February 2010 - Page 3 of 11 - Auction Central News

Skinner’s March 7 Americana auction lists Bradford ship portrait

Unusually small is this Simon Willard tall clock from the late 1700s standing just 86 inches high. It has a $30,000-$50,000 estimate. Image courtesy Skinner Inc.

BOSTON –Skinner’s semi-annual auction of American Furniture and Decorative Arts on March 7 will feature perhaps the most extensive collection of mocha utilitarian pottery ever offered at the auction house in a single sale.

The sale kicks off at 11 a.m. Eastern in the Boston gallery located at 63 Park Plaza and is comprised of 667 lots of material. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.

Also offered in the upcoming Americana auction are several lots of interesting tall clocks, highlighted by a Simon Willard in a classic Roxbury case. This particular clock is especially unusual due to its small size. It is estimated at $30,000-$50,000. The sale also boasts a nice group of Connecticut production clocks from the early 19th century, coming to Skinner from a discerning collector.

A hallmark of Skinner’s Americana auctions has always been prolific folk portraiture, and distinguished in this sale is Portrait of a Girl and Her Dog in a Grape Arbor by Susan Catherine Moore Waters. The painting has remained in a New Hampshire collection since it was purchased at Skinner 30 years ago. It is estimated at $8,000-$12,000. Another portrait of interest is a John Samuel Blunt work, Portrait of a Lady Wearing a Green Dress with Jewelry. While the face is very carefully rendered, the remainder of the picture was done far more quickly, but effectively. The painting, which is estimate at $15,000-$25,000 was bought by the consignor’s grandmother in 1930 and has remained in the family since.

The sale also features some particularly fine landscapes, including Overlooking the Harbor, Cohasset, Massachusetts by Frank Henry Shapleigh, most regarded for his New Hampshire scenes. The piece is estimated at $4,000-$6,000. Marine art is highlighted by William Bradford’s Portrait of the Whaleship Young Hector off Clark’s Point, New Bedford. Created early in Bradford’s career, the painting is very luminous in nature and reminiscent of Fitz Henry Lane style, from whom he was influenced. It is estimated at $60,000-$80,000. Other marine offerings include James Edward Buttersworth’s Yacht Race estimated at $15,000-$20,000 as well as a scrimshaw and whale tooth carvings.

Finally, the sale is highlighted by a pair of fire buckets from Salem, Mass. While many fire buckets have survived, few pairs have remained intact. Painting on one bucket in particular is in very good condition. The pair is estimated at $4,000-$6,000.

Previews for the auction will be held March 3 from noon-5 p.m.; March 4 from noon-8 p.m., March 5 from noon-8 p.m., March 6 from noon- 5 p.m., March 7 from 8-10 a.m. In conjunction with Friday’s preview, Skinner will host an Americana gallery walk. The reception will be held at 5:30 p.m., with the gallery walk commencing at 6:30 p.m. Make reservations by calling 617-350-5400.

For details call 508-970-3000.

View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet during the sale at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

Click here to view Skinner’s complete catalog.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Estimates range from $200 to $1,200 for these individual pieces of distinctly decorated mocha pottery. Image courtesy Skinner Inc.

William Bradford (American, 1823-1892) painted this ‘Portrait of the Whaleship Young Hector off Clark's Point, New Bedford.’ The 20- by 30-inch oil on canvas has a $60,000-$80,000 estimate. Image courtesy Skinner Inc. — William Bradford (American, 1823-1892) painted this ‘Portrait of the Whaleship Young Hector off Clark’s Point, New Bedford.’ The 20- by 30-inch oil on canvas has a $60,000-$80,000 estimate. Image courtesy Skinner Inc.

It is unusual to find a matched pair of polychrome painted leather fire buckets. This set from Salem, Mass., has a $4,000-$6,000 estimate. Image courtesy Skinner Inc.

$38 million gift to build George Washington library at Mount Vernon

The new library is expected to open in 2012 on the grounds of George Washington's estate off the banks of the Potomac River. Image courtesy Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association.

MOUNT VERNON, Va. (AP) – There were no presidential libraries in the days of George Washington, so his papers and writings are scattered around the world. Some are lost forever. Martha Washington, for instance, burned nearly all of her personal letters from her husband shortly before she died.

But an unprecedented $38 million donation will allow George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate to establish a library dedicated to scholarship on the nation’s first president, in many ways filling the role of the modern presidential library.

The Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington is expected to open in 2012 on the grounds of Washington’s estate off the banks of the Potomac River, the estate announced Friday.

Mount Vernon Director James Rees said they don’t want to call it a “presidential library,” though, for several reasons. First, Mount Vernon has long prided itself on eschewing all forms of government funding, a contrast with modern presidential libraries that are part of the national Archives.

Rees also said a library focused only on Washington’s presidency would be too limiting, ignoring his significant contributions as a military general and as an 18th century entrepreneur.

The library will not only serve leading scholars and historians, but is designed to reach out to the general public. It will help train teachers and can host conferences and seminars for corporate boards to learn about Washington’s leadership skills.

The estate also wants to create a Mount Vernon Press that will publish new research on Washington.

Rees said he wants to engage the public in new ways. As an example, he suggested developing a George Washington video game, highlighting Washington as an 18th-century action hero.

“Mount Vernon has to reach beyond these gates,” Rees said. “We have to get involved with what’s called pop culture.”

Several years ago, concerned that the public viewed Washington as a stodgy, irrelevant figure, the estate built a new museum and orientation center that highlighted Washington’s vigorous youth and his military exploits, using interactive exhibits and even a 4-D theater. The new exhibits spurred a 20 percent increase in attendance that has not abated.

The $38 million donation, the largest in the estate’s history, comes from the Las Vegas-based Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, a longtime supporter of Mount Vernon.

Fred W. Smith, the foundation’s chairman, said his organization does not typically get involved in historical preservation efforts, but he was spurred to action in 2001 after learning that the Smithsonian Institution might lose possession of a famed Gilbert Stuart portrait of Washington. He learned from Rees that history textbooks in recent years have devoted less and less attention to Washington. Since then, he has been a staunch supporter of Mount Vernon.

“When I was in school, every schoolhouse had a picture of George Washington,” Smith said.

The estate also announced a partnership Friday with the University of Virginia, in which the new library will serve as the home for The Papers of George Washington, a 90-volume edition being compiled by the university consisting of copies all the known letters and documents written and received by Washington.

Mount Vernon plans to break ground on the library only after it raises $20 million in matching funds.

AP-ES-02-19-10 1735EST

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

An artist’s conception shows an exterior view of the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington. Image courtesy Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association.

Auktionsgespräche: Sammeln als eine fürstlich Kunst

Prinz Hans-Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein mit einer seiner beliebtesten Anschaffung für die Familiensammlung: Der 18. Jh. Badminton Schrank mit zarten Pietra Dura Halbedelstein und goldbronzenen Skulpturen. (Foto mit freundlicher Erlaubnis des Liechtenstein Museum)

Für Prinz Hans-Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein ist das Sammeln nicht nur ein Hobby. Es ist eine Familienverantwortung, die ihm das erste Mal als junger Erwachsener in den 1970igern widerfuhr, als er die schwierige Entscheidung traf, das Portrait von Frans Hals von Willem van Heythuysen zu verkaufen.

“Dieser Verkauf verursachte zu jener Zeit eine Art Aufruhr in Liechtenstein, aber er versetzte mich auch in die Lage -direkt nach Abschluss meines Studiums im Alter von 24 Jahren- den fürstlichen Besitz und Vermögen zu reorganisieren und wiederaufzubauen.”, erinnert sich Prinz Hans-Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein

Verwalter einer Sammlung zu werden, die bis ins 17. Jahrhundert reicht, kann in diesem jungen Alter nicht einfach gewesen sein. Bei einem Überfluss an Gemälden Alter Meister vom 14. bis zum 18. Jh., mit einem Schwerpunkt auf flämischen und Biedermeier Gemälden, mangelt es der Sammlung an Skulpturen und Möbeln. Mehrere sehr schöne Gemälde wurden nach dem 2. Weltkrieg bar verkauft, einschließlich Leonardo DaVincis Portrait von Ginevra de’ Benci, welches im Jahr 1967 an die Nationale Kunstgalerie, Washington, ging.

Anlässlich der Feierlichkeiten zum 65. Geburtstag des Prinzen Hans-Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein, werden 140 Stücke der Familiensammlung im Gartenpalast, dem Liechtenstein-Museum in Wien ausgestellt. Die Ausstellung demonstriert die mehr als dreißigjährige fleißige Arbeit des Prinzen, die Lücken in der Sammlung zu schließen.

Der Prinz gibt zu, sich mehr für Wissenschaften zu interessieren, hatte aber trotzdem ein Vergnügen damit, die Familiensammlung wieder aufzubauen und zu ergänzen. Prinz Hans-Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein zeigt auf Erasmus Hebermehl’s Equatorial Annular Sundial als ein Stück, welches das aktuellste technische und mathematische Wissen jener Zeit in der Darstellung als Kunstwerk kombiniert.

“Mein Interesse und meine Erkenntnisse sind gewachsen, obwohl ich nach wie vor ein Amateur bin”, erklärt Prinz Hans-Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein bescheiden, “Davon abgesehen habe ich sehr Frühzeitig begriffen, dass der Kauf von Kunstwerken eine sehr gute Investition sein kann, falls man wenigstens etwas davon versteht. Deshalb hole ich mir immer Expertenrat ein, wenn ich Kunstwerke zu kaufen beabsichtige.”

Teile dieser Ausstellung werden vom 24. September 2010 bis 16. Januar 2011 im Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein in Vaduz zu sehen sein. Um mehr von der Sammlung zu sehen, besuchen Sie www.liechtensteinmuseum.at.

Auktionfirmen expandieren

In diesem unsicheren wirtschaftlichen Klima ist ermutigend zu hören, dass 2 deutsche Auktionshäuser beabsichtigen, zu expandieren. Sowohl die Van Ham Kunstauktionen, Köln, als auch Hermann Historica, München, stocken ihr Personal auf, um die Vertretung in einem größeren geographischen Territorium zu gewährleisten.

Kunstexpertin Pia von Buchwaldt tritt bei Van Ham Kunstauktionen als deren neuer Vertreter in Hamburg ein. Sie wird unter der Adresse “Alsterufer 33” zu erreichen sein, um alle Fragen potentieller Käufer sowie Verkäufer bezüglich ihrer Sammlungen zu beantworten und hat auch bereits ihren ersten “Expertentag” gehalten.

www.van-ham.com

Hermann Historica begrüßt Nicholas McCullogh, den früheren Leiter der Waffen- und Rüstungsabteilung bei Christies, als ihren neuen Repräsentanten in London im Rahmen einer neuen strategischen Allianz mit Bloomsbury Auktionen und Dreweatts, London, New York und Rom. Ebenso wird Bloomsbury, bekannt für seine Bücher, Manuskripte und Grafiken, eine Vertretung in der deutschsprachigen Auktionswelt durch Hermann Historica’s Militaria Auktionshaus in München haben. Beide Auktionshäuser freuen sich über ihre neuen internationalen Kooperationen, planen aber keine Geschäftsfusionen. www.herman-historica.com

Weitere Neuigkeiten

Katzen – fremd und faszinierend, Doebele Galerie + Kunstauktionen, Kunstgut Effeldorf, 24. Februar bis zum 30. April. www.fine-art-doebele.de

“Pop Life. Warhol, Haring, Koons, Hirst” ab jetzt bis zum 5 September 2010, Galerie der Gegenwart, Glockengießerwall. www.hamburger-kunsthalle.de

Aktuell bis zum 13. März 2010 zeigt Ketterer Kunst die Ausstellung “Tom Wesselmann – Grafische Arbeiten” in seinen Räumen in Berlin-Charlottenburg. Die präsentierten Werke stammen aus der New Yorker Sammlung Paul Rothman. www.kettererkunst.de

Schmidt Kunstauktionen in Dresden beginnt das neue Auktionsjahr am 13. März mit einem reichhaltigen Angebot von 850 Objekten der Richtung Kunst, Porzellan, Glas und Einrichtungsgegenstände vom 18. bis zum 21. Jahrhundert. www.schmidt-auktionen.de

Van Ham Kunstauktionen Kunstexpertin Pia von Buchwaldt (Foto mit freundlicher Erlaubnis Vam Ham.)

Hermann Historica London Repräsentant Nicholas McCullough. (Foto mit Erlaubnis und copyright Hermann Historica oHG, 2010.)

Lithographie Katze, ca. 1920 von Otto Lange, 1879-1944. (Foto mit Erlaubnis Doebele Galerie + Kunstauktionen.)

Eine aus den USA stammende, freischaffend tätige Journalistin – Heidi Lux ist in der Nähe von Rochester, NY, aufgewachsen – und hat das Studium am Nazareth College in Rochester erfolgreich abgeschlossen. Ihr derzeitiger Wohnsitz befindet sich in Sachsen, Deutschland, wo Sie als Englisch Redakteur und Privatlehrer für Englisch arbeitet. Ihre journalistischen Arbeiten wurden sowohl in den englisch sprachigen Magazinen “Transitions Abroad” und “German Life” veröffentlicht, sowie auch in mehreren US-amerikanischen Publikationen des Antiquitätenhandels.

Auction Talk Germany: Collecting as a princely art

Prince Hans-Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein with one of his favorite acquisitions in the family collection, the 18th-century Badminton Cabinet with delicate pietra dura in semi-precious stone and gilt bronze sculptures. Photo courtesy Liechtenstein Museum.

For Prince Hans-Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein, collecting is not just an interest. It is a family responsibility he first experienced as a young adult in the 1970s when he made the difficult decision to sell Frans Hals’ portrait of Willem van Heythuysen.

“This sale caused something of an uproar in Liechtenstein at the time, but it enabled me – straight after finishing my studies at the age of 24 – to reorganize and rebuild the princely estate and assets,” recalled the prince.

It couldn’t have been easy at that age to become the keeper of a collection assembled as far back at the 17th century. Flush with Old Master paintings from the 14th to 18th centuries, with concentrations in Flemish and Biedermeier paintings, the collection lacked in sculpture and furniture. Several very fine paintings were sold for cash after World War II, including Leonardo DaVinci’s Portrait of Ginevra de’Benci sold to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in 1967.

In celebration of the Prince’s 65th birthday, 140 pieces from the family collection are on exhibit at Liechtenstein Museum, known as the Garden Palace, in Vienna. The exhibit demonstrates 30-plus years of diligent work on the part of the Price to close gaps in the collection.

The prince admits to more interest in the sciences, but has taken pleasure in rebuilding and upgrading the family collection. He points to Erasmus Habermehl’s Equatorial Annular Sundial as a piece that combines the latest technical and mathematical knowledge of its time into a work of art.

“My interest and understanding have grown, although I am still an amateur,” said the prince modestly. “Apart from this, I realized pretty early on that buying works of art can be a very good investment, if one understands something about it. That’s why I always get the advice of experts when buying works of art.”

Part of this exhibit will be shown in Vaduz at the Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein from Sept. 24 to Jan. 16, 2011. To see more of the collection visit www.liechtensteinmuseum.at

Auction Companies Expand

In this uncertain economic climate it is heartening to hear that two of the German auction houses are expanding. Both Van Ham Kunstauktionen, Cologne, and Herrmann Historica, Munich, are adding staff to represent them in a wider geographical territory.

Art Expert Pia von Buchwaldt joins Van Ham as their new representative in Hamburg. She will be available at Alsterrufer 33 to answer any questions potential buyers or sellers have about their collections, and has already held her first “expert day.” www.van-ham.com

Hermann Historica welcomes Nicholas McCullough, former director of the Arms and Armor Department at Christies, as their new London representative in a new strategic alliance with Bloomsbury Auctions und Dreweatts, London, New York und Rome. Likewise Bloomsbury, known for their antique books, manuscripts and graphics, will have representation in the German speaking auction world through Hermann Historica’s militaria auction house in Munich. Both auction houses are pleased about their new international cooperative work, but plan no future business merger. www.hermann-historica.com

Other News

Doebele Galerie + Kunstauktionen, Kunstgut Effeldorf, celebrates our love of the feline form in art with a new exhibit and sale, Cats – Strange and Fascinating, Feb. 24 through April 30. www.fine-art-doebele.de

Pop Life. Warhol, Haring, Koons, Hirst, now to Sept. 5, Galerie der Gegenwart, Glockengießerwall. www.hamburger-kunsthalle.de

Now to March 13 Ketterer Kunst shows Tom Wesselmann – Graphic Work in their gallery in Berlin-Charlottenburg. The presented work comes from the collection of New Yorker Paul Rothman. www.kettererkunst.de

Schmidt Kunstauktionen, Dresden, starts the new auction year on March 13 with an offering of 850 objects of art, porcelain, glass and furnishings from the 18th to 21st centuries. www.schmidt-auktionen.de

Van Ham Art Expert Pia von Buchwaldt. Photo courtesy Van Ham Kunstauktionen.

Hermann Historica London Representative, Nicholas McCullough. Photo courtesy and copyright Hermann Historica OHG, 2010.

Lithograph Katze circa 1920 by Otto Lange, 1879-1944. Photo courtesy Doebele Galerie + Kunstauktion.

An American freelance writer, Heidi Lux grew up near Rochester, N.Y., and is a graduate of that city’s Nazareth College. She presently lives in Saxony, Germany, where she works as an English language editor and private tutor. Her work has appeared in Transitions Abroad and German Life magazines, as well as Style Century Magazine.

Kovels – Antiques & Collecting: Week of Feb. 22, 2010

This young maiden is a Royal Dux figurine made after 1900. It is marked with a raised pink triangle that includes the company name. It sold for $675 by Early Auction Co., Milford, Ohio, this past fall.

American collectors often nickname companies, so the Duxer Porzellanmanfactur is better known as Royal Dux. The porcelain factory was started by E. Eichler in Dux, Bohemia (now Duchov, Czech Republic), in 1860. It specialized in art nouveau porcelain figurines, busts of attractive maidens and ornate vases with 3-D figures climbing up the sides. It remained in business through World War I, World War II and the Nazi occupation, the forming of Czechoslovakia and the split into the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. The company has made more than 12,000 different figures and vases. It is now selecting some old pieces to be made again and sold on the collectibles market. Old pieces are clearly marked with variations of the words “Royal Dux” or an acorn in a triangle or circle.

Q: About 10 years ago, my wife and I bought four cafe-style bentwood chairs marked “Mundus, made in Poland, fabrique en Pologne.” There’s a patent date, “Sept. 22, ’14,” on the metal leg brackets. The dark finish appears to be original. We paid about $100 for all four chairs. We’re curious about the chairs’ maker and their value.

A: Mundus was a German conglomerate formed when Leopold Pilzer (1871-1959), an Austrian banker, consolidated 16 small chair manufacturing companies around the turn of the 20th century. It competed with Thonet and Jacob & Josef Kohn, two large chair companies that later merged with Mundus (Kohn in 1914 and Thonet in 1923). Your chairs were made before the Kohn merger, so they date from between about 1900 and 1914. If they’re in excellent condition, each one could sell for a few hundred dollars.

Q: I received an Anne Shirley Effanbee doll for Christmas in 1940. I still have her. She is 21 inches tall, has her original blond wig and is wearing her original dress, slip, panties, socks and shoes. What do you think she’s worth today?

A: Anne Shirley (1918-1993) was a popular American actress during the late 1930s and early 1940s. She was born Dawn Evelyeen Paris and began her acting career at the age of 5. After portraying the fictional character Anne Shirley in the 1934 movie, Anne of Green Gables, she changed her name to Anne Shirley. Effanbee made Anne Shirley dolls in four sizes from 1935 to 1940. Yours, the second-largest size, sells today for $350-$400 if it’s in excellent condition. With the original box, it would sell for nearly twice that.

Q: My father was in law enforcement until he was killed in an accident in 1942. My mother received a condolence letter on FBI letterhead from J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI director. He signed his own signature, but the letter is typed. What would the letter sell for?

A: J. Edgar Hoover (1895-1972) was director of the FBI from the time of its founding in 1935 until he died. His autograph on a typed letter retails for about $175. If you were to sell it to a dealer, you could expect to get about half that. Of course, an expert has to look at the letter to make sure it was signed by Hoover himself and not an assistant or a secretary.

Q: My 85-year-old mother-in-law gave us a pewter basket that belonged to her great-grandmother. It is marked “Aurora SP Mfg. Co.” We can’t find anything about it on the Internet. Can you tell us who made it and how old it is?

A: The mark was used on silver-plated hollowware made by Aurora Silver Plate Co. of Aurora, Ill. The company was in business from 1869 until 1919. Your pewter basket was originally silver-plated. Most old silver plate was made on britannia, which is a type of pewter. When the finish is worn off, the base pewter can be seen.

Q: I have a metronome that my parents bught in the early 1920s. It is made of dark wood and has a gold-colored hexagonal medallion on the front with “Metronome de Maelzel” in the middle and the words “France, Amerique, Belgique, Paris, Holland, Angleterre” along the outside edges of the hexagon. I would like to know if it is a valuable antique.

A: Metronomes have been used by musicians since the 1800s. Some were made by clockmakers, since the metronome operated on a pendulum. Attempts to make a device to measure tempo were made as early as the late 1600s, but the first successful metronome was invented by Dietrich Nikolaus Winkel in Amsterdam in 1812. Johann Nepomuk Maelzel made a similar device and was granted a patent for the Maelzel Metronome in 1816. The “MM” numbers on music indicate the number of beats per minute. Digital metronomes were introduced in the late 1970s and are more accurate than the pendulum type. Today you can even use an online metronome to help you keep time when practicing. Most old metronomes are sold to people who want to use them and sell for about the same as new ones.

Tip: Do not use transparent tape or other sticky tapes on paper. Even if the tape is removed, the paper will eventually discolor from the contact with the glue.

Terry Kovel answers as many questions as possible through the column. By sending a letter with a question, you give full permission for use in the column or any other Kovel forum. Names, addresses or e-mail addresses will not be published. We cannot guarantee the return of any photograph, but if a stamped envelope is included, we will try. The volume of mail makes personal answers or appraisals impossible. Write to Kovels, Auction Central News, King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.

Need more information about collectibles? Find it at Kovels.com, our Web site for collectors. Check prices there, too. More than 700,000 are listed, and viewing them is free. You can also sign up to read our weekly Kovels Komments. It includes the latest news, tips and questions and is delivered by e-mail, free, if you register. Kovels.com offers extra collector’s information and lists of publications, clubs, appraisers, auction houses, people who sell parts or repair antiques and much more. You can subscribe to Kovels on Antiques and Collectibles, our monthly newsletter filled with prices, facts and color photos. Kovels.com adds to the information in our newspaper column and helps you find useful sources needed by collectors.

CURRENT PRICES

Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.

Double cherubs holding napkin ring, marked “Original made by Meriden Co.,” with hallmark, $115.
Hires baseball scorecard, celluloid, two-sided, trademark Josh Singer soda jerk, 3 1/8 x 2 1/2 inches, $302.
Staffordshire ironstone roasted meat platter, oval, Lakeside Pavilion design, gray transfer, overglazed in salmon and terra-cotta, 1890s, 21 x 17 1/2 inches, $320.
Felix the Cat sparkler toy, metal, mechanical, black-and-white Felix with big smile, copyright by Pat Sullivan, 1930s, 5 1/2 x 3 3/8 inches, $330.
Fraktur, bird, spray of flowers, written text, made for Johannes Hill, born Nov. 14, 1822, Pennsylvania, 13 x 10 inches, $335.
Baccarat crystal wine service, raindrop-cut, 11 1/2-inch decanter, 7 1/8-inch goblet, signed, 15 piece, $780.
American patriotic shield, polychrome on wood, 13 stars over 13 stripes, “1861-1865” in gilt, 36 x 28 1/2 inches, $1,195.
Louisiana walnut plantation chair, shaped crest with back-scrolled terminal, leather back and seat, scroll arms, curule base, turned supports, early 19th century, $2,985.
Newcomb College pottery vase, panels of blue spider chrysanthemum blooms under glaze, marked, 1902, 8 7/8 inches, $4,480.
Einco googly doll, lever to adjust eyes from right to left, composition baby body, blond human-hair wig, marked “Heubach,” 16 inches, $5,750.

Identify your pottery and porcelain. Kovels’ New Dictionary of Marks: Pottery and Porcelain, 1850 to the Present pictures more than 3,500 marks found on 19th- and 20th-century American, European and Asian pottery and porcelain. It includes factory dates, locations and other information. Marks are sorted by shape, and there’s a special section on date-letter codes and factory “family trees.” Available online at Kovelsonlinestore.com; at your bookstore; by phone at 800-571-1555; or send $19 plus $4.95 postage to Kovels, Box 22900, Beachwood, OH 44122.

Shearwater Pottery reflects natural beauty of Gulf Coast

This rare large-scale bowl (D. 15 inches) was designed and carved by Walter Anderson and glazed by his brother Peter around 1930. Decorated with bacchantes and grapes, the example sold for $23,900 at the Louisiana Purchase Auction in November. Image courtesy Neal Auction Co.

When the Antiques Roadshow stops at Biloxi, Miss., collectors will be visually reminded of the region’s great legacy of art and studio pottery. The ceramics made at Newcomb College in New Orleans and by Biloxi’s own “Mad Potter” George Ohr are well known, but many people are less familiar with the beautiful creations of the Shearwater Pottery in nearby Ocean Springs.

Several variables distinguish Shearwater’s output from other wares. The pottery was founded in 1928, decades after the beginning of local firms like Newcomb and Ohr or of national companies like Grueby and Rookwood. Unlike classic art potteries, however, Shearwater continues to function more than 80 years later. And this continuity has been maintained because the workshop remains a family affair, run by descendants of the founding Anderson brothers.

Amanda Mantle Winstead, pottery expert at the Neal Auction Gallery in New Orleans, said, “The Shearwater Pottery was not part of the Arts and Crafts Movement. It’s all about the Anderson family. They’re an incredibly talented and creative group of people – they still are. The subsequent generations are also artists. Ocean Springs is a charming town, and the Walter Anderson Museum is absolutely wonderful. Next door is the Ocean Springs Community Center which is decorated with Walter Anderson’s amazing murals from the 1950s.”

Shearwater Pottery was founded by Peter, Walter and Mac Anderson in 1928. The brothers were inspired by their mother Annette McConnell Anderson, an artist who had studied at Newcomb College. The eldest brother, Peter, studied pottery-making techniques with various masters and at Alfred University in New York state. He learned how to throw on the wheel, make molds and create the colorful glazes used on the vessels. Younger brothers Walter and Mac decorated the pieces with carved patterns and painted designs.

Today Walter Inglis Anderson (1903-1965) is by far the best-known of the three siblings, because he was also a prolific watercolor and mural artist, noted for depicting the colorful wildlife and environments of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Plagued by mental illness from the 1930s on, Anderson often retreated to islands off the coast with only survival gear. His intensely original and stylized depictions of marine life, birds and animals are highly sought-after by collectors.

His work has been the subject of major retrospectives, and both the paintings and family pottery have a permanent home in the Walter Anderson Museum in Ocean Springs. These works also appear on the national art market and in local auctions in New Orleans. As far as the pottery is concerned, Amanda Winstead noted, “If you can connect Walter Anderson to it – if you know he decorated the piece – that is what pulls it into the next level.”

At Neal’s Louisiana Purchase Auction in November 2009, such a work – a circa 1930 bowl with a carved decoration of grapes and dancing bacchantes – sold for $23,900. Winstead points out, “For Shearwater, that was an exceptionally large piece in a form they had not been known to have existed before. The owner of it showed it to the family and they were very excited about it. The museum wants to borrow it. That was a piece that Walter Anderson had designed and carved.”

Douglas Myatt, director of Collections and Exhibitions at the Walter Anderson Museum of Art, agrees, “That’s a phenomenal piece. We have a sister piece in the collection. It’s the same shape, but it was carved by their youngest brother Mac. It’s reticulated – he carved filigree around the edges – it’s pretty outstanding.

“We have quite a collection of pieces from the very earliest days – probably even before Shearwater actually opened, when Peter was doing test firings – to current things. It runs the gamut.”

In addition to the examples with carved decorations, the pottery produced charming bowls and vases painted with naturalistic motifs similar to those found in Walter Anderson’s paintings.

Collectors can learn more about the pottery and its output in two references. Dreaming in Clay by Christopher Maurer and Maria Estrella Iglesias is a comprehensive history of the pottery and its artists. The couple also provide information and a timeline at the Web site dreaminginclay.com. Shearwater Pottery by Dod Stewart with Marjorie Anderson Ashley and Earl Lamar Denham is filled with magnificent illustrations of the range of wares produced in Ocean Springs.

Stewart has a lifelong interest in Shearwater: “We used to spend our summers on the Gulf Coast, and I’ve been going over there since I was a little kid. We collected the figurines of baseball players and fairy tale figures which appealed to the kids.” The pottery’s line of figures also included a series of birds and animals.

Values for Shearwater pieces vary widely from five-figures prices for Walter Anderson’s early work to $100-$200 for later works and small figurines. Stewart stresses that every piece – from the pottery’s foundation to the present day – is an individual creation: “I think Shearwater Pottery is very under-appreciated – people don’t understand its history. It’s never been cheap because it takes a lot of time; it’s an expensive process.”

Although the museum was spared, the family compound and pottery were severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Production was disrupted for several months, but the works and its salesroom have been rebuilt and reopened. Douglas Myatt confirms, “They’re probably making more pottery now than in the last 20 years.

Learn more about Shearwater Pottery, the Anderson family, and life in Ocean Springs at the museum website walterandersonmuseum.org or call 228-872-3164.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Walter Inglis Anderson (1903-1965) is best known as a watercolorist who sensitively captured the natural world of the Gulf Coast. This landscape triptych painted on Horn Island, his favorite retreat, recently brought $26,680. Image courtesy Neal Auction Co.

A 1981 bowl thrown by Peter Anderson and decorated with a band of figures by Mac Anderson sold in December 2005 for $3,840. Image courtesy Neal Auction Co.

Wrapped with swimming fish, this Shearwater lamp base is signed by Mac Anderson and dates to around 1930. The rare form sold for $12,925 in Neal's December 2008 auction. Image courtesy Neal Auction Co. — Wrapped with swimming fish, this Shearwater lamp base is signed by Mac Anderson and dates to around 1930. The rare form sold for $12,925 in Neal’s December 2008 auction. Image courtesy Neal Auction Co.

Walter Anderson used many of the same naturalistic themes for pottery decoration that are found in his watercolors. This shallow bowl, thrown by brother Peter Anderson, is decorated with a duck motif. It sold at auction in 2007 for $9,400. Image courtesy Neal Auction Co.

A 6-inch-high vase, decorated around 1940 with the ‘Sea, Earth and Sky’ relief pattern designed by Walter Anderson, sold in 2006 for $5,875. Image courtesy Neal Auction Co.

Cast by Peter Anderson circa 1950, this vase was incised and painted with a marine pattern by Walter Anderson. The Shearwater piece sold in February 2009 for $2,115. Image courtesy Neal Auction Co.

A Shearwater art pottery bowl with bold black and white decoration by Mac Anderson brought $3525 at auction in 2006. Image courtesy Neal Auction Co.

Ga. State University gets $4M gift from art school alum

Official Seal of Georgia State University

ATLANTA (AP) – Georgia State University’s school of art and design has received a $4 million donation from the school’s namesake, who died in December at 103.

Ralph Gilbert, associate dean for fine arts at Georgia State, says the money will be invested through the university’s endowment so that it can provide annual support to the school, which was named for Ernest G. Welch in 2003. Welch and his late sister, Frances, left a large portion of their estate to the school.

Gilbert says faculty will research ways to use the money to start new initiatives and programs.

Welch got a business degree from Georgia Tech in 1928, but after a long career decided to enroll in Georgia State’s art school in his 80s to study photography.

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On the Net:

Georgia State University: http://www.gsu.edu

AP-CS-02-18-10 0404EST

Gray’s Feb. 27 auction features 15th-century tapestry, Degas bronze

Late 15th/early 16th-century Franco-Flemish tapesty, Life of David, 90 inches high by 83 1/2 inches wide. Estimate $60,000-$90,000. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com and Gray's Auctioneers.

CLEVELAND – Gray’s Auctioneers of Cleveland, Ohio, will inaugurate the 2010 auction season on Saturday, Feb. 27 with one of the company’s most anticipated offerings to date. Internet live bidding for the sale will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com.

The centerpiece among the 376 lots to be offered is an extremely rare late 15th/early 16th-century Franco-Flemish Gothic Biblical tapestry fragment depicting the life of David the shepherd boy, who became the King of Israel.

“It is our sale’s big superstar,” said Gray’s gallery associate Jennie Doran. “It depicts courtly figures with lavish robes and headdresses, in a field of flowers. The panel may have formed part of a larger narrative tapestry depicting the life of King David. This type of textile is known as a stage-set or altar tapestry and is characterized by jeweled columns separating various life scenes.” A similar tapestry, which illustrates “The Virtues and the Vices” may be seen at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Doran said the King David tapestry, which measures 90 inches high by 83½ inches wide, has garnered considerable attention and promises to create “a particularly exciting moment” when it crosses the auction block on the 27th.

Other needlework will be presented as well. A charming collection of embroidered samplers stitched by young girls from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries show the evolution of children’s education through alphabets, stitched imagery and poetry.

Another high note in the auction is the bronze sculpture by the Impressionist painter and sculptor, Edgar Degas. Titled Le Tub, the work depicts a woman reclining in a basin, bathing. It was created from the original Degas casting at the Hebrard Foundry sometime between 1919 and 1937. Truly one of Degas’ finest sculptural works, it has been authenticated by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Curator of European Sculpture, Clare Vincent, as well as the world’s leading authority on Degas sculpture, Walter Maibaum. It is entered in the sale with a $20,000-$25,000 estimate.

Additional sculptures to be auctioned include a bronze titled Bust of John Carroll, by Cleveland sculptor William McVey. The bust is a miniature of one that is held in the collection of the John Carroll University. McVey’s work is held in collections nationwide. He held a number of teaching posts including assignments at the Cleveland Institute of Art and Ohio State University.

Among the other fine art offerings is the oil-on-canvas painting Arc de Triomphe by Andre Gisson (American, 1928-2004).

Gray’s February auction is also notable for the more than 100 lots of stunning jewelry pieces featured. These include a beautiful and rare David Webb Ladies 18K yellow and white gold diamond melee ring, estimate $5,000-$7,000. Another David Webb piece design is a ruby and white enamel frog ring. A striking single-strand necklace of 8mm Tahitian grey pearls will also be sold. The necklace is particularly beautiful for the subtle pink overtone of the pearls.

Of course, the offerings don’t stop with artwork. Outstanding furniture and decorative items further illustrate Gray’s current catalog. Among the furniture offered is a Chinese walnut dining suite by Edward Wormley for Dunbar that includes an extension table and 10 dining chairs. Two other Dunbar lots round out the dining configuration, including a Chinese walnut 2-drawer cabinet, and a 6-drawer silver chest. A beautiful Gothic Revival-style mahogany trestle table with parquetry inlay is expected to make $1,000-$1,500.

There is something for every taste and style. An extensive collection of cobalt glaze stoneware will be offered as well as porcelain and ceramic dinnerware and decorative pieces, art glass, and an extensive collection of rugs and carpets.

For additional information on any lot in the sale, call 216-458-7695 or e-mail jennie@graysauctioneers.com. View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

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Click here to view Gray’s Auctioneers’ complete catalog.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

David Webb ladies 18K yellow and white gold melee ring. Estimate $5,000-$7,000. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com and Gray's Auctioneers. — David Webb ladies 18K yellow and white gold melee ring. Estimate $5,000-$7,000. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com and Gray’s Auctioneers.

Edgar Degas, Le Tub, 1919-1937 bronze from original casting made by Hebrard Foundry, France. Estimate $20,000-$25,000. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com and Gray's Auctioneers. — Edgar Degas, Le Tub, 1919-1937 bronze from original casting made by Hebrard Foundry, France. Estimate $20,000-$25,000. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com and Gray’s Auctioneers.

Gothic Revival-style mahogany trestle table with parquetry inlay. Estimate $1,000-$1,500. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com and Gray's Auctioneers. — Gothic Revival-style mahogany trestle table with parquetry inlay. Estimate $1,000-$1,500. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com and Gray’s Auctioneers.

Hatch to conduct huge estates auction Feb. 26-27

Rare bronze and cut glass Baccarat centerpiece. Image courtesy Richard D. Hatch.

FLAT ROCK, N.C. – A spectacular two-day estates auction will be conducted Feb. 25-26 by Richard D. Hatch & Associates, at the firm’s spacious gallery at 913 Upward Road. More than 1,300 lots in a variety of categories will cross the block, as several prominent local estates will all share top billing. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.

Included will be mostly fresh-to-the-market items from the estates of Theodore Weisse Jr., a decorated World War II Hump pilot; the late Southern artist George W. Beattie Jr., whose merchandise has been in storage since his death 15 years ago; and Wilfred and Francis Ogg of Hendersonville, N.C., who accumulated fine New England period furniture and other antique items. The use of the word “hump” came evolved during World War II because aircraft had to fly from India to China over world’s highest and most remote mountain range, the Himalayas.

Also sold will be the contents of Sherwood, a historical mansion in Flat Rock. Offered will be a palace-size antique Farahan-Sarouk carpet, measuring 14 feet by 25 feet 6 inches. Other wonderful rugs will also be sold, to include Heriz, Hamadan, silk Sumac Kazak and many more.

“This auction has the finest antique Oriental rugs it has ever been my privilege to offer for sale,” said Richard D. Hatch.

“This auction truly has something for everyone,” said Hatch, adding, “Even during the Great Depression, people bought fine and beautiful items. They represented an investment in culture and in history, something that could be passed down from generation to generation. I feel right now is a great time to buy. People can get so much more for their money than they could just a few years ago.”

Hatch said some of those great deals would be in the February auction, starting with the fine array of Tiffany, Pairpoint “Puffy,”, Handel, Duffner & Kimberly, Steuben and other rare and vintage lamps; then continuing with early Meissen figures, including a set of the “Four Seasons;” and other porcelains, such as Sevres, Old Paris, Herend, Limoges, Lenox, KPM plaques, Wedgwood and more.

The glassware selection will feature names like Tiffany Favrile, Steuben, Baccarat, Lalique, Loetz, Moser, Venetian and others. The array of sterling silver and silver plate offers a glimpse as to how the wealthy entertained, from sets of fine flatware to candelabra, trays to wine trolleys, Tiffany to Georg Jensen. Also sold will be a superb clock collection.

The estate jewelry is breathtaking, said Hatch. Items include a vintage platinum necklace with diamonds totaling 50 carats, an emerald and diamond necklace with earrings that total 70 carats, diamond and gemstone rings, diamond and gemstone bracelets and Rolex watches. Also to sell will be Black Forest carved items and what Hatch called “the finest New England period furniture we’ve ever had.”

Fine artwork will cover every inch of the gallery walls. Featured will be a work by Andre Gisson (New York-Connecticut, 1929-2003), best known for his landscapes, still lifes, portraits and figural paintings. Some sources cite Gisson (real name, Gittelson) as a French painter, but in fact he only claimed to be French to more closely align himself with the Impressionist movement, born in France.

Art collectors from Charleston will be treated to three original etchings by Alfred Heber Hutty (New York-South Carolina, 1877-1954), who actually worked for Tiffany Studios in Woodstock, N.Y., before moving to Charleston to be in a warmer climate. He was a leading figure in the Charleston Renaissance group of artists, active from 1915-1940. He was best known for street landscapes, genre paintings and etchings.

Other artists of note who will have works in the sale include Robert H. Nisbet, Stephen Voorhees, Maria Gianni, Leonid P. Baikov, Charles H. Hayden, M. Garms, C. Soer and Charles J. Burdick. There will also be works by Old Masters, portraits, a collection of Surrealism by Helmut Preiss, etchings by Louis Icart and Pierre Bonnard, paintings from the Hudson River School and more.

Bronzes will range from the 19th-century to Erte and feature a Bergman lamp. A nice group of Southern pottery will also be offered, to include Roseville, Rookwood, Weller and even a couple of pieces by Pablo Picasso.

Also to be sold will be samplers, quilts, coins, primitives, Biltmore Industries bellows, fine china, a collection of carved ivory, Black Americana, military items, music boxes, crystal, sconces, Art Deco items, a Roycroft signed bookcase with books, and more.

Previews will be held on Thursday and Friday, Feb. 25-26, from 1-6 p.m., and on Saturday, Feb. 27, from 9:30-11 a.m.

Phone and absentee bidding will also be accepted. All sales will be subject to a 10 percent buyer’s premium (in-house and absentee bids) and 15 percent (online and live phone bids).

For details call Hatch at (828) 696-3440. To learn more about the firm and the upcoming Feb. 26-27 sale, click on www.richardhatchauctions.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.

Click here to view Richard D. Hatch & Associates’ complete catalog.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Many fine Persian rugs, like this fine early prayer rug, will be sold Feb. 25-26. Image courtesy Richard D. Hatch.

Emerald and diamond necklace with earrings, total weight: 70 carats. Image courtesy Richard D. Hatch.

One of three etchings included in the sale by the renowned Charleston artist Alfred Heber Hutty (New York/South Carolina, 1877-1954). Image courtesy Richard D. Hatch.

Early Meissen figural group, The Four Seasons. Image courtesy Richard D. Hatch.

One of many rare vintage lamps in the sale is this example by Duffner & Kimberly. Image courtesy Richard D. Hatch.

Baterbys splits Feb. 20, Feb. 27 auctions between Delray Beach, Orlando

Original color lithograph by Marc Chagall (circa 1963), titled The Red Angel (13 in. by 9.5 in.).

ORLANDO, Fla. – More than 300 original and reprographic works of art by some of the greatest and most recognizable names in 20th-century fine art and contemporary art will be sold at a live and Internet auction scheduled for Feb. 27 by Baterbys Art Auction Gallery, beginning at 6 p.m. Eastern.

The auction will be conducted live at Baterbys’ spacious Pointe Orlando gallery, located at 9101 International Drive, Unit 1008, in Orlando, and on Feb. 20 at the West Palm Gallery, located at 13900 S. Jog Road in Delray Beach.

The entire auctioneers’ premium will be donated to UCP of Central Fla., an organization serving children with disabilities and developmental delays in the Orlando area.

Online bidding will be facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.

It is the first auction of the year for Baterbys, named Best Art Gallery in Orlando for 2009 by Orlando Style Magazine. Bidders will have the opportunity to win free works of art and other giveaways during spontaneous raffles throughout the auction. Everyone will receive a free print just for attending.

Between 1951 and 1960, Salvador Dali created 101 watercolor drawings to interpret The Divine Comedy, a poem by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321). Dali’s Divine Comedy series, circa 1960, will be sold Feb. 27 and comprises six signed, framed prints. All are in excellent condition. Each is an original wood engraving in color on Rives paper, about 10 inches by 7 inches, and signed in the block by Dali. Sold will be the Paternoster Suite (est. $700-$800 each) and the Aaliyah Suite (est. $3,000-$4,000 each).

Several pieces from various suites by Pablo Picasso (Spanish/French, 1881-1973) will also be sold. Picasso, probably best known for his Cubist paintings and printmaking, single-handedly revolutionized Western art. He was born in Spain and lived there until age 19, when he moved to Paris to study the Old Masters and Classical sculpture. Baterbys has featured his works in previous auctions.

Other names from 20th century fine art will include Joan Miro and Marc Chagall. Miro (Spanish, 1893-1893) was born in Barcelona and earned international acclaim for his abstract, curvilinear design paintings, collages and murals. Miro disdained conventional painting methods and once declared an “assassination of painting.” His work has been featured in past Baterbys sales, too.

Several pieces from suites by Chagall (Russian/French, 1887-1985) are sure to get paddles waving. The artist is best known for his village peasant theme paintings. Chagall was born Moishe Shagal and adopted the French spelling of his name when he became a member of the Ecole de Paris. He was a shrewd observer of the contemporary scene and had great sympathy for human suffering.

Original oil paintings and hand-embellished giclee prints by the supremely gifted artist Elena Bond will also be offered, as will works by Guillaume Azoulay (California, b. 1949) and Isaac Maimon (Israeli, b. 1951). Azoulay’s Le Lion, a 26- by 17-inch gicleee on canvas, 2009, no. 28 of 300, with the title and year in gold pen, lower left, is a wonderful display of cool colors, in excellent condition.

Isaac Maimon is renowned for his iconic paintings of Parisian café society. The work to be sold, La Vie Francais, is a surprising mix of colors, created with masterful lines and inspired strokes on a serigraph on paper, framed at 29 inches by 35 inches, and hand-signed in pencil, lower right, from an edition of just 125. The piece portrays the women of Paris as cultured, stylish, sensual and beautiful.

Peter Max’s work is a protean display of unabashed freedom. His paintings are visual time machines that transport viewers to the heydays of the Beatles, Woodstock and Jimi Hendrix. But some of his work resembles modern concepts, such as the mixed media on paper piece Liberty and Justice For All, which will be offered, along with six original mixed media interpretations of Lady Liberty.

Nicola Simbari (Italian, b. 1929) effortlessly launched his painting career while still in his 20s, with a one-man show in London. His brilliant, impressionistic style and vivid, dramatic interpretations of the Mediterranean have established Simbari as one of today’s most sought-after artists. Several of his works will be included in the Baterbys Feb. 27 sale. All will be serigraphs, executed around 1990.

Baterbys offers its clients something that is unique in the industry: a lifetime money-back guarantee of authenticity for each work of art it sells. This is important to buyers looking to build a collection of art, since provenance is everything.

Baterbys has over 25 years’ experience in the art world and auctioneering. The firm specializes in Internet and live auctions of world-class, authentic artwork, especially 20th-century masters, from Dali through Chagall, Picasso, Fini and numerous post-Impressionists. Baterbys’ main concentration is in rare graphic works.

For details call (866) 537-0265.

View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet during the sale at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

Click here to view Baterbys Auction Gallery’s complete catalog.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

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