American Paintings, Drawings & Sculpture, May 22, 2008 Sotheby’s spring sale of American Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture includes
works by prominent American artists from the 19th and early 20th centuries, many of which come from distinguished Estates.
paintings that the artist submitted to
the American Art-Union in order to earn recognition in New York. Also highlighting this Estate is a
selection of still life paintings by the distinguished Peale family of artists from Philadelphia.
Property from the Raymond and Patsy Nasher Collection
Sotheby’s is proud to offer Property from
the Raymond and Patsy Nasher Collection.
The Nashers, distinguished collectors
and philanthropists from Dallas, Texas,
assembled an extraordinary collection
numbering more than 1,000 works of
art over the course of their lives. The
offerings of American Paintings from
their collection will include three works
by American Modernist Stuart Davis.
Rialto, 1962, lot 111, is estimated to sell for
$500/700,000 (pictured above). Also by Davis are
Fortap, 1933 (lot 115, est. $400/600,000) and
Composition with Winch, 1932 (lot 123, est.
$300/500,000). A single-owner sale of
Impressionist and Modern Art, Contemporary Art
and Prints from the Nasher Collection will be held
on May 9th.
The Estate of J. Welles Henderson
Sotheby’s is proud to offer works from The Estate
of J. Welles Henderson, a respected Philadelphia
attorney and collector of maritime art who
founded the Philadelphia Maritime Museum. Highlighting the Henderson Estate is Thomas Eakins’
Rear Admiral Charles Dwight Sigsbee (lot 38, est. $700/900,000, pictured on page 5), from 1903.
The subject is best known for the heroic and courageous measures he took to save the lives of his
fellow officers as Captain of the U.S.S. Maine battleship when she exploded in Havana harbor in
February of 1898; this attack was later identified as one of the major catalysts of the Spanish-
American war. Offerings from the Henderson collection include three works by Thomas Birch,
including USS United States vs. HMS Macedonian (lot 35, est. $125/175,000), circa 1813, which
hung in the Oval Office of the White House next to President John F. Kennedy’s desk during his
tenure as President.
Additional Highlights
Another work by Thomas Eakins from a
Distinguished Private Collection is The Timer
(Study for “Between Rounds”), circa 1898
(lot 26, est. $700,000/1 million), an example
of the meticulous studies the artist made
before painting the finished oil of the same
title, which is in the collection of the
Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The Ramblers, by William Sidney Mount, Property from
the Ruth Mason Shunk Trust (lot 71, est. $2/3 million,
pictured above left), from 1847, has remained in private
hands since 1847, the year it was painted. Mount devoted
his career to painting scenes of the country life he knew
from his boyhood in Stony Brook, New York, the rural
town on Long Island where he was raised.
A selection of watercolor paintings from a Distinguished
Private Collection is highlighted by Flower Garden, Isles
of Shoals, from 1893 (lot 30, est. $1.5/2.5 million,
pictured at right) by Childe Hassam. Other watercolors being offered include John Lafarge’s Roses
in a Blue Crackle Glass Pitcher, from 1879 (lot 25, est. $250/350,000), and In Vaudeville, Two
Dancers, dated 1920, by Charles Demuth (lot 29, est. $300/500,000), which shows one of
