Equestrian Items Owned by Kennedy Family to be Auctioned by Sotheby's
Equestrian News Release
NEW YORK, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sotheby's announced today that it will sell fine and decorative arts from the home of President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy in Hyannis Port as well as other family homes in Martha's Vineyard, New Jersey, New York City and Virginia. The auction, which will include more than 600 lots, will take place in Sotheby's New York galleries from February 15-17, 2005, with the pre-sale exhibition opening on Wednesday, February 9th and extending through 1:00 PM on February 14th. An illustrated catalogue, which is available beginning today, will feature never before seen interior photographs of the Kennedy homes as well as seldom seen candid images of the Kennedy family. The auction is expected to bring in excess of $1 million.
Of particular note to horse enthusiasts:
New Jersey
Beginning in 1965, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis began to spend weekends with her children about an hour from New York in the heart of New Jersey hunt country. The family rented and then bought a simple home in Peapack, New Jersey - a converted barn in a valley which was ideally situated for riding and fox hunting. A keen horsewoman since her early childhood, Mrs. Kennedy soon joined the Essex Hunt, which was established in 1870 and incorporated in Peapack in 1913. The layout of the house was centered around a large room used as the living room and dining room. In addition to several bedrooms upstairs, there was also a library filled with floor-to-ceiling bookcases as well as an area off the kitchen where riding boots and tack were kept.
A Provincial Paneled Pine Wall Cupboard (lot 389, est. $2/3,000) is among the furniture from the New Jersey residence to be offered. Also included are a Pair of Bleached Wood Coffee Tables, 20th century (lots 410-411, est. $600/800 each); a lovely Pair of Wrought-and-Gilt Iron Wall-Mounted Pricket Sticks, with leaf-decorated scrolling arms (lot 408, est. $200/300); and a Painted Ribbed Pottery Lamp (lot 506, est. $100/150). Demonstrative of Mrs. Kennedy's passion for horses is a painting of The Hunting Party at Chantilly, by the Circle of Van der Muelen, which is estimated to sell for $15/20,000 (lot 409).
Virginia
In the 1990s Mrs. Onassis began to spend more time riding in Virginia and in the countryside where she had foxhunted as a First Lady. She rented a small cottage near Middleburg, not far from "Wexford", the house she had built when President Kennedy was in The White House. The cottage was furnished with country antiques accented by French toile wallpaper. It provided an escape from the city, and a return to a community filled with happy memories.
The presence of horses in Mrs. Onassis' life is evidenced by a group of riding tack and horse blankets included in the auction. Turn-Out Rugs, Show Coolers, Rain Sheets and Blankets (lots 520-524), all bearing the diamond pattern monogram of JOK will be offered. Among a Group of Tack is a bridle, several bits, a martingale, a leather lead rope and a shipping halter with a plaque reading Town Clown. (Estimates range from $75 to $300. Lots 531A-C.) Also included is a Blue Acrylic Tack Trunk with a white monogram, JOK (lot 530, est. $800/1,200). Among the equestrian-inspired art included in the Kennedy's residences is a lovely depiction of a Ladies Hunter Class, by American artist Henry Koehler (lot 528, est. $5/7,000).
Other items to be offered include portraits, photographs, books, jewelry and property from homes in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, Martha's Vineyard, New York, and from the private family quarters of the White House.
The Catalogue
The catalogue will be available for purchase beginning December 1, 2004 by logging on to http://www.sothebys.com/, or by calling (888) 752 0002. Catalogues can also be purchased at Sotheby's galleries in New York and London and will be necessary to attend the exhibition, given the significant interest anticipated. Admission to the exhibition will be granted to a random selection of those who purchase the catalogues from December 1, 2004 through January 10, 2005. The price for the catalogues is $50 plus shipping and handling. Further questions concerning catalogue sales should be directed to (212) 894 1399.
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