Lot 238: jade, diamond, 18K while gold pendant enhancer. Estimate: $15,000-$25,000. Image courtesy of Michaan's Auctions.

Exceptional natural jade jewelry toast of Michaan’s auction Feb. 6

Lot 238: jade, diamond, 18K while gold pendant enhancer. Estimate: $15,000-$25,000. Image courtesy of Michaan's Auctions.

Lot 238: jade, diamond, 18K while gold pendant enhancer. Estimate: $15,000-$25,000. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

ALAMEDA, Calif. – Michaan’s Auctions will present its Feb. 6 sale in celebration of the Lunar Chinese New Year with more than 800 lots of fine art and furniture, jewelry, decorative art, Ethnographic art, coins and Asian works of art.

LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding for the 768-lot auction, which begins at 10 a.m. Pacific.

Highlighting the jewelry and timepieces portion are exceptional examples of jade. The marquee lots are a gorgeous, natural jade pendant enhancer encrusted with over 200 diamonds and a natural jade pendant of a serene Quan Yin, the Buddhist goddess of mercy. These pieces as well as a varied selection of watches, gemstones, Mexican sterling silver and a large selection of costume jewelry will go to the highest bidder.

The Asian art portion will offer Chinese, Japanese and Southeast Asian works of art. Chinese highlights include jade and ivory carvings, porcelain, textiles, scholar’s objects, paintings and calligraphy.

Furniture and decorative arts will offer groupings of American and European sterling flatware and hollowware including a fine Art Nouveau Tiffany tea service and a circa 1791 Georgian Henry Chawner ivory mounted hot water pot, a collection of English and French earthenware, including a rare Wedgwood Fairyland Lustre bowl by Daisy Makeig Jones and a blue-green Moorcroft Tube lined vase, art glass, enameled boxes, a collection of decorative portrait miniatures and English and French furniture.

French highlights include a lovely pair of Louis XV-style giltwood Aubusson tapestries and a striking provincial bonnetiere. English star pieces include a George II side table with bal-and-claw feet, a Regency mahogany secretary in the Hepplewaite style, a Regency drop-leaf sofa table and a gout stool.

The fine art section is rich in graphics, drawings, lithographs, etching and other works on paper. Featured are a 7-foot-high woodcut by Leonard Baskin and two lithographs by George Tooker, both major American artists. Among the paintings is an oil on canvas by the well-known early California artist William Keith.

Also on Feb. 6 Michaan’s is offering a collection of Native American Indian art, including some very fine early painted pottery bowls and vases from the Pueblo Indians of the Southwest.

For details visit the website www.michaans.com or phone 510-740-0220.

 

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.


ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE


John Atencio diamond, 14K yellow gold, sterling silver pendant necklace. Estimate: $600-$900. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

John Atencio diamond, 14K yellow gold, sterling silver pendant necklace. Estimate: $600-$900. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

Set of four porcelain plaques. Estimate: $800-1,200. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

Set of four porcelain plaques. Estimate: $800-1,200. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

Tiffany & Co. sterling four-piece tea service, 1907. Estimate: $5,000-$7,000. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

Tiffany & Co. sterling four-piece tea service, 1907. Estimate: $5,000-$7,000. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

Wedgwood Fairyland Luster bowl, Daisy Makeig Jones, 1920s. Estimate: $3,000-$4,000. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

Wedgwood Fairyland Luster bowl, Daisy Makeig Jones, 1920s. Estimate: $3,000-$4,000. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

George Tooker (American b. 1920), ‘The Voice,’ lithograph, 1977. Estimate: $1,500-$2,000. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

George Tooker (American b. 1920), ‘The Voice,’ lithograph, 1977. Estimate: $1,500-$2,000. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

The hammer price for William Birch’s ‘The City of Philadelphia in the State of Pennsylvania North American as it appeared in the year 1800’ hit $100,000. With premium the rare volume came to $118,500. Image courtesy of Pook & Pook Inc.

Volume of Philadelphia engravings rockets to $118,500 at Pook & Pook

The hammer price for William Birch’s ‘The City of Philadelphia in the State of Pennsylvania North American as it appeared in the year 1800’ hit $100,000. With premium the rare volume came to $118,500. Image courtesy of Pook & Pook Inc.

The hammer price for William Birch’s ‘The City of Philadelphia in the State of Pennsylvania North American as it appeared in the year 1800’ hit $100,000. With premium the rare volume came to $118,500. Image courtesy of Pook & Pook Inc.

DOWNINGTOWN, Pa. – A volume of early views of Philadelphia sold for a record $118,500 at Pook & Pook Inc.’s winter catalog auction held Jan. 14-15.

William Birch’s The City of Philadelphia in the State of Pennsylvania North American as it appeared in the year 1800, a book of 28 plates is an extremely rare item indeed. This first edition, published in 1800, creates a visual record of Philadelphia, depicting homes and public buildings. William Russel Birch (1755-1834) was the first person to successfully publish engraved view books in the United States. Among the 156 original subscribers to the work were Gilbert Stuart and Thomas Jefferson. There are only a few copies of this book extant, with few known still in private hands. The phones were full and the bidding was active establishing a record for this volume, which was estimated at $70,000-$90,000.

The seats at Pook & Pook’s gallery were filled and there was standing room only both sessions. Of the 773 lots, only 16 lots failed to sell. The sales totaled over the high estimate of $1.78 million. The auction encompassed a myriad of objects including fine art, silver, American and Continental furniture, carpets, textiles, historical Staffordshire and decorative accessories.

On Friday night the sale began with a selection of English and Continental furniture and accessories primarily from the estate of Margaret M. Peters of Nazareth, Pa. Highlights included an English mahogany and silver mounted tea caddy bearing the touch of Pierre Gillios for $7,110, a pair of Dutch marquetry chairs for $1,422, a Georgian mahogany and walnut veneer looking glass for $2,370 and an impressive ormolu mounted porcelain three-piece garniture set brought $16,590.

From a Vergennes, Vt., collection and the estate of Margaret Peters came a collection of American and European silver. An important group of English pieces by Hester Bateman included a dome lidded tankard for $5,589, a teapot and stand for $3,081, a tea caddy with elaborate overall engraved floral and swag decoration for $5,451, a bread basket with reticulated border for $3,402, a coffeepot for $4,503 and a master salt for $2,187. Other pieces included a pair of Georgian silver candlesticks by William Café for $7,110, a coin silver coffeepot by Bailey & Kitchen for $1,125, an English coffeepot by John Kentenber for $1,458 and a tea caddy by Peter and Ann Bateman for $1,303.

A rare United States $10 gold coin dated 1796 was offered to a full bank of phones together with bidders in the sales room and on the Internet. This stunning coin with draped bust, small eagle, reeded edge and 16 stars brought $42,660.

The Friday night session also featured a selection of fine art. A very attractive pair of oil on canvas landscapes by Charles Sullivan soared to four times the high estimate to reach $16,590. Another fine New England still life painting by Cullen Yates again went well over the high estimate to bring $13,035. A watercolor by Arthur Burdett Frost did very well at $3,318, a still life with apples by Thomas Henry Hope at $5,688 and an oil on canvas New York landscape brought $4,503.

Many of the pieces of New England and New York furniture arrived from the Vergennes, Vt., collection and one exceptional piece from the Titus Geesey collection. From the Mancius family of Boston, this rare William and Mary maple chair with a scroll and foliate carved crest and branded “W. Mancius” on the rear rail had a history of the descent of this chair from Wilhelmus Mancius of Ulster County, N.Y., to Robert Rose Johnson accompanying the lot. With multiple buyers interested, it sold over the high estimate to $77,025. A Massachusetts Chippendale figured birch chest of drawers, circa 1777, with a serpentine front top and ball and claw feet was bid to $16,590. A New England Queen Anne tiger maple tall chest with a fan carved drawer and period brasses brought $8,295. Other New England furniture included a painted pine bench table for $6,517, a Queen Anne walnut dressing table for $7,702 and a Massachusetts Federal mahogany bed went for $7,110.

A Pennsylvania or Maryland Chippendale walnut dining chair, circa 1770, was an outstanding piece with a serpentine crest with central cabochon flanked by tassels, pierced acanthus carved splat, cabriole legs and ball and claw feet. An identical side chair is illustrated in Downs American Furniture Queen Anne and Chippendale, fig. 123. It garnered $26,070. Several Pennsylvania tall-case clocks were offered on both sale days. These included a Northampton County Chippendale cherry clock by Christian Bixler of Easton, which did well at $11,257; a Queen Anne cherry musical clock inscribed “Tho. Woods London The Happy Clown: A Minuett,” $8,887; and a Federal clock with an eight-day works by Jacob Guthart of Lebanon at $3,792. A fine Pennsylvania Queen Anne walnut tall chest of drawers, circa 1760, having four arched upper drawers over five short drawers and four long drawers was bid to $37,920. Three painted dower chests were offered, one being a Lehigh County example with cloverleaf panels with stylized flowers on a blue/green ground, which brought well over the high estimate at $17,775. Other Pennsylvania furniture highlights included a diminutive walnut chest of drawers for $8,887, a Philadelphia Chippendale dining chair with cabochon crest for $18,960, a Delaware Valley dressing table for $10,072 and Berks County dower chest with panels of potted tulips for $8,887.

From two New Jersey collections and the estate of Margaret Peters, come many pieces of historical blue Staffordshire porcelain. Platters included “Alms House, New York,” “Pennsylvania Hospital,” “The Capital Washington,” “Troy from Mt. Ida,” “Hoboken, New Jersey,” and a group of various pieces depicting “Lafayette at Franklin’s Tomb” composed of coffeepots, teapots, creamers, cups and saucers, pitcher and basin, etc. Prices ranges from $118 to $7,110 for a fruit bowl “The Capital Washington.” Other pottery and porcelains included an unusual four-color purple, yellow, green and black rainbow spatter teapot with did well at $7,702, a Delft plate dated 1728 for $3,081 and one dated 1734 for $2,844.

A wide range of specialty items were incorporated into the sale. An Allentown, Pa., collection offered a group of sailor’s ivory pieces including jagging wheels, rolling pins, whimseys, busks, etc. The highlights included a bone and ivory cane with fist grip for $4,740, a scrimshaw decorated busk inscribed John Coggeshall for $4,029, a scrimshaw whale tooth dated 1833 for $4,266 and an ivory pierced jagging wheel for $9,480. An elaborate Chinese carved and painted ivory and wood model of a junk labled “Model of the Canton River-Boats, The Property of A.E. Graves New-Ross” attracted the attention of the audience and it soared to $21,870. A group of seven Chinese painted porcelain plaques brought $3,645. A massive Pennsylvania carved mahogany spread winged eagle, circa 1870, crossed the block on Saturday. The eagle had been gifted to the Gettysburg YWCA by Annie and Irene Danner in 1926. It carried an estimate of $5,000-$10,000 but brought a rousing $59,250. An unusual vibrant Lancaster County fraktur birth record with elaborate decoration with fish with spotted faces and sharp teeth fetched $10,665.

For details please contact Pook & Pook Inc., 610-269-4040, info@pookandpook.com or visit their website pookandpook.com.

 

Click here to view the fully illustrated catalog for this sale, complete with prices realized.


ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE


Nineteenth-century ormolu-mounted porcelain three-piece garniture set, $16,590. Image courtesy of Pook & Pook Inc.

Nineteenth-century ormolu-mounted porcelain three-piece garniture set, $16,590. Image courtesy of Pook & Pook Inc.

Cullen Yates (American, 1866-1945), oil on canvas still life, signed lower left, 33 inches  x 28 inches, $13,055. Image courtesy of Pook & Pook Inc.

Cullen Yates (American, 1866-1945), oil on canvas still life, signed lower left, 33 inches x 28 inches, $13,055. Image courtesy of Pook & Pook Inc.

Rose medallion Chinese export punch bowl, 19th century, 6 1/2 inches high x 16 inches diameter, $2,916. Image courtesy of Pook & Pook Inc

Rose medallion Chinese export punch bowl, 19th century, 6 1/2 inches high x 16 inches diameter, $2,916. Image courtesy of Pook & Pook Inc

Pennsylvania carved mahogany spread winged eagle, circa 1870, finely detailed with its talons clasping a cannon, retaining its original varnished surface, 72 inches, $59,250. Image courtesy of Pook & Pook Inc.

Pennsylvania carved mahogany spread winged eagle, circa 1870, finely detailed with its talons clasping a cannon, retaining its original varnished surface, 72 inches, $59,250. Image courtesy of Pook & Pook Inc.

Georgian silver tea caddy 1783-4, bearing the touch of Hester Bateman with elaborate overall engraved floral and swag decoration, 5 1/4 inches high, 5 inches wide, $5,451. Image courtesy of Pook & Pook Inc.

Georgian silver tea caddy 1783-4, bearing the touch of Hester Bateman with elaborate overall engraved floral and swag decoration, 5 1/4 inches high, 5 inches wide, $5,451. Image courtesy of Pook & Pook Inc.

Attributed to Vatican artist, Cesare Roccheggiani, this glass micromosaic depicting the Roman Forum was sold for $379,500 inclusive of 15% buyer's premium at Myers Auction Gallery's Jan. 30 sale.

Roman micromosaic tops $379K at Myers’ Jan. 30 auction

Attributed to Vatican artist, Cesare Roccheggiani, this glass micromosaic depicting the Roman Forum was sold for $379,500 inclusive of 15% buyer's premium at Myers Auction Gallery's Jan. 30 sale.

Attributed to Vatican artist, Cesare Roccheggiani, this glass micromosaic depicting the Roman Forum was sold for $379,500 inclusive of 15% buyer’s premium at Myers Auction Gallery’s Jan. 30 sale.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (ACNI) – A photorealistic Italian micromosaic artwork depicting the Roman Forum and attributed to Vatican artist Cesare Roccheggiani sold for $379,500 in a Jan. 30 auction conducted by Myers Auction Gallery of St. Petersburg.

The circa-1870s artwork comprised of hundreds of thousands of pieces of glass had sat on the mantel of a Tampa residence for nearly 90 years before being correctly identified by Michael Myers and Maureen Dowd, co-owners of the auction house.

Entered in the sale with an estimate of $100,000-$200,000, the micromosaic attracted worldwide attention prior to auction day. “We had 12 people bidding on the phones as well as gallery and Internet bidders through LiveAuctioneers,” said Dowd.

The winning bidder, an American, faced ferocious competition from British and Continental European contenders. There seemed to be breakpoints in the bidding at $190,000 and $290,000, where competitors opted to sink or swim. The final bid of $330,000, lodged over the phone, topped out at $379,500 with the addition of a 15% buyer’s premium.

“Everything in the auction was very strong,” said Dowd. “Much of the Asian art sold to bidders in Shanghai and Beijing, and there were multiple Russian bidders duking it out over the phones for the miniature ivory portraits of the Romanov family.’

“We sold over 48% online through LiveAuctioneers, which I believe is the highest percentage we’ve ever sold through the Internet, including back when LiveAuctioneers was in partnership with eBay Live,” Dowd continued. In all, 234 of the 486 lots were purchased through LiveAuctioneers.com.

A full postsale report on Myers’ Jan. 30 auction will appear soon on AuctionCentralNews.com.

#   #   #

Copyright 2011 Auction Central News International. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.



Click here to view the fully illustrated catalog for this sale, complete with prices realized.


ADDITIONAL LOT OF NOTE


Attributed to Vatican artist, Cesare Roccheggiani, this glass micromosaic depicting the Roman Forum was sold for $379,500 inclusive of 15% buyer's premium at Myers Auction Gallery's Jan. 30 sale.

Attributed to Vatican artist, Cesare Roccheggiani, this glass micromosaic depicting the Roman Forum was sold for $379,500 inclusive of 15% buyer’s premium at Myers Auction Gallery’s Jan. 30 sale.

Some Nevada historical markers are easy to locate, like the plaque on Nevada’s Capitol in Carson City. Image courtesy of Paul Sebesta.

Carson City adventurer rounds up Nevada historical markers

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) – It has taken him five years, more than 80,000 miles and two sets of tires to complete, but Paul Sebesta has seen Nevada from corner to corner.

Some Nevada historical markers are easy to locate, like the plaque on Nevada’s Capitol in Carson City. Image courtesy of Paul Sebesta.

Some Nevada historical markers are easy to locate, like the plaque on Nevada’s Capitol in Carson City. Image courtesy of Paul Sebesta.

The 28-year-old Carson City man has been on a journey to see and document every historical marker in the Silver State, driving to its neon metropolis down south and to the most remote of old mining towns just to catch a glimpse of the markers, which are usually blue, made of steel and shaped like Nevada.

On a recent Monday, sipping a soda inside one of Carson City’s historic buildings, Sebesta reflected on his journey and the website he started to chronicle it, www.nevada-landmarks.com.

“It’s been a long ride,” said Sebesta, who sported a scruffy beard and a New York Yankees ballcap. He’s memorized every marker’s official number and location and has a story to accompany each one. He rattles off names and numbers of the 267 historical markers like an avid baseball card collector.

No. 159: One of Sebesta’s favorite trips was to Ione, in Nye County, “The Town That Refused To Die.” The marker is located in a small park surrounded by a white picket fence.

“It used to be the county seat of Nye and now it’s just a population of about 25 and they’re still as proud,” Sebesta said. “I was talking to some old guy there and he loves where he lives. He still cleans the marker sometimes.”

No. 265: This was the most difficult marker for Sebesta to find, despite being in the middle of Reno. It’s the gravesite of Emmet Derby Boyle, the first native-born governor of Nevada who was elected to office in 1914 at the age of 35. His grave is in Mountain View Cemetery.

“If we didn’t ask the caretaker, we would have never found it,” he said.

No. 69: As for small-town Nevada, it doesn’t get much smaller than Jarbidge, which is only accessible by an 80-mile dirt road that is usually blocked by snow in the winter. Jarbidge was the site of one of the last Western gold rushes in the early 20th century and the last stagecoach robbery and murder in 1916.

On his website, Sebesta or his wife (both wearing cowboy hats) are usually shown posing for a photo next to the marker, which includes directions, the nearest intersection, precautions and a description of the marker. He even has a scale of one to 10, measuring the ease or difficulty of finding each marker.

Sebesta moved from California eight years ago to Carson City, where he lives with his wife. He works at a home improvement store and is attending Western Nevada College studying journalism and wildlife management.

“I’ve always had a love for history and neglected places,” he said. “And the markers I found were a venue for that.”

Sebesta, who’s also a photographer, started his website in July 2006 after documenting 32 markers in Storey and Douglas counties.

“And then I debuted (the website) mainly just to catalog, mainly just someplace to store the information,” he said.

Then he started getting feedback from readers who wanted more. So he started tracking the markers in Carson City.

“And then more and more people started e-mailing about it,” he said. “I said, I got these three counties so I’m just going to keep going.”

So he went to track down the markers in Lyon, Pershing, Churchill.

“And then finally for the ones far away, Lincoln and Clark and all those, I just bit the bullet and took two weeks off and went straight down there,” he said.

After that trip in the spring of 2008, Sebesta had put more than 80,000 miles on his 2001 Toyota Tacoma.

“It was worth it, I think, because mainly just all the places that I’ve been,” Sebesta said. “You really get to see the state if you see the markers. You get to see how everybody is different in different areas. City people vs. rural people … You get out of your daily area and see what Nevada really is.”

He adds, “It’s still wild and rugged.”

The historical marker program, which is managed by the State Historic Preservation Office and the Nevada Department of Transportation, started in 1967 to commemorate events such as the Old Spanish Trail in Southern Nevada and the great train robbery in Verdi, west of Reno.

Over time the number of markers continued to grow Sebesta said there are 267 including 23 missing markers, but as of 2009 the program has gone dormant because of budget cuts.

As a result, no new markers are planned, and repairing or replacing the markers has become harder or simply out of the question.

Other problems threaten the future of the markers, too, Sebesta said.

“The biggest issue is urbanization,” he said.

For example, the marker commemorating the first air flight in Nevada that was installed along U.S. 395 in north Carson City went missing about a decade ago, possibly during a construction project. It was found last month when a state worker contacted the Nevada Appeal after finding it with two other missing markers in an NDOT yard just north of Spooner Highway.

“That was the only place I would never expect it to be,” Sebesta said. “They mean well to take it down for protection, but they forget to put it back up. That’s the biggest problem and that’s what I think happened to those three.”

One missing marker Sebesta hopes to one day find is No. 190, which marked the original homestead of Charles P. “Pop” Squires, who bought land at a 1905 auction to set up what is now Las Vegas.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, in December the Las Vegas City Council, citing the high costs to maintain it, voted to demolish Squires’ home to make way for an office development.

Still, Sebesta hopes the marker can at least be salvaged.

“That’s one that definitely needs to come back and I’m not even from Vegas,” he said.

Vandalism has taken its toll on many markers, Sebesta said. He estimated about a quarter of the markers have been damaged by cars, spray paint or bullets.

At marker No. 155, which commemorates Silver Peak in north Esmeralda County, Sebesta recalls seeing a man, “from a certain’ state,” deface the marker with a black marker.

“He thought no one was looking,” said Sebesta, who confronted the man. Sebesta’s wife cleaned the graffiti afterwards.

“I think it’s because people just don’t care,” he said. “Either they just don’t care or they’re unaware of how important they are. They just think it’s a blue sign when in fact that blue sign could be all that’s left to ever say something was here.”

Today, most of Sebesta’s focus has been on upkeep of the website and occasional check-ins with the makers.

Sebesta said the website garners about 10,000 visitors a year. He thinks back on his trips through the Silver State: His trek through White Pine County with its wild terrain, finding marker No. 188 that’s technically in California, or speaking to an Elko man who saw his ranch encroached by commercial development.

“I don’t do it for money, I don’t do it for celebrity status if you want to call it that, I just do it for everybody,’ he said. “I figure if the (state) can’t really do anything … someone has to.”

___

Information from: Nevada Appeal, http://www.nevadaappeal.com

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WS-01-29-11 0301EST

 


ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE


Some Nevada historical markers are easy to locate, like the plaque on Nevada’s Capitol in Carson City. Image courtesy of Paul Sebesta.

Some Nevada historical markers are easy to locate, like the plaque on Nevada’s Capitol in Carson City. Image courtesy of Paul Sebesta.

Paul Sebesta’s treks have taken him along routs traveled by prospectors in the 1800s. Image courtesy of Paul Sebesta.

Paul Sebesta’s treks have taken him along routs traveled by prospectors in the 1800s. Image courtesy of Paul Sebesta.

Jarbine, Nev., is not on some maps, but Paul Sebesta’s website tells explorer’s how to find the remort historical site. Image courtesy of Paul Sebesta.

Jarbine, Nev., is not on some maps, but Paul Sebesta’s website tells explorer’s how to find the remort historical site. Image courtesy of Paul Sebesta.

Elizabeth Catlett heads a show of black artists at the Bronx Museum. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Observing Black History Month with artist Elizabeth Catlett

Elizabeth Catlett heads a show of black artists at the Bronx Museum. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Elizabeth Catlett heads a show of black artists at the Bronx Museum. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

NEW YORK (AP) – When American sculptor and printmaker Elizabeth Catlett was a graduate student studying with Grant Wood in Iowa, the painter of the iconic American Gothic told his young student to make art about what she knew best.

Catlett, who was born into a middle-class family in Washington, D.C., in 1915 and raised by her mother and grandmother, took Wood’s advice to heart and began making images of strong and beautiful black women.

This week the Bronx Museum is opening a show that features a broad range of drawings, prints and sculptures by Catlett, who will be 96 in April. Guest curator Isolde Brielmaier displays Catlett’s work alongside pieces in a variety of media by 21 younger artists who explore some of Catlett’s signature issues, including racial identity, family dynamics and social and political struggle, but in an edgier, more allusive way.

The show coincides with Black History Month, the annual attempt to acknowledge the extraordinary contributions of a large swath of the population whose accomplishments are largely overlooked at other times of the year.

With its formal beauty and universal themes, Catlett’s artwork does not need a commemorative month to be celebrated. At the same time, her work draws much of its dynamic form and emotional energy from her investigation of racial and ethnic identity.

Catlett, who knew from age 6 that she wanted to be an artist, has always been clear about the purpose of her work. In a video at the entrance to the show, she explains that Harriet Tubman and Paul Robeson – two icons of black freedom – inspired her, and that she wanted to express herself in art as singer and actor Robeson had done in music and drama.

It’s no coincidence that the heroic proportions of her sculpture evoke the idealizing tendency of classical Greek sculpture. Or that her smooth, stylized faces are less about individual people and more about the dignity and nobility of universal man, woman and child.

This is sculpture that’s meant to comfort, uplift and inspire. Her prints, on the other hand, express her lifelong commitment to use art as a tool for social change, often incorporating the slogans (“Black Is Beautiful”) and revolutionary heroes (Angela Davis and Malcolm X) of the civil rights and black power movements.

In retrospect, Catlett seems to have led a charmed life, witnessing nearly every important artistic and social movement of the 20th century and traveling in some of the same illustrious circles as the great American artist Jacob Lawrence and poet Langston Hughes.

Most of the younger artists whose work is displayed with Catlett’s came of age after the major battles of the civil rights movement had been fought. While it’s true they will never know what it was like to live under segregation and inequality, it’s also clear they struggle with other forms of oppression, including the violence and materialism of contemporary American pop culture.

Mickalene Thomas explores 1970s-era images of black female beauty and interior design in large-scale color portraiture including Portrait of Qusuquzah, while Sam Durant photographs the broken mannequin of an American Indian woman to evoke cultural dislocation and genocide. Other striking works in the show include Hank Willis Thomas’ gold pendant with the abolitionist image of a kneeling slave and the slogan, “Am I not a man and a brother?” The slave’s uplifted hands hold a large diamond – actually cubic zirconia – transforming the piece into a scathing commentary on the bling values of hip-hop culture.

Shinique Smith’s soft sculpture of cast-off clothing and toys bound together in a large, rectangular bale recalls the heaps of clothing our throwaway society ships to the developing world. As a reminder of the global economy’s unequal distribution of wealth, Smith’s piece echoes the strong social conscience that has long distinguished Catlett’s large and important body of work.

The show will be on view through May. 29. The Bronx Museum is the sole stop.

___

www.bronxmuseum.org

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WS-01-28-11 1305EST

 


ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE


Elizabeth Catlett heads a show of black artists at the Bronx Museum. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Elizabeth Catlett heads a show of black artists at the Bronx Museum. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

The Egyptian Museum in Cairo was in danger of being looted until troops moved to guard the compound in Cairo. Image by copyright holder Kristoferd, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported.

Egypt’s military secures antiquities museum; looting averted

The Egyptian Museum in Cairo was in danger of being looted until troops moved to guard the compound in Cairo. Image by copyright holder Kristoferd, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported.

The Egyptian Museum in Cairo was in danger of being looted until troops moved to guard the compound in Cairo. Image by copyright holder Kristoferd, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported.

CAIRO (AP) – The Egyptian army secured Cairo’s famed antiquities museum early Saturday, protecting thousands of priceless artifacts, including the gold mask of King Tutankhamun, from looters.

The greatest threat to the Egyptian Museum, which draws millions of tourists a year, first appeared to come from the fire engulfing the ruling party headquarters next door on Friday night, set ablaze by anti-government protesters.

Then dozens of would-be thieves started entering the grounds surrounding the museum, climbing over the metal fence or jumping inside from trees lining the sidewalk outside.

One man pleaded with people outside the museum’s gates on Tahrir Square not to loot the building, shouting at the crowd: “We are not like Baghdad.” After the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, thieves carted off thousands of artifacts from the National Museum in Baghdad – only a fraction of which have been recovered.

Suddenly other young men – some armed with truncheons taken from the police – formed a human chain outside the main entrance in an attempt to protect the collection inside.

“I’m standing here to defend and to protect our national treasure,” said one of the men, Farid Saad, a 40-year-old engineer.

Another man, 26-year-old Ahmed Ibrahim, said it was important to guard the museum because it “has 5,000 years of our history. If they steal it, we’ll never find it again.”

Finally, four armored vehicles took up posts outside the massive coral-colored building in downtown Cairo. Soldiers surrounded the building and moved inside to protect mummies, monumental stone statues, ornate royal jewelry and other pharaonic artifacts.

The soldiers appeared to have rounded up all the would-be looters who made it onto the museum grounds and had lined them up in a row. As the soldiers corralled one man toward the line, crowds outside the fence shouted, “Thief, thief!” A couple the troops then hit the man with the butts of their rifles and sat him down with the others apparently caught inside.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WS-01-28-11 2213EST


ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE


The Egyptian Museum in Cairo was in danger of being looted until troops moved to guard the compound in Cairo. Image by copyright holder Kristoferd, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported.

The Egyptian Museum in Cairo was in danger of being looted until troops moved to guard the compound in Cairo. Image by copyright holder Kristoferd, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported.

Stanley Gibbons pledges 10% of online sales to charity

LONDON – Rare stamp and autograph dealer Stanley Gibbons has signed up with the eBay for Charity initiative, pledging 10% of online sales to BBC Children in Need.

The world’s oldest stamp dealer relaunched its eBay shop in September 2010 to reach the huge number of international collectors who can be found in the World Wide Web’s most popular marketplace. 

Following initial successes at the end of last year the company has now racked up nearly 17,000 sales, sending products to collectors on every continent. 

Rob Beeson, who maintains Stanley Gibbons’ eBay shop said, “eBay make it very easy for sellers to donate a percentage of their sales to charity. We ran a couple of charity auctions on eBay back in November and raised over $700 for Children In Need and have now decided to run weekly charity auctions in order to raise even more money throughout the year. This way our customers can grab a bargain whilst also helping disadvantaged children in the UK – everybody wins.”

Initial figures indicate that the charity stand to gain at least $8,000 per year from Stanley Gibbons’ eBay shop alone, with more funds being generated by the numerous other charitable initiatives undertaken by the company throughout the year.

Stanley Gibbons eBay shop can be found at stanleygibbons.com/ebay.

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A 100-oz. gold nugget discovered in northern California last year will make its first public appearance in Southern California, Feb.3 - 5, 2011, at the Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectibles Expo.

View 100-oz. gold nugget at Feb. 3-5 Long Beach expo

A 100-oz. gold nugget discovered in northern California last year will make its first public appearance in Southern California, Feb.3 - 5, 2011, at the Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectibles Expo.

A 100-oz. gold nugget discovered in northern California last year will make its first public appearance in Southern California, Feb.3 – 5, 2011, at the Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectibles Expo.

LONG BEACH, Calif. – The headline-making 100-ounce gold nugget recently discovered in Northern California will make its first public appearance in Southern California at the Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectibles Expo, Feb. 3 – 5, 2011. Open to the public, the show will be held in the Long Beach Convention Center, 100 S. Pine Avenue.

“It weighs just under 100 troy ounces — about nine pounds avoirdupois, and is the largest verifiable California gold nugget now in existence. It’s nicknamed the ‘The Washington Nugget’ because it was discovered near the famous Mother Lode Gold Rush mining camp near Washington, California in Nevada County last March,” said Ronald J. Gillio, Expo General Manager.

It has a collector value estimated at $250,000 to $400,000, and will be publicly exhibited for the first time in Southern California courtesy of Fred Holabird and Don Kagin of Holabird-Kagin Americana of Reno, Nevada.

Another featured exhibit will be the finest known suriving 1792 U.S. half dime, a historic early American silver coin that was authorized by President George Washington. Acquired for a record price of $1.5 million in 2007 by the Cardinal Collection Educational Foundation, the coin will be displayed by the Foundation and Stack’s-Bowers Numismatics on Thursday and Friday, February 3 and 4.

During the three-day Long Beach Expo more than 1,000 dealers will be buying and selling rare coins, paper money, stamps, postcards, historic documents, antiques, estate jewelry and other collectibles. Some dealers will provide free, informal appraisals for visitors.

A free gold coin door prize will be awarded each day to a lucky visitor, and a children’s treasure hunt will be held on Saturday, Feb. 5. Nearly a dozen educational programs and collectors’ club meetings will be conducted in conjunction with the February Long Beach Expo.

Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas, New York and Beverly Hills will hold a public auction of U.S. coins during the show.

The public hours are Thursday and Friday, Febr. 3 and 4, 2011, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday, Feb. 5, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

General admission is $8 (good for all three days); $6 for members of any coin or stamp club who display a valid membership card; and $4 for seniors 65 and older and for children ages 8 to 16. Free admission for children ages 7 and younger. Discount coupons are available online at www.LongBeachExpo.com.

For additional information, call Expos Unlimited at (805) 962-9939 or during the show dates call the Long Beach Convention Center at (562) 436-3636.

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The monkey's legs look as if they are peddling the bike when the toy rolls across the floor. The 6 1/2-inch-long toy brought $1,948 at a Bertoia auction in Vineland, N.J.

Kovels – Antiques & Collecting: Week of Jan. 31, 2011

The monkey's legs look as if they are peddling the bike when the toy rolls across the floor. The 6 1/2-inch-long toy brought $1,948 at a Bertoia auction in Vineland, N.J.

The monkey’s legs look as if they are peddling the bike when the toy rolls across the floor. The 6 1/2-inch-long toy brought $1,948 at a Bertoia auction in Vineland, N.J.

Iron toys made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries are so interesting and attractive that they are collected today to be displayed as decorative objects on a shelf. Some toys depict a character from a long-forgotten cartoon or book, or a legend that children of olden times knew but we do not. Why is a walking toy marked “Yellow Kid”? Because one of America’s first Sunday newspaper comic strips featured a character called the Yellow Kid. Why does a mechanical bank show a man trying to shoot a bear cub? It’s telling the story of President Teddy Roosevelt, who went hunting but did not kill a cornered bear and was praised by newspapers. But why do so many toys show monkeys driving cars or tricycles or riding on other animals? Was there a famous circus act featuring talented monkeys? No one is sure, but old monkey toys are popular. In September a cast-iron toy in very good condition made by Hubley Manufacturing Co., a famous Pennsylvania toymaker (1894-1965), auctioned for $1,948. It sold at one of the four Bertoia auctions has conducted of the famous Donald Kaufman collection of toys. Perhaps the fame of the collection added to the value of the toy. Who owned a toy often can affect its value.

Q: We found a commercial icebox with the brand name “Lorillard” on it in an old home that we are restoring. It has been repainted several times. We would like to restore it. I’ve heard several theories about what we ought to do. Should we strip it down to the wood and shellac it or repaint it? Or should we leave it as it is? Your guidance would be appreciated.

A: The Lorillard Refrigerator Co. was established in New York City in 1877. A 1901 advertisement for the company called its iceboxes the “highest-priced” refrigerators made and listed several millionaires, including Andrew Carnegie and George Vanderbilt, who were installing them in their homes. Vanderbilt ordered five Lorillard refrigerators for his Biltmore mansion in Asheville, N.C., in 1894. The company was in business until at least 1920. There’s not a big market for old commercial iceboxes, but you probably will increase its value by restoring the finish. Most were originally shellacked over wood.

Q: I inherited a 19th-century vase from my grandmother. It is 28 inches high and is signed “H. Despres, Sevres.” It’s painted with scenes of what looks like a rich family going for a ride in the country. What would be the insurance value of this vase?

A: The scenes you describe are typical of Sevres vases decorated by Henri Desprez from about 1875 to 1890. Vases as large as yours sell for more than $5,000, depending on condition. It should be seen by a qualified appraiser to determine its value. Contact some of the major auction houses or an appraiser in your area for an estimate. The insurance value should be the same as the price it would cost to replace the piece if it were damaged or destroyed.

Q: I have a Singer sewing machine that still works. I was told it is Model 15. The serial number is G8666585. Can you tell me what it’s worth?

A: Singer’s Model 15, the Improved Family machine, was made for more years than any other Singer model. It was introduced in 1879 as a hand-crank machine. It was later made as a treadle machine and, finally, as an electric sewing machine. Model 15 was still being made in the late 1990s. The serial number on your machine indicates the year and location where it was made. The initial letter “G” refers to Elizabeth, N.J., and the numbers indicate that it was made in 1921. Isaac Merritt Singer (1811-1875), inventor of a sewing machine for home use, founded I.M. Singer & Co. in 1851. The company, now called Singer Sewing Co., still is in business. Isaac Singer held patents for several inventions and led a colorful life that included multiple marriages and mistresses, 24 children and lavish homes in the United States, England and France. At the time of his death, he was married to Isabella Eugenia Boyer, a Frenchwoman whom some believe to have been the model for Bartholdi’s Statue of Liberty.

Q: I have a cornet that my family says is 100 years old. I would like to know more about. It is marked “J.W. Pepper, Standard, Philadelphia, 52014.” The horn has all its parts, including the piece that held the music. Is it worth anything?

A: James Welsh Pepper (1853-1919) established J.W. Pepper, a music publishing company, in Philadelphia in 1876. The company started manufacturing brass instruments in 1883. “Standard” is one of 98 models made by J.W. Pepper in the 1890s. The company also imported musical instruments. It stopped manufacturing instruments in 1909. The serial number on your cornet indicates it was made in about 1909. In 1910 the company became J.W. Pepper and Son. By then, it was selling imported instruments and sheet music. The company is still in business and is the largest sheet music retailer in the United States. The value of a musical instrument is determined by its tone quality as well as the rarity of the instrument. It should be seen by an expert in the music field to determine its value.

Tip: Turn over reversible rugs once a year. Turn the rug end to end every three years. This will even out wear and fading.

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 website for collectors. Check prices there, too. More than 700,000 are listed, and viewing them is free. You also can 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.

  • Lefton Nurse figurine, blue dress, white apron, carrying tray with hypodermic needle, red sticker, 4 3/4 inches, $28.
  • The Merry Fibber McGee & Molly game, “Fibber McGee and the Wistful Vista Mystery,” cards, counter, rule booklet, Milton Bradley, circa 1940, $30.
  • Atlas Man advertising doll, rubber, yellow globe as head, painted blue eyes and mouth, blue felt suit, 1940, 5 1/2 inches, $60.
  • McCoy duck cookie jar, yellow, duck holding leaf in his beak, marked, 1960s, 11 3/4 inches, $75.
  • Ceresota flour advertising match holder, “Prize Bread Flour of the World,” die-cut tin, boy opening flour barrel, Art Sign Co., Brooklyn, N.Y., early 1900s, 3 x 5 inches, $335.
  • Pennsylvania Dutch embroidered panel, cotton, large central flower vase, fruit, pairs of female figures, birds, white ground, 1930s, 40 x 34 inches, $345.
  • Shaker pine firkin, small barrel, stave construction, iron bands, old green paint, lid with wooden knob, wooden bail, early 19th century, 11 inches, $445.
  • Handel desk lamp, harp base with four-leaf clover foot, ribbed stem, six-panel shade with Arts & Crafts flowers, stems and leaves, green on red background, signed, 19 inches, $515.
  • Federal server, mahogany, central drawer with drop front, multi-drawer interior, cast lion’s-head ring pulls, circa 1810, 45 x 41 inches, $1,420.
  • Daum Nancy vase, four-sided, mottled yellow and orange ground, mushrooms, brown, orange and green, signed, 5 1/4 inches, $6,900.

Spot great costume jewelry faster than anyone and get the buys of a lifetime. Kovels’ Buyers’ Guide to Costume Jewelry, Part One explains how to recognize mid-century costume jewelry, Mexican silver jewelry, modernist jewelry and other European and American pieces. Learn all the names you need to know, from Hobe and Sigi to Ed Wiener and Art Smith, from Coro and Trifari to Los Castillo and Spratling. And we explain how to recognize a good piece of genuine Bakelite. Our exclusive report, 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches, is filled with color photos, bios, background and more than 100 marks. It’s accurate and comprehensive and includes all of the information in our 2008 report on 20th-century costume jewelry. But it’s in a new, smaller and more convenient format. Available only from Kovels. Order by phone at 800-303-1996; online at Kovels.com; or send $25 plus $4.95 postage and handling to Kovels, Box 22900, Beachwood, OH 44122.

© 2011 by Cowles Syndicate Inc.

Bo Tillmanns-Ellison (left), daughter of LiveAuctioneers CEO Julian R. Ellison, shows promise as a future Formula 1 driver as she races down the hill with her friend Bowen. Photo by Julian R. Ellison.

Valentine to a snowy day in New York

 Bo Tillmanns-Ellison (left), daughter of LiveAuctioneers CEO Julian R. Ellison, shows promise as a future Formula 1 driver as she races down the hill with her friend Bowen. Photo by Julian R. Ellison.

Bo Tillmanns-Ellison (left), daughter of LiveAuctioneers CEO Julian R. Ellison, shows promise as a future Formula 1 driver as she races down the hill with her friend Bowen. Photo by Julian R. Ellison.

NEW YORK (ACNI) – This is already shaping up to be a winter for the record books in New York. As Mayor Michael Bloomberg confirmed in a press conference yesterday, the city has already had 36 inches of snow in the month of January, breaking a record set 86 years ago. The most recent storm to pass through Gotham brought with it as much as 19 inches of new snow, calling for cancellations of city schools and many businesses.

While not everyone on LiveAuctioneers’ Manhattan-based staff greets the snow with unbridled joy, there’s one person in the building who always views a snowy landscape in a positive light – our CEO, Julian R. Ellison. While everyone else is grousing about the weather and trying to find ways to stay out of it, he’s busily bundling up and plowing right through the white stuff to shoot some pics.

We asked Julian if he would put his thoughts to paper and reveal what it is about winter that buoys his spirits and inspires him to capture scenes of a snow-blanketed Manhattan with a camera. Here are his observations:

“There’s snow and then there’s snow, and last night we had snow – lots of it! I only recently returned from a ho-ho-ho fattening-up at the family homestead in England, where I’d managed to pull together my family for a reunion that included 13 children (cousins) for the first time under one roof. My ears are still ringing!

Lately, all the chatter back home has been about the world press coverage of a remarkable gorilla at the Port Lympne Wild Animal Park – three miles away from the house where I grew up – who can walk on two legs. There’s no explaining it, and some naysayers are suggesting it’s just a man in a gorilla suit, but whatever it is, it’s given us something more interesting to read about than politicians and inflation. Here’s a link to a video clip so you can see for yourself. http://www.aspinallfoundation.org/news/view/460

It wasn’t until I got back to my hometown Manhattan that I found myself wondering why it is that in places like London and Paris you can practically eat off the streets, yet in the biggest metropolis in the world, New York, there is rubbish everywhere and rats running amok with Starbucks coffee in one paw and a bagel in the other. ‘Is it just me,’ I ask myself, ‘or has it been getting slowly worse over the last few years? Is it really that difficult for us to figure out?’ The reason I mention this is because I was gearing up to write a story about this topic and to have a good old rant, when along came a fabulous snowstorm that covered New York in a cleansing blanket of soft, crisp, white snow.

We’ve had snow off and on for the last month or so, but nothing like last night. This morning I got up and ran to the window like an excited child to see how deep the snow was. I wasn’t disappointed. I hurriedly put on my man-tights and ran down to the garage to get the Green Goddess out – my trusty (not rusty) Land Rover Defender 90, the perfect tool for this kind of weather, being both practical and huge fun. I decided I was going to get out and look for trouble – I don’t mean make trouble, but look for damsels in distress trying to get their cars out of the deep snow. Perhaps I could be of assistance? All that was missing was a St. Bernard and a flask of brandy.

As it happened, everyone I came across had it all under control. New Yorkers are the most resourceful and resilient bunch. In New York you get up, get out, and get on with it.

I don’t think I’ve been more excited about a day in ages. After breakfast I took members of my family and friends to Central Park. We all jumped into the Land Rover and headed up town to 75th and Fifth – The Hill! The kids had their sleds and I had my camera. Oh boy, what an amazing scene with all the people, young and old, on The Hill – the fantastic colors, the sounds of children and adults alike, shouting with joy. It reminded me of a Lowry painting.

New York is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and it has the power to knock you down and pick you up all at the same time. I fell in and out of love all in one week. Today I love her, and I’m looking forward to what she’ll bring me tomorrow, but please, please can we keep her clean. I have friends coming from across The Pond next week, and they don’t use plates.”

Our thanks to Julian Ellison for sharing his observations of a snowy day in Manhattan, which we have illustrated with some of his own photos and a few appropriate paintings.

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Copyright 2011 Auction Central News International. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE


Bo Tillmanns-Ellison (left), daughter of LiveAuctioneers CEO Julian R. Ellison, shows promise as a future Formula 1 driver as she races down the hill with her friend Bowen. Photo by Julian R. Ellison.

After Laurence Stephen Lowry (English, 1887-1976), Going to the Match – a scene suggestive of the busy throng of people in New York’s Central Park on any given snowy day. Auctioned Nov. 28, 2007 by Bloomsbury’s London. Image courtesy of Bloomsbury’s and LiveAuctioneers.com Archive.

After Laurence Stephen Lowry (English, 1887-1976), Going to the Match – a scene suggestive of the busy throng of people in New York’s Central Park on any given snowy day. Auctioned Nov. 28, 2007 by Bloomsbury’s London. Image courtesy of Bloomsbury’s and LiveAuctioneers.com Archive.

It’s not a Lowry painting, but this photo of New Yorkers of all ages enjoying snow activities in Central Park’s area known as The Hill comes very close. Photo by Julian R. Ellison.

It’s not a Lowry painting, but this photo of New Yorkers of all ages enjoying snow activities in Central Park’s area known as The Hill comes very close. Photo by Julian R. Ellison.

Guy Carleton Wiggins (American, 1883-1962), Woolworth Building, to be auctioned Jan. 29, 2011 by Dallas Fine Art Auction. Image courtesy of Dallas Fine Art Auction and LiveAuctioneers.com Archive.

Guy Carleton Wiggins (American, 1883-1962), Woolworth Building, to be auctioned Jan. 29, 2011 by Dallas Fine Art Auction. Image courtesy of Dallas Fine Art Auction and LiveAuctioneers.com Archive.

Who needs a husky? This energetic little fellow has plenty of spark under his bonnet. Photo by Julian R. Ellison.

Who needs a husky? This energetic little fellow has plenty of spark under his bonnet. Photo by Julian R. Ellison.

Guy Carleton Wiggins (American, 1883-1962), In Central Park: Looking Down on Fifth Avenue to Bergdorf’s. Auctioned April 26, 2008 by Kaminski’s. Image courtesy of Kaminski Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.com Archive.

Guy Carleton Wiggins (American, 1883-1962), In Central Park: Looking Down on Fifth Avenue to Bergdorf’s. Auctioned April 26, 2008 by Kaminski’s. Image courtesy of Kaminski Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.com Archive.

A classic pursuit in the winter season, building an igloo. Photo by Julian R. Ellison.

A classic pursuit in the winter season, building an igloo. Photo by Julian R. Ellison.

No school today! Let’s go sledding! Photo by Julian R. Ellison.

No school today! Let’s go sledding! Photo by Julian R. Ellison.