Neal Auction 2012

52 W 180. Sir David Wilkie, R.A. (British, 1785-1841) , “Garden Bench”, graphite, unsigned, collector’s stamp reading “SCIPIO” en verso, 4 3/8 in. x 2 3/4 in., matted. $400/600 W 181. George Daniel Stevenson (British, 1845-1931) , “Interior View of the Cooling Room, Jermyn Street Turkish Baths”, c. 1862, ink, watercolor and gouache on paper, 23 3/8 in. x 19 1/8 in., unframed. $800/1200 182. John Ruskin (British, 1819-1900) , “Coastal Towns Below Cliffs”, July 1852, graphite and sepia wash, with blue and white gouache on heavily toned buff paper, stamped “158” in black ink at upper right, inscribed in pencil en verso in a bold mid-19th c. hand “John Ruskin” and “A 20399” in back ink, 5 x 3 1/2 in., partially torn across upper left corner. $600/800 Provenance: James R. Lamantia Jr., New Orleans and New York. Exhibited: James Lamantia, Drawing and Architecture, Art Department, Sophie Newcomb College, Tulane University, New Orleans, 15-26 March, 1965, no. 27C. Note: This very charming tiny drawing shows the famous critic John Ruskin in a moment of acute and sympathetic environmental observation. Its view is a coastal scene recorded in the artist’s sketchbook from the summer of 1852, of which James Lamantia in 1965 exhibited the sheets numbered 154, 157, and 158: the torn upper left corner confirms this sheet’s quick removal from that matrix. The abraded traces of adhesive at left, and the associated holes for binding, bear out such an everyday origin. The thin line of lighter paper at the very top is perhaps the relic of a mat which may once have overlapped the sheet; but since the same color change also extends irregularly beneath the abrasions on the left edge, the greater likelihood is that Ruskin may have toned the sheet with a bistre wash, as a naturalistic ground better calculated to show up the bi-chromatic gouache that he later applied to the skyline and water. 183. An American Aesthetic Carved and Inlaid Mahogany Étagère , c. 1880, attributed to Associated Artists New York, stepped pedimented top with reticulated brass gallery, frieze with bands of scrolled bellflowers, the whole with arched niches, turned supports, blocked base, height 52 3/4 in., width 54 3/4 in., depth 13 1/2 in. $4000/6000 Provenance: This étagère was part of a suite of furniture given as a wedding present in 1882 to Emily M. Whitney and Amory Leland residents of 692 Park Avenue, New York. Descended in the family. Acquired by the present collector from the Leland’s granddaughter. Note: An aesthetic Leland center table, inspired by the designs of E.W. Godwin was sold by Neal Auction Company as lot 417, September 10, 2011. The étagère offered here has inlay identical to that on the Leland center table. Reference: Soros. The Secular Furniture of E.W. Godwin , pp. 149-151. Another Godwin table is conserved by the Victoria and Albert Museum (acc. W54.1980). The Magazine Antiques (January/February 2012), p. 80. 184. An American Classical- Style Verde Antico Marble Pedestal , 19th c., swivel top, fluted tapered column, stepped octagonal base, in three parts. $1000/1500 182 183 184