Dog Art Today

Tag: edwin landseer

  • Geraldine R. Dodge Collection at William Secord Gallery

     

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    Beb by George Earl

    William Secord always has a something special during the week of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in NYC.   This year, over 150 animal-themed works (mostly dogs) from the Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge Collection are on view at his gallery.  Sales from the exhibition benefit the organization founded by Mrs. Dodge in 1939, Saint Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in Madison, New Jersey.

    Mrs. Dodge is a legend in the purebred dog world. She founded the Morris and Essex Kennel Club in 1927, and bred and imported some of America’s most important English Cocker Spaniels, German Shepherds, Bloodhounds, Pointers, Setters and Schipperkes, among others.  She is also the first woman to judge Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden.  You can view the exhibition online.  Here are some of my favorites:

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    Donald by Reuben Ward Binks

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    Captain, Corporal, Charm, and Cling by Reuben Ward Binks

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    English Setter & Pointer in the Field by Gustav Muss-Arnolt

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    Laying Down the Law by Edwin Landseer

    The Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge Collection at William Secord Gallery runs until March 24, 2012.

  • Surprising Results at Christie’s Dog Sale

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    Edwin Landseer’s high profile Neptune estimated to sell for between $800,000 – 1.2 million did not find a buyer at Christie’s Dog Sale today. Richard Ansdell’s Two King Charles Spaniels, and Aurthur Wardle’s Bulldogs of the Twentieth Century remained unsold as well.

    But John Singer Sargent’s Pointy was a star, selling for $432,000, well above the $60,000 – $80,000 asking price! Jean-Léon Gérôme’s, Etude de Chien d Terra-Nuova, the gorgeous Newfoundland portrait, also exceeded expectations, selling for $204,000, above the $120,000 – $180,000 estimates.

    And a big surprise was Thomas Blinks’s Waiting for the Guns (above), which was estimated to sell for $200,000 – $300,000. And it went for $564,000! This is a World Auction Record for the artist, doubling his previous record.

    Overall, Clare McKeon, VP, British & Irish Art, is said to have been pleased with Christie’s inaugural Dog Sale which saw strong bidding from American private clients and broke World Auction Records for the artists Thomas Blinks, Thomas Hewes Hinckley and Niki de Saint Phalle (see next post below).

  • Monica McLaughlin’s Christie’s Dog Sale Highlights

    Bassetson

    The fabulous Monica McLaughlin is the organizer of NYCs Plans For Pups MeetUp Group group. Today she was my East Coast correspondent for the Christie’s Dog Sale. Here is her description of the event:

    “Wow! That was quick. It began promptly at 10 a.m. and was over by 11:30!

    Highlights include:

    – Lot 18 (Neptune by Landseer) expected: $800,000 – 1,200,000 — did not sell
    – Lot 27 (Waiting for the Guns by Blinks) expected: $200,000 – 300,00 — went for $564,000;
    – Lot 59, (Pointy by Sargent) expected was $60,000 – 80,000 — went for $432,000
    – Lot 78 (Sandy by Marion Rodger Hamilton Harvey) expected: $600 – 1,000 — went for $2,280
    – Lot 85 (Jack by Ludovic Napoleon Vincent Lepic) expected: $3,000 – 5,000 — went for $10,200;
    – Lot 96 (Basset et Son by Niki de Saint Phalle) expected: $10,000 – 15,000 — went for $52,800.

    There were only about 20 people in the audience plus about 10 people manning the phones/web.

    The set up was very similar to that of a courtroom with the Judge (auctioneer) in the front, the Jury (telephone operators) on the sides and the Public (audience) seating in the middle.

    A large screen to the front left of the auctioneer showed a photograph of the art being sold. The only pieces actually in the room were those pieces that had been hung on the walls prior to the sale and “Pointy” which was on an easel in the front.

    A large electronic board to the left listed the piece being sold as well as the up-to-the second exchange rates in Euros, British Pound and Swiss Francs amongst a few other currencies.”

    Sounds cool. Thanks for your report Monica 🙂

    [Niki de Saint Phalle’s Basset et Son (above) set a World Auction Record for this edition. Incredible! I absolutely love them! — Moira]

  • Christie’s Dog Sale Spotlight: Richard Ansdell’s Two King Charles Spaniels in a Landscape

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    Trends collide in this lively and lovely dog portrait by Richard Ansdell. When Queen Victoria was given a King Charles Spaniel named Dash right before she became queen at the age of 17, the breed became wildly popular. When she had Sir Edwin Landseer include the pup in his spectacular painting Her Majesty’s Favourite Pets, 1837, (below) dog owners clamored to similarly memorialize their pets.
    Hermajesty

    Van Dyck style portraits with grand landscape backgrounds, like Lady Killigrew,1638, (below) were also fashionable at the time.

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    And much the way dog-lovers today Warhol-ize their pets, a vividly realized, Van Dyck-esque King Charles Spaniel painting was the must-have item for trendy Victorian ladies. Ansdell’s was probably one of these. And it, too, is spectacular! Christie’s esitmates it will sell at auction this Friday for between $150,00-$250,000.

  • Landseer’s Neptune Might Break Christie’s Records!

    Neptune

    The dog art world is buzzing this week about Christie’s New York Dog Sale on June 22. The auction house expects to net over $3 million, which would be a record for the dog art category.

    Neptune (1824), the life size Newfoundland portrait by Sir Edwin Landseer, is one of the show’s stars, with estimates to bring $800,000 to $1.2 million. Stay tuned. This will be fun to follow!