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Auction Highlights:
Lot 448: Paul Revere Engraving
"The Bloody Massacre"
circa 1770; sold for $195,500.
Lot 139: Wendell Castle's
"Two Seater", sold for $32,300
Lot 274: Arthur Strutt, Panoramic
Landscape, sold for $11,500.
Lot 668: Group of Seven Asian
Vases surprised everyone when
they sold for $35,650.
Lot 426: Chippendale Highly Figured Tiger
Maple Chest sold for $16,100.
Lot 621: Set of Twelve Cobalt Gilt
Decorated Plates, sold for $6,037.50
All prices include a 15%
buyer's premium.
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PAUL REVERE ENGRAVING TOP LOT AT
SEPTEMBER 26TH AUCTION
Sunday, September 26, 2004 - A discovery in the trunk from a Needham attic became the top lot
at our September 26th auction, helping to boost the auction
total to over 1.2 million. Paul Reveres 1770 engraving "The
Bloody Massacre" had collectors and print dealers abuzz and sparked
competitive bidding between ten phone bidders and several bidders in the
room. The prized print sold for a record $195,500 (including the 15%
buyer's premium), more than three times the previous auction record.
"We compared the print to several authenticated examples at local
institutions and found it to be a nice impression with rich colors and in
very good condition," stated Allyson Lee, Director of Fine Arts,
"Additionally, having it's original frame and glass made this scarce
example extremely desirable to collector's." According to
Clarence Brigham’s "Paul Reveres Engravings", the engraving
was first distributed by itself as a handbill and was later incorporated
into newspaper accounts of the incident. Brigham is quoted to say that
"Paul Reveres Boston Massacre is the most famous and desirable of all
his engravings." The print came from the Estate of Elizabeth Bradford
Storer who was a well respected Patron of the Arts and an active member of
the Daughters of the American Revolution and other patriotic societies.
More than 300 bidders filled the auction room
to standing room only capacity, as auctioneer Michael Grogan opened the
bidding of the 20th Century Decorative Works of art to include
the Collection of Studio Craft Movement Furniture from the late Ercil
Hawks of Rochester, New York. The Hawks collection was well received and
included furniture by venerated craftsman Wendell Castle and Albert Paley.
"Two Seater", one of several stack laminated examples by Castle,
sold to a phone bidder for $32,200, exceeding it's $10,000-15,000 pre-sale
estimate and his Stack Laminated Dining Table sold to an East Coast dealer
over the phone for $24,150 (pre-sale estimate $12,500-17,500). Albert
Paley examples included a Mixed Metal and Glass Top Coffee Table, which
brought $17,250 (pre-sale estimate $6,000-9,000) and a Glass Top Dining
Table, which brought $18,400 (pre-sale estimate $12,500-17,500). Ercil
Hawks, a pioneer collector and avid supporter of the Craftsman Movement,
was one of the first Trustees of the School for American Craftsman,
located at Rochester Institute of Technology. Her patronage and friendship
with Wendell Castle and other Rochester Institute artists was reflected in
her collection. Works by Wendell Castle can be found locally at the Museum
of Fine Arts in Boston.
Other highlights included Two Albums
containing Photographs of American Schooners, circa 1885-1888, which sold
for $10,350, well above their $800-1,200 pre-sale estimate and a
Chippendale Highly Figured Tiger Maple Six Drawer Chest brought a
respectable $16,100 ($8,000-12,000 pre-sale estimate). Later in the sale,
a group of seven Asian Monochrome Pottery Vases, drew applause from the
audience when two competing phone bidders drove the price well above their
$300-500 estimate to sell for $35,650. The vases were part of a large
collection of ceramics that came from a Connecticut Gentleman. A Pair of
Federal Floral Carved and Giltwood Wall Mirrors from a Maine estate sold
for $9,487.50 (pre-sale estimate $6,000-8,000) and a Pennsylvania Grain
Decorated Blanket Chest, circa 1830, exceeded it's $2,000-3,000 pre-sale
estimate and sold for $8,050.
In addition to the 20th century offerings, the over 700 lot
auction included Grogan & Company's traditional faire of 18th
and 19th century American and European Furniture, Decorative
Works of Art, Fine Art, Silver, Jewelry and Oriental Rugs. All prices
include a 15% buyer's premium.
Gallery Located: 22 Harris Street, Dedham, Massachusetts 02026
Telephone: 781-461-9500 Toll Free: 1-800-823-1020
Fax: 781-461-9625
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