On Wednesday, September 15, Toomey & Co. Auctioneers will conduct its third Fine Art + Furniture & Decorative Arts sale of 2021 with a variety of material by influential artists and makers from the 19th and early 20th centuries. The auction will include paintings, prints, sculpture, ceramics, glass, lighting, furniture, metalwork, jewelry, and more. Among the items being offered are important, historic examples by key figures from the Midwest and beyond. Logistical details for the sale and bidding instructions are provided below the highlights.

Highlights of Fine Art + Furniture & Decorative Arts on September 15

European Art

French artist Henriette Browne’s richly detailed oil on canvas portrait, Frolics, circa 1880 (estimate $10,000-20,000), presents a playful bathing scene. Danish-French artist Camille Pissarro’s etching likewise shows a trio of bathers, Les Trois Baigneuses, 1895 ($1,000-2,000). Another 19th century French artist in the auction is Louis Victor Watelin, with a bucolic painting, May Morning in Normandy ($2,000-3,000), in which cows drink at a stream. British artist William Henry Watson has a work available with a cluster of highland sheep in the mountains of Perthshire, Scotland ($1,500-2,500). Many fine landscapes will also be up for bid, such as Italian artist Varaldo Giuseppe Cariani’s golden-hued oil on canvas, The Sunset Hour ($1,500-2,500).

American Art

Illinois artist Frederick Fursman has an attractive painting in the auction, Portrait of a Lady with a Blue Parasol ($4,000-6,000). Chicago’s Aaron Bohrod renders the city’s timeless lakeshore in North Avenue Beach (Chicago), 1934 ($1,500-2,500). Similarly, Wisconsin artist Francesco Spicuzza pays homage to Milwaukee’s McKinley Beach ($2,500-3,500). New York City’s Cecil Bell has three paintings in the sale with figures on ferries (highest $1,000-2,000). Three works on paper by Gene Kloss will be up for bid, two of her native San Francisco’s waterfront and one of the Pueblo harvest in New Mexico (highest $1,000-2,000). Roland W. Reed’s gelatin silver print provides a glimpse of the Piegan people hunting in Montana ($1,000-2,000). Multiple works by E.T. Hurley will be offered, including a hand-colored etching with fishing boats and three copper etched printing plates (highest $1,000-2,000). The sale also has George Julian Zolnay’s golf-related bronze sculpture, Gentleman and Caddy at the Tee, 1923 ($1,500-2,500).

Prairie School

Two original Frank Lloyd Wright chairs lead Prairie School design, both of which date to 1908: a high-back example from Browne’s Bookstore in Chicago’s historic Fine Arts Building ($20,000-30,000) and a slant-back example from Unity Temple in Oak Park, Illinois ($10,000-20,000). Other Prairie works on offer include: George Washington Maher’s “Rockledge” dining chair from the E.L. King House in Homer, Minnesota, 1912 ($3,000-5,000) and E.E. Roberts' pair of windows with chevron design from the Benjamin Porter Horton Residence in Oak Park ($1,000-2,000).

Arts & Crafts

Multiple furniture items by Gustav Stickley will be offered on September 15, such as a single-door bookcase, an inlaid music cabinet designed by Harvey Ellis, and a chest of drawers (highest $6,000-8,000). The auction will also feature a table lamp and rare English style settee from the Stickley Brothers (higher $3,000-5,000) as well as a dining table and double-door bookcase from L. & J.G. Stickley (higher $2,000-3,000). Charles Rohlfs’ rare table lamp base is reminiscent of a design by Gustav Stickley ($1,000-2,000). From Charles P. Limbert Co., the sale has a daybed and hall seat (higher $1,000-2,000). A range of furniture from The Roycrofters will be auctioned, for instance, a large china cabinet and a window bench for The Roycroft Inn in East Aurora, New York (higher $6,000-8,000). Art pottery includes a set of three Grueby Water Lily ceramic tiles in an oak frame and an Eva Russell for Grueby floral vase, an Anna Frances Simpson for Newcomb College Español carved earthenware vase, and a San Jose Pottery La Paloma tableau tile-top table (highest $3,000-5,000).

Metalwork, Lighting, and Jewelry

Notable Arts & Crafts metalwork consists of three copper American Beauty vases from The Roycrofters, a pair of copper bookends by Dirk van Erp with ceramic ship tiles from California Faience, and Robert Riddle Jarvie’s pairs of Theta and Alpha candlesticks in brass (highest $2,000-3,000). Wiener Werkstätte co-founder Koloman Moser’s Secessionist hall light fixture also incorporates brass along with transparent and opalescent chunk glass ($4,000-6,000). From Tiffany Studios, the auction features a hanging light fixture with an Acorn leaded glass shade and a Pine Needle table lamp base with a replica Acorn shade (higher $5,000-7,000). Additional lighting standouts include a large table lamp from Handel Lamp Co., a lamp base from Pewabic Pottery, and Daniel Lotton’s Verre de Soie magnum paperweight lamp in Multi Flora design (highest $3,000-5,000). Two striking jewelry items available are a rare 14K yellow gold pendant for a necklace with coral roses, freshwater pearls, and leaf decoration by Rokesley Shop co-founder Ruth Smedley and a sterling silver and amazonite necklace from Chicago’s Kalo Shop (higher $1,500-2,500). The auction also has several Chicago silver lots, such as a Kalo presentation yachting trophy pitcher ($1,000-2,000).

Preview and Bidding with Toomey & Co. Auctioneers

Fine Art + Furniture & Decorative Arts on Wednesday, September 15 will start at 10:00 a.m. Central Daylight Time. The sale will be held at Toomey & Co. Auctioneers, 818 North Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois. Preview runs weekdays Wednesday, September 8 through Tuesday, September 14 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Those wishing to preview or attend the auction must make an appointment by emailing info@toomeyco.com

A virtual preview is available by request. Clients are required to wear masks on the premises regardless of vaccination status. Bidders may also participate by phone (708-383-5234) or leave absentee bids (info@toomeyco.com). The catalog is posted online at toomeyco.com and early registration is recommended. Alternatively, bids may be placed via two real-time, third-party platforms (LiveAuctioneers and Invaluable). 

Upcoming Auctions and Consignments

Toomey & Co. Auctioneers has six more auctions slated for 2021: Prints & Multiples on Wednesday, October 13; Interiors on Thursday, October 14; Rookwood & Ohio Art Pottery on Wednesday, November 10; Jewelry, Silver & Objects of Vertu on Thursday, November 11; Tradition & Innovation on Thursday, December 2; and Art & Design on Sunday, December 5. Consignments are now invited and photographs of items may be sent to info@toomeyco.com for estimates. To learn more about past or future auctions, please visit toomeyco.com.

About Toomey & Co. Auctioneers

Located just west of Chicago in Oak Park, Illinois, Toomey & Co. Auctioneers holds several carefully curated auctions annually with material sourced from six departments: Fine Art, Early 20th Century Design, Modern Design, Fine Furniture & Decorative Arts, Silver & Objects of Vertu, and Fine Jewelry & Timepieces. Recent schedules have presented single-owner and special sales drawn from important estates and private collections.