Travelers to Garth’s November 25-26 Thanksgiving Weekend Auction Are Treated to the Scenic Route Garth’s 51st Annual Thanksgiving Americana Auction will give bidders a chance to travel home, not only with rare, beautiful and interesting pieces - but, bits of history from the Widder collection.
collection of the Shelburne Museum, Vermont. Another stunning pair of portraits of a husband and wife are attributed “without reservations” to Ammi Phillips(New York, 1788-1865) in a 1983 letter from Don Walters and carry an estiamte of $9,000-12,000 for the pair. Specifically, Walters notes the depiction of the gentleman's shirt, as well as lady's distinctive leaning pose, the positioning and execution of her hands, and the use of highlights on her curls, as well as the inclusion of strawberries, a common motif in Phillips' portraits of women and children. See Good, "Ammi Phillips (1788-1865)" in Antiques and Fine Art 2009 and The Connecticut Historical Society Bulletin, October 1965. Other portraits attributed to Jacob Maentel and Joseph H. Davis, and by David Brokaw will be sold as well. A pair of silhouettes of Kentucky Governor Joseph Desha and wife Peggy (estimate $1,000-2,000) by Thomas Edwards(Massachusetts, 1795-1856) will be keenly awaited as Edwards works are also in the collections of The National Portrait Gallery and The New York Historical Society.
Additional items of interest from the Widder Collection include the assortment of weathervanes. An important rooster tin weathervane from Quebec, illustrated in McKendry, Folk Art, p. 138, measures 31" high. and is expected to sell for $3,000-$6,000. An American, late 19th-early 20th century, copper and zinc, full-bodied vane of Dexter retains a verdigris surface and traces of gilt. Ex David Good (Ohio), as are many other items in the Widder collection, this example should reach $2,500-4,500. A leaping stag weathervane, which will be sold in the Saturday session, is also full bodied copper with a verdigris surface (estimate $3,000-5,000).
The Widders enjoyed a wide variety of antiques and folk art. The sale reflects this openness to various forms and includes several nice groupings of late 18th and early 19th century ceramics including Leeds, Whieldon, and spatter. Multiple carved canes are also to be found in the sale, but an American carved wooden ventriloquist head form the late 19th century is among one of the most intrguing pieces. With stylized features, applied ears, and a movable mouth, the head displays old blue paint and is 12” high (estimate $2,000-4,000). Carved animals also found their place displayed in and among the Widder home. Over a dozen lions appear in paintings, as stuffed toys, in ceramics, but the carved lion by J.W. Brungart(B. 1877, Glen Rock, Pennsylvania) is the most personable. The figure of a standing male lion identified on underside as Herman, "born" in 1901 in Glen Rock, and signed by the artist, is still majestic at 10” high (estimate $500-1,000). Another lot by Brungart of a bison and calf is also estimated at $500-1,000.
The Saturday session will continue the festivities of the auction in fine fashion. The first lot of the day is an oil on canvas titled "On the Rim - Grand Canyon" by F. Luis Mora (New York/Connecticut, 1874-1940). Dated 1911, the painting depicts two American Indians on horseback overlooking the majesty of the Grand Canyon. Measuring 17 1/4" x
