GENESEO, NY.- Cottone Auctions’ late summer Fine Art, Antiques and Clock auction returns on Saturday, September 18th at 12 o’clock noon Eastern time, featuring items from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Roy W. Doolittle, Jr. of Buffalo, N.Y., including an important work by John F. Kensett (American, 1816-1872), and outstanding early 20th century lighting by Tiffany Studios.
Also offered will be fine clocks from the collection of W. C. Moodie, Sr. and sons, which represent three generations of clock collecting in East Hanover, N.J., items from the prominent Wadsworth family of Geneseo, N.Y., plus items from private institutions, estates and individuals. The sale will be held online.
A fresh to the market oil on canvas painting by John Frederick Kensett, titled Singing Beach & Eagle Rock, Magnolia, Massachusetts, highlights the fine arts being offered. With a pre-sale estimate of $200,000-$400,000, it is the highlight of the fine art category.
“Your Kensett strikes me as being a very fine one,” said John K. Howat, assistant curator of American paintings and sculpture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in a letter to Mrs. Adrian W. Smith on May 25, 1965. “The painting’s arrangement and colors are very clear and forceful—a good sign in Kensett’s work. The silence of these spare Kensetts is very impressive.”
Another fine painting is a portrait by Jules Joseph LeFebvre (French, 1836-1911), titled Morning Glory (est. $50,000-$80,000), from the estate of Mickey Sabety of Oceanside, N.Y., acquired in the early 1950s. Modern and contemporary art includes an oil on canvas designator by Ted Stamm (American, 1944-1984), titled DGR-32 (Dodger), 1976 (est. $40,000-$60,000). Other artists including, Ed Ruscha, Robert Motherwell, Sam Francis, Patrick Heron and Vu Cao Dam.
The many outstanding lamps will be led by a rare Tiffany Studios elaborate Peony lamp on a telescopic library base with a 22-inch shade (est. $250,000-$500,000); a fine Tiffany Studios Nasturtium table lamp on a tree trunk base with a 22-inch shade (est. $70,000-$100,000); a Tiffany Studios, Lily Pad table lamp on a twisted vine base with a 20-inch shade (est. $60,000-$80,000), a rare Tiffany Studios grape trellis chandelier (est. $50,000 - $80,000), and a rare Duffner and Kimberly Poppy floor lamp on a renaissance floor base (est. $50,000-$80,000).
The clocks category features a rare E. Howard & Co. No 49 astronomical hanging regulator, purchased directly from Edward Howard in 1875 by Henry Abbott (est. $50,000-$80,000). Other highlights include a rare D. J. Gale astronomical calendar gallery clock, patent model 1871 (est. $15,000-$25,000) and a Robert Houdin, Paris mystery swinging clock (est. $7,000-$10,000).
Americana will feature two exemplary Navajo weavings, one a Second Phase chief’s blanket, circa 1860-1870 (est. $40,000-$60,000), the other a Navajo transitional blanket (est. $10,000-$15,000), in near pristine condition. Both were descended in the family of Othniel Charles Marsh, a paleontologist at Yale University. The blankets were purportedly given to him by Red Cloud, the native American Sioux chief.
Period furniture will be led by a fine and rare Chippendale serpentine blocked-end slant-front desk, circa 1770 (est. $7,000-$10,000), figured mahogany with a deep rich amber patina, shell carved and blocked interior, block ends and bold ball and claw feet with original period brasses, from the Wadsworth family; and a diminutive New England Queen Anne tiger maple highboy, circa 1740-1760, with a deep rich honey brown patina, cabriole legs and pad feet with period brasses, purchased from Israel Sack in the 1940’s and estimated to hammer for $7,000-$10,000.
In all, more than 200 quality lots will come up for bid. Previews are by appointment. Online bidding will be facilitated by Cottone Auctions; register to bid at live.cottoneauctions.com. Bidding via LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com will also be available. Telephone and absentee bids will be accepted. To place bids, call the Cottone Auctions gallery at (585) 243-1000, or register through the website.
