On February 5, 2011, Cowan’s will host its Winter Fine and Decorative Art Auction, featuring a wonderful collection of furniture, paintings, sculpture, and folk art from the 15th to the 20th centuries. The 347-lot auction will be held in Cincinnati at Cowan’s auction salesroom and promises to be an exciting event for all. A fresh-to-the-market portrait by Frank Duveneck, a well known locally born artist, will cross Cowan’s auction block, leading the charge of this auction’s regionalist works. Other highlights in the sale include a Rare French “Rolling Ball, Constant Force” Clock, and an exceptional 15th Century Polychrome Virgin and Child.
A Portrait of a Girl by Frank Duveneck is estimated to bring $10,000/15,000. Duveneck, born in Covington, Kentucky, was an American figure and portrait painter. At age 21, he went to study at the Royal Academy of Munich and was well known for his dark, realistic style of painting. This particular portrait comes from the collection of Mary Johnston and has descended in the family to the present owner.
Cowan’s will also be offering a French “Rolling Ball, Constant Force” Clock estimated to sell for $10,000/15,000. Circa 1900, the clock is made with a singing bird and is very similar to one exhibited at the 1900 Paris Exhibition Universale Base. Made for a very few years, these impressive and rare clocks used a series of gravity-driven balls to control the escapement, resulting in improved timekeeping.
An illustration by Frank Schoonover, Oil on Canvas, is estimated at $20,000/30,000. Schoonover, an American illustrator, frequently painted images meant to accompany magazines, books, and other literature. This particular image appeared alongside W. Somerset Maugham’s short story, “Macintosh: A Story of the South Sea”, in an issue of The Cosmopolitan, dated November 1920.
A rare Chinese Rock Crystal is expected to sell for $8,000/12,000. Dated 1934, this large rock crystal bottle has back-painted scenes by artist Chang Jianxin. One side depicts the caravan of a Tang Dynasty princess and her entourage with a mountainous background. The other side titled, “Six Gentlemen in the Pine Forest” depicts six scholars in a forest landscape, thick with conifers.
A 15th century Polychome Carved Virgin and Child has an estimate of $25,000/35,000. Like most late medieval German wood sculpture, this remarkably well-preserved and charming Virgin and Child is carved from linden wood. It appears to have retained a great deal of its original polychromy and gilding, including the flesh tones of the Child and the Virgin’s hands and face and the gold of her mantle and crown.
A beautiful Oil on Canvas, titled Grand Canal by Felix Ziem is estimated to bring anywhere from $20,000/30,000. This painting is dated to 1896, near the end of Ziem’s life and is still housed in its outstanding original gilt and gesso frame.
A Swiss Chronograph 18 Karat Gold Pocket Watch is expected to sell for $6,000/8,000.
A Beach Scene with Figures attributed to William R. Flint is estimated to bring $10,000/15,000.
Director of Paintings and Prints, Graydon Sikes notes,
“Flint is regarded as one of the finest British watercolorists of the 20th century”.
An Indian Landscape by George de Forest Brush, Oil on Canvas is estimated to sell for $6,000/8,000. Brush, who traveled throughout Wyoming and Montana, and even briefly living at Fort Washakie on the Wind River reservation, Brush sought to record the daily life of the Shoshone, Crow, and Arapahoe Indians.
Graydon Sikes notes, “He painted Indians in an undisturbed setting, and this painting was bought from the artist by ancestors of the same family and has never been on the market”.
An important Johann Wilhelm Schirmer Sketchbook and Painting is expected to bring anywhere from $2,000/4,000. The sketchbook shows scenes Schirmer saw during his travels through Italy from 1839 to 1840.
Cowan’s will also be offering a Venetian Feast Day scene by Luigi Ferrazzi, Oil on Canvas, estimated at $10,000/15,000
A cathedral Interior by Flemish artist Pieter Neefs II, Oil on Canvas, is estimated to bring anywhere from $20,000/30,000.
A beautiful Chinese Carved Ivory Chess Set is expected to bring $2,000/2,500. This complete chess set, probably mid 20th century is made of both natural ivory and patinated ivory.
About Cowan’s Auctions, Inc.
As one of the nation’s leading auction houses with sales approaching $20 million, Cowan’s has been helping individuals and institutions build important collections for more than a decade. The company’s four divisions of American History, American Indian and Western Art, American and European Fine and Decorative Art, and Historic Firearms & Early Militaria hold semi-annual cataloged sales that routinely set records for rare offerings.
Through its extensive mailing list of more than 35,000 collectors, dealers and institutional clients, each Cowan’s auction typically attracts more than 1,000 bidders from across the globe. To learn more about Cowan’s visit our website at www.cowans.com
