A Visit with Waterhouse and Zorn

Last Sunday, I broke the plague-seal on my front door – my entire family has been suffering some diabolical and tenacious illness for more than a week now – and made a run to New York City.  I wanted to see John William Waterhouse's Fair Rosamund while it was still in previews at Sotheby's Auction House, and I wanted to see the Anders Zorn exhibit at the National Academy Museum before that show came to an end later this month.  Though most people would not consider a long drive in heavy traffic and hours of standing on one's feet as being therapeutic, most artists would probably understand how being in the presence of great art can improve someone's overall well-being, and I must admit, for a few hours, I felt much better.

Visiting the 19th Century European Art Sales at Sotheby's has always been enjoyable to me.  Even when they do not necessarily have many lots available, among what they do present are usually a few pieces that I am quite eager to see.  Artists like Bouguereau, Dagnan-Bouveret, Waterhouse, Gérôme, and Alma-Tadema, are not particularly common in American public collections, so such sales at which these artists are on view are a genuine treat.  And generally, when you visit the previews, the sales floor is not crowded, and you have the opportunity to examine the works closely and carefully.  Add in that there is no admission fee, and it makes for a great afternoon.

Though I am happy to have seen Fair Rosamund, I must admit it was not the piece which stole the show.  John William Godward's beautifully executed  When the Heart is Young, mounted in a replica tabernacle frame, drew the most attention that day.  It was easily among the top 3 paintings of his I have seen in person, and when it sold this past Thursday, it fetched $1,445,000 USD, more than twice its pre-auction estimate of $600,000.  Waterhouse still did well, however, selling for $1,505,000 USD, quite a bit higher than its estimated price of $800,000. 

The biggest surprise of the sale, however, had to be Marie-François Firmin-Girard's painting Le Quai aux Fleurs, a detailed and many-figured panoramic scene of a flower market along Paris' Quai de la corse.  The beautiful representation of late 1800s Parisian life must have spurred some unexpected bidding;  estimated to sell for between $300,000 and $500,000, the painting reached $3,021,000 before the hammer fell.  

Of course, even though such sales do not have a major impact on Contemporary Representationalism prices, it is still a good sign that there is a demand for figurative work.  The correctly positioned collector might be all that is needed to inspire a surge of buying in the genre.

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