The curved superstructure of this George IV Carlton House desk is fitted with two tiers of drawers and topped with a brass gallery. Dating to the turn of the 19th century, the desk has a $20,000-$25,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers & Appraisers. HOUSTON – Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers & Appraisers’ inaugural auction in a new location, 4901 Richmond Ave., in Houston’s Galleria area, will be May 6 beginning at 7 p.m. Central. The sale will showcase an array of paintings and prints, furniture, decorative arts, Oriental rugs and garden ornamentation from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. LiveAuctioneers will facilitate Internet live bidding.
Important furniture will include a George IV Carlton House desk, circa 1800, named for the residence of the Prince of Wales, who was crowned King George IV. It is a D-shape form, accented with satinwood inlay, topped with a brass gallery and supported on carved and turned tapering legs. A George III painted armchair, circa 1790, is also featured. The square back is embellished with painted swags and flowers. The caned seat is surrounded by a floral apron, supported on straight tapering legs.
Other furniture items of interest include a Rosewood boudoir grand piano manufactured by Broadwood & Sons, London, an exquisitely carved solid mahogany fireplace mantel and two 18th-century French marble-top commodes.
Nineteenth-century panels of stained and leaded glass are excellent examples of early religious iconography. Included in this collection are a 19th-century French painting and a large bronze figure of Christ, which originally hung in a French cathedral.
Collectors of rugs will find a good selection of handmade Persian, Indian and Turkish rugs.
The category of European porcelains is represented by Meissen, Royal Vienna, Volkstedt, Rosenthal and Limoges.
Two signed original color lithographs from Joan Miro’s 1975 L’Enfance D’Ubu series, and works by Agam, Chagall and Dali will capture the interest of the modern and contemporary collectors. For those collectors of a more traditional nature there are oils and engravings from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.
Life-size bronze lions and urns represent the area of garden ornamentation. Other items of interest are a 6-foot-tall carved jade ship and Gothic fireplace tools.
For details and to arrange for absentee and phone bids call 713-827-7835. For additional information visit www.mortonkuehnert.com
Carved garlands and ribbons and a painted scene depicting a couple in 18th-century dress adorn this mid-19th-century mahogany cabinet. It is 38 1/2 inches high, 63 inches wide and 27 inches deep. The estimate is $6,000-$8,000. Image courtesy of Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers & Appraisers. John Broadwood & Sons, London, manufactured this boudoir grand piano around 1880. In an African rosewood case that measures 84 inches long by 54 inches wide, the beautiful instrument has a $3,000-$4,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers & Appraisers. Bidding is expected to reach $4,000-$5,000 on this exquisitely carved solid mahogany fireplace mantel. It stands 72 inches high, 81 1/2 inches wide and 22 inches deep. Image courtesy of Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers & Appraisers. Exquisite 19th-century French church stained glass panels at the auction include this scene of a guardian angel and child. It has a $1,000-$1,500 estimate. Image courtesy of Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers & Appraisers.
"Moonrise over the Mojave" by Maynard Dixon (Californian, 1875-1946) exemplifies his mastery of the expanse and drama of the Southwest landscape (Estimate: $150,000 to $250,000).
OAKLAND, Calif. – Art and antiques spanning 400 years from four major estates and other important consignors will comprise what is anticipated to be Clars’ largest and most important sale in their more than 60-year history. Property valued at several million dollars has been consigned for their May 15-16, 2010 Fine Estates Auction, including important 17th and 18th century furnishings and art from both contemporary artists and Old Masters. Internet live bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com.
Clars will be representing the Lane & Jenkins Trust of San Francisco, the Frank Hinman Estate of San Francisco, the Dr. Sydney Widrow Estate of Hawaii and Carmel (Calif.); and the Dr. Lawrence Loftus Estate, also of Carmel. The contents of these four estates will offer collectors and buyers the opportunity to own the finest in antique furniture, fine and decorative art; and jewelry.
Anticipated to be the key lot in the furniture category is a circa-1650 Charles II small Oyster-style walnut inlaid chest from the Widrow Estate (estimate: $10,000 to $15,000) followed by a circa-1730 George II walnut veneered chest on chest. (estimate: $8,000 to $12,000)
Other important furniture offerings will include a J & JW Meeks “Hawkins” pattern armchair, studio furniture from George Nakashima and Wharton Esherick; and an outstanding Regency inlaid breakfast table.
Among the exceptional decorative works will be a stunning chandelier, possibly Baccarat (estimate: $4,000 to $6,000) and a circa 1900 Persian Kermanshah which measures 14 feet by 9 feet (estimate: $8,000 to $12,000). A monumental Dirk Van Erp Studios vase will be offered, as well as a 1799 George III celestial floor standing globe estimated at $5,000 to $7,000.
Of historical importance are a signed Abraham Lincoln presidential appointment (estimate $3,000 to $5,000) and a California gold quartz presentation walking stick presented to a Dr. M. Heinimann by a Chas. L. Wilhelm in San Francisco on Sept 29, 1862. This lot is estimated to bring $5,000 to $7,000.
The four estates to be represented at this sale bring to the market an exceptional offering of art, both contemporary and
A look at the contemporary art to be offered finds important works by Gordon Onslow Ford, Gerome Kamrowski and Enrico Donati. Coming from abstract expressionist Enrico Donati (New York, 1909-2008) will be his mixed media on canvas “Eclipse Annee 2000” estimated at $40,000 to $60,000. There will be several works from American Surrealist Gerome Kamrowski (1914-2004), among them a framed acrylic on canvas titled “Female Insect (Rose Scarab),” estimated at $50,000 to $70,000. Estimated to realize $80,000 to $120,000 will be “O Natura,” an unframed acrylic on canvas from Gordon Onslow Ford (Californian, 1912-2003). The contemporary category will also include original prints by Roberto Matta, Joan Miro and Pablo Picasso.
Coming from the Widrow Estate will be a framed silver gelatin photograph by Ansel Easton Adams (Californian, 1902-1984) titled “Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite,” estimated at $40,000 to $60,000. This particular photograph is also being featured in the traveling exhibition of his work – Ansel Adams, Early Work. The sale will also feature photographs by Jock Sturges, Edward Steichen, Weegee and other fine photographers.
The classic fine art category will include everything from Old Masters to the finest American and California painters. Among the numerous important works to be offered is a framed oil on canvas triptych by Karl Schmidt (Californian, 1890-1962), showing a stream running past a grove of trees with their leaves shifting to autumn colors (estimate: $15,000 to $20,000). “Sunday Boating,” a framed oil on canvas by James Weeks (Californian, 1922-1998), a scene of a group sailing on the San Francisco Bay, is executed in rich tones of blue (estimate: $20,000 to $30,000). “Moonrise over the Mojave” by Maynard Dixon (Californian, 1875-1946) exemplifies his mastery of Southwestern landscapes, capturing the expanse and drama of an evening desert (estimate: $150,000 to $250,000).
In addition, the beautiful framed watercolor, “Field of Bluebonnets” by Percy Gray (Californian, 1869-1952) will be offered (estimate: $20,000 to $30,000), as well as “Moonlight—Santa Fe, New Mexico” by Will Sparks (Californian, 1862-1937), showing several small adobe homes under a starry sky (estimate: $10,000 to $15,000).
Another of the many highlights of the classic art category will be a framed porcelain plaque, “The Expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael” by Adriaen ven der Werff (Dutch, 1659-1722), marked Royal Vienna, as well as “Arc de Triomphe” by Antoine Blanchard (French, 1910-1988) estimated at $7,000 to $9,000.
Asian antiques and art always perform well at Clars, and this sale will feature a set of four ink and paper hanging scrolls of an abstract landscape attributed to Liu Kuo-sung/Lui Guosong (Chinese, b. 1932). This work is estimated to bring $10,000 to $15,000.
Clars sales traditionally conclude with fine jewelry. This sale will be over the top with the premier lot being a diamond ring mounted in platinum, center set with one round brilliant cut diamond weighing 9 carats (GIA stated M color and SI1 clarity) surrounded by 52 round diamonds weighing 1.10 carats. (estimate $90,000 to $120,000)
Clars Auction Gallery’s May Fine Art and Antiques Auction will be held Saturday and Sunday, May 15-16, 2010. Approximately 2,000 lots in total will be offered over the course of this two-day event.
For additional information on any lot in the auction, call tollfree: 888-339-7600 or email info@clars.com.
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
Coming from abstract expressionist Enrico Donati (New York, 1909-2008) will be this mixed media on canvas "Eclipse Annee 2000" estimated to bring $40,000 to $60,000. This framed acrylic on canvas American Surrealist Gerome Kamrowski (1914-2004) entitled "Female Insect (Rose Scarab)," is estimated at $50,000 to $70,000. Estimated to realize $80,000 to $120,000, will be "O Natura," an unframed acrylic on canvas from Gordon Onslow Ford (Californian, 1912-2003). This framed silver gelatin photograph by Ansel Easton Adams (California, 1902-1984) entitled "Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite is expected to earn $50,000 to $70,000.
GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) – Officials with the C.M. Russell Museum say an art auction last month raised $605,000 for the museum. Internet live bidding was provided by LiveAuctioneers.com.
Executive Director Darrell Beauchamp says he couldn’t be happier. The amount is five times the donation the museum received after the 2009 Ad Club auction. The museum received $425,000 in 2008.
After last year’s smaller $121,000 donation, the museum decided to hold its own fundraiser. The Ad Club also held its art auction on the same weekend.
The museum auction sold $1.5 million in art while another auction, the March in Montana, sold $1.47 million. The Ad Club’s sales were $722,000, about half of its 2009 sales.
Ad Club Executive Director Sara Becker says she believes the club made money. The museum and the Ad Club have said they plan to hold separate auctions again in 2011.
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Information from: Great Falls Tribune, http://www.greatfallstribune.com
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Andy Thomas oil on canvas titled Stampede! Stampede!, 36 inches by 48 inches, sold for $88,000 inclusive of 10% buyer’s premium in the March 20, 2010 auction benefiting the C.M. Russell Museum. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com Archive.
The Gates, as seen from the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public domain image taken Feb. 18, 2007. NEW YORK (AP) _ Members of the art world gathered Monday to remember “The Gates” co-creator Jeanne-Claude as a passionate, uncompromising creative force who fought tirelessly to bring giant art projects to fruition with her husband Christo.
More than 5 million people saw “The Gates,” which festooned 23 miles (37 kilometers) of Central Park’s footpaths with thousands of saffron drapes. It was “a massive celebration of life, color and the creative spirit,” New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told those attending the memorial at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
“I’ve had the honor of meeting many artists in my life, but Jeanne-Claude was perhaps the most passionate, the most meticulous and the most impervious to the word ‘no,”’ Bloomberg said to the crowd. “She was the kind of unique and vibrant artist who comes around only once in a lifetime.”
“The Gates” and other large-scale “wrapping” projects around the globe were the product of Jeanne-Claude’s marriage and partnership with Christo. They met in Paris in 1958 and had collaborated for 51 years on temporary public arts projects when Jeanne-Claude died in November at age 74.
“It was an inseparable partnership of art and love,” said John Kaldor, who coordinated their piece “The Wrapped Coast” in Australia. “Born on the same day, two people as one. They built on each other’s success and strengths.”
Their works were in large part due to Jeanne-Claude’s remarkable organizational acuity, said architecture critic Paul Goldberger, who spoke of the endless bureaucratic battles the couple were required to take on to get approval for their projects. “The Gates” was 26 years in the making.
“She knew that every project was a marathon, and she was prepared to run the full course, however long it took,” Goldberger said. “She focused on the tiny details, and in so doing, she freed all the rest of us to celebrate the most extravagant, glorious gestures.”
All the couple’s projects required mammoth manpower and miles of fabric and other materials. At the time of Jeanne-Claude’s death, Christo vowed to continue their current work “Over The River, Project for the Arkansas River, State of Colorado” and “The Mastaba,” a project in the United Arab Emirates. On Monday, he was among those at his partner’s memorial.
A man who answered a phone call to a number for Christo said the artist wasn’t available to comment on the memorial.
The pair said they never accepted any sponsorship and financed all their temporary installations through the projects themselves. They sold their preparatory drawings, collages, scale models and original lithographs.
“Christo and Jeanne-Claude have shown us what happens, what we can achieve, when we let go of the constraints that bind us and embrace our very best ideas,” said Elizabeth Broun, Smithsonian American Art Museum director. “They show us what it means to live completely freely, in debt to no patron, no sponsor, no ideology and really recognizing no authority in our lives beyond our own moral compass and personal vision.”
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Associated Press Writer Ula Ilnytzky contributed to this report.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
