Brunk Auctions will open their fall season on September 16-17 with a Premier Auction that includes some of the most important names in 19th and early 20th century American and western fine art. Other highlights important selections of Native American beadwork, textiles, and pottery, New England and Southern furniture, fine and decorative arts, and Southern pottery among many other categories.
American fine art highlights in the auction include a rare bound volume of John Abbot’s watercolors, including over 28 birds; a rare tropical scene of Chimborazo by Louis Remy Mignot; as well as a sunset study of Chimborazo by Frederic Erwin Church. There is a stunning autumn landscape by Albert Bierstadt; a Frank Tenney Johnson night scene; two important impressionist works by Childe Hassam–New Hampshire Farm, painted in 1906, and Boy with Flower Pots, from 1888; and paintings by Robert Henri, Prior Hamblin School.
American modern paintings will include three paintings by Wolf Khan, one of the most highly regarded colorists. A collection of Dan Ostermiller bronzes will be available, including cats, ram, and ducks. An important Hunt Diederich Horse Racing Bronze will also highlight the sale.
European highlights include a Paul Signac watercolor painting of a small port town, Le Port a Barfleur and a Flemish portrait of King Charles II by the Studio of Anthony Van Dyck. A variety of Christopher Dresser’s work will be available, including a pair of vases with flowers and hummingbirds, and a Limoges porcelain turkey dinner platter from the reorder of the President Rutherford B. Hayes state dinner service is a rare find.
Then on September 29 and 30, Brunk will auction the estate of Peter H. Tillou. Tillou was a legendary art dealer for over 65 years with galleries on two continents and a home base in Litchfield, Connecticut full of treasures that now head to auction.
The auction will include over 700 lots spanning the 17th through the 21st century, across all the categories and styles that Tillou was known for; from Old Master still lifes to important portraits from the 17th and 18th century; from British and European furniture to Dutch and German glass; from Chinese and German ceramic, stone, and bronze objects to contemporary trompe l’oeil paintings and Native American artifacts, from early American folk art to rare works by Winfred Rembert; there will be opportunities in every category and estimate range available. Bibliophiles will have the chance to bid on his personal library of over 1,100 volumes of rare books.
American painting highlights in The Estate of Peter H. Tillou Auction include a Stephen Scott Young portrait titled Faith and Joseph Stock’s portrait Jane Tyler with Cat. Among the extensive offerings of contemporary trompe l’oeil paintings is Michael Theise’s The Boys are Safe. Brunk Auctions is delighted to be selling two Winfred Rembert paintings on leather of his time in the deep South: Hungry Eye and Chain Gang Picking Cotton #4.
European painting highlights include a W. Mertens still life painting, according to Fred Meijer "Next to the former Heinz painting, it is the most prestigious by this artist.” A pair of rare 17th century Spanish School portraits of a noblewoman in extravagant French costumes - one in a riding habit, each standing almost 80 inches tall, to be sold as a pair; and a French School portrait of a smiling young gentleman. The auction includes two important 18th century Joseph Wright of Derby Portraits of Miss Elizabeth Carver and Reverend John C. Carver of Morthen, South Yorkshire. These portraits and two more were originally commissioned by Reverend John Griffiths, D.D., Rector of Eckington. Their sister, Miss Ann Carver, sold for $212,500 at Christie’s in New York on April 22, 2021.
Furniture highlights include an exceptional George II mahogany parcel gilt bureau desk and bookcase from Trace Tillou. The collection includes early German and Spanish furniture, strong boxes and medals cabinets, Gothic revival case forms, and other rarities. Pottery in the sale includes early Chinese figures, vessels, and jars; a large German Bellarmine jug, as well as numerous lots of German stoneware steins from the 17th and 18th centuries.
