NEW ORLEANS, La. – A 19th century oil on board painting by South Carolina artist William Aiken Walker (1838-1921), an oil on cardboard work by folk artist Clementine Hunter (1887-1988), and a bronze figural group from around 1900 by French sculptor Alfred Boucher (1850-1934) will all come up for bid at Crescent City Auction Gallery’s Nov. 17th-19th estates auction.

The three-day event will be held in the firm’s gallery at 1330 St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, starting at 1 pm on Friday, November 17th (340 lots); at 9 am on Saturday, November 18th (750 lots); and at 10 am on Sunday, November 19th (389 lots). All times are Central. The color catalog can be viewed online now, on the Crescent City website, at www.crescentcityauctiongallery.com. 

Headlining the auction will be Part 2 of the estates of Dr. and Mrs. David S. Miller out of Baton Rouge, La., plus merchandise from local estates and collections. Online bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com. Telephone and absentee bids will also be accepted.

The oil on board painting by William Aiken Walker is one of the auction’s expected top lots, with a pre-sale estimate of $10,000-$15,000. Titled Cabin Scene, the work is a brilliant example of what Walker was best known for: depicting life in the post-Reconstruction American South, especially the lives of sharecroppers. The 5 ½ inch by 11 ½ inch painting is signed lower left.

Clementine Hunter is sometimes called “the black Grandma Moses,” since both women were self-taught folk artists who lived to be 100 years old. In Hunter’s case, she didn’t even begin painting until she was in her 50s. There are two paintings by her in the sale. One is titled Cotton Pickers, circa 1975. It’s 13 ½ inches by 17 inches and is signed lower right (est. $2,000-$4,000).

Alfred Boucher was the son of a farmhand who became the gardener of the sculptor Joseph-Marius Ramus who, after recognizing Boucher's talent, opened his studio to him. He went on to become a mentor to Camille Claudel and a friend of Auguste Rodin. His patinated bronze figural group titled Au But Les Coureurs, standing 13 ¼ inches tall, is expected to bring $3,000-$5,000.

The auction will have an eclectic mix of offerings, ranging from wonderful pieces of Newcomb College art pottery to fine French and American period furniture to original artworks – many by New Orleans and Southern regional artists – to jewelry (a category featuring diamonds, rubies, emeralds, tanzanites, opals, sapphires and South Seas pearls), plus clocks and decorative items.

French period furniture will showcase an unusual 19th century French provincial carved walnut and elm Louis XV-style vaisselier, having a superstructure centered with a clock; a Louis XVI-style inlaid carved mahogany ormolu mounted marble-top sideboard with a matching table and vitrine; and a mid-19th century French provincial Louis XV-style inlaid carved walnut sideboard.

Additional French period furniture will feature an early 20th century Belle Epoque gilt bronze ormolu mounted carved mahogany bibliotheque (cupboard fitted with bookshelves); a Louis Philippe carved figural walnut commode made in the 19th century; and a French Empire-style carved mahogany ormolu mounted verde antico marble-top commode, made in the 19th century.

 American antique furniture will include a Victorian walnut half-tester bed from the 1800s, 93 ½ inches tall (est. $800-$1,200); and a William McCracken rococo revival carved mahogany armoire from circa 1860 and made in New Orleans (est. $1,500-$2,500). Also sold will be a 19th century German Black Forest figural carved bear bench, 34 inches wide (est. $1,500-$2,500).

Paintings by New Orleans and Louisiana artists are a staple at most Crescent City auctions, and this one will be no exception. Sold will be a watercolor by Sister Gertrude Morgan (1900-1980), titled Praise Him All Ye Little Children (est. $1,000-$2,000); an oil on board by Alberta Kinsey (1875-1952), titled Still Life of Wine Bottle and Fruit, signed (est. $1,000-$2,000); and an oil on board by Robert M. Rucker (1932-2000), titled Steamboat in the Swamp (est. $1,200-$1,600).

Additional artworks from the region will include an oil on canvas Portrait of a Gentleman by Andres Molinary (1847-1915), (est. $800-$1,200); a watercolor by Ellsworth Woodward (1861-1939), titled Dunes along the Beach (est. $800-$1,200); and a charcoal artwork by George Valentine Dureau (1930-2014), Figures and a Centaur on an Artist’s Palette (est. $600-$900).

In addition to the Boucher, other bronzes in the auction will include a patinated bronze bust by Albert Carrier-Belleuse (Fr., 1824-1897), titled Dante, 19 inches tall (est. $1,000-$2,000); and a patinated bronze sculpture of Fighting Stags by Thomas Cartier (1879-1943), 11 ½ inches tall (est. $800-$1,200). Also up for bid will be a Russian icon of the Virgin of Kazan Moscow, circa 1896-1908, with a gilt silver and filigree oklad, 9 inches tall by 7 ½ inches (est. $2,000-$3,000).

Rounding out just some of the auction’s expected top lots are a mid-19th century French gilt bronze and patinated spelter figural mantle clock by Baulier et Fils (Paris) (est. $600-$900); and an English sterling covered entrée dish made by Joseph Craddock and William K. Reid (London, 1816), with the Huth family coat of arms and on a silverplated warming dish (est. $700-$1,200).

Previews will be held Thursday, Nov. 9, through Friday, Nov. 17 (except on Sunday, when the gallery is closed), from 10-5. An evening preview will be held Wednesday, Nov. 15, lasting until 8 pm (all times Central). Absentee and phone bids will be taken until 1 pm on Friday, Nov. 17.

A printed catalog is available on request. Crescent City Auction Gallery is always seeking quality consignments for future auctions. To consign a single item, an estate or a collection, you may call them at (504) 529-5057; or, you can send an e-mail inquiry to info@crescentcityauctiongallery.com.

For more information about Crescent City Auction Gallery and the upcoming Nov. 17-19 three-day estates auction, please visit www.crescentcityauctiongallery.com. Updates are posted frequently.

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