Brunk Auctions hosted another successful auction in their Asheville, North Carolina gallery over the weekend of January 26th and 27th, 2018. The January sale at Brunk Auctions brought $1.76 million and finished with a 95% sell-through rate over the course of two sessions.

Exceptional results were achieved in many categories with records set for Southern-related works in the auction. Important estates realized outstanding prices and sell-through rates.

The sale saw Brunk Auctions continue their success in the marketplace with important North Carolina artists. A new auction record was set for S. Tucker Cooke with the sale of a large mixed media work from 1974. The framed work by the North Carolina artist and retired local professor, entitled Elephant, sold for $9,000. This record sale was high above the $1,500 to $2,500 estimate, and Cooke’s previous auction record of $3,600, set in 2012. Other impressive results for North Carolina artists at Brunk Auctions over the weekend include a Maud Gatewood painting entitled Harrowed Field Sunset selling for $19,200 and Maud Gatewood’s Cloudy There – Sunny Here selling for $9,600.

A rare portrait miniature by Swiss artist David Boudon sold for $9,000, a record at auction for the artist. The subject, a Ms. Houstoun of Savannah, Georgia depicted the wife or daughter of Sir George Houstoun, an affluent merchant who traded in indigo. Interestingly, the sitter is wearing an indigo sash and bow in the portrait. The previous record for a work by the artist at auction was set in 1992 in Switzerland for roughly $1,725.

Brunk Auctions also achieved an exceptional result over the weekend for New York and California artist Harry Humphrey Moore. Child of Wealth, a Japonesque painting from 1888, sold for $31,200 against an estimate of $12,000 to $18,000. The result was the highest for the artist at auction in over 20 years. Moore was one of the first American artists to visit and work in Japan, and this meticulously detailed painting is characteristic of his best work.

Other impressive results include a Fine Pair of Louis XV Inlaid Petite Commodes selling for $36,000; six first edition volumes of John James Audubon’s Birds of America selling for $31,200; and a Pennsylvania Chippendale Mahogany Spice Cabinet selling for $18,000.

Property from the Collection of Ambassador Mary Ourisman was met with impassioned bidding. The collection brought $246,240 against a pre-sale estimate of $99,200 - $165,100, with a 98% sell-through rate. Property from the Estate of Ann Carter Stonesifer achieved $322,920 at auction, well over the pre-sale estimates of $179,750 to $280,450. Over 99% of lots from the Stonesifer Estate sold at auction.

Brunk Auctions will hold its next catalog auction on the weekend of March 24th. All prices include applicable buyer’s premiums.