Evening star., 1942-07-19
Art
Notes
Years Art Sales
Bring Highest
Prices in Years
By Leila MechHn.

this country-tne FaTke-beiAe'
Galleries, Inc, New Yark-repor'
the highest total for sales during
the season-September, '41-June, a
for 13 years. This great sum
amounted to s4,oo7,82335 and was
an increase of 10 per cent over
the year preceding.
In explanation, the president Of
these galleries, Hiram H. Parke
: has had the following to say: AS
an indispensable factor in the liqul-
dation of property such as works OF
art and ram books, for the settle
ment of estates, the auction house Is
nossiblv more necessary in wartime
than during an era of peace. Ex-
ecutors and trust officers are IN
clined to take prompt action to
convert real property into llqulo
funds. Also the entry OF many
dealers into the armed forces make
necessary liquidation OF thelr
stocks"
From the buyers angle, museums
have been making more purchases
at auction sales than heretofore
because many well-known collec-
tions of we'll authenticated works
have come into the market, and
dealers have availed themselves
of this opportunity to increase the
value of their stock. But also the
new collectors have increased In
number. Possibly the war taxes
may have also been factor, Tor
works of art pay dividends not IN
dollars but sheer pleasure which Is
Intangible and therefore tax ex-
empt.
Similar Conditions abroad
Apparently the condition abroad
Is somewhat similar. Christie's OF
London makes similar report, and
at one time during the season it
was rumored that the demand IN
England was so great for portraits
Of the British School that London
dealers were recalling works on
consignment with American deal
ers. But list of sales of such in
London reveals considerably lower
prices there than those brought in
New York. According to rumor.
sales have been plentiful and prices
high in Paris likewise-but this can
not be authenticated.
The collection which at the
Parke- -Bernet Galleries brought the
highest price of the season-some-
thing over half million dollars
was that fthe late Mrs. B. F. Jones,
ir, of Pittsburgh, whose husband
had been member of the we'll
known firm, Jones g. Laughlin Steel
Manufactures, Inc, with which the
Phillips and Laughlins Of this city
are also connected. Next highest
to this was $295, Ali brought by the
Harry Payne Whitney collection,
contained in the Fifth avenue resi-
dence, and sold there but shortly
before Mrs. Whitney's death. More
than 5000 persons visited this
collection prior to its sale, each
paying an admission of so cents,
which went toward the support OF
the Community Service Society OF
New York and in itself amounted to
a goodly sum. The art property OF
the late Arthur Curtiss James sold
for $4,176,386 and that of the
late James Speyer for total OF
$108,312.
Sale of Tapestries
A striking feature of the Whitney
sale was the disposition of 80 mag.
nificent tapestries-Royal Beauvais
Gobelins and others-which were
acquired by some of the leading art
museums, such as the Metropolitan
New York; the Art Institute of Chi
cago, the Philadelphia, Worcester
and Cleveland Museums Of Art, from
funds made available by the Whit
ney family.
The types of art bringing highest
prices were paintings Chiefly of the
English school, tapestries, jades
sculpture, 18th century French anc
English furniture and Rowlandsor
drawings.
The highest price paid for single
object was $39, 900, given at the Jones
collection sale for a portrait by
Hoppner of Miss Frances Beres-
ford" This was $4,000 more thar
the top price last season, which was
obtained by a portrait by Goya
Among other high prices were the
following: Portrait by Romney Of
capt. William Kirkpatrick, S31, 900;
view of Westphalia," by Hobbema
$4,000; portrait of The Right Hon.
orable William Pitt" by Gainsbor.
,ough. $4,000; portrait Of Marie
Woodgate," by Lawrence, $22, 900
portrait of John Lamont of La
mont by Raeburn, s16,500. Tw'
portraits by Natter brought, re
spectively, s19,999 and s12,5o0, Will
Renoir, Portrait of Child" sol'
for S9.750. Forty thousand dollar
was paid for four Royal 5eauvai
tapestries and s42 900 for six tapes
tries from Brussels factory of tn
Renaissance period. and one Beau
vais tapestry after Boucher brough
$4,000 In addition to which al
extraordinarily high price was tina
of $500 paid for set of fou
volumes of Audubon's elephant foil
edition of THE Birds of America,
for which in his lifetime, it will b
remembered, he had hard work t
find a publisher and received yer
small monetary return.
The sales of furniture, with fe'
exceptions, were not eXcitingly high
but in the aggregate brought goo
round sums. The report from whic
facts have been here quoted doe
not make mention of any phe
nomenal price paid for works b
American artists nor for those {
the modern French school, nor doe
il include items in the field {
graphic arts-etchings. engraving
and lithographs-which, curiousl
enough, have lately reached 10
level.
In England the sensational sa
of the year was a portrait of Ma
garetha "Trip by Rembrandt, whic
was purchased out of the Nation
Art-Col. .ections Fund for approx
mately $4,000 and given to Il
National Gallery Of Art. Signt
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