Freeman’s has announced the results of its December 6 American Art & Pennsylvania Impressionists auction, which realized over $5.2M—the best result for a sale of American Art that Freeman’s has ever recorded and the highest selling Fine Art auction at the house since 2004.

With highly competitive bidding throughout the sale from bidders both online and on the phone, the highly-curated auction, comprising 114 lots, achieved an impressive 93% sell-through rate overall as well as a 96% sell-through recorded for the Pennsylvania Impressionists section. With at least three works selling to museums, exceptional prices were established for works by Daniel Garber, Rockwell Kent, and Mary Elizabeth Price.

FRESH-TO-MARKET MATERIAL FROM SINGLE-OWNER COLLECTIONS SOAR ABOVE ESTIMATES

The undoubted highlight of the sale was the strong result achieved for Norman Rockwell’s The Melody Stilled by Cold (Lot 48). The work sold for $519,000, exceeding its pre-sale high estimate. Also of note was the impressive result achieved for Rockwell Kent’s Wake Up, America! (Lot 34), which achieved $375,000, soaring above its pre-sale high estimate and realizing the highest price paid for a socio-political work of this caliber by the artist.

Said Chairman, Alasdair Nichol: “We are delighted with the success of Sunday’s auction which surpassed all our expectations. We thank our consignors for their continued faith in our business and we thank the entire Freeman’s team for their heroic efforts in bringing Freeman’s through one of its most difficult years to date - with tremendous success. We are also grateful for the city of Philadelphia, which has been our home for well over 200 years and we continue to look forward to a successful future in our state of the art building at 2400 Market Street.”

7 WORKS BY DANIEL GARBER SELL FOR $1.55M

Works by Pennsylvania Impressionist Daniel Garber performed very well, exemplifying Freeman’s continued success with this artist. Seven paintings by the artist realized a cumulative $1.55M, led by The Last of Winter (Lot 95) which sold for $435,000, exceeding its pre-sale high estimate and becoming the highest price paid for Daniel Garber at auction since 2013. This record was followed by Blue and Gold (Lot 106) which soared past its pre-sale high estime of $250,000 to achieve $312,500; Weatherby’s Oak which sold for $300,000, just at the top of its pre-sale high estimate; as well as Winter which sold for $162,500 and also exceeded its pre-sale high estimate.

ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

Other notable highlights included the sale of Mille Fleurs (A Thousand Flowers) by Mary Elizabeth Price (Lot 93), which realized $162,500, surpassing its pre-sale high estimate and becoming the second highest price achieved for the artist; Lake Garda (Lot 17) by John Singer Sargent which sold for $87,500, surpassing its pre-sale high estimate; Rainy Day, Columbus Avenue, Boston (Lot 23) by Childe Hassam which sold for $75,000, tripling its pre-sale high-estimate; and Bowery Scene (Lot 41) by Reginald Marsh which realized $75,000,  far exceeding its pre-sale estimate of $30,000-50,000. 

Of note are three works by artist George William Sotter, which sold for a collective $190,000 and were led by The Neighbor’s House which achieved $100,000, within its pre-sale estimate. Singing Bells ( Lot 64A) by Henry McCarter sold for $32,500, nearly doubling its pre-sale high estimate and achieving the highest price ever paid for an oil by the artist. Notable results were achieved for works by Edward Willis Redfield.