The Sporting Sale 2012
Copley Fine Art Auctions’ July 12-13th Sporting Sale of over 650 lots of paintings, works on paper, bronzes, books, folk art, antique bird decoys, and decorative carvings brought $3,357,389, with Session I accounting for $2,126,849 and Session II bringing $1,230,540. The top lot of the sale was Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhnert’s (1865-1926) Roused, A Tiger and Tigress, which far exceeded its pre-sale estimate of $150/250,000 reaching $333,500 (see image to right). The work was highly sought after, with numerous phone bidders vying for the painting. Copley sold all 7 of the original Carl Rungius (1869-1959) oils from a private Virginia collection above or within estimate, but it was Charles Schreyvogel’s (1861-1912) bronze, The Last Drop ($60/90,000), from the same collection that broke a record, selling for $109,250, the highest price paid for this casting at auction.
Session II showed the strength of the decoy market. The hissing Canada goose pair ($200/300,000) by Harry V. (1861-1920) and Harry M. Shourds (1890-1943), brought the top price for day two, coming in at $201,250. Lot 366, the red-breasted merganser hen from the Captain Samuel Augustus Fabens (1814- 1899) rig was the mover of the auction. It shattered its $15/25,000 estimate, with two phone bidders driving it up to $184,000.
Red-Breasted Merganser Hen
Capt. Samuel Fabens (1814-1899) Rig
Salem, MA, c. 1850
Sold for $184,000
Carl Clemens Moritz Rungius
(1869-1959)
Moose on a Ridge
oil on canvas, 26 by 38 in.
Sold for $184,000
Charles Schreyvogel
(1861-1912)
The Last Drop, c. 1903
bronze, 12 by 18 1/2 by 5 in.
Sold for $109,250