NEW YORK – Christie’s is proud to present Important Americana, the annual sale of works of art, furniture, silver, folk art, Chinese Export works, and documents that trace American history, taking place live on 24 January at Rockefeller Center. This year’s offerings include a number of discoveries including the only known double-sided portrait by Ammi Phillips (estimate: $40,000-80,000), likely of the same young woman, rendering her more and then less plainly.

Another important discovery is the Samuel Jones Declaration of Independence (estimate: $2,000,000-3,000,000), the only obtainable contemporary manuscript of the nation’s founding charter, as well as two remarkable furniture offerings: a block-and-shell bureau table made by celebrated Newport cabinetmaker John Goddard (estimate: $300,000-500,000); and a previously unknown survival from a rare set of Queen Anne Philadelphia armchairs (estimate: $200,000-400,000).

These discoveries are complemented by highlights that include The Alaska Railroad: An American Presentation 14k Gold Railroad Spike (estimate $30,000-50,000), commemorating the completion of the railroad line that shaped the history of Anchorage and the entire state; a Marquetry and Parquetry-Inlaid Walnut Desk-and-Bookcase (estimate: $70,000-100,000) signed By Uriah Eberhart, a masterpiece of folk furniture making.

Various private collections are represented in the sale, including Midwestern Virtue: Property From the Collection of Sam and Patty Mccullough, which features Sheldon Peck’s portrait of Oscar Gilbert Adams (estimate $50,000-80,000).

(Press Release)