March 21, 2011 - Auction Central News

Reyne Gauge: Collecting and rock stars

Auction Central News columnist Reyne Haines in Houston with the visiting American Pickers Mike Wolfe (left) and Frank Fritz (right). Image courtesy of Reyne Haines.

Recently I got a call from my friends Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz, stars of the History Channel’s American Pickers. They were finally coming to Texas to tape a few episodes of the show and wanted to know if I could hang out and show them around Houston.

Happy to oblige, I headed over to their hotel and off we went shopping. Mind you, it hadn’t rained in Houston for months, until the day the boys arrived. We had a freak torrential thunderstorm that day which produced severe lightning, earsplitting thunder and buckets of rain. Hey! Everything is big in Texas so why not the storms too?

We visited numerous stores in town, but found nothing to write home about. These guys are used to “rusty gold,” not cleaned up with a retail price tag type of gold. Yet much like me, they like to see what kinds of things are available in different towns. We did hit one shop that had a restored bumper car from a carnival or amusement park that was interesting, a few coin-op games, and a mannequin – without the clothes, of course.

One of my favorite things as a dealer is seeing what catches the eye of others. Mike explained that he really likes finding items that are obscure and have a great “look.” Many of his clients are interior designers that are not always looking for things with historical importance, but yet make a statement in the room in which they are placed.

We talked about a book I’m working on that showcases designers that incorporate antiques and collectibles into their clients’ homes/offices and how the next big thing in TV will probably be just that – shows that follow decorators working their magic.

Sadly, we came back empty-handed, but had a great time looking at stuff including vintage clothing. Mike loves great leather jackets. We also enjoyed talking about the different things we collect. I got to see Mike in action going after a vintage Harley Knucklehead motorcycle. Unfortunately for him, the would-be seller decided to hang onto the bike a while longer. If any of you reading have one, Mike’s in the market!

I also learned that Mike is opening a store in Nashville this summer. I can’t give away details, but from what I heard, it’s going to be mind-blowing. Don’t fret: The Iowa store will stay open. Stay tuned to Mike’s Facebook wall or his e-mail newsletter for updates.

Back to my day: If you think that was enough excitement, hang on to your hats. Not only do the guys and I have collecting in common, but we also love good music.

They had backstage passes to see Kid Rock that night at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and invited me to come along. I’ve met Kid Rock before. He and I had a mutual friend, and we’ve been at the same parties in the past. He’s always friendly, and this time was no different.

Not only is Kid Rock a great performer, but he’ also a collector. He has a passion for vintage cars – seemingly all American – and also motorcycles. Try telling Mike Wolfe about your passion for motorcycles and expect him to sit still. No chance! Wouldn’t that be a gas to see Kid Rock on American Pickers?

If anyone ever tries to convince you being in the antiques business isn’t cool, they’re crazy. How often in the insurance and stock brokerage world did I go shopping for out-of-sight stuff during the day and hang out with rock stars at night? Never.

ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

Kid Rock and Auction Central News columnist Reyne Haines. Image courtesy of Reyne Haines.

Kid Rock performing at the Houston Rodeo. Image courtesy of Reyne Haines.

Spain’s police publish catalog of stolen art, antiques

MADRID (AP) – Spanish police have published a catalog of high-value stolen art and precious objects in the hope of reuniting them with their rightful owners.

Among items retrieved during raids are works by Pablo Picasso, sculpture, rare archaeological objects, watches, coins and medals.

Six Picasso pieces from 1933 entitled Cardinal Sins including Envy and Avarice – each in a silver frame – feature alongside an Etruscan period bronze sculpture estimated by police to be 2,000 years old and jewelry made of gold, diamonds and emeralds.

Other items include Roman coins bearing the garlanded head of Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus and a 17th-century tapestry depicting Battle of the Granicus, when Alexander the Great defeated the Persian Empire in 334 B.C.

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Online:

http://www.guardiacivil.org/prensa/actividades/efectosrecuperados/ar tbuscados.pdf

AP-ES-03-20-11 1215EDT

Bidder pays $460K for 8-pound California gold nugget

The 100-ounce Washington Nugget was found in a creek bed in the Sierra Nevada in last March. Image courtesy of Holabird-Kagin Americana.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – A bidder has paid $460,000 for a roughly 8-pound gold nugget found in Northern California’s Gold Rush country.

Spectrum Numismatics came away with the nugget on Wednesday after a feverish two minutes of bidding at Holabird-Kagin Americana’s Golden West Auction in Sacramento. The company was bidding on behalf of an anonymous private collector.

What may be the biggest California gold nugget in existence was found in the unincorporated town of Washington in Nevada County last March with a metal detector.

The anonymous seller, who was in attendance at the auction, was thrilled with the outcome, said Amy Baker, auction manager of Holabird-Kagin Americana.

Two smaller gold nuggets found at the same site were snapped up by a collector who came up short on the 100-troy-ounce Washington nugget. The smaller nugget sold for $8,850 and the larger for $19,500, both within their estimates. All prices are inclusive of a 15 percent buyer’s premium

At current gold prices, the Washington nugget would have fetched less than $138,000. But auctioneers said that its connection to the 1849 Gold Rush helped boost the value. It carried an estimate of $200,000-$400,000.

Auctioneer Don Kagin said the person who found the nugget is considering selling at auction the 180 acres where it was discovered.

AP-CS-03-17-11 2035EDT

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Fine Euro., Amer. art glass anchors Auctions Neapolitan sale, Mar. 26

19th-century KPM painted porcelain plaque, signed with monogram, 13½ inches by 12 inches, estimate $5,000-$7,000. Auctions Neapolitan image.

NAPLES, Fla. – On Saturday, March 26, Auctions Neapolitan in Naples, Fla., will present a 350-lot auction of fine-quality European and American art glass.

The main consignor among several represented in the sale is a private collector from the Naples area who spent many years acquiring pieces of superior quality and artistry, often from auctions of prestigious, old estates. “The consignor lives in an incredible southwestern-Florida home filled with beautiful art of many types,” said Auctions Neapolitan’s owner, Kathleen Pica. “This collection is only one expression of his impeccable taste.”

The featured collection includes an extensive variety of Continental and American art glass. A large Daum Morning Glories center bowl with enameled floral design on the interior is executed in tones of peacock blue, green and amethyst. It is estimated at $1,500-$2,000. From Belgium, a Val St. Lambert vase featuring a multi-hued organic motif against an amethyst ground was designed by Samuel Herman (Mexican, b. 1939-), co-founder of the studio glass movement in Great Britain. The vase bears signatures from both the artist and Val St. Lambert, and is estimated at $800-$1,200.

Designed by Adolf Beckert and produced by K.u.K. Fachschule Steinschonau (Czech Republic) around 1916, a frosted, enameled and gilded glass bowl is identical to a piece pictured on page 83 of Glass of the Avant-Garde by Brohan and Eidelberg.

Lean and elegant, a 10-inch Loetz Secessionist art glass vase with stylish silver-on-copper mount is entered in the sale with an $800-$1,200 estimate.

A rare find in the American glass section is the matching pair of 18-inch-tall Mt. Washington Burmese vases with gilt enameling and trim. The eye-pleasing palette of colors includes pale rose pink, pastel blue, seashell pink and green against an ivory background. The pair is estimated at $1,800-$2,800.

Two reverse-painted Pairpoint Puffy lamps will be offered. A Rose Bouquet table lamp marked “Pairpoint” on both its base and attractively molded, multicolored shade is estimated at $6,500-$8,500. The second table lamp features a scallop-shape, quilted glass shade depicting large butterflies with widely spread wings. Estimate: $5,000-$7,000.

Another key item in the sale is a 19th-century KPM painted porcelain plaque of an interior scene with four figures: a mother, father, child and servant. The plaque is signed with an “H.L.” monogram at lower right and is impressed with the KPM scepter mark and “4C340-290” on verso. The 13½- by 12-inch plaque, which comes from a private collector in Coral Gables, Fla., could realize $5,000-$7,000 on auction day.

Other top lots include a 14½-inch Daum Nancy cameo glass landscape vase with spider web and leaf design at its neck, estimate $2,500-$3,500; and a Royal Worcester double-gourd vase with applied full-body dragon with green glass eyes, estimate $1,200-$1,600.

“We’re so pleased to be auctioning this very special selection of art glass,” said Kathleen Pica. “There’s glass in this sale that you just never see. I think collectors are going to be delighted.”

For additional information about the March 26 sale, call Auctions Neapolitan at 239-262-7333 or e-mail sales@auctionsN.com.

View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Pairpoint Puffy reverse-painted table lamp, 22 inches tall, “quilted” shade with butterflies, estimate $5,000-$7,000. Auctions Neapolitan image.

Daum Morning Glories art glass center bowl, signed, 17¼ inches wide and 8¼ inches tall, estimate $1,500-$2,000. Auctions Neapolitan image.

Pair of rare 18-inch-tall Mt. Washington Burmese vases, estimate $1,800-$2,800. Auctions Neapolitan image.

Signed Val St. Lambert art glass vase by Samuel Herman (Mexican, b. 1939-), 11 inches tall, estimate $800-$1,200. Auctions Neapolitan image.

Loetz Secessionist metal-mounted art glass vase, 10 inches, estimate $800-$1,200. Auctions Neapolitan image.

Pairpoint Puffy reverse-painted Rose Bouquet table lamp, shade and base marked “Pairpoint,” estimate $6,500-$8,500. Auctions Neapolitan image.

Adolf Beckert-designed Steinschonau enameled glass bowl, circa 1916, produced by K.u.K. Fachschule Steinschonau, Kamenicky Senov, Czech Republic, 5¼ inches tall by 7½ inches wide, estimate $1,000-$1,400. Auctions Neapolitan image.

Closed since 2006, Appalachian museum a victim of hard times

BOONE, N.C. (AP) – Dozens of quilts, weaving looms and even a moonshine still are without a home now that Appalachian State University has closed its Appalachian Cultural Museum in Boone.

University officials blame budget cuts for their decision to disperse the eclectic collection that has been part of the university since 1989. The museum website was taken down earlier this month and longtime director Charles Watkins was told his job will be eliminated at the end of the spring semester.

“It was a strong, good museum, and I hated to hear that it was being closed,” said Amy Sparrow Potts, field representative for Preservation Kentucky. Potts received a graduate degree in Appalachian studies from Appalachian State in 2002.

“It told the North Carolina mountains’ piece of history, and I can’t think of another museum that does the same thing.”

The museum operated in University Hall on Blowing Rock Road until March 2006, when the space was renovated for use by Appalachian State’s Institute of Health and Human Services. Chancellor Kenneth Peacock pledged to find a new home for the museum, but the vast collection has been in storage ever since.

“We are experiencing totally different and very challenging times than compared to the economic climate of 2006,” Peacock said in a statement. “Few could have foreseen the nation’s and the state’s economic downtown and the impact on Appalachian and higher education.”

The North Carolina university system suffered $170 million in budget cuts last year and more cuts are anticipated with the fiscal year that begins in July. A university spokesman estimated the museum’s annual budget at approximately $200,000.

The Appalachian Cultural Museum was established a way to tell the true story of the Appalachian people, said Neva Specht, who serves on a committee trying to decide what to do with the hundreds of artifacts now in storage. Pieces range from Native American pottery shards and arrowheads to NASCAR race cars to artifacts from the Land of Oz theme park at Beech Mountain, N.C.

“One of the points of the museum was to break the myth of the hillbilly,” Specht said. “Appalachia is much more diverse and complex than that.”

With poverty playing a prominent role in Appalachia’s image, some say the museum’s loss of funding seems even more poignant.

“Budgets are not an uncommon challenge for local history museums, but this closing is especially sad,” said Robin Sarratt-Cohen, vice president for development at Lancaster County Historical Society in Pennsylvania and a 1998 graduate of the Appalachian State history program.

“The museum was an important resource for students. It provided opportunities to develop our own ideas about how to display objects so the public can understand their importance. The experiences I had at the cultural museum and at Appalachian State completely shaped my career.”

Calling Watkins her mentor, Sarratt-Cohen said the former museum director influenced her decisions to pursue graduate work in curating and take her current job with a local history association.

Watkins said he was hired to run the cultural museum when it opened in 1989 and that he has been dismissed from the university effective in June. He declined to comment on the administration’s decision to close the cultural museum permanently.

Specht said the museum committee will be working throughout the spring to assess the museum’s collection and attempt to place some pieces at other sites on campus, such as the Carol Belk Library and the Terchin Center for Visual Arts.

“If not, we’ll look for regional institutions interested and capable of using them,” Specht said.

___

Online:

Appalachian State University: http://www.appstate.edu/

AP-ES-03-18-11 1602EDT

Rare 1918 memoir reveals lawmakers’ opinions on suffrage

This banner came from the estate of American suffragette Alice Paul. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers and Cowan’s Auctions Inc.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Cheryl Dunson knew she had found something special when she saw the small black notebook, covered in a plastic sleeve, inside a cardboard box of old memorabilia at the Connecticut League of Women Voters.

Recorded inside, in meticulous blue script, were the memoirs of a suffrage leader who interviewed members of the all-male Connecticut General Assembly more than 90 years ago on whether women should be granted the right to vote.

Dunson, the league’s president, and her fellow members had no idea the book existed until she discovered it a year ago in their Hamden offices when she was searching for items to help mark the state league’s 90th anniversary. The notebook, dated July 1, 1918, offers a rare glimpse into the views of Connecticut’s state legislators two years before the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, granting men and women equal voting rights.

“I think it is an incredible time capsule showing the debate regarding one of the most basic rights of our democracy and it’s a right that many women in particular take for granted today,” Dunson said.

“I don’t think they have the knowledge to know what these women did, how they struggled, how they worked, how they kind of weathered the kind of personal attacks against their integrity and their intelligence,” she said. “To me, it’s an incredibly inspiring story and I think it’s one that all women should be aware of.”

The Connecticut League of Women Voters, which traces its own roots to a suffrage organization, is donating the book to the Connecticut State Archives for safekeeping. A reception is planned Wednesday at the State Library in Hartford.

The ringed book, which is only slightly worn, has lettered tabs that the author, who identified herself as (Mrs. R.) Gladys Bragdon, used to organize the interviews.

In one entry, she describes how World War I influenced men’s thinking about allowing women to vote. Some suffrage activists compared the fight for democracy abroad to theirs back at home.

“After a long but pleasant interview, he admitted that he had seen the light since the war and wished to be recorded as favorable, though not a crusader. Formerly an anti,” Bragdon wrote of one lawmaker.

In another entry, she writes: “He’s always been opposed but he’s open minded now. Try again. By all means, be considerate because he’s fearfully busy with war orders.”

Bragdon also references that some women did not support the suffrage movement.

“Anti just now but may change his mind. Has rabid anti wife,” she wrote. “Poor man.”

While it appears the legislators were courteous to Bragdon, many were unwilling to take a position on suffrage. In one instance she writes: “Indifferent. Will do as wife says but doubts if wife knows or cares anything about public affairs or politics.”

Bragdon then writes in parenthesis, “People say his wife is afraid to say (her) soul’s her own.”

The interviews came at a time when suffragist activists across the country were pursuing a two-pronged approach to win the vote. While continuing their long-running efforts to pass women’s suffrage laws state-by-state, they were also seeking support for a federal constitutional amendment that needed ratification by at least 36 states.

“I think she was trying to gauge the General Assembly’s attitude toward it just in case Congress approved it and the legislators of the states had to approve it,” said State Archivist Mark Jones.

Between March and August of 1920, two years after Bragdon submitted her report, the Connecticut Women’s Suffrage Association heavily lobbied state lawmakers to ratify the federal amendment but Republican Gov. Marcus H. Holcomb, who opposed women’s suffrage, refused to call a special session of the legislature, arguing the state constitution required there to be an emergency.

The State Archives has numerous letters that were sent to Holcomb at the time, some from across the country, either urging him to stand his ground or to call legislators in for a vote.

“This book will just add to that,” said Jones, who said Bragdon’s writings will be kept in an acid-free box and stored in a vault at the state archives for researchers to review. “This little book is going to give us a richer idea of what legislators in Connecticut thought about the suffrage movement.”

After the 36th state ratified the 19th amendment, Holcomb reversed his decision and called a special session. Connecticut first voted to ratify the amendment on Sept. 14, 1920 and later reaffirmed its support. Jones said the turnabout came after the women’s suffrage association threatened to begin endorsing political candidates.

In 1921, five women were elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives.

AP-ES-03-20-11 1302EDT

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Robert De Niro testifies in New York gallery art fraud trial

Robert De Niro in 2008. Image by Petr Novak, Wikipedia. File licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic License.

NEW YORK (AP) – It’s a role that moviegoers might not know Robert De Niro plays: overseeing his artist father’s estate.

The Academy Award-winning actor served as a star witness Friday in an art-fraud trial, testifying against a former gallery director accused of selling some of the late Robert De Niro Sr.’s works without paying his family its share.

Seeming as self-assured on the witness stand as his characters are on screen, De Niro told jurors about his family’s dealings with the now-shuttered Salander-O’Reilly Galleries LLC, giving detailed answers and drawing laughs at times from a courtroom packed with reporters and onlookers.

But overall, he told a story of coming to doubt an art dealer he’d trusted and considered a friend.

“I wasn’t watching as carefully as I probably should have” early in the estate’s involvement with gallery owner Lawrence Salander,” De Niro said. But “I trusted Larry implicitly. I thought that anything that he did, it was going to be good.”

Salander pleaded guilty last year to bilking about $120 million from De Niro Sr.’s estate, John McEnroe and other clients. On trial is Salander’s former gallery director, Leigh Morse.

The 54-year-old Morse is accused of participating in Salander’s scheme and pocketing $77,000 in proceeds from selling two of the actor’s father’s paintings. She has pleaded not guilty to grand larceny and other charges.

De Niro Sr., an abstract expressionist who had “become a little cynical” about art dealers over the years, selected Salander to represent his works, and “I could see why he liked him,” the actor said. After his father’s 1993 death, the actor continued to entrust the estate’s works to Salander, having some dealings with Morse as well.

Sale proceeds and most expenses in getting the artworks sold were to be split 50-50, according to an agreement shown in court.

The gallery arranged shows for De Niro Sr.’s work in several European cities and in Tokyo, and the actor said he attended some and “felt it was going well” at first. But over time, he started wondering about how Salander was financing private plane rides and other expensive plums.

“It didn’t seem to add up to me, but I was under the impression that there were big deals going on in Europe and so forth, and he was making a lot of money in art,” said De Niro, dressed for court in a gray-green velvet blazer and crisp white shirt.

But after a contemporary of his father’s said he felt he was being cheated by Salander, De Niro began asking questions –”gingerly,” he said. Then he discovered that Salander had signed over ownership of some of his father’s work to a gallery in Venice, Italy, without his permission, a move prosecutors say Salander made in 2006 to satisfy his own heavy debt to the gallery.

When asked about relinquishing the paintings, “He said, ‘Oh, that’s nonsense,’ da-da-da, da-da-da,” the actor said. “I felt he was either delusional – deluding himself – or not being honest, and I just didn’t have time for it.”

After cutting ties with the gallery in late 2007 or so, he learned the estate hadn’t been paid its portion of any sales after 2001, he said.

Morse and another gallery employee tried to woo the estate’s business back, but “I wanted to make a clean break from all the bad stuff,” the actor said.

Easygoing and forthcoming with his testimony – to the point of being asked at times to wait for a question to end before replying – the Raging Bull and Godfather II actor gave the court a wry glimpse of his often flinty characters when one of Morse’s lawyers asked a somewhat convoluted and hypothetical question about his opinion of a certain financial practice of the gallery.

“I don’t know where you’re going, sir,” De Niro said to a laugh from the courtroom audience.

Morse’s lawyers say the crimes were Salander’s, not hers. The top charge against Morse carries the possibility of up to seven years in prison if she is convicted.

Salander, 61, is serving six to 18 years in prison.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Myers Auction Gallery toasts 20th century design with Mar. 27 sale

Tiffany 20-inch Acorn leaded-glass lamp. Myers Auction Gallery image.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Myers Auction Gallery will present a Twentieth Century Decorative Arts auction on Sunday, March 27, beginning at noon Eastern. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.

The auction includes over 450 fresh-to-the-market Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Arts and Crafts and Mid-Century Modern antiques gathered from estates in New York, New England and Florida.

Highlights of the auction include modern furnishings by Phillip and Kelvin LaVerne and an estate collection of Studio Craft Furniture by J. Muckey. A large selection of furniture by designers H. Wegner, A. Jacobsen, P. Evans, H. Olsen, P. McCobb, Eames, Knoll, Saarinen, Nelson, and Rohde will be made available together with a stone Noguchi-style table weighing well over 200 pounds.

A large collection of European and American art glass by Galle, Daum Nancy, Tiffany, Lalique, Loetz, Steuben, and other Italian and studio glass artists accent the sale. Art Deco glass shade lamps by Handel, Pairpoint, Tiffany, Galle, Wilkinson, and lighting fixtures by Steuben and Muller Freres will be sold.

An interesting and diverse selection of 20th-century silver include a Gene Theobald Diament Art Deco silver tea set and ornate sterling consisting of many Tiffany, Georg Jensen, Starr, and Whiting pieces.

Highlighted works of art include paintings by Ernest Lawson, Raphael Soyer, Warhol and a dynamic WPA painting by F. Thomsen. There will also be many signed prints including a collection of Erte serigraphs.

Rounding out the broad selection of items being offered are Lalique mascots, Art Nouveau bronze sculptures, gold and silver period jewelry, Louis Vuitton, Hagenauer, G. Stickley,’60s abstract carpets, interesting ivory items, and much more.

Preview hours are Saturday, March 26, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, March 27, from 10 a.m. to noon. Early preview is available by appointment. Absentee, telephone and online bidding via LiveAuctioneers are offered. Myers Auction Gallery is located at 1600 Fourth St. North. Call 727-823-3249 or visit www.myersfineart.com for full catalog and further information.

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

Lalique Glass: 1920s "Levrier" and "Cinq Chevaux" car mascots. Myers Auction Gallery image.

Philip & Kelvin LaVerne Chan cabinet. Myers Auction Gallery image.

F. Thomsen 1938 WPA oil painting. Myers Auction Gallery image.

Gene Theobald "Diament" tea service. Myers Auction Gallery image.

European art glass including Galle and Daum Nancy. Myers Auction Gallery image.

Alphonse Mucha oil painting is star lot in Nest Egg’s April 16 auction

Alphonse Mucha (Czechoslovakian, 1860-1939), portrait of young lovers, oil on canvas laid to board, artist signed (authentication pending), 15½ by 20 inches, estimate $100,000-$200,000. Nest Egg Auctions image.

MERIDEN, Conn. – An extraordinary archive of Alfred “Cheney” Johnston (1884-1971) glamour photos of Jazz Age beauties, as well as important artworks from the renowned Ziegfield Follies photographer’s personal collection, will be auctioned on April 16, 2011 at Nest Egg Auctions’ gallery in Meriden, Connecticut. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide the Internet live bidding for the sale.

Johnston’s personal photo archive, which was bequeathed to a neighbor 40 years ago and has remained in the same family ever since, includes dozens of beautiful nudes that were considered very daring for their time. Johnston was a trailblazer in celebrity photography and rose to the top of his profession with his stunning pictures of showgirls, film stars and rising starlets – among them Barbara Stanwyck, Clara Bow, Paulette Goddard, Gloria Swanson and Julie “Catwoman” Newmar. Johnston’s ability to put his subjects at ease resulted in stylish portraits whose artistic quality has withstood the test of time.

“Many of Cheney Johnston’s now-classic photos were donated to the Library of Congress and will never again be in private hands. This only heightens the rarity and desirability of the photos in our upcoming auction,” said Nest Egg auctioneer Ryan Brechlin. The 11- by 14-inch glamour prints, each created by the master’s hand, carry individual estimates ranging from $100 to around $2,000 at the upper end.

The photographic portion of the sale also includes Johnston’s cameras and other equipment; personal letters from high-profile friends (e.g., Lady Ashton, publisher Conde Nast and mentor Charles Dana Gibson), books, ephemera and Art Deco furnishings from his West 67th Street apartment/studio in Manhattan.

Johnston’s celebrity images graced the covers of many popular magazines of his era. The financial rewards of his success enabled Johnston to amass the impressive collection of art featured in the April 16 auction. Leading the selection is a rare, framed oil-on-canvas painting by Alphonse Mucha (Czechoslovakian, 1860-1939), father of the Art Nouveau movement. Similar in style to Mucha’s Spring Night, the signed (authentication pending), 15½- by 20-inch depiction of young lovers in a tender embrace served as the cover art for the May 1922 issue of Hearst’s International Magazine.

“Mucha was commissioned to create a series of covers for the magazine in 1921 and 1922,” said Brechlin. “As the commission was drawing to a close, Mucha was becoming immersed in another project, his masterwork Slav Epic. It’s possible that the artwork we’re auctioning was painted prior to the Hearst’s International commission and that Mucha simply cut it down to suit the magazine’s size requirement. That would have been an intelligent way to fulfill his deadline commitment to the magazine without sacrificing quality.” The Mucha is estimated at $100,000-$200,000.

Another highlight from Cheney Johnston’s personal art collection is a marble sculpture of a fish by Ukranian/French sculptor Chana Orloff (1888-1968). Orloff’s work is held in private and institutional collections worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Orloff’s whimsical marble fish sculpture measures 14½ inches tall by 18 inches wide, and is expected to make $5,000-$10,000 at auction.

The Johnston collection also includes an Edward Steichen signed silver gelatin print ($800-$1,200), a group of six Robert Harding Davis signed photographs ($500-$1,000) and a Rockwell Kent photo portrait and block print ($400-$600).

The auction list continues with a William Couper (American, 1853-1942) marble bust of a woman signed “Wm Couper, Florence” ($2,000-$4,000), rare Lenci Italian porcelain figures of a clown ($1,000-$3,000) and Don Quixote ($1,500-$2,500); and a Gleb Derujinsky (Russian, 1885-1975) 17¼-inch-tall bronze dancer on marble base ($800-$1,200).

Additional artworks include Louis Icart aquatints, Gayac colored drypoints, many fine editions of Edward Dulac’s Illustrated Fairy Tales, and two original works by the American abstract expressionist Charles Seliger (1926-2009). A 1920s Knabe baby grand piano ($1,000-$3,000) adds the finishing touch to a remarkable time capsule of the Art Deco period, as assembled by one of its best and brightest contributors.

Nest Egg Auctions will conduct its auction of the Alfred Cheney Johnston collection on Saturday, April 16, 2011, at the company’s gallery located at 30 Research Parkway, Meriden, CT 06450. All forms of bidding will be available, including live via the Internet through LiveAuctioneers.com.

For additional information, call 203-630-1400 or tollfree 800-448-0692.

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

O.J. Simpson appeals conviction to full Nevada Supreme Court

O.J. Simpson’s 1994 mug shot, framed with an autograph of his attorney Johnny Cochran. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers and DuMouchelles.

LAS VEGAS (AP) – O.J. Simpson asked the full Nevada Supreme Court on Thursday to do what three of its members have already declined to do – overturn his conviction and sentence in a botched Las Vegas hotel room heist.

Las Vegas lawyer Malcolm LaVergne argued in his last-step appeal to the state’s highest court that the jury in Simpson’s 2008 trial in Las Vegas wasn’t fully screened for bias, that blacks were improperly dismissed from the jury and that kidnapping charges weren’t proved.

“Simply stated, having an all-white jury sitting in judgment of an African-American who was at the epicenter of the most racially divisive criminal trial of all time during the mid-1990s is simply unacceptable, regardless of Mr. Simpson’s notoriety,” the 12-page document said.

The appeal was expected after a three-justice panel rejected Simpson’s appeal in October. The panel also denied Simpson a rehearing in February. Simpson is currently serving a 9 to 33 year sentence.

It also might not be the last word in the case if the former college and professional football star, actor, advertising pitchman and celebrity criminal defendant loses and appeals to federal courts.

The appeal was notable for the absence of involvement of Simpson trial attorney Yale Galanter. He represented Simpson before and after his arrest in Las Vegas, but he withdrew from the case in February for unspecified reasons.

Galanter told The Associated Press on Thursday he’s still Simpson’s lawyer, but he declined to say if he would return to the case if Simpson loses the Nevada Supreme Court appeal.

Galanter has been busy in recent months representing outspoken actor Charlie Sheen, the 45-year-old fired star of the hit CBS show Two and a Half Men. Sheen is suing show producers for breach of contract and recently reached a custody agreement with his estranged wife over their twin sons.

In Las Vegas, Clark County District Attorney David Roger didn’t immediately respond to messages about the Simpson case. Roger has said he believes the state high court thoroughly dealt with Simpson’s appeal.

An attorney who has followed the Simpson case from the start told AP on he didn’t think the seven Nevada high court justices will reach a different conclusion than their three colleagues.

“He most likely will not get a different outcome,” attorney Al Lasso said. “But it’s always good to get a fresh look with new eyes.”

Simpson “sits in prison with a 33-year sentence imposed for a brief confrontation that involved no bodily harm,” LaVergne said in Thursday’s filing, “over a dispute involving Mr. Simpson’s legitimate claim to property stolen from him.”

He called Simpson’s conviction on the most serious charges, kidnapping, flawed and “a mockery of real kidnapping cases and prior precedent.” He also said Simpson was prevented from arguing that the items taken during the hotel room heist belonged to him. He asked for the entire case against Simpson to be thrown out.

The 63-year-old Simpson was convicted with co-defendant Clarence “C.J.” Stewart, of kidnapping, armed robbery and other charges stemming from a confrontation with two sports memorabilia dealers and a middle man in a room in a Las Vegas casino hotel in September 2007. Four other former co-defendants pleaded guilty to lesser charges, testified at trial and received sentences of probation.

Stewart served more than two years in prison before the Nevada Supreme Court granted him a new trial, ruling in October that Simpson’s fame tainted the proceedings.

One of the collectibles peddlers, Bruce Fromong, blames a host of woes on the confrontation, including shoulder and leg injuries, four heart attacks, an inability to work, vandalism at his North Las Vegas home and his need to take prescription medication.

LaVergne said Simpson’s notoriety meant Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass should have allowed more thorough questioning of prospective jurors to identify bias before testimony was presented in Las Vegas.

Glass had 500 potential jurors fill out 26-page questionnaires that included questions about Simpson’s 1995 acquittal in the slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in Los Angeles. Half the Las Vegas jury pool was eliminated after expressing strong feelings that Simpson was guilty in that case.

Glass also instructed the final panel to put aside opinions about the Los Angeles case.

Through a court clerk, Glass declined comment Thursday.

AP-WS-03-17-11 1918EDT

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