Bonhams Bonhams & Butterfields’ December 11, 2006 auction of California & American Paintings and Sculpture offered bidders a wide array of extraordinary landscapes, florals, Western scenes and coastal views. With strong prices realized for works by highly sought-after American masters such as Maynard Dixon, Selden Connor Gile, William Keith, Thomas Hill, Granville Redmond and Franz Bischoff, the auction brought more than $4.9-million and set multiple record prices.

Collectors and connoisseurs filled the Northern and Southern California Bonhams & Butterfields’ galleries during the simulcast sale comprising more than 280-lots of California and American paintings.

“It was a strong sale reflecting the continuing strength and interest in Western themes and American subject matter,” said Scot Levitt, V.P. and Fine Arts Department Head. “Bidding was spirited both on the phones and in the room, creating much excitement. We’re very pleased with the sale’s results,” continued Levitt.

After an exhibition tour within Bonhams’ salesrooms and offices across the U.S. - including the celebrated Orbis Ball in Houston, Texas — Maynard Dixon’s oil on canvas High Hills of Tehachapi, 1936 (No.558), went up for auction. Capturing a sense of the untamed West and the enormity of Man versus Nature, the painting garnered interest from clients across the globe. After spirited bidding, the monumental work sold above its high estimate for $997,250.

Auction records were set for Xavier Martinez‘s Eucalyptus Grove in a Vast Landscape, which sold for $117,250; for Peter Baumgras’ Still Life with Plums, Pears, Pomegranates, and Apples which brought $88,500 — the 1827 oil on canvas stemming from a San Francisco private collection; for William Franklin Jackson’ scene of the Sierra foothills (sold for $41,825) and for John Bond Francisco’s Cherry Canyon which came to auction from a corporate collection and brought $65,500.

Rounding out one of the strongest selections of works by “Society of Six” painters ever offered together were two works by Selden Connor Gile, the noted artist and leader of the distinct Northern California movement. Hills in Autumn, an oil on canvas completed in 1929, sold within estimate for $227,250 and the unusual double-sided oil on masonite work Beach Lagoon, 1936; Study of a Still Life with Apples and a Red Table Cloth fetched $94,250.

Additional highlights from the December auction include: William Keith’s oil on canvas entitled High Sierra Canyon (sold high above estimate at $128,250); two oil on canvas paintings by Thomas Hill La Purisima Falls, 1876 (brought $117,250) and Fishing from the Bridge, Lagunitas Creek (fetched $111,500); and Catalina Island Coast under a Moonlit Sky, 1920, by Granville Redmond sold for $88,500, as did A Woodland Brook by Franz Bischoff.

Sales of California & American Painting and Sculpture are held at Bonhams & Butterfields three times each year, with viewings held in both Los Angeles and San Francisco. These auctions feature preeminent works from a wide variety of major artists and themes including Western and Hawaiian scenes, plein air, Society of Six, portraits and land and cityscapes by major American artists

Posted: 02|6|07 at 11:04 am. Filed under: US News.