September 2025 Manor Auction: First Auction of the Season
The Fall season kicked off yesterday (Saturday, September 13) with an auction at Manor – the first of at least 5 major Highwaymen events to take place during the next 3 weeks.
It would seem only natural to assess how this auction went as an indicator of the coming season. Let me briefly review the facts, then the good, then the not so good. And please check my discussion questions at the end of this blog !
The Facts:
The auction was only moderately attended at the Manor location, with many vacant seats. This itself is unusual – Manor, to their credit, is usually full. The “vibe” was positive,, but it usually is following the large lunch that Manor puts on every month to put bidders in that positive mood.
On-line bidding was also light with an average of only 52 watching the auction on Live Auctioneers and 93 watching on the combined Manor and Invaluable stream. These are unusually low numbers and contrasts with Vero Beach and Florida Highwaymen Auctions which typically have 400, or 300 watchers, respectively. Also of note was that Manor did not publish a catalogue, which has been a tradition – probably to reduce expenses following the low auction totals of the last several auctions.
Nonetheless, it was a very positive attribute to see the low and reasonable auction estimates on many of the paintings. For example, 4 of the Sam Newton paintings had target prices of $500-$700 ! Even though the paintings were small, I was at first sure these target prices were in error. We have not seen any Sam Newton paintings with such low estimates in probably at least 2 years. I do believe the low estimates were an excellent strategy as many hammer prices soared above these unusually low estimates, which is always good for the psychology of an auction.
The auction itself had 47 lots of Highwaymen paintings, of which 2 passed, and a total of 12 paintings did not reach their target price (25%). The 25% is actually a low percentage for Manor as this number has approached 50% on several occasions in 2025. Manor has traditionally used unrealistically high estimates on paintings, which I have regularly criticized. However, the estimates in this auction were generally fair, balanced, and often low!
The total target prices for the auction were $135,600, against a record Manor low in August, which was $71,400. This auction had 16 more Highwaymen paintings than the August auction (A 52% increase in the number of paintings auctioned this month).
Total hammer prices were $145,100 against $86,300 in August. (Note: This was only a 20% increase in proceeds, against a 52% increase in the number of paintings).
The Good:
Clearly, this was a better auction than August. Several paintings did well, including the top lot of the auction – The Harold Newton poinciana. Despite what I thought was a high target price of $35,000 – the painting hammered at $37,000 !
This compares with another Harold Newton poinciana that sold in August at Florida Highwaymen Auctions (“FHA”) – with a target of $15,000 and a hammer of $20,000.
I’m not sure that I can explain such a dramatic difference in pricing between the 2 paintings less than a month apart?? Both were 24×36, both were on upson, and both auctions typically have the same group of dealers in attendance and bidding The logical conclusion would be that the Manor auction may have attracted some collectors who did not bid at the FHA auction. In any case, this was an impressive result and congratulations are due ! (Both paintings are illustrated below.)
At the same time, the next lot offered, another Harold Newton ocean scene with a target price of $10,000, passed and did not sell.
The other exceptional result in the Manor auction was a nice Willie Reagan with a painted frame, having a target price of $3,000. It hammered at $7,200. It was a good result, but this should not have surprised anyone. Any dealer will tell you that the $3,000 target price was absurdly low.
And finally, in terms of good news – the Sam Newton and Willie Daniels paintings held up well. Bidders saw right through the exceptionally low target prices of less than $700, and bid the 4 paintings right up to a normal value. One hammered at $1,350, and the other 3 each hammered over $2,000.
So why was the target price set at $500 ??
This is consistent with the “estimate” philosophy of all the major auction houses like Sotheby’s. They have known for ages that a low estimate on a painting often brings a big hammer price, and a high estimate often brings disappointing results. I have been saying for 2 years in my blogs that Manor needs to understand this, and it seems they have finally started figuring it out !
Your welcome.
The Not So Good:
Many of the paintings in this auction simply did not fare well. Mary Ann Carroll has been on a recent rise in value following the 10-week exhibition we organized of her work in the Orlando City Hall. Perhaps the target prices in this auction were too high given the quality of the paintings. All 3 paintings hammered for below their target prices. Even the top lot with an aggressive target of $10,000 hammered at $7,000 – below the standard Manor reserve of 80%, or $8,000. This would suggest to me that the painting was owned by Manor and not a consignor, and that Manor was trying to boost the value with an excessively high target price. As I wrote above, this is a strategy that usually fails.
The top McLendon offered was a 24×36 Poinciana on upson, but it passed at a reasonable target price of $5,000 and a starting bid of only $3,900. This was a nice painting, at a reasonable price, with no interest.
Both the Ellis and George Buckner paintings performed poorly. The Ellis, a 17×35 on upson with a low target price of $1,500, hammered at $1,500. The George Buckner, a 24×36 on upson with a target price of $3,000 hammered at $2,700. $1,500 and $2,700 are exceptionally low prices for a Buckner painting, although to be fair, both paintings I would categorize as being in the bottom quality quartile of work by these artists.
Conclusion:
It was a relatively slow start to the Fall season. There were some good results, but in total, several key paintings fared poorly, and the number of bidders in person and on-line seemed to be well below average. Hopefully, this will improve as we move through the events in the coming few weeks as people get back into the Highwaymen mindset after a hot summer !
Rumors keep circulating that the Manor Auction house is holding back all their quality material for their November auction, with the hope that they will cash in big immediately following the movie release. It will be interesting to see what the November auction brings. (Note: My own view is that the movie will be very well received in the Highwaymen community, it will expand the story, but I do not believe it will have an impact on painting values).
In the meantime, next up is the Vero Beach Auction. September 27 at noon. On-line bidding on LiveAuctioneers only.
And then, October 4. The Florida Highwaymen Auction will have some exceptional paintings that have already been announced, auction at 1pm on LiveAuctioneers
And also on October 4 – the big in-person sale at This Is It Café & Highwaymen Gallery, 4-8pm in West Palm Beach.
Also, watch for details about our big sales event in Daytona on November 2 !
Some Questions For Discussion !!!
Illustrated below:
Top – The Harold Newton, 24×36 on upson. Sold at Florida Highwaymen Auctions in August. Hammer $20,000
Middle – The Harold Newton, 24×36 on upson. Sold at Manor in September. Hammer $37,000
Bottom – The Roy McLendon, 24×36 on upson. Failed to sell at $3,900
- Which Harold Newton is the better painting?
- Which Newton would you buy ?
- Are the Harold Newton paintings at $20-40,000 each worth all that extra money over the $3,900 for the McLendon.
The Highwaymen market is an interesting market, loaded with inefficiencies !
Florida Highwaymen Auctions, August Auction Hammer $20,000
Manor Auctions, September Auction Hammer $37,000
Roy McLendon at Manor Auctions, Passed at $3,900
Thanks for reading.
Happy Hunting !
Mark Lerner
786-599-5816
Https://www.TheHighwaymenCollector.com