Date: Fri 21-May-1999

Publication: Ant

Author: LIZAM

Quick Words:

Portrait-McInnis-Prior

Full Text:

Child Portrait Whips Up $82,500

(with 28 cuts)

By Bob Jackman

AMESBURY, MASS. -- On April 18 John McInnis Auctioneer hosted a highly

successful auction at his Amesbury gallery. Gross sales were $735,266, with 96

percent of the six hundred seventy lots finding buyers.

Top lot was a large, 28 by 36 inch, oil on canvas portrait by William Prior,

depicting a toddler with a whip, won by dealer Pam Boynton for $82,500. Other

offerings included a deep selection of American folk art, and formal American

and European antiques.

Prior Perspective

The Prior painting differed technically from his more common works in size,

shading, and perspective. The work was four to eight times larger than most

Prior paintings seen in the market. The full use of shading and perspective

endowed this portrait with a three-dimensional, lifelike quality. In

expression, it displayed more warmth, personality and individuality.

In the catalog American Folk Portraits, published by the Abbey Rockerfeller

Center, it was documented that Prior charged clients four times as much for

full renderings in comparison to flat renderings of the same size. His frugal

clients usually chose flat paintings, and consequently these are many more

flat portraits in the market.

The offered work demonstrated Prior's true capacity as a portraitist when a

client provided adequate financial compensation. Underbidder Rick Jorgensen

commented, "I loved it. It was wonderfully attractive and appealing. It

reminded me of some of the finest examples by other folk artists -- like the

one Bill Samaha bought in New York a few years ago for so much money."

The back of this painting was signed "Wm. Prior, E. Boston." Prior was a Maine

native who settled in Boston around 1840. From the child's clothing, we can

assume the painting was done in the earlier portion of Prior's Boston years

(1840-1873).

The Estate Of Paul Auman

There were other exceptional folk art lots in the auction. A dozen of those

descended from the estate of Paul Auman, one of the pioneering collectors of

Pennsylvania folk art. A large portion of his collection was auctioned in

1950, and most of the remainder was auctioned by Pennypacker when Auman and

his wife moved to Florida in 1967.

The McInnis lots were among the choice works he enjoyed in Florida during his

final decade. They included four frakturs by Henry Young, one fraktur by

Daniel Otto (the Flat Tulip Artist), and one fraktur by Englehart. They also

included three Wilhelm Schimmel bird carvings.

The major buyer in this field was folk art specialist and former Pennsylvania

resident David Wheatcroft, who has been based in Westboro, Mass., for the last

seven years. "I always have some Henry Young frakturs on hand," commented

Wheatcroft. "He was one of the most prolific fraktur painters. These works are

nice but not unique. Young used 13 different designs for his frakturs, and

only one design was used once. There are a dozen examples of many of his

designs. The condition and brightness of the colors are very important among

examples with the same design.

"I was particularly happy with the couple holding a wineglass [at $22,000],

and the hearts and birds example [at $9,350]. They were both very good and

very early."

The Willard/Rhode Island Connection

Another top lot was a Rhode Island tall case clock that was won by a

Massachusetts collector for $49,500. The clock belonged originally to Benjamin

Pitman, who married a Goddard, and the couple resided in Newport, R.I. The

clock subsequently descended in the Pitman family until this auction.

The case of the clock had a variety of Rhode Island features. It had a carved

mahogany urn and flame finials, molding applied to the tombstone door, and

cantilevered molding at the transition from the waist to base. It did not have

Boston features, such as reeded or brass stopped columns outlining the waist.

However, the dial face bore the name Simon Willard, and this intrigued the

winning bidder.

"The condition of this case is wonderful and very solid," said the buyer. "The

feet have never been cut. Two corner pieces came loose about a quarter of the

way up the front feet. I don't believe it has been refinished at all. The wood

is mahogany with a nice tone and well-chosen figure. Visually the case is

elegant and refined. It has the original finials. The molding could either be

Providence or Newport."

"The case is definitely Rhode Island," he continued. "Last June, Butterfield &

Butterfield sold [for $37,375] a similar case with English works by Thomas

Wagstaff, and they attributed that case to Newport, Rhode Island.

"I think having a Willard mechanism in a Rhode Island case is very

interesting. The dial is signed Willard, and my expert has told me that the

dial face and mechanism are consistent with Willard's. Was there a connection

between Willard and Rhode Island? What was the connection? I want to research

this a lot more.

"If any of Antiques and The Arts Weekly readers know about Rhode Island clocks

with Willard mechanisms, I would love to hear from them. I'd also like to hear

from anyone who knows of clocks with cases similar to this.

"I've been interested in these examples for some time. In 1954 a clock was

auctioned with a similar case but with a Newport shell carving at the top of

the tombstone and with a Willard mechanism. I'd like to know where that is

now."

Breakfast in New York

A New York State breakfast table was another lot that stimulated a great deal

of interest. It ultimately sold to a phone bidder for $46,750. At 29.75 inches

long and 16 inches wide, it was diminutive. The edge of the drawer face was

adorned with band inlay. The legs were inlaid on their ends and exposed sides.

An oval rosette was at the top of each inlaid leg face. The inlay down the leg

descended from a scrolled "U." A sequence of six graduated bellflower and ball

motifs terminated with two more graduated balls.

An additional element of refinement was the use of thin lines of a dark wood

within the satinwood bellflowers and balls. In a small missing section it

could be seen that the inlay was about one-sixteenth of an inch thick.

`Cactus' Flowers

A few months ago, a woman in financial need approached a friend, who is also a

dealer, with a cased set of 82 pieces of Georg Jensen silver in the "Cactus"

pattern. She wanted to sell it for $500. The dealer explained that the set was

worth far more than that, and suggested that her friend send it to the McInnis

auction. The dealer proudly watched as her friend's set brought a badly needed

$6,050.