OIL-ON-CANVAS PAINTING BY EDWIN HOWLAND BLASHFIELD (1848-1936) BRINGS $94,000 AT STAMFORD AUCTION'S FIRST SALE AT NEW LOCATION

             (Stamford, Conn.) - An oil-on-canvas rendering of the Parthenon in Greece by American artist Edwin Howland Blashfield (1848-1936) sold for $94,000 in a May 6 sale held at Stamford Auction's new showroom location at 24 Harbor View Avenue, in the heart of Stamford's burgeoning Antiques District. The Neoclassical allegory work was signed, lower left, and measured 50” x 31.5”.

            A native New Yorker, Mr. Blashfield was a mural and genre easel painter who rose to national prominence during the 1893 Chicago World's Fair Exposition for his mural, “The Art of Metal Working.” As an easel painter, his subjects included genre, portraits, ancient ruins and Indian figures. He developed a style that placed real and allegorical figures in settings of historical and moral themes.

            The painting was the top seller in an auction that saw over 1,000 lots change hands, with a total gross of $1.15 million. “It was the first sale in a new location, with a new format, so we didn't quite know what to expect, but everything went very smoothly,” said Grant Panarese of Stamford Auction. “Paintings, especially, did very well.” Prices quoted include a 17.5% buyer's premium.

            The sale attracted more than 350 registered bidders, who quickly acclimated themselves to Stamford Auction's spacious and modern new 13,000-square-foot facility, a substantial upgrade from its previous digs in the old Yale & Towne Manufacturing building at 737 Canal Street. The firm had been housed there since 2001, but rapid growth -- combined with a fire in 2006 -- necessitated a move.

            In other highlights:

            An oil-on-canvas painting by Howard Chandler Christy (American, 1873-1952), titled “Sketch Main Garden” (at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Fla.), hammered for $58,750. The signed work measured 30” x 44”. Mr. Christy was born in Ohio and later moved to New York. He became one of the nation's most distinguished illustrators, and has been favorably compared to Norman Rockwell.

            An oil-on-board painting of a shoreline along a rocky coast by Frederick J. Waugh (American, 1861-1940), titled “Breakers,” rose to $32,900. The signed, 37” x 47” work was housed in a Newcomb and Macklin frame. Mr. Waugh was a noted seascape painter, specializing in the churning surf against white froth on the seaside rocks. He maintained a studio in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

            A cast bronze figure of a girl holding a bird, by the Spanish-born Puerto Rican artist Angel Botello (1913-1986), changed hands for $28,200. The sculpture, 28.5” tall and with a 9.5” x 7.5” base, was signed on the right side of the base. Mr. Botello was born in a small town in Spain. He moved to Bordeaux, France, and studied at the School of Fine Arts before relocating to Puerto Rico in 1935.

            An oil-on-board work by the German-born American artist Hermann Herzog (1832-1932) soared to $23,500. The signed, undated work measured 30” x 39”. Mr. Herzog lived and worked in Philadelphia until his death at age 100. He was known for his landscapes and seascapes, as well as his many views of Norway. Among his collectors were Queen Victoria and Czar Alexander II of Russia.

            An oil-on-canvas painting titled “Winter Twilight” by the American artist Ernest Albert (1857-1946) realized $23,500. The undated, 36” x 40” work was signed by the artist. Mr. Albert was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. He was a distinguished  theatrical and scenic designer who later became a noted landscape painter and muralist. He received the coveted Graham Art Medal at age 15.

            A mixed-media-on-paper rendering of animals grazing in the moonlight by Milton Avery (American, 1893), signed lower left and measuring 14” x 21”, fetched $23,500. Mr. Avery was a self-taught artist who lived his entire life in New York. Most of his subjects were marine scenes or figure studies. He was a colorist whose work combined abstraction and realism. He became a key modernist.

            A bluish opalescent glass figure of a nude with drapery hanging from outstreteched arms by Rene Lalique, titled “Suzanne Au Bain,” achieved $18,800. The piece, numbered #833 of 1175, had a bronze electrified base and was featured in the book “Lalique For Collectors” (Katherine M. McClinton, 1975, p. 70-71). The name Lalique is well-known to collectors throughout the world.

            A signed, limited-edition first copy of the T.S. Eliot book of poetry, “The Waste Land” (New York, Boni & Liverright, 1922), commanded $17,625. The volume, signed on the title page, was numbered #436 of 1,000. It was preserved in its leather slip case and had black cloth boards. T.S. Eliot (1888-1965) was an American-British poet and critic. He won the 1948 Nobel Prize for Literature.

            Stamford Auction's next big sale will be held Tuesday, June 5^th, beginning at 6 pm. Featured will be an astounding single-owner collection of chocolate-related items, including advertising posters and signs; tins; memorabilia; banks and dispensers; moulds; collector cards and albums; crates, boxes and containers; related ephemera; and more – all of it pertaining to chocolate.

            Previews will be held Saturday and Sunday, June 2-3, from 10 am to 5 pm; Monday, June 4, from 10-5; and Tuesday, June 5, from 10 am to the start of auction. To find out more about this sale, and to learn more about Stamford Auction, please log on to www.stamfordauction.com. Stamford Auction is a full-service auction house, located about 45 minutes by car north of New York City.

            Stamford Auction conducts about 10 fine estate auctions per year. It also holds specialty sales, when supplies allow. The flexible nature of its auction system permits the company to conduct on-site auctions. To consign a quality item, estate or collection, you may call Stamford Auction directly, at (203) 327-2227. The e-mail address is staff@stamfordauction.com.