Grogan & Company is poised to present a diverse and exciting selection of American fine art in their annual September Auction. A charming Edward Henry Potthast (American, 1857-1927) 11 ¼ x 15 ½ inch oil on board titled Wading is estimated at $30,000-50,000. The work, which will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné on Potthast, depicts four young girls at the beach, playing at the waters’ edge.

Other American fine art highlights include an 11 ¼ x 12 ½ inch John La Farge (American, 1835-1910) watercolor titled Girl with the Ring, estimated at $20,000-40,000. The work, which comes from a private New England collection, depicts a seated young woman, nude from the waist up, gazing down at the small ring she holds in her left hand. The work is framed under glass and appears nearly square, but unmatting the watercolor reveals extensive margins that illustrate La Farge’s working process as they are filled with experimental brushstrokes of vivid colors. A 1927 Frank Weston Benson (American, 1862-1951) watercolor entitled Winter Hills (19 ¼ x 24 ¼ inches) from the same private collection is also expected to garner much interest. The predominantly blue and white toned work on paper has an estimate of $8,000-12,000.

A number of the paintings in The September Auction have intriguing local connections to Boston. A 28 x 46 inch George Hawley Hallowell (American, 1871-1926) oil on canvas depicts the chaos and excitement of an Italian fiesta, the foreground full of energetic figures. The work is titled Italian Fiesta Day and is estimated at $5,000-8,000. Though is comes from a private Western collection, the painting has Boston roots. It was exhibited at Boston’s St. Botolph Club in 1903, and again as part of a memorial exhibition for the artist in 1927. It was also shown at the Casson Galleries of Boston in 1928 and still bears a partial label, verso, from the exhibition.

A 25 x 30 inch oil on canvas by the portraitist John Koch depicts The Batchelder Family at their farm, Moraine Farm, in Beverly Massachusetts. Mrs. Batchelder, clad in a bright yellow dress, sits in a chair, gazing up at her son, who stands in the doorway, dressed in blue jeans and a white t-shirt. Mr. Batchelder stands over his wife’s chair, staring out toward the viewer. The work, estimated at $10,000-20,000 was commissioned in 1951 and has remained in the family until this time. It is accompanied by a rough pencil sketch of the work, inscribed “For Katie and George, affectionately, John Koch, July 1951.”

The September Auction also features a strong collection of marine works, including an oil on canvas racing scene and a watercolor portrait of a clipper at sea by the British artist Montague Dawson (1895-1973). These works are estimated at $20,000-40,000 and $8,000-12,000, respectively. This work is complemented by a 26 x 36 inch watercolor portrait of the Schooner Sarah V.W. Simmons at Sea by the American artist Charles B. Lawrence (1790-1864), estimated at $3,000-5,000. An 1856 watercolor of the American Bark “Henry Hill” entering Smyrna Bay, by Raffaele Corsini (Italian, 1830-1880), estimated at $2,000-4,000, rounds out the marine offerings.

Other selections of American art include a 20 x 24 inch Emil Albert Gruppe (American, 1896-1978) oil on canvas titled Morning, Gloucester Harbor, estimated at $4,000-6,000, a John Whorf (American 1903-1959) 15 x 22 inch watercolor of a winter view of the Boston Statehouse, with an estimate of $3,000-5,000, and a Lilla Cabot Perry (American, 1848-1933) 31 ½ x 25 ¾ inch oil portrait of a seated woman, bearing an estimate of $2,000-4,000.

For more information and to view the illustrated online catalogue, please visit www.groganco.com. The auction will be held at Grogan & Company’s Beacon Hill gallery at 12 noon on Sunday, September 27th. The sale exhibition will open to the public on Thursday, September 24th at 12 noon.