Ooh`s and ah`s are nothing new to John Hanzel`s ears. As president of Hanzel Galleries, a Chicago auction house, he sells off treasures before wide- eyed audiences. But dropped jaws? That happened the other day when the gavel went down on a shimmery watercolor, ”Revere Beach” (circa 1900), by American impressionist Maurice Brazil Prendergast.
”When the bidding opened at $50,000, I heard a few gasps from the audience,” Hanzel says. ”But when the bidding closed and I said, `Sold,`
jaws fell like flies.”
Among those in the audience picking up their chins was Leslie Hindman, of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers.
The painting, sold to a New York dealer, went for a record-smashing $181,500, including the buyer`s premium. Not bad, considering that 20 years ago a Chicago collector paid $400 for it.
Now that`s art appreciation.
