John James Audubon
Razorbill
Found at
Christies,
New York
The Private Collection of William S. Reese: Part Two, Lot 117
26. May - 26. May 2022
The Private Collection of William S. Reese: Part Two, Lot 117
26. May - 26. May 2022
Estimate: XX.XXX
Price realised: XX.XXX
Price realised: XX.XXX
Description
Razorbill
John James Audubon
AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES (1785-1851), after. – HAVELL, Robert (1793-1878).
Razor Bill (Plate CCXIV)
Alca Torda
Variant 1. "Painting and plate depict two adults in spring plumage, floating in the sea, with cliffs rising up in the distance. Audubon wrote in his Labrador journal on June 18, 1833: 'We procured about a dozen Alca torda..." (Low, p. 127).
Engraving with hand-coloring, etching, and aquatint, dated 1834, on watermarked J Whatman paper dated 1834, with margins. Plate size 315 x 498 mm (658 x 988 mm sheet). (Light mat burn and toning, faint foxmark in sky, minor handling creases, a few short edge tears and a small edge-chip, some old tape to edges.) Matted and framed. Framed in Baltimore before 1993.
John James Audubon
AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES (1785-1851), after. – HAVELL, Robert (1793-1878).
Razor Bill (Plate CCXIV)
Alca Torda
Variant 1. "Painting and plate depict two adults in spring plumage, floating in the sea, with cliffs rising up in the distance. Audubon wrote in his Labrador journal on June 18, 1833: 'We procured about a dozen Alca torda..." (Low, p. 127).
Engraving with hand-coloring, etching, and aquatint, dated 1834, on watermarked J Whatman paper dated 1834, with margins. Plate size 315 x 498 mm (658 x 988 mm sheet). (Light mat burn and toning, faint foxmark in sky, minor handling creases, a few short edge tears and a small edge-chip, some old tape to edges.) Matted and framed. Framed in Baltimore before 1993.
Artwork auctioned at three times the upper estimate price
When the work Razorbill by John James Audubon was auctioned at Christies in New York in May this year, the result exceeded expectations many times over. The upper estimate was set at a - in retrospect quite modest - USD 2,500 but the actual price achieved was more than three times as high at USD 7,560 (€ 7,045). Of course, this price has nothing to do with the top prices that other works by John James Audubon achieve. The highest price we have observed so far was reached by the work in June 2018 with an auction result of USD 9,650,000 (€ 8,264,109).
Kunstwerk zum Dreifachen des oberen Schätzpreises versteigert
Als die Arbeit Razorbill von John James Audubon im Mai diesen Jahres bei Christies in New York versteigert wurde, übertraf das Ergebnis die Erwartungen um ein Vielfaches. Der obere Schätzpreis war mit – rückwirkend betrachtet recht bescheidenen – USD 2.500 angesetzt, der tatsächlich erzielte Preis hingegen war mit USD 7.560 (€ 7.045) mehr als dreimal so hoch. Dieser Preis hat freilich nichts mit den Spitzenpreisen zu tun, die andere Arbeiten von John James Audubon erzielen. Den höchsten von uns bisher beobachteten Preis erreichte die Arbeit im Juni 2018 mit einem Auktionsergebnis von USD 9.650.000 (€ 8.264.109).
John James Audubon - Auction history
Other artists in this auction
