Courtesy Eldred's

B. Calixto's harbor scene, painted in 1888

July/August 2009 Auction Reviews

Impressionist & Modern Art

Contemporary Art

American Paintings

Bonhams

Lempertz

Nagel

Camard

Christie's

Bukowskis

Sotheby's

Dorotheum

Sloans & Kenyon

Skinner

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EAST DENNIS, Mass.—Top lot: An 1888 harbor scene signed B. Calixto sold for $80,500. The painting’s whopping price didn’t come as a total surprise to the house’s director of art, Josh Eldred. Although it was estimated to go for only between $300 and $400, Eldred sensed he had an exceptional lot on his hands. "After extended research, I found that the artist’s last name was de Jesus, even though he only signed his paintings B. Calixto," he says. The crucial surname added market power to the work, which aroused interest from several of the sale’s attendees but ultimately went to a phone bidder. "In Brief: Eldred's" originally appeared in the July/August 2009 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's July/August 2009 Table of Contents.