NEW ORLEANS (AP) – A federal judge has agreed to postpone a sentencing hearing for a mother and son from Covington who pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud customers at an art gallery they owned.
Sixty-one-year-old Constance Breithoff and her son, Christopher Breithoff, were scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 12, but U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon agreed to postpone the hearing until Nov. 18. Prosecutors and the Breithoffs’ attorney had asked for more time to resolve restitution issues related to their sentencing.
The Breithoffs were accused of purchasing Chinese paintings in bulk and reselling them as original works of art by phony local artists. They operated Barlow Art Gallery and Transitions in Mandeville and also had a location in New Orleans’ French Quarter.
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Monumental carved walnut Victorian hall tree. Image courtesy Clars.OAKLAND, Calif. – Clars Auction Gallery will present a collection of significant artworks and furnishings from the 19th and 20th centuries in its Aug. 8-9, 2009 auction. The opening session on Saturday will also incorporate the bankruptcy auction of the contents of Worldware, a high-end boutique in San Francisco specializing in custom-made furniture and unique home decor (lots 539-655). Internet live bidding will be provided through LiveAuctioneers.com.
Furnishings of note to be offered this weekend include Mid-century designs such as a sleek spindle settee from the George Nakashima Studio, circa 1965 (lot 2171); and a 1950s Padauk Art Deco-style dining suite (lot 2341). Complementing these pieces is a fine selection of modern artworks, including a 1950 silver gelatin print from American photographer Todd Webb’s “Lamps of Paris Series” (lot 2284) and a striking abstract oil on canvas, Floats, by American painter Virginia Banks (lot 2246).
Nineteenth-century decorative items will also be highlights of Clars’ August sale. A monumental carved walnut Victorian hall tree with tile base (lot 2173) sets the tone for this collection, which also includes fine rugs: a circa-1850 Kermanshah soorasrafil (lot 2204) and a circa-1880 Kerman (lot 2196).
Artworks from the period to be offered include Autumn Morning on the Ayr, an oil on canvas by British painter Frederick William Scarborough (lot 2326), and Chansons D’Aieules, a stunning color lithograph by iconic 19th century artist Alphonse Mucha (lot 2288).
This weekend, Clars will also offer a 1977 Mercedes Benz 450 SLC Coupe. The two-door car (lot 2367) is silver with a blue interior and has 26,400 miles. The auction will also feature a strong collection of fine jewelry, including a 14K white gold ring with a 5.09 ct. brilliant-cut, heart-shape diamond accented by diamond baguettes (lot 3010); and a diamond solitaire ring mounted in 14K white gold, set with a 3.64 ct. diamond (lot 3009).
For additional information on items in the August sale, call Clars at 888-339-7600 or 510-428-0100. View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet through www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
George Nakashima spindle settee. Image courtesy Clars.Autumn Morning on the Ayr, oil on canvas by Frederick William Scarborough. Image courtesy Clars.Lithograph by Alphonse Mucha. Image courtesy Clars.14k white gold ring with a 5.09 ct. heart-shape diamond. Image courtesy Clars.
Pioneers wielded goose wing axes to shape logs used in the construction of their cabins. Image courtesy Old Barn Auctions and LiveAuctioneers archive.PEORIA, Ill. (AP) – More than 3,000 antique tools sit in storage at Peoria’s Sommer Park, waiting for their turn to share a bit of history.
Everything from the leather awl to the carver’s scorp is represented in the collection – a donation from Bernadette Fugate, a widow in Fairbury whose late husband collected each piece.
“I’ve worked with antique tools a lot, and this is one of the most comprehensive collections I’ve ever seen,” said Keith Aeschleman, a park volunteer. “There’s something in there from just about every trade. It is amazing, the collection that man had.”
The collection is so large, in fact, that the park’s staff can’t even display it all at the same time, instead opting to bring out selected pieces for each showing.
The tools, some of which are more than 150 years old, are on display Sunday afternoons as part of Sommer Park’s Pioneer Days, a monthly, living historical reproduction of life in rural Peoria during the mid-19th century.
Park intern Tommy Wallenfeldt helped clean and catalog the massive collection of tools, selecting the pieces that make the cut for the displays. He says the collection is especially popular with older visitors.
“It really resonates with their past experiences,” Wallenfeldt said. “They say, ‘Oh, my dad used to use one of those!’ You’ve got people smiling, having a good time on a Sunday . . . even with a tool exhibit.”
One recent park visitor was more interested in the nearby blacksmith demonstration, which he said reminded him of growing up poor in India.
“I can relate to that. I’ve seen all of that when I was a young man,” said 86-year-old Peoria resident Roy Storey, who said he was raised in an orphanage in the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains.
“There was no electricity. Everything was made by fire,” Storey said. “In fact, I even tried it myself. … It didn’t turn out very well.”
Storey wasn’t the only one interested in the blacksmith, however.
Nine-year-old Cassie Newell of Morton said she enjoys learning about history since reading the stories of Laura Ingalls Wilder, popularized by the television show Little House on the Prairie.
“It’s really fascinating, I think,” Cassie said. “I really like the blacksmith.”
Her parents, Dean and Meg Newell, brought Cassie and her brother Dylan, 12, to Pioneer Days to learn and spend some family time together.
“It doesn’t hurt that there’s such beautiful weather,” Dean Newell said, looking upward to the deep blue sky.
“It would be pretty rough if it was as hot as it usually is this time of year.”
Dylan got a firsthand reminder of how July usually feels, however.
Helping blacksmith Tony Klein by pumping the bellows that blow air into the bright orange coke fire, Dylan worked up a sweat right next to the hot stone hearth where the wrought iron is heated until it glows.
“It was hard work,” Dylan declared afterward, saying he wasn’t quite up to the job of blacksmithing.
“Not right now,” he said.
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
A replica of Copenhagen’s original Little Mermaid statue shown here will remain in Michigan, now that a copyright challenge has been dropped.
GREENVILLE, Michigan (AP) – A replica of Copenhagen’s famed “Little Mermaid” statue appears safe in a western Michigan community after a transatlantic copyright claim was dropped.
The Daily News reports the Artists Rights Society in New York last week notified the government of Greenville that the estate of Edvard Eriksen, who sculpted the original, has dropped its claim.
Eriksen’s estate wanted $3,800 for use of the duplicate statue, which is about 30 inches (76 centimeters) tall. The original in Copenhagen stands 5 feet tall and is one of Denmark’s biggest tourist attractions.
City Manager George Bosanic says he wants to thank any “Danish rat” who may have informed on the city’s statue because of all the publicity the case garnered for Greenville.
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Information from: The Daily News, http://www.thedailynews.cc/
Entrance to McGillin’s Olde Ale House in Philadelphia. Photo by Curt Hudson.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – If he were alive today, William “Pa” McGillin probably wouldn’t recognize the nachos and watermelon martinis being served at his namesake pub. Yet he’d no doubt be heartened to see that its core commitment to beer and camaraderie has remained largely unchanged since he opened it 150 years ago.
McGillin’s Olde Ale House began celebrating its sesquicentennial this week, cementing its status as the oldest continuously operated tavern in Philadelphia and one of the oldest in the nation.
Established in 1860, just prior to the Civil War and before City Hall was built, McGillin’s sits tucked away in a small alley at the heart of downtown. Even some residents need a map to find it.
“It’s an institution, but in many ways it’s also sort of a hidden treasure,” said Don Russell, a local beer columnist who writes under the name Joe Sixpack. “A lot of people who think they know Philadelphia don’t even know that bar exists.”
Its 150th year begins on Jan. 1, but the festivities kick off 150 days before that. On Tuesday, the pub will start an anniversary countdown clock and invite an Abe Lincoln re-enactor to tap the first batch of McGillin’s 1860, an India pale ale created by Stoudt’s Brewing. Lincoln was elected president the year McGillin’s opened.
Since then, only two families have operated the tavern – a big factor in its longevity, current owner Chris Mullins said. He also attributes the bar’s success to its simplicity.
“It’s stayed true to its name: It’s an ale house,” the 61-year-old Mullins said. “It never tried to be too fancy or too different.”
McGillin’s reputation for being a comfortable place to eat, drink and be merry attracts an eclectic mix of customers. Its earliest years welcomed laborers as well as artist Thomas Eakins and actors John and Ethel Barrymore; today, bartenders also pour pints for office workers, craft brew enthusiasts and the occasional celebrity.
The main barroom in the two-story brick building is a large, dimly lit space filled with rows of small wooden tables and chairs. The tile floor is a century old; the walls, pillars and beams are covered with Philly-oriented memorabilia, beer collectibles, photos and framed liquor licenses dating to 1874. A cozy room upstairs houses a second bar.
The tavern’s history, as reported in newspaper clippings hung throughout the building, begins with Irish immigrant William McGillin turning a rowhouse on Drury Street into the Bell in Hand tavern. Regulars couldn’t be bothered with the name; they just called it McGillin’s.
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McGillin’s Olde Ale House: www.mcgillins.com
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
AP-CS-08-04-09 1107EDT
ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE
Chris & Mary Ellen Mullins, owners of McGillin’s. Photo by Curt Hudson.
Wrought iron panels accent these mid-1800s pine entry doors from Europe. The pair has a $2,000-$3,000 estimate. Image courtesy Jackson’s.OMAHA, Neb. – Katelman Antiques has been a fixture in Nebraska for more than 37 years. Known for offering topflight European antiques and fine art, Rick and Sue Katelman will close their store with a liquidation auction Aug. 15 conducted by Jackson’s International Auctioneers & Appraisers, Cedar Falls, Iowa. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.
The sale will take place at Katelman Antiques, 144 S. 39th St. in Omaha beginning at 10 a.m. Central. All items will be sold without reserve.
“There’s a good chance there will be some bargains,” said Rick Katelman, who founded the store in 1972. He and his wife plan to focus their attention on the restoration side of the business. “We certainly won’t be going to Europe to buy. No one is doing that any more,” he said, noting the weakness in the dollar and downturn in the economy.
The idea to auction the remaining inventory grew in part out of the Katelmans’ desire to thank their loyal customers by offering them an opportunity to acquire an exceptional piece of fine furniture, lighting or artwork at auction prices. “What better way to say thanks,” said Rick Katelman, “than to let our customers get a once-in-a-lifetime deal on an inventory liquidation auction.”
As an antique enthusiast, Katelman opened his first shop in the historic Old Market district of downtown Omaha. He began traveling to Europe to buy in 1979. His wife, Sue, later joined him. As the business flourished Katelman Antiques moved to a much larger facility, the site of their present location at 39th and Farnam streets.
To stock their showrooms and warehouse the Katelmans regularly took buying trips to Europe, searching for the best Continental antique furniture, fine art and lighting. Their travels took them to Vienna, Paris, Lyon, Berlin and London. Over the years the couple has cultivated a faithful following of customers that reached coast-to-coast.
A prime example of what Katelman Antiques is selling is a set of five Napoleon III architectural parlor doors from the late 19th century. The double sets of doors are 128 inches high and 63 inches wide. Their arched doorway frames each contain nine beveled transom lights surrounded by sculpted gilt bronze mounts. All five sets will remain together and have an estimate of $76,000-$100,000.
“They’re from Vienna. They’re pretty special and you have too see them to appreciate how fine they are.” said Katelman.
A pair of 9 1/2-foot-high pine doors with decorative wrought-iron panels dating to the 1870s has a $2,000-$3,000 estimate. Katelman described them as “very rare.”
More than 75 chandeliers and other lighting fixtures will be sold. A fine Austrian cut crystal chandelier from the late 19th century that has 12 lights, each supporting cut globular shades above cut prism pendants, is estimated at $4,000-$5,000.
One of the many furniture highlights is an Austrian ebonized marble-top cabinet decorated with ivory inlay. The cabinet is 50 inches high by 56 inches wide and its interior is lined with mahogany. It has a $1,000-$1,500 estimate.
View all 669 lots in the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet during the sale at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
An estimate of $76,000-$100,000 for five Napoleon III architectural parlor doors may appear excessive, but when will a comparable set be offered again? Image courtesy Jackson’s. This 19th-century Austrian carved walnut and burl desk is among the most unusual desks to be sold at the liquidation of Katelman Antiques in Omaha on Aug. 15. Image courtesy Jackson’s. Classical scenic door panels of intricately inlaid ivory adorn this Austrian side cabinet of ebonized wood. Standing 50 inches high and 56 inches wide, the marble-top cabinet has a $1,000-$1,500 estimate. Image courtesy Jackson’s. Many lighting fixtures will be sold at Jackson’s auction Aug. 15, but none brighter than the 60-inch-tall Austrian gilt bronze and cut crystal chandelier. Probably made by Lobmeier, the chandelier has a $3,000-$5,000 estimate. Image courtesy Jackson’s. Standing more than 10 feet tall is a fine German or Flemish 19th-century carved oak Gothic Revival cabinet with green leaded glass in the doors. It has a $1,000-$2,000 estimate. Image courtesy Jackson’s.
