American, English and Continental Furniture, Fine and Decorative Arts    Mar 27 - Mar 29, 2009

On the weekend of March 27, 28 & 29, Stair Galleries will conduct a three-day auction of American, English and Continental furniture, decorations and fine art from the 17th through the 20th centuries, including property from the collections of Mrs. Gordon Getty, the Wanamaker-de Heeren family, a French gentleman, Paul F. Walter, the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, and the New York Public Library as well as from the estates of Fred F. and Lois K. Rogers and Cynthia Phipps.

The category of French furniture is headed by an important Louis XV ormolu-mounted kingwood and parquetry commode bearing the stamp of L. Boudin, purportedly from the collection of Karl Lagerfeld. Other pieces include a set of four Louis XV painted fauteuils, a Louis XV marble-top carved oak console table, a Louis XV tulipwood, purplewood and marquetry table a rognon, a pair of Louis XVI painted fauteuils, an Empire ormolu-mounted mahogany bed, a Restauration mahogany commode, and a Louis XV-style ormolu-mounted brass-inlaid ebony and ebonized secretaire by Paul Sormani.

English furniture highlights include a William and Mary walnut cabinet on chest, a George III mahogany silver table, a George III mahogany tall-post bed with Rococo carved tester, a George III mahogany serpentine-front chest of drawers with blind fretwork, a George III tulipwood-banded satinwood cabinet, a George III inlaid mahogany sideboard, a pair of George III inlaid satinwood decanter urns, a Regency inlaid satinwood and mahogany breakfast table, a Regency brass-mounted penwork games table, a Regency ormolu-mounted mahogany and part-ebonized center table, a Regency two-pedestal mahogany dining table, and a massive Late Regency mahogany breakfront bookcase.

The sale features a large selection of English and Continental pottery and porcelain from a number of estates. Highlights include Dutch delft garniture sets, chargers, covered jars and tile pictures, a broad variety of English pottery & porcelain including Staffordshire figures, creamware, mochaware, Wedgwood black basaltware and jasperware, Derby and Worcester porcelain, and Continental porcelain including Old Paris, Meissen, Berlin and Dresden. Also a large assortment of Chinese Export porcelain.

Included in the sale is a large selection of English silver from the late 17th through the early 19th centuries, featuring a James II two-handled cup, a William and Mary tankard, and a Queen Anne silver-mounted coconut cup, as well as a number of George III armorial pieces including covered cups, salvers, cake baskets, candelabra, and a set of silver-mounted coconut goblets.

Featured in the sale is a large selection of American furniture and decorative arts from the estate of Fred F. and Lois K. Rogers, important collectors of Americana and donors to museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Furniture includes a New England Queen Anne maple dressing table, a Chippendale mahogany tilt-top tea table, a Chippendale mahogany mirror bearing the label of John Elliott, a New England Chippendale maple slant-front desk, a Massachusetts Federal inlaid mahogany card table, Federal shield-back, square-back and heart-back mahogany chairs, a Federal inlaid mahogany corner cupboard, a New York Federal mahogany Pembroke table attributed to Duncan Phyfe, and New England and New York Federal mahogany sofas.

Early American silver from the estate of Fred F. and Lois K. Rogers includes several porringers as well as a Federal sugar urn and a number of Federal helmet-form cream pitchers. Also featured is a large selection of Gorham and Tiffany & Co. silver from the Phipps and Rogers estates.

A magnificent George III-style carved giltwood mirror, sporting items, and a small library of fine leather bindings from the estate of Cynthia Phipps are included in the March sale. Ms. Phipps, daughter of horseman Ogden Phipps, was a thoroughbred owner and breeder as well as a noted philanthropist. For eight years, she served as chairman of the non-profit Animal Medical Center in New York City.

The collection of Paul F. Walter, formerly located at 420 Ox Pasture Road in Southampton, Long Island, New York, consists primarily of English and American Aesthetic and Arts & Crafts Movement furniture and decorative arts. Highlights include an oak sideboard designed by Philip Webb for Morris & Co., a set of eight oak chairs designed by E.W. Godwin for William Watt, a variety of ceramics and metalwork designed by Christopher Dresser, a Mission oak bookcase by L. & J.G. Stickley, a selection of copper and brass lighting fixtures by W.A.S. Benson, and a large Tiffany Studios engraved Favrile glass vase. This section of the sale is complemented by pieces from other collections such as an Arts and Crafts oak sideboard by Liberty & Co. and an Arts and Crafts rosewood and mahogany table made by Heal & Son.

Included in the category of fine art are an oil on canvas by Kate Freeman Clark, “May Day in Central Park,” from the collections of the New York Public Library, an oil on canvas by Samuel S. Carr, “Young Musicians,” a Dutch School oil on canvas depicting skaters at sunset, signed Jongkind, an oil on canvas depicting Paris at night, attributed to Constantin Korovin, and an oil on canvas of river locks in moonlight, by William R. Miller, as well as a number of Old Master-style paintings and drawings.

The three-day sale will also include rare books, prints and fine bindings. Featured in this section are a second edition folio of “Comedies, Histories and Tragedies” by William Shakespeare, a manuscript edition of “Writings” by Henry David Thoreau, an inscribed first edition of “Tortilla Flat” by John Steinbeck, a Limited Editions Club “Ulysses” by James Joyce, signed by Henri Matisse, fourteen volumes of “The American Woods” by Romeyn Beck Hough, a legal document signed by Abraham Lincoln, etchings by James A. M. Whistler, plus the works of Charles Dickens, Mark Twain and William Shakespeare in fine leather bindings. Early Americana includes “Travels through the Interior Parts of North America” by J. Carver and a map by Alexander Mackenzie, “Voyages from Montreal.”

According to Colin Stair, President of Stair Galleries, “The estimates are, as always, conservative in order to entice bidders’ interest. Our sales have held up nicely, plus we have added the feature of online bidding with Artfact Live.”

Previews run from March 21 to March 27. The auction is scheduled for March 27, 28 & 29, starting at 11 AM each day. For more information, please visit our website at www.stairgalleries.com

Stair Galleries
549 Warren St
Hudson, New York 12534
Tel: (518) 751-1000
Fax: (518) 751-1010
www.stairgalleries.com