Luscious Lands

Bonhams’ first sale dedicated solely to California art features landscapes and seascapes by notable artists.

For 2021, Bonhams decided it was time to expand on their California & Western Art auction by separating it into two sales dedicated to each category. This allows for more focused auctions, including the California Art sale on April 20, which will have approximately 150 lots available. The sale is marked by stunning landscapes and seascapes by artists who have become recognized in the region.William Wendt (1865-1946), Along the Riverbed, 1923, oil on canvas, 30 x 40” Estimate: $250/350,000

“We have four or five William Wendt paintings in the sale, with three over six figures,” says Scot Levitt, Bonhams’ vice president and head of fine arts. “Those are all pretty substantial pieces in the auction.”

Among the Wendt paintings is Along the Riverbed, 1923, which appeared on the cover of the book that accompanied the Irvine Museum exhibition California: The Golden Land of Promise, which ran January 24 through May 21, 2015. The work is estimated to sell between $250,000 and $350,000. “People pay extra attention to book covers,” says Levitt, “because they like to show everyone the book on the coffee table and say that it’s their painting.”E. Charlton Fortune (1885-1969), The Harbour Light, St. Ives, 1923, oil on canvas, 12 x 16” Estimate: $100/150,000

Another of the Wendt paintings, Sunlight and Shadow, which was originally titled In the Shadow of the Grove, arrives at auction from the Union League Club of Chicago. The work was painted in 1907 and exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago. “It’s a big painting and it was purchased from the artist in 1907 by the club, and it’s been there ever since,” Levitt shares. It has an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000.

In the auction there will be two single-owner collections—works from the late John Janneck of Beverly Hills and pieces from George R. Bobbitt Jr. of San Francisco—with around 30 paintings each. Both collectors will have several Edgar Payne paintings in their offerings, while the Bobbitt grouping will also include around eight to 10 by Franz Bischoff, an artist for whom he had a particularly affinity. Armin Hansen (1886-1957), Storm on the Sea, oil on canvas, 25 x 30” Estimate: $150/250,000

M. Evelyn McCormick (1869-1948), Washington Hotel, Monterey, oil on canvas, 30 x 40” Estimate: $50/70,000

Other items in the auction include a St. Ives painting by E. Charlton Fortune titled The Harbour Light, St. Ives (est. $100/150,000) and Armin Hansen’s close-up scene Storm on the Sea (est. $150/250,000). Explaining the former work, Levitt says, “I think the St. Ives works are some of Fortune’s most beautiful pieces.” While he shares that the Hansen painting, likely of Monterey, is “rather dramatic in person and you can feel how rough the sea is, but it has a romantic feel to it as well. In the world of what people typically buy from Hansen, this is a pretty nice painting.”

Art from Thomas Hill, William Alexander Coulter and M. Evelyn McCormick will round out the auction. —

California Art
April 20, 2021
Bonhams, 7601 W. Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 850-7500, www.bonhams.com