In the spring of 2014, Swann Galleries offered a selection of works from the collection of American painter and printmaker James D. Smillie.

Smillie (1833-1909) was a New York artist known for his engravings and landscape paintings. He owned these works in the late 19th century and the pieces descended through his family to the current owners.

Swann's April 29, 2014 auction of Old Master Through Modern Prints featured a very scarce set of 12 proofs of Smillie's most celebrated engraving, The Rocky Mountains (Lander's Peak), 1865-66, after the painting by Albert Bierstadt. The group of prints sold for $27,500.

Significant works from Smillie's collection were also offered in our June 12 American Art auction. These included a recently discovered pen and ink drawing by Winslow Homer–a study for his watercolor Fresh Air, 1878, now in the Brooklyn Museum of Art–as well as a pen and ink still life by John LaFarge and several Hudson River School oils by Smillie himself.

Winslow Homer, Study: Fresh Air, pen and ink, circa 1879. Sold June 12, 2014 for $106,250, an auction record for a pen and ink drawing by the artist. 

James D. Smillie, Sunset Over a Lake, oil on board. Sold June 12, 2014 for $11,875.

John LaFarge, Chinese Pitong Inlaid with Ivory, Mother-of-Pearl and Stones, pen and ink, circa 1879. Sold June 12, 2014 for $4,500.

James D. Smillie (after Albert Bierstadt), The Rocky Mountains (Lander's Peak), set of 12 engravings, progressive proofs, 1865-66. Sold April 29, 2014 for $27,500.