Items from the estate of noted actress Julie Harris will headline the Robert C. Eldred Co.’s annual Summer Americana, Paintings and Maritime Art Auction, being held July 29, 30 and 31, 2015 in East Dennis, Massachusetts. The 1,300-lot sale also includes items from other notable estates and collections, as well as a rich and diverse selection of paintings, fine furniture, sporting art and maritime art.

A Tony Award-winning actress and Kennedy Center honoree, Julie Harris was a beloved figure on both Broadway and in Chatham, Massachusetts, where she made her home for many years. The Julie Harris Estate Collection will include nearly 150 lots of theater memorabilia, antique furniture, charming home furnishings and works by local Cape Cod artists including William R. Davis and Curtis Rosser.

Other significant paintings in the sale include “Trout Brook” by J.J. Enneking, “Hudson River Outing” by Frank Anderson, a New York winter street scene by Guy Carleton Wiggins, “Washington Square Park” by Colin Campbell Cooper, a Gloucester dock scene by Jane Peterson, eight works by Ralph Cahoon, and “Grey Day + Guinea Boats” by Cape Ann artist Frederick John Mulhaupt, which comes to auction from an important Nantucket estate.

Also from the same estate is a rare curlew decoy attributed to Nathan Cobb of Cobb Island, Virginia, one of the focal points of the Sporting Art category. Other featured Sporting Art lots include an A. Elmer Crowell lesser yellowlegs decoy and a Frank W. Benson grisaille watercolor of surf scoters in flight.

The Maritime Art category includes a large array of America’s Cup collectibles, including a logbook from the 1920 Cup winner Resolute, numerous vintage ship models, a pair of British School yacht racings scenes and other paintings by Antonio Jacobsen and William Pierce Stubbs. A fine collection of items from a Connecticut home includes a portrait of the sidewheeler Neversink by James Bard, as well as maritime paintings by William Pierce Stubbs, Thomas Buttersworth, Sr. and William Gay Yorke.

The same Connecticut collection includes an outstanding pair of Italian Majolica life-size Great Danes from the estate of famed circus owner John Ringling, as well as numerous important furniture pieces such as a Chippendale dish-top stand illustrated in Fine Points of Furniture by Albert Sack and a circa 1780 Boston block-front chest. Other significant furniture lots of the nearly 200 being auctioned include a circa 1760 Bonnet-Top Highboy and a circa 1800 New England Chest-on-Chest in tiger maple.

Other highlights from the sale include a remarkable circa 1887 maritime-themed sand art bottle by Andrew Clemens, a group of Norman Rockwell sketches, and a rare circa 1829 matched pair of leather fire buckets from Sandwich, Massachusetts. The auction will also include lots of sterling silver, weapons and militaria, Oriental rugs, pottery and porcelain, and much more.

Eldred’s is looking forward to building off the momentum of its spring auction schedule, which was highlighted by the $276,000 world record sale of “Elk Buffalo”, an important bronze by American sculptor Henry Merwin Shrady. With phone and online bidding participation at an all-time high, Eldred’s has achieved strong prices across all sales categories for the first half of 2015. “We’re thrilled with the results so far this year and we’re very enthusiastic about the merchandise in this summer’s auction, particularly the Julie Harris Estate Collection, which is an honor to handle,” said Joshua Eldred, company vice president. “It should be a very exciting summer for us here at Eldred’s.”  

The Summer Americana, Paintings and Maritime Art Auction will take place at the company’s facility, located at 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. Online bidding will also be hosted by Invaluable.com. Those wishing to bid live in the audience may register at the offices the day of the auction. The auction preview exhibition will be held Tuesday, July 28, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The auction will begin at 11 a.m. EST on Wednesday, July 29, and at 10 a.m. EST on Thursday, July 30 and Friday, July 31.

The Robert C. Eldred Co., 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. It was recently named one of the top auction houses in North America by Blouin Art Info.

For more information about the Robert C. Eldred Co., the Julie Harris Estate Collection or Eldred’s 2015 Summer Americana, Paintings and Sporting Art Auction, please call (508) 385-3116.