Hindman’s December Fine Art Auctions Realize Over $4.2 Million

Chicago – Hindman Auctions achieved more than $4.2 million across three days of Fine Art auctions. Across the December 13th American and European Art, the December 14th Post War & Contemporary Art and the December 15th Prints & Multiples auctions, bidders from 32 countries and 42 states participated. Works by artists such as N.C. Wyeth, Orville Bulman, Gladys Nilsson, Larry Poons, Friedel Dzubas, Lois Dodd, Albrecht Dürer and Julie Mehretu saw extraordinary engagement. Eager competition was demonstrated for the thoughtfully composed selection of more than 300 works.

Collections that had particularly enthusiastic bidding included property from the Trusts of Barbara V. and William K. Wamelink (Gates Mills, Ohio), the Collection of Susan Larsen, the Collections of Webster University (St. Louis, Missouri) sold to benefit the student experience at Webster University, and property deaccessioned from the Boca Raton Museum of Art to benefit the acquisitions fund. There was also notable bidding on pieces from the Collection of G. Gordon Schulmeyer, the Collection of Barbara Bollier (Mission Hills, Kansas) and the Collection of Janice and Philip Beck (Winnetka, Illinois).

“We are delighted with the exceptional bidding activity across all sales and to have such a strong ending to 2021,” shared Hindman’s Director of Fine Art Joseph Stanfield. “The robust sell-through rates demonstrate the continued strength of the market and the efforts our team takes to organize such carefully thought-out sales.”

American & European Art | December 13

The December American and European Art auction achieved $1,642,625 and saw outstanding engagement throughout. The auction offered a noteworthy selection of paintings, sculptures and works on paper from the 19th and 20th centuries with a selection of works by Ashcan, Modernist, Impressionist and Illustration artists. Works by N.C. Wyeth, Gustave Loiseau, Orville Bulman and Lê Phổ all saw excellent interest.

N.C. Wyeth’s When Drake Saw for the First Time the Waters of the South Sea (lot 23) was the top lot of the auction, selling for a strong price of $275,000. A renowned artist of the Golden Age of Illustration, N.C. Wyeth became successful following his studies at Howard Pyle’s school and selling his first drawing to the Saturday Evening Post in 1903, at the age of 21. Outing, an American magazine covering a variety of sporting activities, commissioned Wyeth in 1906 to create a frontispiece illustration for John R. Spears’ article "The Buccaneers, Drake and the Golden Hind,” and this painting resulted. In a letter from Wyeth to his father, he writes that “[t]he subject is Sir Francis Drake at the top of a tropical tree gazing for the first time on the South Seas." This painting is exemplary of Wyeth’s illustration work, while also one that clearly shows Pyle’s influence.

Wyeth’s Leaping from Rock to Rock in Sheer Delight (lot 24) was another top performer and realized $162,500. This work was painted in by Wyeth in 1913 to be used as an illustration for Henry Van Dyke’s story, The Lost Boy, published in the December issue of Harper’s Monthly Magazine, which would go on to be published by Harper & Bros. as a stand-alone book in 1914.

Additional standout American works from the auction were David Gilmore Blythe’s The Cobbler's Shop (lot 34), which climbed well above its presale estimate of $15,000 - $25,000 to sell for $137,500. Orville Bulman’s Entourage de la Reine (lot 1) tripled its presale estimate to sell for $93,750 and Très Embarrassant (lot 2) sold for $50,000. Elliot Daingerfield’s Woman with Geese (lot 55) achieved $25,000 compared to a presale estimate of $4,000-6,000, and Ivan Meštrović’s Male Figure with a Boulder soared above its estimate of $2,000-4,000 to realize $20,000.

Other significant sales were Gustave Loiseau’s Gelée blanche au Vaudreuil (La Route de Louviers) (lot 87), which doubled its presale estimate to realize $118,750 and Le Quai de L'Oise à Pontoise (lot 86), which sold for $100,000, both against presale estimates of $50,000-70,000. Lê Phổ’s Les Lys et les Chrysanthemes (lot 76) doubled its presale estimate to realize $68,750.

Post War & Contemporary Art | December 14

The December Post War and Contemporary Art auction saw tremendous bidding activity, with 87 of the 88 lots offered selling for a total of $1,998,938 and achieving a nearly perfect 99 percent sell-through rate at 194 percent of the collective estimated value. Hindman is always excited to present dynamic works by the Hairy Who and Chicago Imagists, and this auction was no exception. Leading the auction was Gladys Nilsson’s See Far: Son Good (lot 34) from 1971, which skyrocketed past its presale estimate of $30,000-50,000 to sell for $212,500. Another iconic Chicago artist whose work was once again well received was Ed Paschke – his painting titled Star Eye (lot 48) saw competitive bidding activity, ultimately selling for $62,500 against a presale estimate of $8,000-12,000.
 
Following Nilsson as the second top performer was Larry Poons’ Untitled (#5) (lot 1), which sold for $162,500 compared to a presale estimate of $40,000-60,000. Additional highlights included Friedel Dzubas’ Further Land (lot 8), which achieved $137,500, more than triple its presale estimate. Dzubas’s Lago (lot 7) also nearly tripled its estimate and realized $59,375.

Other noteworthy sales were Alex Katz’s Dog (lot 81), which sold for $87,500 against a presale estimate of $20,000 - $30,000, and Paul Jenkins’s Phenomena Prism Harp (lot 30), which sold for $56,250 against a presale estimate of 15,000 - $25,000. Auction records were set for Roy Dean de Forest with the sale of his work titled Tribute to Ty Cobb (lot 38), which climbed well above its presale estimate of $6,000-8,000 to achieve $81,250, and Linda Lindeberg’s Engadine (lot 27), which sold for $22,500 compared to a presale estimate of $1,000 - $2,000.
 
Three works by Lois Dodd were also among popular works, and all exceeded their estimates. Dodd’s Window Reflections, Yellow House (lot 78), realized $31,250 against a presale estimate of $4,000-6,000; his Quarry Wall (lot 79) sold for $17,500, more than four times its presale estimate; and his Untitled (Sleeping Dog) (lot 80) sold for $7,500 compared to a presale estimate of $2,000-4,000.

Prints & Multiples | December 15

The December Prints & Multiples auction saw remarkable bidding activity, ultimately totaling $589,438 and achieving a brilliant 97 percent sell-through rate. Emerging as the top lot of the auction was Albrecht Dürer’s The Four Horsemen (from The Apocalypse) (lot 109) which sold for $62,500 against a presale estimate of $20,000 - $40,000. Dürer was a prominent German painter, printmaker and theorist and became known for his woodcut prints.
 
Highlights of the sale also included Julie Mehretu’s Entropia: Construction (lot 28) from 2005, which sold for $31,250 against a presale estimate of $15,000 - $25,000. A renowned contemporary visual artist who is known for her multilayered, uniquely dynamic paintings, Mehretu’s works have seen increasing demand in the art world.
 
Impressive sales also included Théophile Alexandre Steinlen’s Clinique Chéron (lot 77) which sold for $22,500, doubling its presale estimate. Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn’s Christ Preaching (La Petite Tombe) (lot 108) sold for $21,250, against a presale estimate of $5,000-7,000. Ed Ruscha’s Let's Keep in Touch (lot 19) realized $18,750 against a presale estimate of $5,000-7,000.

Other works that saw outstanding bidding activity included Pablo Picasso’s Le Repos du Sculpteur, IV (from La Suite Vollard) (lot 87), which sold for $17,500 against a presale estimate of $8,000-12,000; Pierre Soulages’s Composition (from The Official Arts Portfolio of the XXIVth Olympiad, Seoul, Korea) (lot 41), which realized $15,250 against a presale estimate of $5,000-7,000; and after Marc Chagall’s Femme au bouquet (lot 67), which achieved $15,000 compared to a presale estimate of $8,000- $12,000.

Bidding for the December 13th, 14th and 15th auctions was available via absentee bid, by phone, or live in-person or online through the Digital Bid Room, Hindman’s recently launched online and mobile bidding platform, and additional online bidding platforms. Hindman continues to welcome consignments for spring Fine Art sales.