COMPLIMENTARY COPY TM
The Most Widely Read Collector's Newspaper In The East VOL. 46, NO. 25 FRIDAY JUNE 19, 2015
Published Weekly By Joel Sater Publications www.antiquesandauctionnews.net
Fine Art Leads The Way At Garth’s Americana Auction O
n May 15, Garth’s Auctioneers and Appraisers hosted an early American auction of furniture and decorative accessories that included the ninth annual Ohio Valley session. On a beautiful Ohio spring day when it was tough to be inside, Garth’s historic barn held a packed house, and the phone lines and Internet were all abuzz. Bidders were willing to give up the sunshine for a chance to bid on a fine selection of Americana. “Friday’s auction saw a large, interested, and attentive crowd with lots of bidding on material like the Ohio pottery, in which we see interest every spring during the Ohio Valley session. There was also strong bidding in many other categories. We have seen more momentum behind bidding in the salesroom throughout 2015. Furniture is climbing in value. It is refreshing to see, not only for country and painted furniture, but the rather formal Americana furniture did well too. This market has certainly seen its challenges over the years, and it’s encouraging that it seems to have found an increasing trajectory,” said Richard “Jeff” Jeffers, CEO of Garth’s.
This landscape painting sold for $46,800.
The top lot of the day was a nod to the outdoors. An oil-on-canvas river landscape after Cornelius Ver Bryck (1813-44) from the collection of Judith and James Miller of Alexandria, Va., featuring a river at sunset, signed in the lower right, “T.C. - from an outline by C. Ver Bryck” and estimated at $600 to $1,200, sold to a phone bidder for $46,800. Fine art continued to see strong results throughout the day. An oil-on-wood panel still-life depicting a finely detailed fruit on
glass compote was attributed to Severin Roesen (1815-72). It sold to a phone bidder for $10,500 against a presale estimate of $4,000 to $8,000. An oil-on-canvas spring landscape by Wilson Henry Irvine (1869-1936) depicting trees by a stream sold for $4,800. Americana collectors have long prized jacquard coverlets. Woven of bright colors, jacquard coverlets were, and remain, popular because of their complex patterns, often including trees, buildings, birds, and even trains and steamboats. One of the most popular patterns This jacquard coverlet with eagle motifs sold for $3,240.
The still-life attributed to Severin Roesen sold for $10,500.
A group of ephemera related to Col. Ellsworth and his Zouaves sold for $2,760.
was the American eagle. Such an example from the collection of Margaret Brusher sold for $3,240. It had a central field of eagles. Each eagle was surrounded by 26 stars, perhaps to commemorate Michigan’s statehood, as it was the 26th state to enter the Union. This specific coverlet was used in a commemorative fashion more than a century later by a car maker. In the mid-1970s, Chevrolet produced a number of special Bicentennial edition cars, including the 1976 Bicentennial Chevette. Margaret Brusher’s husband, Fred, was an executive at General Motors at the time and convinced the designers to use this eagle coverlet as inspiration for the upholstery in the Bicentennial Chevette. The car was ultimately produced with red paint and the interior upholstered in an eagle fabric with trim in white vinyl. Although this fabric was only used in 1976, the Chevrolet produced the popular Chevette until 1987. Ironically, the car sold for just a few hundred dollars more than the coverlet. Four applique quilts also sold from the Brusher collection, including a Spanish-American War quilt that brought $3,840 against a presale estimate of $400 to $800. The quilt design consisted of a large eight-point center star and U.S. flags on a green background. The quilt was embroidered, “War was declared April 22 1898” in red, marking the start of the SpanishAmerican War. The three other floral examples realized $1,680, $1,020 and $1,020. The Ohio Pottery collection of the late Jim Murphy garnered quite a bit of attention prior to the sale. Murphy had amassed an excellent collection, including some rare and important examples. Highlights included a Westhafer and Lambright stoneware jug from Tuscarawas County, Ohio. The ovoid jug, which kicked off the auction, stood 18.5-inches high and with cobalt blue decoration sold for $2,640. A Globe Pottery churn from Crooksville, Ohio, was dated 1902 and was reminiscent of the seated mastiffs attributed to the Crooksville area. The piece sold for $960. Of the early 20th century art
This Spanish-American War quilt brought $3,840.
An American paint-decorated treenware container sold for $1,800.
An American Federal mirror realized $3,960.
pottery offered, two Ohio vases signed by artist Albert Cusick sold for $2,760, more than (Continued on page 2)
An American Chippendale chest of drawers sold for $2,760.