Old Masters Deliver at Sotheby's
An 18th-century canvas by the Italian painter Pietro Fabris was the top seller at Sotheby's Old Master sale Thursday. "Villagers Preparing to Depart for the Festival of the Madonna Dell'Arco" was bought for $722,500, well above the high estimate of $400,000. The 142-lot auction posted overall sales of $8.13 million, a solid but not thrilling performance in a season of generally encouraging auction results.
"A Shoveler, a Grey and White Crested Goose, An Egyptian Goose, A Muscovy Duck and Other Waterfowl in a Park," a 17th-century canvas by the Dutch Baroque painter Melchior d'Hondecoeter, which sold for $632,500, was another top lot, as was Jacob Ochtervelt's "The Lemon Slice," which appeared on the front of the auction catalog and sold for $602,500, barely exceeding the low estimate of $600,000.
Other highlights from the sale included "Portrait of a Lady" by John Michael Wright, which went for $134,500, and "Portrait of Elizabeth Capell, Countess of Carnarvon" by Sir Peter Lely, which sold for $98,500.
