FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Rachel Weathers consignments@nealauction.com or 504-899-5329

Large crowds braved two days of summer heat to attend Neal Auction Company’s Late Summer Estates Auction. Landscapes and cityscapes by Louisiana artists dominated the Saturday session. Clarence Millet’s oil Saint Peter Street—Rainy Day (lot 451) far exceeded estimated value, selling for $11,500 after vigorous bidding in the room and on the telephone. A pastel by Will Henry Stevens titled Southern Landscape (445) also exceeded estimate bringing $4,500. Alexander John Drysdale’s oil Bayou Landscape with Live Oak (lot 439) sold for $3,450. Blue Bonnets, an oil by Will Ousley (lot 457) sold for $3,400. Sarah Albritton’s Picking Cotton (lot 502) sold for $1,840. The Fence, a canvas by Robert Rucker (lot 518) sold for $4,600. Will Hinds’ oil, Pines, sold for $5,290. A vintage 1938 silver gelatin photograph by Theodore “Fonville” Winans titled Jig Dancers sold for $2,645.

Other works by American artists also performed well. Roy Kerswill’s canvas Wyoming Mountainscape (lot 461) sold for $3,680, and Carnival in Venice, an oil by Paul Cornoyer (474) brought $4,600. Two 18th century Spanish colonial canvases from a New Orleans collection (lots 196-197) brought $3,450 and $3,910 respectively.

The weekend had a preponderance of small decorative arts objects from southern collections including the estate of Cashiers, North Carolina dealer Lyn K. Holloway. Highlights include a Royal Crown Derby porcelain dinner service in the Imari pattern (lot 296) that sold for $5,060. A pair of antique George III-style mahogany cutlery boxes (lot 297) sold for $4,887. An early 20th century Louis Vuitton steamer trunk (lot 274) brought $4,025. A collection of eight 19th century blown glass epergnes (lots 581-588) sold for a total of $5,003. A collection of seventeen Satsuma censers and vases (lot 698) exceeded estimate to sell for $4,140. A double strand of 8 mm. pearls (lot 74) sold for $10,350. A large antique Burmese giltwood figure of buddha (lot 376) sold for $4,025.

A collection of over sixty African objects de-accessioned from the New Orleans Museum of Art ended the Saturday session with brisk interest from local and visiting bidders. An Akan seated figure from the Ivory Coast (lot 794) sold for $1,150, and two Poro society face masks from the Dan peoples of the Ivory Coast (lot 815) exceeded estimate, selling for $1,650.

American furniture offerings inspired intense bidding in both the Saturday and Sunday sessions. A Federal inlaid mahogany sideboard, c. 1800 (lot 569) exceeded estimate to sell for $17,825. An Centennial Chippendale mahogany highboy, c. 1875 (lot 570), sold for $6,325. An New York late Classical secretary, c. 1830 (lot 571) brought $5,750. An late Classical mahogany sideboard, c. 1830 (lot 578) sold for $5,476. A Classical mahogany bookcase, early 19th century (lot 384 on Sunday) exceeded estimate and sold for $6,613. An American Rococo half-tester bed, mid-19th century (lot 387 on Sunday) brought $1,495. A set of nine American Renaissance walnut dining chairs, c. 1870 (lot 464 on Sunday) exceeded estimate to sell for $1,610. A Colonial Revival mahogany sideboard, c. 1900 (lot 465 on Sunday) sold for $2,300.

Other furniture highlights include A George III Scarlet-Ground Chinoiserie Secretary, (for 256) selling for $9,488, and a William IV brass and steel campaign bed selling for $3,450.

Neal Auction Company is now building the annual Louisiana Purchase Auction™ to be held October 12th and 13th, 2002. This much-anticipated sale focuses on the highest quality Southern Regional material with an emphasis on fine paintings, furniture, and decorative arts. Currently, some very exceptional objects are slated for this auction including a canvas by Louisiana painter William Henry Buck, a flag for the National Guard Regiment of New Orleans from 1857, a selection of Newcomb College art pottery, a presentation water pitcher by New Orleans silversmith Adolphe Himmel, a canvas by Louisiana regionalist painter John Mc Crady, Louisiana furniture, and much more.

Lot 256
Sold For $9,488

Lot 297
Sold For $4,887

Lot 451
Sold For $11,500

Lot 495
Sold For $2,645

Lot 569
Sold For $17,825

Lot 384
Sold For $6,613