20th-Century Art Sale Sees Mixed Results : Auction: Butterfield & Butterfield’s new program rings in short of estimate, but some works go for more than expected.

Butterfield & Butterfield, a West Coast auction house best known for sales of low-priced regional and decorative arts, has launched a new program of 20th-Century art sales. In its first auction devoted exclusively to the art of this century, on Thursday night, the firm rang up $727,100 in sales.

The auction, staged simultaneously in Los Angeles and San Francisco, fell far short of expectations. Butterfield & Butterfield had estimated that its 20th-Century debut would bring at least $1 million, but 125 of the 220 items failed to find buyers. “I’m not happy with that, but in this market it’s about the best we can do,” said Scot Levitt, the firm’s contemporary art specialist.

“Woman in Bathrobe,” a 1958 painting by the late Bay Area artist Elmer Bischoff, surprised Levitt by bringing the auction’s highest price of $79,750--about double its pre-sale estimate of $35,000 to $45,000. An example of Bischoff’s earthy figurative style, the loosely painted portrait portrays a woman leaning on one hand, with her elbow resting on a ledge.

“Cavalier Bleu,” Italian artist Marino Marini’s 1952 splashy depiction of a horse and rider, was expected to bring the top price of $70,000 to $90,000, but the painting came in second at $77,000.

Keith Haring’s 7-by-18-foot painting of a bright red heart surrounded by a jazzy assortment of pictographic figures and animals was sold for $41,250--well short of its $50,000-$70,000 estimate. Haring, who died of AIDS in 1990, donated the painting, dubbed “Brightheart,” to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles in 1982. The hospital put the work up for sale to benefit its Children AIDS Center, one of the largest pediatric AIDS programs in the country.

“Trombone Fashioned Out of Saliva,” a 1936 painting by Spanish Surrealist Salvador Dali, brought $35,750. The strange image of a huge trombone and a tiny horse in a turbulent landscape was valued at $25,000 to $35,000.

The auction included a wide range of paintings, drawings and sculptures, from minor modernist works by Pablo Picasso and Joan Miro to contemporary paintings by Nathan Oliveira and Joan Brown. Pre-sale estimates ran from about $400 to $90,000.

One area that sold briskly was Latin American art. “El Viejo y la Foca,” a 1967 painting by Rafael Coronel (valued at $20,000 to $30,000) failed to sell, but most other Latin American works found eager buyers, Levitt said.

A contemporary American work that provided excitement was Robert Dowd’s 1964 painting of an enlarged and cropped $50 bill, “Cancelled Fifty.” The painting was valued at $2,500 to $3,500, but bidding escalated to $13,500.