NEW YORK —A significant selection of fresh to the market American art highlights Bonhams May 22 American Art auction at the Madison Avenue salesroom. 96 lots will be offered in total, including works from the 19th century, Hudson River School, Impressionism, Modernism, and regional schools of art.  

Eastman Johnson’s painting Indian Family, circa 1856-57, is the auction’s top lot (est. $400,000-600,000).  This authentic scene depicts a seated elderly American Indian man, his face worn and his eyes wary, next to a curious and rosy-cheeked infant swaddled and placed in a distinct cradle board. Positioned in contrast to two female figures in a traditional wigwam at the back left of the composition, the artist compares the current changes facing native peoples in mid-19th century America.

Indian Family is the culmination of Johnson’s fascination with the lifestyle of the Ojibwe Indians. This rare painting has never been on the market before and comes to Bonhams directly from the artist’s family. The majority of known works by the artist from this period reside in the collection of the St. Louis Historical Society, located in Duluth, Minnesota.

Daniel Ridgway Knight’s La Vendange, a charming large-scale masterwork showing a group of cheerful peasants working in a French vineyard will also be offered (est. $300,000-500,000). Knight’s attention to the figures’ individual expressions captures the uplifting side of this class and their honest enjoyment in life. Recognized during his lifetime as a leader of the American art movement in France, La Vendage is a superb example of Knight’s style, and has been in a northern California private collection for decades.

Also up for auction will be Albert Bierstadt’s Early Snow in Yosemite Valley, Sentinel Rock ($300,000-500,000). Best known for his mammoth, awe-inspiring paintings of the American West, the piece is a quintessential example of the artists’ oeuvre. Coming from the Estate of Jasper Moore in Birmingham, Michigan, the important composition has been in private hands for over 40 years.

George William Sotter’s Homestead at Night, coming from a private Texas collection, will also be up for auction (est. $100,000-150,000). Sotter’s remarkable ability to effectively paint a nocturne scene stems from his honed understanding of light and shadow developed through his training as a stained-glass artist. The Sotter, which was purchased directly from the artist, has been in the present owner’s family for more that 70 years.

John Singer Sargent’s charcoal Portrait of Ms. Hart from 1904 on offer reflects a period when Sargent frequented the home of Earl Fitzwilliam of Wentworth Woodhouse (est. $50,000-70,000). A young and stylish woman, Ms. Hart gazes with confidence at her audience, her assured nature perfectly matched by Sargent’s masterful rendering. The painting comes to Bonhams from the family of the Earl’s former wife, a friend of Ms. Hart.

Modernist highlights of note include Thomas Hart Benton’s brooding Self-Portrait (est. $60,000-80,000), which has been privately owned since the 1970s, and William Zorach’s impressive 49 inch-tall bronze Innocence: A Portrait of the Artist's Daughter which was likely acquired directly from the artist by the owner’s late husband (est. $30,000-50,000). Marvin Cone’s 1933 Table setting – Hollyhocks, a splendid composition focused on pattern and rhythm, has remained with the artist’s family until now (est. $20,000-30,000).

Bonhams American Art auction will take place May 22 in New York. The sale will preview at Bonhams May 18-22.