Sotheby’s New York announces that it will offer Property from the Collection of Edward P. Evans across a series of sales this autumn in both New York and London. Furniture and decorative arts from the Collection will comprise the single-owner sale of Property from the Collection of Edward P. Evans in New York on 29 September, while Mr. Evans’s Sporting Art will appear in both the 19th Century European Art auction on 4 November in New York and the Old Master & British Paintings Day Sale on 8 December in London. Proceeds from the sale of each of the works on offer will benefit the Edward P. Evans Foundation, which continues the philanthropic mission of its founder in supporting excellence in the areas of education and medical research. Paintings and sculpture from the Evans Collection led the May 2011 auction of American Paintings, Drawings & Sculpture in New York, where they brought a cumulative total of $12,726,750, above a pre-sale low estimate of $9.5 million, and sold 85% by lot.
James Ward, R.A., The Marquees of Londonberry’s Arabian stallion in a landscape. Est. £120/250,000. Photo: Sotheby’s.
Edward Evans had an extraordinary record within the equine community. His racing and breeding program at Spring Hill Farm in Casanova, Virginia, produced more than 100 stake winners in just over 30 years, earning him the title of “Breeder of the Year” by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association in 2009. Mr. Evans purchased Spring Hill Farm in 1969, which with its 3,000 acres is considered the largest breeding farm in Virginia. He was consistently named one of the top ten horse breeders in North America, and was always looking for the next champion.
Property from the Collection of Edward P. Evans
New York, 29 September 2011 – Guided by a sophisticated eye and rare sense of connoisseurship, Mr. Evans assembled a collection which is a personal reflection of both his lifelong dedication to the racing world and his unerring devotion to quality in all forms. The singleowner sale of furniture and decorative arts from the Collection features a range of 19th and 20th century paintings as well as fine examples of English and American furniture, silver, ceramics and decorative works of art. Furniture in the sale will be led by A Federal Satinwood-Inlaid Mahogany Tall-Case Clock, Works by Simon Willard, Boston, Massachusetts, circa 1800 (est. $30/50,000), as well as The Wister Family Fine and Rare Chippendale Carved and Highly Figured Mahogany Games Table, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, circa 1770 (est. $60/90,000), while paintings will be highlighted by sporting art from John Ferneley, Sr., John Frederick Herring, Sr. and Francis Sartorius, Sr.
19th Century European Art
New York, 4 November 2011 – Seven works from the Evans Collection will be offered in the November sale of 19th Century European Art in New York, the same week as Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art and Important Russian Art auctions. The group is led by John Frederick Herring Sr.’s Preparing to Start for the Doncaster Gold Cup (est. $600/800,000). The Doncaster Cup remains the oldest continuous horse race in Britain, having been founded in 1766, and the present work depicts many of the celebrated competitors who vied for the prize in 1825. The winning horse that year was Lottery, who is shown at the far left of the composition. Also included in the Collection is a diverse selection of important paintings by Sir Alfred James Munnings, including the exquisite Start of a Steeplechase (est. $300/500,000).
Old Master & British Paintings Day Sale
London, 8 December 2011 – Five works from the Evans Collection will be featured in the December sale of Old Master & British Paintings in London, led by an exquisite work by James Ward, R.A., the greatest animal painter of his generation and one of the leading artists of the British Romantic movement. The Marquees of Londonberry’s Arabian stallion in a landscape depicts the great British statesman Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquees of Londonderry’s horse Lion (est. £120/250,000). Stewart was a central figure in the coalition that defeated Napoleon, and the principal British diplomat at the Congress of Vienna.
*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium