LOS ANGELES (AP) – A West Hollywood art and antiques dealer who allegedly sold a fake Picasso for $2 million has agreed to plead guilty to federal fraud charges.
In a plea agreement filed Tuesday in Los Angeles federal court, 70-year-old Tatiana Khan agreed to plead guilty to making false statements to the FBI and witness tampering. Khan is expected to enter her pleas next month.
Prosecutors say Khan admitted that she paid an artist $1,000 to duplicate a 1902 Picasso called The Woman in the Blue Hat. Khan then sold the fake Picasso as an original for $2 million.
The plea deal calls for her to spend no more than 21 months in prison. Without it, she could be looking at 25 years in prison.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Photo courtesy of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Historical Archives, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
MORRISTOWN, N.J. – On Friday, May 21, Millea Bros. will kick off their annual spring auction at the Morristown Armory in Morristown, N.J., with Internet live bidding provided by LiveAuctioneers.com. The centerpiece of the three-day auction, whose second and third sessions are slated for May 22 and 23, is a life-size Thai pavilion and village from the Estate of Doris Duke. Proceeds will benefit the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation grant-making programs.
Dubbed the “100 Estates Auction,” the event will include more than 1,500 lots from Millea’s expansive, rarely seen archives representing over six years’ accumulation of estate goods from important New York family collections. These include unidentified works of art and abandoned lots ranging from U.S. patent models and antique maps to Asian works of art and Roman antiquities. The auction will commence with two extraordinary lots from the Estate of Doris Duke, which will be offered promptly at 10 a.m. Eastern Time.
The first of the two lots is the Thai pavilion that Doris Duke commissioned in 1964 and which is a replica of the Aphorn Phimok Pavilion at the Royal Palace in Bangkok, Thailand. When fully constructed, the pavilion is 75 feet high and 46 feet long. From foundation to roof, the wood is carved teak decorated with gold, quartz, and vermilion paint.
There are only five such known replicas in the world. Doris Duke’s pavilion was built in Bangkok by Thai artisans, then disassembled and shipped to the United States. The pavilion is ideal for inclusion in a botanical setting or any outdoor venue with the breadth to showcase this bold architectural statement piece.
The other notable lot, which is entered in the sale as lot No. 2, consists of six original Thai houses that Doris Duke purchased in 1962. These houses were most likely built in the early 20th century, and are comprised of carved teak walls. These carved walls could be used to re-create the houses, or they would make magnificent architectural elements in and of themselves.
Both the pavilion and Thai houses were part of Doris Duke’s Southeast Asian Art Collection, for which Ms. Duke began acquiring objects in 1961. Doris Duke’s intent was to recreate a Thai village that evoked the traditional life and culture of Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand and Burma, as it was in the mid- to late-19th century, with decorative and artistic works along with functional objects. In addition to the buildings there was to be landscaping with lakes, canals, and bridges. Unable to identify and acquire the ideal plot on which to execute her plan, Doris Duke shipped the buildings and works of art to her residence in Hillsborough, N.J., in 1972.
Doris Duke was the only child of James Buchanan Duke, a founder of the American Tobacco Company and Duke Energy Company, and a benefactor of Duke University in his native North Carolina. Throughout her life Doris Duke enthusiastically pursued her varied interests. Fascinated by different cultures, she gathered countless treasures on her worldwide excursions and acquired notable collections of Islamic and Southeast Asian art.
Auction Details:
Auctions and previews will be held at the Morristown Armory, 430 Western Avenue, Morristown, New Jersey. Property will be available to preview on Thursday, May 20 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, May 21-23 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. For additional information, call Millea Bros. at 973-377-1500.
Internet live bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com.
About the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation:
The mission of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (www.ddcf.org) is to improve the quality of people’s lives through grants supporting the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research and the prevention of child abuse, and through preservation of the cultural and environmental legacy of Doris Duke’s properties.
Established in 1996, the foundation supports four national grant-making programs. It also supports three properties that were owned by Doris Duke in Hillsborough, N.J.; Honolulu, and Newport, Rhode Island. The foundation is headquartered in New York and is governed by a board of 11 Trustees.
About Doris Duke’s Southeast Asian Art Collection:
Over the course of several years in the early to mid-1960s, Doris Duke purchased more than 2,000 Southeast Asian art objects, artifacts, and decorative and smaller artworks in many media, including stone, bronze, paintings and ceramics. These objects made her collection one of the world’s most important Southeast Asian art collections in the West. Hundreds of the decorative pieces have been donated to museums in the United States and Britain to be enjoyed by the public in support of Doris Duke’s wishes.
Photo courtesy of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Historical Archives, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Photo courtesy of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Historical Archives, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Photo courtesy of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Historical Archives, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
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.
Cougar (Plate XCVII), Works of John James Audubon, Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America. Published: New York 1845-48. Hand-colored lithograph measuring 27 3/4 inches by 21 1/2 inches. Image appears courtesy of Arader Galleries, www.aradergalleries.com.
HENDERSON, Ky. (AP) – Audubon Museum Curator Alan Gehret isn’t kidding when he says the events leading to the acquisition of the museum’s latest treasure “make a heck of a story.”
That Audubon artifact – the large slab of fine-grained limestone used in the lithographic printing of “The Cougar” for the wildlife artist’s “Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America” – was ceremoniously unveiled Sunday during the museum’s celebration of Audubon’s 225th birthday.
Alongside it stood a framed and hand-colored print of “The Cougar”, also a recent acquisition for the museum that turns 72 in July.
Both pieces were purchased for the facility by the Friends of Audubon citizen support group that has, over the years, spent many thousands of dollars for Audubon artifacts for the museum.
The fact that both the lithographic stone and framed print of a mother cougar with her young were bought for less than $30,000 is considered quite a coup.
On Monday, Audubon’s actual birthday, Gehret said he believes the stone’s actual worth is more than $200,000.
It is one of only three of the Quadrupeds stones known to exist. The other two have been in the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History for some 40 years.
The stone is cracked and has a bottom portion chipped, but Gehret said he is investigating the possibility of restoration.
“This is a great find. It’s such a unique addition to our collection,” Gehret said of the lithographic stone used by lithographer J.T. Bowen of Philadelphia in the 1845-48 printing of the Quadrupeds volumes whose mammals were drawn by John James Audubon and his sons John Woodhouse Audubon and Victor Gifford Audubon.
The Audubon Museum collection is, the curator said, the most comprehensive assembly of John James Audubon’s works, writings and mementos in the world.
Gehret’s “heck of a story” began, in a sense, around the turn of the 20th Century when the Crocker lithography company in Cincinnati received a shipment of limestone lithographic slabs from a defunct company in New York.
Move ahead to about 1925, when a Crocker employee entered a company storage area in search of slate, which was used to thicken the limestone slabs for the heavy pressure of the printing process.
Using a chisel, the employee pried slate from two slabs, and uncovered two images used in the Quadrupeds printing the cougar and the white wolf.
Those slabs were displayed in the company’s front office until they were donated to the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History in the 1960s. Crocker had changed hands and become known as the Strobridge company.
But a third lithography stone had been uncovered, and it, too, bore the image of the mother cougar and her young. It was given to an employee of the printing company at about the midpoint of the last century and she put it in her Cincinnati art studio.
When she married a California man, she began selling off items and the stone wound up at a Cincinnati auction house last summer.
It was purchased by phone by a Virginia dealer in Audubon art, and that individual contacted Gehret on a Friday last July to determine if the museum here might want to buy it.
On Monday, however, the dealer told Gehret he had come to believe the piece was a fake. The dealer had learned of the Cougar lithographic stone in the museum in Cincinnati, and feared, Gehret said, that this one was a copy.
Thus began a trek that took the local curator to Cincinnati to confer with famed artist DeVere Burt, who formerly headed the Cincinnati museum.
Burt, in turn, made numerous inquiries and as a result, Gehret said, it appears the piece here likely is the original lithographic limestone that was used for the printing of “The Cougar.”
Because of the possibility of a cracked stone, he said, lithographers preserved images to be used in the event of a damaged stone.
The Friends of Audubon purchased the stone from the auction house, as the Virginia dealer had relinquished his claim. The dealer, however, later sold the framed Cougar print to the museum.
Gehret said he will be enormously surprised if additional lithographic stones from the Quadrupeds printing emerge.
Most of them, he believes, had their surfaces “ground down” in order to be reused for different images.
This, the curator said, is one more special piece that helps the museum “better tell the story of Audubon, the American “
He noted that Audubon’s defining work, the life-sized, four-volume “Birds of America,” captured most of the attention during the artist’s lifetime and now as well.
“We still have a lot of museum visitors who don’t know that Audubon painted mammals as well as birds.”
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Information from: The Gleaner, http://www.thegleaner.com/
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Bearing an ‘Ingrid’ mark, this 1920s Czechoslovakian perfume bottle is in ruby red crystal, with opaque ivory crystal openwork stopper, gilt metal filigree mount with jewels and Bakelite roses. It is 7 5/8 inches tall and has a $10,000-$12,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Perfume Bottles Auction.
RESTON, Va. – Collectors who cannot attend the 22nd annual convention of the International Perfume Bottle Association can still enjoy the sweet smell of success by participating in the convention auction April 30 beginning at 5 p.m. LiveAuctioneers will facilitate Internet live bidding.
“I’ve tried to gather something for every taste and every pocketbook,” said Ken Leach, a renowned specialist who manages the annual auction held in conjunction with the IPBA national conventions. “We’ve have people who have been collecting for 30 to 40 years and we have those who are just starting to collect. I don’t want those people sitting there and feeling like there’s nothing they can buy.”
Leach said that prices on the 359 lots will range from $25 to $25,000.
He added that the auction has a good representation of three major collector categories: Czech bottles; commercial bottles, which include Rene Lalique and Baccarat; and pre-1900 scent bottles.
This year’s auction will offer a spectacular array of bottles and vanity items spanning 200 years of artistic production, with an emphasis on such 20th-century glassmakers as Rene Lalique and Baccarat, and perfumers such as Rosine, Gabilla, Hudnut, Ybry and Schiaparelli.
Items to be auctioned include property from the estates of a longtime Baccarat collector, a popular vaudeville and radio actress, and from the exotic and provocative 1914 dancer known internationally as Verona.
Nicholas Dawes, who is regularly featured on Antiques Roadshow, will return as the auctioneer.
The IPBA convention will be conducted held April 29-May 2 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Reston, near Washington, D.C.
An auction preview will be held there Friday from 1 p.m. until the start of the auction.
Paul Evans (American, 1931-1987) 10-piece sculpted bronze dining suite, made in 1970 featuring Stalagmite glass-top dining table, set of eight dining chairs with purple micro-suede seats and backrest; sideboard with two slate tablets and bi-fold doors concealing interior shelves. Signed "PE 70." Offered as three lots, total selling price: $59,225. Austin Auction image.
AUSTIN, Texas – Austin Auction Gallery chalked up a solid $260,000 total with its April 18, 2010 Important Spring Estates Auction, led by a hotly pursued selection of Mid-century dining room furniture designed by Paul Evans (American, 1931-1987).
The 10-piece sculpted-bronze dining suite consisted of a large ‘Stalagmite’ glass-top table, eight chairs upholstered in purple micro-suede, and a long, sculpted-bronze server set with two slate slabs. The consignor had purchased the suite in 1970, from the Chicago showroom of Directional Furniture, for whom Evans designed.
The Evans set was offered in three lots with a total estimate of $17,000-$23,000, but bidders knew an opportunity when they saw one and pushed the aggregate price to $59,225. The table made $10,925, while the coveted complete set of chairs soared to $29,900. Completing the ensemble, the sideboard closed at $18,400. All prices quoted in this report are inclusive of 15% buyer’s premium.
“We had nine or ten phone bidders, from all over the country, who were interested in the Paul Evans set,” said Austin Auction associate Chris Featherston, “but amazingly, it all went to a buyer from our own hometown here in Texas. One of the phone bidders, who was from New York, was surprised that he had been outbid by someone from Austin.”
An 18th-century, Louis XV-style marble-top carved console from the same estate that produced the Paul Evans furniture also met with success in the sale. Heavy phone participation boosted its closing price to $8,625.
The fine-art section of the sale included a special collection of eight artworks by John Strevens (British, 1902-1990). Strevens exhibited regularly at the British Royal Academy, Royal Society of British Arts, the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, and the Paris Salon.
“The owner of the paintings had her portrait painted by Strevens and bought additional works by the artist,” Featherston explained. “The eight paintings sold for a total of $26,996, with individual prices ranging from $1,150 to $5,463.”
A category that garnered considerable interest was Asian art. “Since we have been online with our sales, we have gained quite a few buyers out of China,” said Featherston. “Last year many of those buyers were conspicuously absent from our sales. This year the Chinese buyers were back in force, especially for the red coral pieces in the sale.”
Featherston explained that because of over-harvesting and polluted ocean waters, raw red coral has become a scarce commodity. “Even 20th-century pieces like some that we auctioned attracted a lot of attention,” he said.
A group of four small red coral snuff bottles representing a woman, an urn with a relief image of a deer, and two eggplant forms with beetles in relief sold for $1,725 (estimate $200-$400); while a diminutive (4¼-inch-tall) red coral figure on an elephant made $1,265 (estimate $300-$500). Yet another example of Asian art that surpassed estimate was the 2½-inch-tall hornbill snuff bottle with dipper that garnered $1,725 against expectations of $200-$400.
Fashionistas swarmed to bid on the 13 lots of designer clothing by such notable names as Halston, Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass and Richilene New York. In total, the wardrobe of classics earned $7,619.
Featherston said he was disappointed that the sale’s star lot – an opal, diamond and pearl necklace that reputedly belonged to America’s first interior designer, Elsie de Wolfe – did not find a new owner. “The necklace didn’t sell, but it made a lot of people aware of us and the level of quality we offer in our sales,” said Featherston.
Austin Auction Gallery will hold its next cataloged Estates Auction on May 22-23, with Internet live bidding through LiveAuctioneers.com. For additional information, call 512-258-5479 or e-mail info@austinauction.com.
A selection of couture ensembles and evening gowns was offered, including designs by Halston, Oscar De La Renta, Richilene and others. In all, the clothing made $7,619. Austin Auction image. Evening Party, one of 11 artworks by John Strevens (British, 1902-1990) sold by Austin Auction Gallery on April 18. Signed and titled, measuring 40 inches by 50 inches (sight), it hammered $5,463. Austin Auction image. A Chinese carved red coral figure of a young beauty seated atop an elephant, 4¼ inches inclusive of stand, likely 19th century, realized $1,265. Austin Auction image. Carved in the Rococo taste with trails of flowering vines, an 18th-century, Louis XV marble-top console table features an opulent pierced and carved base. It sold for $8,625 against an estimate of $3,000-$5,000. Austin Auction image.
A former owner added Corinthian columns to the Holly Grove mansion in the early 1900s. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – Built in 1815 by a salt industry pioneer, the Holly Grove mansion has been going through a slow-moving but comprehensive multi-million dollar makeover.
The handsome brick structure has stood vacant since 2004 when the Bureau of Senior Services moved its offices to Charleston Town Center.
In 2005, the state Department of Administration added Holly Grove to its list of capital improvement projects and committed $3.5 million to interior and exterior renovations.
Now, roughly five years later, Holly Grove is starting to show signs of improvement.
Exterior restoration began in August and is wrapping up, said Department of Administration spokeswoman Diane Holley-Brown.
Alleghany Restoration from Morgantown is the contractor for the work, which included painting and repairs to masonry, wood, gutters, downspouts, and window frames. The exterior phase cost $364,776.
A $2 million portion of the funding has been set aside for evaluating and documenting the interior. Holley-Brown said this process has taken longer than expected and is crucial to mapping a design.
“Through the evaluation and documentation work, the original paint colors, finishes and even wallpaper were identified,” Holley-Brown said. “The mansion was renovated in 1905, so it required us to look deeper to uncover the history of this mansion from a structural aspect.”
Named for holly trees that surrounded it, the mansion was built next to the lot that has been occupied by the Governor’s Mansion since 1925.
Holly Grove contains 5,675 square feet of floor space. It was built by Daniel Ruffner of the pioneering family that moved into the Kanawha Valley from the Shenandoah Valley.
The Ruffners were a force in developing a booming salt industry and they welcomed many distinguished guests into their magnificent 15-bedroom home. Among them were Daniel Boone, Henry Clay, Sam Houston, John Audubon and President Andrew Jackson.
A fire destroyed much of the interior in 1832, but the walls were not damaged.
The house stayed in the Ruffner family through the 1860s, when it fell into disrepair. It changed ownership several times until 1902 when James Nash purchased it.
Nash made several modifications, which gave Holly Grove the look it has today. He added back porches and the white Corinthian columns.
In 1974, Holly Grove was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A year later, the state bought it.
Holley-Brown said plans for interior restoration are about 80 percent complete. The New York-based architectural firm of Swanke, Hayden and Connell is handling the job.
Once the design is finished, the state will invite contractors to bid on construction work.
Holley-Brown said it’s too early to say when that contract will be awarded.
It still isn’t known how the restored structure will be used. Several ideas have been considered, including transforming the mansion into a multipurpose facility that would contain meeting and office space as well as a welcome center.
“As the project evolves, the state will make its final decision,” Holley-Brown said.
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Information from: Charleston Daily Mail,
http://www.dailymail.com
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