fall into 3 broad categories: sentimental, moody atmospheric landscape and bizarre.

This week's first painting discovery stands squarely in the sentimental category.  Lot 12 entitled Orphans by the British artist Thomas Sidney Cooper (1803-1902) depicts a group of sheep in a snowy, wintery landscape.  One gets a chill when viewing this painting only heightened by its massive 6'x4' size which envelops you as you look at it.  The orphans in the title are 2 lambs in the foreground whose mother lies dead on the ground of some unnatural cause.  The father sheep has come to investigate the situation, but one senses he will be no help and the lambs without their mother will soon die in the harsh landscape.  The plight of the orphans in the foreground is heightened and contrasted to the 2 lambs in the background who have a mother and will survive.  This work of unabashed Victorian sickly sentimentality which hits one over the head with its emotion has a pre-sale estimate of $25,000-33,000.  I must say I think it is a pretty fab work and would not mind it hanging on my wall.

 

The next painting is also sentimental, but not so gruesome.  Lot 55 entitled Il gioco a Villa Tasca (The Game at the Villa Tasca) depicts a nanny and her charge sailing a paper toy boat in a fountain.  The work is by the Italian artist Antonino Leto (1844-1913) and has a pre-sale estimate of $66,000-99,000.  The work in contrast to the Cooper is a small and intimate which only heightens the quiet and sweet activity of the 2 figures in the work.  Adding to this sweetness is the group of flowers on the ground at the nanny's feet as one can imagine the nanny and the child wandering in the garden picking flowers before launching their boat.

The next painting from its subject matter to its coloring is like a big mouthful of pink cotton candy that gives you a bad toothache.  Lot 60 entitled Welcome Advances is by the Italian artist Vittorio Reggianini (1858-1939) with a pre-sale estimate of $66,000-99,000.  In an opulent and ornate gilt interior a smartly dressed gentleman vies for the affections of an elegantly dressed lady whose look and posture suggests she is not as interested as is her suitor despite the title of the painting.  Indeee, her feet rest on a wolf? skin rug, the implication being that she has slain her suitor and has him under her foot.  The mood is mischevious, playful and ahistorical.  The result is thwarted frustration.

 A Winter's Evening by Dutch artist Frederik Marinus Kruseman (1816-1882), lot 28, is the first painting from what I designated the moody atmospheric landscape category.  It has a pre-sale estimate of $66,000-99,000.  The work is bright and crisp and one feels the chill of winter with the low clouds and gnarled bare trees..  The old ruin on the right lends a nostalgic air and the figures in the middleground seem ready to skate on the frozen lake or river providing this work with its focus and sentiment.

The next moody landscape is lot 73 entitled A Moonlit View of the Houses of Parliament from the Thames by British artist Henry Pether (active 1828-1865) with a pre-sale estimate of $33,000-49,000.  There is a lovely sense of quiet to this painting.  The busy Thames is still except for a small boat in the foreground and the whole is painted with tones of grey, black and white that give the work a very hushed magical quality.  I would have it on my wall toute suite!

From London to Venice, lot 53 is entitled Evening Looking Towards The Grand Canal with Santa Maria della Salute in the Distance.  The work is by the Spanish painter Emilio Sanchez Perrier (1855-1907) and has a pre-sale estimate of $20,000-30,000.  Like the Pether above, there is a sense of quiet to this work, but also storm clouds seem to be brewing.  The rendering of the clouds and the water is sublime and having the picturesque church in the background adds to the whole scene.  I chose this painting because it reminded me of when I went to Venice in the late 1980's for only a few days, but I found it to be a magical place and of course it always reminds me of the superb Katherine Hepburn film "Summertime".

The final landscape selection, lot 89, is not really quiet in its mood, but rather unsettling.  At the Park Gate by British artist John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893) has a substantial pre-sale estimate of $250,000-330,000.  Barren dark trees are set against a moonlit sky as a lone figure prepares to enter or leave the park.  Where is he going?  Why is he out so late?  Is his destination the house in the distance with the glowing light?  Beautifully painted it is hard to tell whether the narrative is innocent or sinister.

The last 2 painting finds fall into what I termed the bizarre category simply because the works are strange, but still engaging and desirable.  Lot 77 entitled The Suitor by Benjamin Barnabus Bright with a pre-sale estimate of $13,000-20,000 anthropomorphizes various bird species to enact a human drama.  Bird heads are placed on somewhat humanoid bodies.  In the foreground a stork dressed in a red and navy military uniform makes advances on a demure parakeet who shies away from his approach.  On the right an older parrot couple enter the scene as testament to a long and happy marriage.  In the right middleground a slightly older couple than our central pair are married with children.  And then there are bizarre cherublike birds flying around the stork and parakeet.  In the foreground, 2 bird children play leap frog and on the left there is a birdboy with a wheel.  The whole is a whimsical cacophany.

This week's last discovery is lot 51 entitled Interior with Still Life by the Belgian artist David Emile Joseph de Noter and has a pre-sale estimate of $9,900-13,000.  In a dimly lit interior 2 dogs one on the floor the other sitting on a chair appear to be having a conversation amidst all the items that are strewn about the room.  The table is laden with fruit, dead birds and a giant pineapple plant.  The tiled floor is also filled with stuff- more dead birds, vegetables, flowers and an overturned basket.  Have the dogs caused this mess?  They seem only interested in each other and not a tasty duck treat.  And if they did cause the mess, the woman in the background is not rushing in to stop or scold them.  It is a bizarre painting and seems almost like an exercise the artist pursued to show off his ability at still life.  Either way I find its canine unknown narrative appealing.

I hope you enjoyed this week's all painting edition of Auction Finds of the Week.  What was your favorite painting?  Leave a comment below.  I cannot get enough of Orphans by Cooper with the little motherless lambs or the Moonlit View of Parliament by Pether.  Both would be welcome additions to my wall.  Don't neglect your walls when designing your own space.  It is an essential part of the whole room.  There is a tremendous amount of good original artwork- paintings, drawings, etchings, engravings- and at varying price points that can adorn your space.

If you need help finding artwork, please contact me at [email protected] and visit my website to see how I work with clients.

Also, check out my Facebook Page where I post the auction results for the selected blog lots.  I just added the results for the lots from Bonhams "Unreserved" auction and from the Christie's New York Interiors auction.

Until next time,

Kelly T Keating