PRESS RELEASE: Important American Furniture, Silver, Maritime, Folk and Outsider Art
New York – Christie’s sale of Important American Furniture, Silver, Maritime, Folk and Outsider Art will present more than 180 lots from the 17th through 21st centuries, representing a spectrum of diverse and dynamic artistry and craftsmanship. The sale features various important private collections including Property from the Estate of Richard J. Schwartz, the Collection of the Late Jack Warner, and Property from The Westervelt Company, among others. With many lots in the sale offered without reserve, this sale presents an excellent opportunity for new and established collectors alike.
The Estate of Richard J. Schwartz will include 15 lots and continues the successful spring sale of American paintings and sculpture from the collection. A highlight of the exceptional aesthetic movement furniture from the Schwartz estate is a Neo-Grec parcel-gilt and rosewood-inlaid maple console table commissioned for William H. Vanderbilt (1821-1885), which is one of the most significant survivals made by Herter Brothers, New York City’s preeminent Gilded-Age cabinetmakers (estimate: $40,000-60,000). The console is exceptional for its ornamental carving of the highest caliber, and was featured in The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 2015-16 exhibition on the Herter Brothers.
Other important works amongst the selection of furniture include a Queen Anne dressing table that is a rare survival from mid-18th century Philadelphia and can be firmly attributed to a specific cabinet shop, Henry Cliffton and Thomas Carteret, and a specialist carver, Nicholas Bernard (estimate: $30,000-50,000). The sale also includes a tall-case clock that displays the talents of clockmaker Isaac Brokaw and cabinetmaker Matthew Egerton, Jr. and is an important example of 18th century New Jersey craftsmanship (estimate: $30,000-50,000).
Highlighting the maritime and Folk Art from The Westervelt Company is a rare and dynamic a carved pine ship's figurehead of a young woman attributed to William Rush (1756-1833), a founder of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts who is widely regarded as the first major American sculptor (estimate: $30,000-50,000). Another exciting work from Westervelt is Thomas F. Laycock’s oversized oil on canvas, The Maine, 1898 (estimate: $8,000 - 12,000), one of the artist’s final works.
A dynamic selection of Outsider Art features an important and rare large scale work by renowned artist Bill Traylor (1854-1949), Two Women in Orange, Two Men in Blue, 1939-1942 (estimate: $50,000-80,000), as well as James Castle’s (1899-1977) Untitled Construction, an oversized and rare construction that exemplifies the artist’s modernist aesthetic and his sophisticated use of found materials (estimate: $40,000-60,000). Works by living Outsider artists include Melvin Way (b. 1954) and George Widener (b. 1962), bringing the selection into the experimental and contemporary realm.
The selection of American silver includes a Tiffany & Co. mixed-metal water pitcher and pair of matching beakers, 1878 (estimate: $30,000-50,000), a silver and enamel punch bowl and ladle by Whiting MFG. Co., New York, circa 1897 (estimate: $30,000-50,000) and a silver punch bowl, tray and twenty-four matching cups by Reed & Barton, mid-20th century (Estimate: $15,000-25,000).
