American Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture - May 22, 2008 At Sotheby’s, in a full sales room with spirited and lively bidding, the spring sale of American Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture brought a total of $87,006,200 (est. $52,615,000/77,205,000)
News-Antique.com - Jun 10,2008 - SOTHEBY’S SALE OF AMERICAN
PAINTINGS, DRAWINGS AND SCULPTURE
TOTALS $87,006,200
SECOND HIGHEST TOTAL EVER FOR A SALE
OF AMERICAN PAINTINGS
EDWARD HICKS’ PEACEABLE KINGDOM WITH THE
LEOPARD OF SERENITY ACHIEVES $9,673,000, A
RECORD FOR A WORK OF AMERICAN FOLK ART
AND A RECORD FOR THE ARTIST AT AUCTION
14 ARTIST RECORDS WERE SET, INCLUDING WILLIAM
MERRITT CHASE, FREDERIC REMINGTON, WILLIAM
SYDNEY MOUNT AND CHARLES CARYL COLEMAN
New York, New York, May 22, 2008 – Today at Sotheby’s, in a full sales room with spirited and
lively bidding, the spring sale of American Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture brought a total of
$87,006,200 (est. $52,615,000/77,205,000*), the second highest total ever for a sale of American
Paintings1. Seventeen works sold for over $1 million, three of which sold for over $5 million.
Fourteen artist records at auction were set for artists including Edward Hicks, William Merritt
Chase, Frederick Remington, William Sidney Mount, Charles Caryl Coleman and Thomas Birch.
Dara Mitchell, Executive Vice President and Director of the American Paintings Department, said,
“Today was a great day. The total of $87 million was the second highest total for any American
Paintings sale. We saw great depth in the bidding at the top end, indicating a market that is hungry
1 The record for an auction of American Paintings was the December 2004 sale at Sotheby’s, which achieved
$107,855,400.
for high quality works. We were fortunate to offer several Estates with property that has not been
seen on the market for a very long time.”
Highlighting today’s sale was a masterpiece of American 19th century painting, The Peaceable
Kingdom with the Leopard of Serenity, which sold to applause for $9,673,000 (lot 60, est. $6/8
million), setting a record for a work of American Folk Art at auction and a record for the artist at
auction. This is also the highest price paid for a work of Americana at Sotheby’s and the second
highest price paid for a work of Americana at auction. Bidding for this work continued for more
than five minutes, with competition from three bidders on the phone. This iconic work, circa 1846-
1848, is arguably one of the most important and beautifully preserved examples of the more than
sixty-two versions of this profound subject painted by the artist.
Nancy Druckman, Senior Vice President and Director of the Folk Art Department, said, “We are
jubilant and ecstatic about today’s results. It has been a great joy and a highlight of my professional
career to work with this extraordinary painting.”
An artist record at auction was set today for William Merritt Chase, whose work I Think I Am
Ready Now (The Mirror, The Pink Dress), circa 1883, from The Collection of Gilbert A. and Anne B.
Harrison achieved $6,649,000 (lot 48, est. $1.5/2.5 million). The previous record for this artist,
$3,962,500, was achieved in May of 1993 at Sotheby’s New York.
A group of ten bronze sculptures, including eight by Frederic Remington, offered by an American
Collector Being Sold to Benefit a Charitable Foundation,
