East Dennis, Mass. – Eldred’s will hold two consecutive days of auctions this month, with a Fine and Decorative Art Auction on Thursday, May 14, and a “Summer Living” auction on Friday, May 15. Both feature a range of paintings and other fine art, furniture, Oriental rugs and decorative items.

The Fine and Decorative Art Auction "really offers something for all tastes, from English transferware and majolica to studio pottery and a Byzantine Madonna and Child, and contemporary Southwestern sculpture to vintage movie posters," said Leah Kingman, head of Eldred’s European and Decorative Arts department.

The sale does have a distinct European slant, however, with most of the leading lots having a Continental or British origin. Anticipated top earners include a pastel scene of sunny wheat fields by Leon Augustin L’Hermitte (France, 1844-1925), estimated at $3,000/5,000, a mid-20th Century Swiss mechanical singing bird box by Reuge, estimated at $2,000/3,000, and an English two-part secretary with extensive burled veneer, estimated at $1,200/1,800.

Of the nearly 400 lots in the sale, a quarter of them are paintings. In addition to the L’Hermitte, highlights include an oil on board of figures on a rural road by Luigi Levi (Italy, 1858-1939) and an oil on canvas view of Port de Sauzon by Yolande Ardissone (France, b. 1927), both estimated at $2,500/3,500, and a large oil on canvas depicting the famous War of 1812 naval battle between the Shannon and the Chesapeake, attributed to William John Huggins (United Kingdom, 1781-1845), estimated at $1,500/2,500. A Spanish School portrait of a peasant, catalogued as 18th Century, has received significant early interest and may out-perform its $600/800 pre-sale estimate.

Also garnering attention is a lot of two miniature Russian icons, estimated at $1,000/2,000. Both include original letters from Armand Hammer’s “Russian Imperial Exhibit” dated 1933, identifying the artist as K. Ulianoff of the Palicha (Palekh) School and listing the pieces as coming from the Imperial Collection of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg.

The sale also includes 55 lots of silver, notably a George III salver, Elizabeth Cooke, maker, and a Gorham creamer from 1868, with a mouse seated on the handle. Both lots have $300/500 pre-sale estimates.      

“There's also a good group of prints from private collectors,” Kingman said, citing a James Whistler, a Joseph Pennell, a George Wesley Bellows and a John Marin. Pre-sale estimates range from $300/500 to $1,000/1,500.

Other noteworthy lots include a pair of F. Barbedienne neoclassical gilt-bronze urns, estimated at $800/1,200, an English needlework sampler with a busy array of floral designs, stitch patterns and initials, estimated at $300/500, a Continental marble sculpture of a woman holding a flower, estimated at $1,000/2,000, and several lots of art pottery, most estimated around $300/500. Contemporary Art, including prints by Chagall, an abstract by Victor Candell and a horse portrait by Joe Andoe, are also included.

The Summer Living Sale on May 15 evokes the casual lifestyle synonymous with summer cottages so plentiful on Cape Cod, where Eldred’s is headquartered, and includes things like antique wicker furniture, ship-in-a-bottles, vintage trade signs, blue and white porcelain, and zoological prints. Highlights include a set of seven black-painted Windsor-style chairs, estimated at $800/1,200, a shadow box diorama of the Lusitania, estimated at $900/1,200, an Ahar Heriz 9’ x 12’ rug, estimated at $700/1,000, and “Country Church”, an oil on canvas by 20th Century Vermont artist James Ashley, estimated at $700/1,000.

“People sometimes think of antiques as either unattainable because of price or unusable because they are important and special. The idea behind the Summer Living Sale is to show new and old buyer’s alike that most antiques can be lovingly integrated in the modern lifestyle and be used and enjoyed as intended,” said Joshua Eldred, president of the firm. “Most of the items in the auction will sell for less than $500 and would be a great addition to main or second home.”

All lots in both sales can be viewed on Eldred’s website, www.eldreds.com. Online and absentee bidding is available but because of Massachusetts stay-at-home advisories in place to limit the spread of COVID-19, floor bidding is not available, and no public exhibition will be held. Interested bidders are encouraged to get detailed condition reports by visiting the firm’s website. Both auctions will be conducted at the company’s headquarters in East Dennis, Mass.

About Eldred’s

The Robert C. Eldred Co. is New England's oldest established antiques and fine arts auction house, now in its third generation of ownership within the Eldred family. In addition to its headquarters on Cape Cod’s historic Old King’s Highway in East Dennis, Mass., the firm also has an office at 5 Roosevelt Avenue in Mystic, Ct. Eldred’s conducts approximately 25 auctions per year encompassing Americana, paintings, Asian art, European decorative art, maritime antiques, sporting art and collectibles. Eldred’s, the nation’s leading marine art auction house, conducts approximately 25 auctions per year encompassing Americana, paintings, Asian art, European decorative art, sporting art and collectibles in addition to marine art. It was recently named one of the top worldwide auction houses by Art + Auction and holds auction records across a wide range of collecting areas.  

For more information please call (508) 385-3116 or email info@eldreds.com.