Boston – Bonhams Skinner will present a series of sales in May which span collecting categories including Fine Art, Americana, jewelry, and design. The Spring Americana auction will present a wide range of American decorative arts including an oil painting, Portrait of a Cat on Parquet Floor by Sal Meijer. American Furniture & Decorative Arts will feature a curated selection of fine Americana and historical items including an Andrew Clemens' sand art bottle circa 1881. The Modern Design auction will be highlighted by a cast polyester resin sculpture, Circular Flight, 1971, by Frederick Eversley. The Prints & Photographs sale will feature two prints by Dutch graphic artist M. C. Escher - Day and Night, 1938 and Puddle, 1952. The Important Jewelry auction will feature a 30 carat Bulgari diamond bracelet in 18k white gold. American Art will feature an oil triptych painting, California Coast, by William Posey Silva.

Spring Americana
April 30 – May 10

From April 30 – May 10, the Spring Americana auction will present a wide range of American decorative arts including formal and country furniture, copperware, folk art, textiles, paintings, and ceramics. A highlight of the sale is a collection of 19th century portraits mostly of children including an oil painting of a girl in a blue dress holding a canary, estimated at $8,000 – 12,000. Additionally, the sale will feature a selection of historical blue transfer-printed pearlware platters, pitchers, jugs, coffee pots, and basins. Also of note is a Portrait of a Cat on Parquet Floor by Sal Meijer (1878-1965), a Dutch artist primarily known for his paintings of cats, estimated at $4,000 – 6,000.

American Furniture & Decorative Arts
May 9

American Furniture & Decorative Arts on May 9 will feature a curated selection of fine Americana and historical items including an Andrew Clemens' (1857-1894) sand art bottle, circa 1881, featuring the railroad builder James N. Carlile's horse "Eagle Bird" and a locomotive, estimated at $150,000 – 250,000. Clemens, a sand artist, skilfully crafted each bottle and only a small number of these fragile artworks are known to have survived over the past 150 years. An additional highlight of the sale is a well-published but never-before offered rare and important inlaid mahogany marble-top sideboard circa 1798-1810, estimated at $100,000 – 150,000. Attributed to the Boston father and son furniture makers John and Thomas Seymour, the sideboard descended from the prominent 18th century Salem merchant Elias Hasket Derby. Also of note is a remarkably detailed and fully-functioning late 19th century model of the hand-drawn and hand-pump fire engine Red Jacket, estimated at $10,000 – 20,000.

Modern Design
May 13 – 23

Circular Flight, 1971, a cast polyester resin sculpture, by Frederick Eversley (b. 1941), estimated at $15,000 – 25,000, is the highlight of the Modern Design auction from May 13 – 23. One of the leading members of the California Light and Space movement, Eversley utilizes curves that evoke mirrors or large lenses in order to experiment with light refraction which is on display in this work. Additionally, the sale will feature a studio pottery bowl by Hans Coper (1920-1981), an influential British studio potter, estimated at $8,000 – 12,000, and a T.G. Hawkes Crystal Service made for American Industrialist Henry Clay Frick, estimated at $3,000 – 5,000.

Prints & Photographs
May 15 – 25

From May 15 – 25, the Prints & Photographs sale features works on paper from Old Master to Contemporary, including two prints by Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher (1898-1972). Known for creating mathematically inspired compositions, Day and Night, 1938 estimated at $25,000 – 35,000 and Puddle, 1952 estimated at $20,000 – 30,000 are sale highlights to note. The selection of photographs is highlighted by The Steerage, 1907, estimated at $10,000 – 15,000, from renowned American photographer Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946), one of the most significant contributors to the history of photography. A masterclass in form and perspective, The Steerage is often proclaimed as the first Modernist photograph.

Important Jewelry
May 17

The Important Jewelry auction on May 17 will feature excellent examples of bracelets, necklaces, and brooches from some of the top makers including Van Cleef & Arpels, Bulgari, Tiffany & Co., and Hermès. Highlights of the sale include an 18K gold and diamond Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet, estimated at $60,000 – 80,000, a 30 carat Bulgari diamond bracelet in 18k white gold, estimated at $50,000 – 60,000, and a Van Cleef & Arpels gold and diamond brooch circa 1960, estimated at $15,000 – 20,000.

The Jewelry department will also present an online auction, Fine Jewelry, which will be open for bidding from May 8 – 18.

American Art
May 24

An oil triptych, California Coast, by William Posey Silva (1859-1948) is a highlight of the American Art auction on May 24. An American impressionistic landscape painter, Silva spent more than three decades living within the artist community in Carmel, California and took inspiration from its coastline as is showcased in this work. Additionally, the sale will feature Still Life-Fruit by William Merritt Chase (1849-1916), an American painter and teacher, estimated at $30,000 – 50,000. Also of note is an oil painting by James Edward Buttersworth (British/American, 1817-1894) titled Racing Yacht and estimated at $15,000 – 20,000. Buttersworth is best known for his maritime art with particular emphasis on sailing ships in the New York Harbor.