Rare Russian icons fetch $30,510 at Philip Weiss auction A wonderful pair of oil on wood Russian icons, each measuring 41 inches by 15 inches and with raised copper riza, sold for $30,510 at a multi-estate sale held April 24-25 by Philip Weiss Auctions.
(OCEANSIDE, N.Y.) - A wonderful pair of oil on wood Russian icons, each measuring 41 inches by 15 inches and with raised copper riza, sold for $30,510 at a weekend multi-estate sale held April 24-25 by Philip Weiss Auctions. One of the icons depicted Evangelist holding a book; the other was of an angel. The sale was held at Philip Weiss Auctions' showroom, at #1 Neil Court in Oceanside.
“We were very happy with the results of this sale. They actually exceeded our expectations,” said Philip Weiss of Philip Weiss Auctions. “There was a lot of action on Friday night, with the phones competing with bidders on the floor. Then, on Saturday, we had fewer people in the room, but that's when the Internet bids (via Proxibid) and left bids kicked in. In all, around 700 lots changed hands.”
The auction featured fresh-to-the-market estate material in an array of categories. The Friday session was loaded with decorative arts, original oil paintings and other works of art (many by Russian painters), and furniture from a Park Avenue estate. The Saturday session had antique advertising items (many of them tin and porcelain), coin-ops, pedal cars, trolley posters, battery-ops and wind-up toys.
The pair of Russian icons was the top lot of the sale. Additional highlights follow. All prices quoted include a 13 percent buyer's premium.
A bronze relief of Jules Bastien Le Page, done by the Irish-born American artist Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907), achieved $23,730. The portrait was mounted on an oak back support. Executed around 1900, the sculpture measured 14-1/2 inches by 10-1/2 inches. It was a new world auction record for the work. Mr. Saint-Gaudens was one of the more famous American sculptors of The Gilded Age.
A signed abstract oil on canvas work by the Russian-born American artist Abraham Manievich (1881-1942) realized $13,560. The Early Period painting measured 21-1/2 inches by 25-1/2 inches (25-1/2 inches by 29-1/2 inches framed), signed lower left. Mr. Manievich was renowned as a Post-Impressionist landscape artist. He painted Russian village and country scenes in a bold Fauvist style.
An original oil on canvas rendering of two gypsies, executed in Paris around 1900 by Ludwig Brucke Lajos (55 inches by 38 inches, signed lower right), gaveled for $9,605. Also, an outstanding Brussels Verdu tapestry, made in the 17th century by an unknown artisan, climbed to $8,190. The tapestry, over 13 feet long, featured classical figures in front of a fountain with classical facade at right.
A large oil on canvas painting by British-born American artist William Arber Brown Kirkpatrick soared to $7,345. The portrait of a woman holding a vase, probably executed in the 1920s, was signed in the lower right corner and measured 38 inches by 41 inches (framed). Kirkpatrick was a prominent Boston artist who gained early fame for his calendar paintings, some depicting World War I soldiers.
A fabulous large pair of Art Nouveau figural andirons, 22 inches high by 33 inches deep and with a great patina, went to a determined bidder
