Keno Auctions’ Important American and European Paintings sale, the first auction conducted at the company’s headquarters, achieved a total of $1.512 million, exceeding the pre-sale high estimate of $1.265 million by $300,000.  The auction was 73% sold by lot (including aftersales), with 49 buyers; 11 of whom were successful through the internet.

The Otter Cliffs, Mount Desert Island, Maine, 1866 by William Trost Richards, which was purchased more than 60 years ago as a sleeper at a Vermont country auction by the consignor, was the sale’s highest selling lot achieving the price of $235,600 (est. $40,000/100,000) after several minutes of fierce bidding in the room and telephone.

Jean-Paul Riopelle, a member of the Canadian artists group Les Automatistes, created the dynamic painting Folâtre in 1957; the oil on canvas clearly shows the master at the peak of his creative genius.  The picture was eagerly sought by a multitude of bidders, 14 clients on the telephone and several others bidding through the internet and in the room, before selling to an international collector for $173,600 (est. $80,000/120,000) on site.

The auction offered a number of fresh to the market 20th century pictures from an Arizona collector, with an important contemporary work Topologie de Illusion, 1990 which fetched $99,200 (est. $50,00/100,000).  The artwork, a large scale vivid, abstract painting by renowned Latin American artist Roberto Matta, attracted an international audience with electric bidding in the room, on the telephone and online.  The painting sold to a Florida-based dealer/collector on the floor.

Leigh Keno, President of Keno Auctions, commented:  “We are very pleased with today’s result, especially for the prices achieved by visually exciting works such as David Johnson’s Sunset on the Unadilla River, New York, 1856 which hammered at $167,400 (est. $50,000/80,000) that a dealer bought for more than the high estimate.  Morning Fishing Boats at Anchor, a masterpiece by a leader of The Hague School Hendrik Willem Mesdag, sold for a strong $198,400 (est. $40,000/80,000), and is a work we thought had remarkable potential and inspired competition between collectors worldwide.  We are delighted to see the caliber of new and established clients in the sale who bid decisively on the best examples of artworks.  We had a large number of modern and contemporary works in this auction and we are looking forward to offering more of this type of artwork in the future.”