“Elk Buffalo”, a majestic bronze by early 20th Century American artist Henry Merwin Shrady, is the focal point of Eldred’s Spring Americana, Paintings & Sporting Art Auction, being held Friday, April 3 and Saturday, April 4, 2015. Other lots in the spotlight include a circa 1886 rare sand art bottle by Iowa’s Andrew Clemens and an early A. Elmer Crowell carving of a yellowlegs.

The Crowell yellowlegs comes to market from a private collection in Massachusetts, having descended in the family of the original owner, who hunted with Crowell on Cape Cod. Other sporting art lots in the sale include a private collection of miniature bird carvings by Howard Gibbs and a rare Henry Rifle. Sporting Art, along with 90 lots of silver, thirteen works by illustration artist Charles W. Hargens, and a silver gelatin print “The Vanishing Race” by Edward S. Curtis are some of the other standout lots amongst the nearly 500 being offered during Friday’s auction session.

Saturday’s session begins with 36 lots from a Brooklyn, New York collection, including the Andrew Clemens sand art bottle that depicts an eagle clutching an American flag on obverse and a gift inscription surrounded by floral bouquets on reverse. Clemens, born in 1857 and deaf and mute nearly his entire life, collected naturally colored grains of sand from the Pictured Rocks area of northeast Iowa and created complex designs in clear glass bottles using simple wire and wood tools. Despite creating hundreds of these amazing works of art, it is estimated only about fifty still exist intact.  

Henry Merwin Shrady, who, like Clemens, was mostly a self-taught artist, is most known for the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial that stands outside the Capitol in Washington D.C. At the time of his death, just two weeks before the memorial’s dedication, he was one of America’s leading sculptors. “Elk Buffalo”, standing 22.5” high, exhibits Shrady’s characteristic realism and animation, a just depiction of the noble animal. A work by Frederick Charles Shrady, Henry Merwin’s son, as well as other American and Continental sculptors, will also be auctioned.

Notable paintings in the sale include Ralph E. Cahoon’s “Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution”, John B. Neagle’s “Cupid in a Landscape”, Ross E. Moffett’s “Fielding”, John Whorf’s “Moonlight, Island Singer” and “Bali Girl”, a portrait by Indonesian artist Antonio Maria Blanco. Works by Guy Carleton Wiggins, Grigory Gluckmann, William R. Davis, William Lester Stevens and Charles Francois Daubigny are also included.  

More than 175 lots of fine furniture will be spread over the two auction sessions, highlighted by an impressive Circa 1790 Hepplewhite sideboard with extensive inlay, a William & Mary highboy with beautiful burled ash facings, a Massachusetts Chippendale block-front slant-lid desk, and an Eastern Pennsylvania Hepplewhite tall chest.

Other lots of interest include an Audubon elephant folio “Pileated Woodpecker”, a rare 18th Century darning sampler, a Circa 1800 Connecticut tall-case clock and a sea chest from William Swain of Orleans, Massachusetts, part of a special collection of items from a Cape Cod estate. Oriental rugs, pewter, metalware, ceramics, American Native, folk art, textiles, militaria and much more will also be offered in this diverse and highly anticipated sale of 1,000 total lots.  

The auction will take place at the company’s main facility located 1483 Route 6A, in East Dennis, Massachusetts. Interested bidders can visit www.eldreds.com for a complete sale listing and to register to bid via phone, absentee bid or online. Those wishing to bid live in the audience may register the day of the auction.

About the Robert C. Eldred Co., Inc.

The Robert C. Eldred Co. Inc., New England's oldest established antiques and fine arts auction house, holds approximately 25 auctions per year encompassing Americana, paintings, Asian art, European decorative art, maritime antiques and collectibles. With a strong commitment to personalized, expert service to its worldwide clientele, Eldred’s was recently named one of the top auction houses in North America by Blouin Art Info. Eldred’s also offers complete appraisal services to meet the needs of individuals, banks, trusts and attorneys. Eldred’s has been owned and operated from the same location on historic Route 6A in East Dennis, on Cape Cod for three generations.

For more information about the Robert C. Eldred Co., Inc., or any of the lots in the Spring Americana, Paintings and Sporting Art Auction, please call (508) 385-3116 or email cheryl@eldreds.com