Fierce Bidding

Sotheby’s sets an impressive John Clymer world record during the American art sale in December.

John Clymer paintings have always been a hot commodity in the Western world. But recent sales at a number of New York and East Coast auctions has shown how Clymer’s works have risen among collectors of all varieties. Clymer works hit $468,000 in 2018, $416,000 in 2019 and $400,000 as recent as October 2020. His pieces are routinely hitting their marks or surpassing them as they trend upward in a very exciting way through the market.John Clymer (1907-1989), Attack, oil on canvas, 24 x 40” World Auction Record Estimate: $100/150,000 SOLD: $879,100

Then came December 11. It was Sotheby’s American art sale in New York. The auction house had a magnificent Clymer action scene with an effective and simple title, Attack. The image showed Native American fighters ambushing several covered wagons. Estimates, $100,000 to $150,000, were modest for a Clymer, and also apparently very conservative—after furious bidding the piece would sell for $879,100, nearly six times over its high estimate. It would break the previous world record by more than $250,000.

The piece had previously been exhibited at Carnegie Institute in 1982 and at the national Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s exhibition The West of John Clymer in 1991, just two years after the artist’s passing. Frederic Remington (1861-1909), Custer’s Last Charge (A Sabre Charge), ca. 1896, oil en grisaille on canvas, 25 x 35” Estimate: $300/500,000 SOLD: $327,600

What’s even more exciting about the Clymer is the company it’s keeping near the top of the top 10 list: Winslow Homer, Mary Cassatt, Edward Hopper and many other iconic American artists from the 19th and 20th century. Winslow Homer (1836-1910), Two Girls on the Beach, Tynemouth, watercolor and pencil on paper, 141/8 x 20” Estimate: $2.5/3.5 million SOLD: $2,440,000

Other top lots were Homer’s Two Girls on the Beach, Tynemouth (est. $2.5/3.5 million) that sold for $2,440,000, N.C. Wyeth’s Slag was a Figure for Sculptors (est. $400/600,000) that sold for $504,000, and Frederic Remington’s Custer’s Last Charge (A Sabre Charge) (est. $300/500,000) that closed at $327,600. One Western work that didn’t make the top 10, but sold well, was Alfred Jacob Miller’s watercolor, gouache and ink work The Lost “Green-horn” (est. $50/70,000) that sold for $56,700.N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945), Slag was a Figure for Sculptors, 1918, oil on canvas, 40 x 30” Estimate: $400/600,000 SOLD: $504,000

Although there wasn’t an abundance of Western art, there were some works from artists who have been associated with the Southwest, including pieces by John Marin, Marsden Hartley and Thomas Hart Benton. The sale brought in a total of $11.4 million. —

Top 10 Lots: Sotheby’s American Art Auction, December 11, 2020 (with buyer’s premiums)
Artist Title Low /High Estimate SOLD
Winslow Homer Two Girls on the Beach, Tynemouth $2.5/3.5 million $2,440,000
Mary Cassatt Children Playing with a Cat $2/3 million $2,198,000
John Clymer Attack $100/150,000 $879,100
Edward Hopper Gloucester Factory and House $800/1,200,000 $867,000
J.C. Leyendecker Carousel Ride $200/300,000 $504,000
N.C. Wyeth Slag was a Figure for Sculptors $400/600,000 $504,000
Frederic Remington Custer’s Last Charge (A Sabre Charge) $300/500,000 $327,600
Edward Willis Redfield Old Ferry Road $200/300,000 $315,000
Charles Sheeler Kitchen of Governor’s Palace… $250/350,000 $315,000
Edward Henry Potthast The Conference $150/250,000 $277,200