Five times a year, Everard Auctions presents an outstanding selection of fully vetted paintings and objets d’art in live-online sales that have become great favorites with collectors. Their 2021 schedule gets off to a roaring start with a March 9-10 auction that showcases fine and decorative art from several distinguished collections and Southern estates. Bidders may participate absentee or live online through Everard Live, LiveAuctioneers, or Invaluable.
The multiple-consignor sessions are replete with art, furniture and decorative accessories of classic style and high quality. The timeline is a broad one, spanning the 17th through mid-20th centuries, and includes property from the Estate of David Hillenbrand (1947-2019), who was CEO of the Carnegie Museums in Pittsburgh. Hillenbrand was also CEO of Bayer AG’s Canada operations. During his time in Canada, he started collecting Inuit art, which is included in the estate consignment. Earlier in his life, Hillenbrand lived in Germany, where his father, Martin Hillenbrand, served as an ambassador from 1972-1976. His father developed a friendship with the German Expressionist artist Karl Schmidt-Rottluff (1884-1976), one of the founding members of the German Expressionist “Die Brucke” school. Hillenbrand Sr was given an ink-and-pastel still life by the artist which is entered in the sale together with supportive ephemera and archival photographs. The lot estimate is $10,000-$15,000.
Another featured estate is that of a Savannah business leader who collected classical art as well as the works of revered Savannah-area artists. That estate was the source of two highly desirable lithographs: one by Auguste Renoir (French, 1841-1919), titled L’Enfant Au Biscuit and estimated at $4,000-$6,000; and Paul Cezanne’s (French, 1839-1906) Large Bathers, the first state of three from the edition of around 100, estimated at $5,000-$7,000.
The same estate’s holdings included four artworks by Myrtle Jones (Georgia, 1931-2005), an artist who became well known for her streetscapes and paintings of architectural landmarks in Savannah. Jones’ oil-on-Masonite rendering of Old City Market, a popular venue for local vendors that was demolished in the early 1950s, is expected to reach $8,000-$12,000.
The earliest painting in the sale is a dramatic Old Master seascape by Bonaventura Peeters I (Flemish, 1614-1652). The 44 by 24¼-inch oil-on-panel depicts several galleons rolling in turbulent waters beneath a foreboding sky. Presented in a gilt frame, it is estimated at $10,000-$15,000.
A superbly crafted 17th-century Spanish walnut vargueno on chest has a fall front with elaborate gilt-metal and velvet mounts on its upper portion. It opens to an interior fitted with an elaborately carved and bone-inset arrangement of drawers and doors. Its line of provenance includes the Estate of Dr. Woody Cobbs and Mrs. Honor Cobbs, Atlanta; and subsequent sale in 1958 at the Boston auction company Louis Joseph Inc. Estimate: $6,000-$8,000
There are always more buyers looking for Picasso pottery than there are pieces available in the marketplace. Everard’s March 9-10 selection includes a wonderfully painted 12-inch-tall Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973) Madoura pottery pitcher titled Femme (A.R. 296). The design was conceived by Picasso in 1955 and executed in an edition of 100. It is stamped Madoura Plein Feu and ‘D’Apres Picasso, and signed Picasso on its bottom. Estimate: $7,000-$10,000.
