La Fleur Préferée by William Bouguereau, estimate $400,000-600,000 at Freeman’s.
Following on from the auction Bouguereau and his Circle held by Sotheby’s in New York last month, another work by the 19th century French academic artist Adolphe William Bouguereau (1825-1905) comes up at Freeman’s in Philadelphia on February 14.
Billed as a highlight of its European Art and Old Masters auction, Freeman’s painting, titled La Fleur Préferée, 5ft 2in x 3ft (1.58 x 91.5cm), is a lifesize portrait of a young woman. The oil on canvas, signed and dated W-BOVGVEREAV-1895, has been in US collections for over a century and comes to auction from a North Carolina collection, guided at $400,000-600,000.
Deux Mères de famille by Elizabeth Jane Gardner Bouguereau, estimate $40,000-60,000 at Freeman’s.
Bouguereau was married to another artist, Elizabeth Jane Gardner Bouguereau (1837-1922), an American expatriate, and a work by her also features in the sale. Deux Mères de famille, depicting a mother and child with a family of chickens, is a 3ft 3in x 2ft 5¼in (77.5 x 74cm) oil on canvas.
The painting is signed Elizabeth Gardner, dates from 1888, comes from the same North Carolina collection and has an estimate of $40,000-60,000.
