Lemoine- Benoit’s Fête de Ballons pour glorifier Montgolfier, Château de la Muette, $7250 (£5750) at Thriftiques.
Although very little is known about the painter, he cannot have witnessed the event he portrayed in dozens of related paintings of varying sizes.
On June 6, one of Lemoine-Benoit’s works came under the hammer at Thriftiques (17% buyer’s premium) in Iowa City.
The 2ft 1in x 15in (63 x 38cm) canvas, later mounted in a convex frame, was titled (as many are) Fête de Ballons pour glorifier Montgolfier, Château de la Muette.
When they occasionally appear for sale these joyful anachronistic images are perennially popular (larger examples can break five-figures) and this example estimated at just $10-1000 hammered to a LiveAuctioneers bidder at $7250 (£5750).
