Bonhams Skinner announces highlights included in November sales
BOSTON, MASS.- In November, Bonhams Skinner will offer exceptional material from the Fine Art department as well as Native American & Tribal Art. Leading off the month is Modern & Contemporary Art featuring an oil work, Le bouquet champêtre, by French-Vietnamese painter Le Pho and European Art highlighted by a landscape from Dutch painter Jacob Isaackz van Ruisdael titled Landscape with Figures and Cottages. Native American and Tribal Art will then present several notable collections including a large selection of material from the renowned collection of Roy H. Robinson.
Modern & Contemporary Art
November 1
Modern & Contemporary Art on November 1 will feature the works of 20th and 21st century artists from around the world including Le bouquet champêtre, an oil work, by French-Vietnamese painter Lê Phổ (1907-2001), estimated at $40,000 – 60,000. Phổ is best known for his idyllic domestic scenes pulled from his childhood in Hanoi with particular focus on flora and elegant women. An additional highlight of the sale is a bronze titled Two Dancers, 1964 by Sorel Etrog (1933-2014), estimated at $35,000 – 55,000. Known for his large-scale bronze sculptures, Etrog is one of Canada’s most celebrated artists representing the county at the 1966 Venice Biennale. Also of note is an ink and silver leaf work on paper from Japanese artist Toko Shinoda (1913-2021), best known for her abstract sumi ink paintings and prints, titled For the Silver and estimated at $30,000 – 50,000.
Lot 12. Lê Phổ (Vietnamese-French, 1907-2001), Le bouquet champêtre, signed 'Lê Phổ' and with Chinese characters (lower left), titled (on the reverse), inscribed 'No.904 New York W.F. 22188' (on the stretcher), oil on canvas, 66.7 x 45.7 cm. Estimate US$40,000 - US$60,000 (€38,000 - €57,000). © Bonhams 2023
Provenance: Wally Findlay Galleries.
Alice Holliday Miller (purchased from the previous, 1966).
Private collection, Massachusetts (by descent in the family of the previous).
Note: Alice Holliday Miller (1900-2000) was the sister of W.J. Holliday, Jr. whose collection of Post-Impressionist paintings is in the collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. It was he who advised his sister in building her art collection during the 1960s.
A copy of a guarantee from Wally F Galleries signed by Walstein C. Findlay, Jr. and dated October 20, 1966, accompanies the lot.
Lot 74. Sorel Etrog (Canadian, 1933-2014), Two Dancers, 1964, stamped 'ETROG' (on the top of the base), edition of 7, bronze with a brown patina; height 101.6 cm, mounted to a painted wood plinth. Estimate US$35,000 - US$55,000 (€33,000 - €52,000). © Bonhams 2023
Lot 77. Toko Shinoda (Japanese, 1913-2021), For the Silver, signed with the artist's seal (lower right), titled, signed, and dated '.../Toko Shinoda/1970' (on the reverse), ink and silver leaf on paper, 141.0 x 205.7 cm. Estimate US$30,000 - US$40,000 (€28,000 - €38,000). © Bonhams 2023
European Art
November 2
On November 2, Bonhams Skinner’s European Art sale will present a curated selection of 17th, 18th, and 19th century landscapes and portraits from prominent artists such as Pierre Bonnard, Gustave Loiseau, Jacob van Ruisdael, Jacek Malczewski, and Léon Augustin Lhermitte. A highlight of the works on offer is an impressive oil painting, Landscape with Figures and Cottages, by Dutch painter Jacob Isaackz van Ruisdael (circa 1628-1682), estimated at $150,000 – 250,000. One of the most recognizable landscape painters of the Dutch Golden Age, Ruisdael’s works were known for their muted colors, looming clouds, and dramatic atmosphere. An additional highlight of the sale is a landscape from French painter Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947) titled Paysage de brume, le soir, sur la Seine (Vernon) and estimated at $150,000 – 250,000. In contrast to Ruisdael, Bonnard was recognized for his bold use of color and this is showcased in the present work’s depiction of the river Seine. The department is also presenting additional works of art in European Art Online through November 2. Highlighting this selection is The Errand Girl, an oil painting, by Thomas Duncan ARA RSA (1807-1845), estimated at $10,000 – 15,000, and an impressionist painting titled Le train du quai à St. Georges Bridges by Hughes Claude Pissarro (b. 1935), estimated at $8,000 – 12,000.
Lot 3. Jacob Isaackz van Ruisdael (circa 1628-1682), Landscape with Figures and Cottages, signed and dated '1647 / Ruisdael' (lower center), oil on panel; 31.5 x 41.5 cm, framed 50.5 x 60.5 x 5.3 cm. Estimate: US$150,000 - US$250,000 (€140,000 - €240,000). © Bonhams 2023
Provenance: Collection Hölscher, Mühlheim am Rhein; Johannes Stumpf, Berlin, perhaps by 1910; His Sale, Lepke, Berlin, 7 May 1918, no. 31; dealer P. Bottenweiser, Berlin, 1928; Sale, Sotheby's, London, 25 June 1930, no. 57; A. Hermann, Denmark; Sale, Christie's, Monaco, 15 June 1990, no. 21; J. von Quernheim, Münich; Purchased from Salomon Lilian Old Master Paintings, Amsterdam, 7 June 2010, by current Massachusetts collector.
Literature: Velhagen und Klasings Monatshefte, 15, 1910, no. 1, p. 155.
C. Hofstede de Groot, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century, vol. 4, p. 270, no. 877.
Seymour Slive, Jakob Rosenberg, Jacob van Ruisdael (Berlin, 1928), p. 105, no. 531.
Seymour Slive, Jacob van Ruisdael: A Complete Catalogue of His Paintings, Drawings, and Etchings (New Haven and London, 2001), p. 428, no. 608, illustrated.
Lot 12. Pierre Bonnard (French, 1867-1947), Paysage de brume, le soir, sur la Seine (Vernon), stamped signature 'Bonnard' (lower left), oil on canvas, 55.0 x 63.0 cm, framed 80.0 x 88.3 x 6.5 cm. Estimate: US$150,000 - US$250,000 (€140,000 - €240,000). © Bonhams 2023
Provenance: Estate of the artist; purchased from Wildenstein & Co., New York City, 1999, by the current Massachusetts collector.
Literature: J. and H. Dauberville, Bonnard: catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, (Paris, 1974) (1940-1947, et Supplément, 1887-1939), p. 315, no. 01996. Illustrated.
Exhibition: New York, Wildenstein, River Scenes of France: Paintings and Drawings of the 19th and 20th Centuries, November 10-December 19, 1998 (no catalogue).
Native American & Tribal Art
November 8
The Native American and Tribal Art sale on November 8 will bring together the art of native peoples from around the globe including West African masks and figures, Polynesian artefacts from Hawaii and New Zealand as well as a broad range of objects from the many tribal groups of North America. A highlight of the sale is over 100 lots hailing from the renowned collection of Roy H. Robinson (1882-1970). Formed mainly in the 1920s and 30s, Robinson’s collection will feature an Apsáalooke (Crow) scout shirt and leggings, estimated at $8,000 – 12,000, as well as a Chaticks Si Chaticks (Pawnee) bear robe, estimated at $6,000 – 9,000. The sale will also present a group of Plains beadwork from the Dean Taylor collection including fine pipe and saddle bags, beaded moccasins, and pouches. Additionally, there is a strong contingent of Navajo weavings with a group of extremely high-quality blankets and rugs coming from the family of the early 20th century collector Victor J. Evans (1865-1931).