One of Ernesto Neto’s most acclaimed installations is at the Panthéon in Paris called ‘Léviathan Thot.’ This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 License. BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) – A monumental new sculpture by Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto has debuted in Buenos Aires’ Puerto Madero district, where decaying mills and warehouses have given way to a futuristic landscape of soaring skyscrapers and luxury hotels.
Knitting furiously with 30 helpers for two months, Neto filled a vast space in a former grain mill with colorful crochet netting, one knot at a time. Then he filled the nets with thousands of plastic balls to create swaying pathways for people to walk through, and suspended it all from the walls and ceiling. The result is a huge organic form that seems to float high above the floor, like vines spreading through the canopy of the Amazon jungle.
But the work isn’t complete without an audience, which was finally allowed in last week. This is art people are supposed to touch, push through and even hang from the form, letting their animal selves emerge as they unsteadily climb through the soft, pliant forms.
Some visitors complained that the experience was unsettling, but Neto said “stability is not normal.”
“People fear instability, thinking it’s a crisis, but instability is the natural state of things,” Neto said Thursday as he welcomed people to join his children, who were frolicking above him in the sculpture he calls Crazy Hyperculture in the Vertigo of the World.
Neto was invited by Argentine hotel magnate and developer Alan Faena to create the work for his newly opened Faena Art Center, which will serve as a commissioning hub for a lively calendar of music, art and culture. Along with the nearby Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat art museum and musical performances sponsored by his Faena Hotel, it gives visitors a compelling reason to leave the historic center of Argentina’s capital and explore a part of town where a construction boom has outpaced public life.
Wealthy Latin Americans have been snapping up the district’s luxury apartments as hedges against inflation, but many remain empty for now, bought as investments.
“It’s like all human construction—very arid, dry, too square for me,” Neto said. “My work is different, inviting. If only we could build houses like trees, growing organically, working with nature to grow. It’s a fantasy I have. Because we are nature, there is no separation. It’s a symbiosis. We are here to live, to know that life is good, to be happy.”
In the early 1900s, Puerto Madero helped feed the world with grain, and the former mill where Neto’s work now hangs was at the center of it all, processing up to 1,000 tons of wheat a day. But the property had been decaying for years when Faena began restoring it in February 2002, at the depths of Argentina’s last economic crash.
His timing was fabulous. Money rushed in as Argentina swung from bust to boom. His properties now include a luxury hotel, apartments and office space that straddle seven city blocks.
“The art center is part of the whole vision,” said Faena, who wore his trademark white outfit, from wide-brimmed hat to designer shoes, as he inaugurated the center. “We took a space that was destroyed, abandoned by the city, and we built it into a new center for art. This vision won’t stop, ever. The essence of this transformative vision was planted long ago, a space that enables artists to grow and the people to come and enjoy themselves.”
Art has brought new life to decaying urban landscapes the world over. Artists move in, then galleries open, followed by high-end apartments and more gentrification. But in this part of Buenos Aires, at least, the opposite has happened.
“They’re just fast-forwarding to the luxury apartment status and the art is coming after the fact,” said the Tate Modern’s international art curator, Jessica Morgan.
Of course, artistic spaces are dependent on the people who come to them, which is why Morgan said the Faena Art Center—and the money it can provide as part of its commissions—is so important. “It’s about creating something new and giving an opportunity to artists to experiment in a very unique space,” Morgan said.
“Buenos Aires has such a strong history of modern and contemporary art. It has been the formative place for movements of artists since the early 20th century, with very good galleries, excellent younger artists,” she added. “It’s a place you can’t be in without having a sense of the living contemporary culture. And it continues to evolve.”
Faena is clearly thrilled that his properties are at the center of this trend.
“This is the Argentine moment,” he said. “Buenos Aires is a city that has no reason to be envious of any other in the world. We have an amazing culture.”
‘One more step, Mr. Hands, and I’ll blow your brains out!’ Illustration by N.C. Wyeth for the 1911 edition of Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘Treasure Island.’ Image from the New Britain Museum of American Art, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. CHADDS FORD, Pa. (AP) – A century after N.C. Wyeth’s illustrations of the pirates and scalawags of Treasure Island first appeared, the iconic images considered the definitive version of the classic tale are reunited for the first time since their completion.
The Brandywine Museum has reassembled them in a new exhibit marking the 100th anniversary of Wyeth’s Treasure Island and the 40th anniversary of the museum, not far from an old carriage house where Wyeth created the 17 large oils on canvas for publishing house Charles Scribner’s Sons. The only painting not in the exhibit was destroyed in a fire in 1952.
Scribner’s displayed the paintings in their New York bookstore and sold several, but the bulk of the paintings are owned either by the museum or the Wyeth family. The New York Public Library owns two, one is in private hands and one is owned by the New Britain Museum of American Art in Connecticut.
“From his correspondence, we found that these paintings were done in about 3 1/2 months, which is an incredibly rapid pace,” curator Christine Podmaniczky said. “He didn’t make drawings of everything first, worked spontaneously right on the canvas.”
Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1883 book was already a favorite of readers and critics when the story was published with Wyeth’s illustrations in 1911. Where earlier editions typically featured basic line drawings to illustrate the coming-of-age adventure, Wyeth’s spirited and colorful depictions of Long John Silver, Jim Hawkins, Billy Bones and company became an instant hit.
The first print run of about 10,000 copies quickly sold out. The book’s success marked the start of a long relationship between Wyeth and Scribner’s that led to a popular series of Wyeth-illustrated children’s classics.
Scribner’s paid $2,500 for Treasure Island, which Wyeth used to buy 18 picturesque acres along the Brandywine River Valley. There he built a home and studio where generations of Wyeths began their art training including his son, famed realist Andrew Wyeth, and grandson, contemporary painter Jamie Wyeth.
N.C. Wyeth was at the height of his artistic powers with Treasure Island, which used neighbors and acquaintances as models for the striking 3- by 4-foot works—unusually large considering they were being reduced to around 6 inches tall. Wyeth made the works based not on characters but passages he thought would visually translate, Podmaniczky said.
“It’s not so much the facial features he was concerned with, but creating a sense of energy and motion,” she said. “He was also a master colorist and he could do wonderful things with light and shadow.”
The exhibition also presents some Treasure Island productions created by the illustrators, theater and film directors and even digital application designers who used Wyeth’s work as references.
A 1916 silent movie of Treasure Island modeled its costumes and character types after Wyeth’s work and actor Lionel Barrymore said in a newspaper interview that his portrayal of Billy Bones was inspired by Wyeth’s archetype. Visitors to the exhibit can also see how Disney animators interpreted Wyeth’s style for 1950’s Treasure Island as well as the futuristic Treasure Planet from 2002.
“No director had a finer production illustrator than N.C. Wyeth,” director Fraser Heston says in a letter included in the exhibit. The son of Charlton Heston, he based his Treasure Island storyboards on Wyeth’s work for a 1989 movie starring his father as peg-legged pirate Long John Silver.
This Felix the Cat figure was made by Steiff, the famous German toy company. It sold for $4,250 at a 2010 Fairfield auction in Monroe, Conn. The toy is 9 1/2 inches tall and has the trademark Steiff button in one ear. Antique collectors who do research know that important companies grow from small companies with very talented founders who solved both personal and business problems. It is well known that Josiah Wedgwood, the 18th-century potter, was refused a job in the family business because he was disabled. But he worked hard, developed special glazes and shapes, and eventually went into the business and made it famous and financially successful.
Richard and Betty James spent $500 to start making Slinky toys in the 1940s. Betty had six children and little business experience when her husband left her in 1960 to join a religious group in Bolivia. She ran the business, became CEO of the company, developed new products and made Slinky one of the most successful toys of the 20th century.
Appolonia Margarete Steiff, born in 1847 and crippled by polio as a child, used a wheelchair for the rest of her life. She went to school, took sewing classes and learned to operate a sewing machine backwards with her stronger arm. Shemade some elephant-shaped pincushions as a gift for friends and then to sell to others. She realized they were being used as toys, so she started making large toy elephants. The company grew with her ideas and designs, and by 1893 she was issuing a catalog. Many relatives joined the company and helped it become the huge Steiff toy company still working today. Margarete made hundreds of different animal toys, even some based on the imaginary characters of comics and movies.
Felix the Cat was a cartoon character in a 1919 short film called Feline Follies. He soon became the star of a King Features comic strip and a TV cartoon series, and was made into toys. A Steiff Felix toy was made in 1927. He had a white face, not a black one, and did not sell well. Today, as a very rare Steiff toy, he is worth more than $4,000.
Q: I have several Dunbar furniture pieces made by Edward Wormley. They were originally done in a blond finish called “bleached mahogany.” My parents had two of the pieces refinished in a dark shade using Dunbar stains. I am debating restaining the other pieces. I have seen redone Wormley in high-end shops. The old finish has a brittle yellow quality caused by nitrocellulose lacquer. Is it OK to remove the lacquer? Will it destroy the value?
A: If the refinishing is well done and closely resembles the dark finish used by Dunbar, it probably will not be a problem. Fifties furniture like yours was made in quantity and is bought today for its decorative value. If the lacquer is discolored, it would be a plus to remove it. Don’t sand it, because you will remove some of the wood, and this would lower the value. Fifty years from now, Wormley’s designs may not be as easy to find, and your refinishing may be questioned. But are you treating the furniture as something to enjoy, not as museum pieces.
Q: I have several of my mother’s silk scarves marked “Vera.” They are decorated with bright flowers in a flowing informal style. Any history or price information?
A: Vera Neumann made colorful scarves, tablecloths, bedsheets, towels, fabrics, dresses, blouses and sleepware. She was born in Connecticut in 1907, graduated from Cooper Union’s art school in New York and painted watercolors that she turned into fabric designs. She and her husband, George, started making silk-screened placemats in their apartment in the mid-1940s. But she is best known for her scarves. She signed each one “Vera.” The earliest had a small signature, but the signature grew bigger each year as her designs became more famous. She added a copyright symbol, then a ladybug, probably in the 1950s and 1960s. Some think she continued using the ladybug until the 1980s. Her flower designs are best known, but she also did geometrics. After World War II, she bought surplus parachutes and used that fabric for scarves. Most of her work was made in the United States, but later pieces were made in Japan and China. Her name and designs are being made again. Scarves sell for $15 to $150.
Q: I have a 2-gallon stoneware jug with a handle that reads “Hamilton & Jones, Greensboro, Greene Co., PA” on it. It’s gray with blue writing. I’d like to know more about the maker.
A: Hamilton & Jones was in business from 1866 to 1898. The company was founded by John Jones and William Leet (or Lute) Hamilton. They made stoneware with hand-painted and stenciled blue designs. The pottery used several different marks, including some that said “Star Pottery” and some that said “Union Works.”
Q: Please help me figure out what my 9-inch fruit jar is worth. It’s a black amethyst glass jar with a porcelain-lined screw cap. The front of the jar is embossed “Mason’s Patent Nov 30th 1858” and there’s an embossed Maltese cross on the back. I bought this jar at auction years ago.
A: Your jar is most likely a fake made 40 or more years ago. Original Mason’s Patent jars with an embossed cross were not made in black amethyst glass, and the cross is on the front of originals, not the back. Still, repros as old as yours are selling, as reproductions, for around $70.
Tip: To clean an old coffee grinder, grind white rice through the mill. When the rice appears to be clean, the grinder is clean enough to use.
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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.
Duncan & Miller glass wine goblet, Lily of the Valley cutting, circa 1955, 2 ounces, 5 3/4 inches, $25.
Aluminum mugs, with handles, purple, red, gold, pink, turquoise and yellow, Color Craft of Indiana, 1950s, holds 16 ounces, 5 5/16 x 3 1/8 in., six pieces, $65.
Effanbee Lovums doll, composition, open mouth, teeth, white handkerchief-linen baby dress, 1928, 15 inches, $200.
E.T. toy, battery-operated, talks, mouth moves, finger lights up, box, 1980s, mint in box, 15 inches, $255.
Thelma Deutsch giraffe pin, silver-tone metal, studded with square-cut and aqua-colored rhinestones, oval plaque on back, 1970s, 3 3/4 x 2 3/4 inches, $290.
Silk parasol, carved ivory folding handle, ivory silk satin, ivory silk lining, pinked and scalloped edges, brass fittings, flowers carved in handle, black silk tassel, 1860s, $325.
Solidiform grease can, lithographed tin, yellow, black photos of four people riding in touring car, fisherman in boat, Blade & Co., Portland, Maine, 5 x 4 1/4 inches, $350.
New England Windsor armchair, bow-back, green paint, applied arms, nine spindles, 18th century, 38 inches, $585.
Thousand Pyramids quilt, small squares in indigo, brown, red, burgundy, beige, light blue and pink, circa 1850, 80 x 87 inches, $740.
New! A quick, easy guide to identifying valuable costume jewelry made since the 1920s. “Kovels’ Buyer’s Guide to Costume Jewelry, Part Two,” a report on the most popular styles, makers and designers of costume jewelry. The report makes you an informed collector and may get you a great buy. Photos, marks, histories and bibliography. Special Report, 2010, 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches, 36 pp. Available only from Kovels. Order by phone at 800-303-1996; online at Kovels.com; or send $19.95 plus $4.95 postage and handling to Kovels, P.O. Box 22900, Beachwood, OH 44122.
The area around Lambertville, N.J. is known for its antiques, and Red River Antiques & Lighting has always been a landmark for those visiting the area. The barn/shop and all remaining inventory will be auctioned Oct. 1. Photo: Stephenson’s Auctioneers.
WEST AMWELL TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Anyone who has ever gone antique hunting in historic Lambertville, N.J., would know the big red barn next door to Golden Nugget Antiques Market. The barn served as the premises of River Road Antiques & Lighting, and together with the circa-1860 Federal residence next door, the adjacent properties comprised one of the most recognizable landmarks to antiquers visiting the area. On Oct. 1, both properties, the residential furnishings and all of the remaining inventory from the shop will be auctioned. The on-site event will be conducted by Stephenson’s Auctioneers.
Located at 1872 and 1874 River Road (Rt. 29) in West Amwell Township (considered Lambertville), the property was previously the site of a lighting business known as The Rooster’s Coop.
“The property sits high on a hill, next door to the Golden Nugget Antique Market,” said Stephenson’s Auctioneers’ owner, Cindy Stephenson. “It’s very pastoral, with lots of native vegetation and animals, and is within walking distance of the Delaware River. The home would make a fantastic weekend retreat for a person living in Manhattan, which is about an hour and 20 minutes away.”
The auction will be divided into morning and afternoon sessions, with the sale of residential furnishings and the barn’s antiques inventory to commence at 10 a.m., and the real property – residence, barn and outbuildings – at 2 p.m. All of the home’s contents and the antiques, lamps, chandeliers, light fixtures and sizable parts inventory from River Road Antiques’ lamp-repair department will be offered without reserve.
Built on farmland around 1860, the residence sits on 7.71 acres and features five bedrooms, lofty ceilings, period woodwork and many other beautiful architectural appointments. The spacious barn – which will be auctioned as a separate property – has several interior rooms in addition to generous floor-display and storage areas. It is situated on 3.83 acres and, like the residence, is zoned for commercial use.
Owners John and Erwina Santaguida live in California and are motivated to sell because they no longer have a use for the property. John Santaguida, a successful antiques dealer who previously owned Windsor Auctions in Westfield, N.J., decided to close River Road Antiques and Lighting after his mother passed away earlier this year.
“I bought the property in 2005 so my mother and stepfather could live in the house and run the antiques and lighting businesses next door,” Santaguida explained. “My stepfather now prefers to move to a house that is not as large, so we’re auctioning everything.”
The home is very tastefully decorated with Victorian and later period furniture. Among the pieces to be sold are a farm table with ladder-back chairs, a pumpkin pine cupboard, mortice bench, clerk’s chair, Oriental rugs, Victorian tables and a marble cup server. There are prints, cabinet plates, a rattan-style porch set and many quality “smalls.” Art by Jane Gilday (b. 1951-), a listed artist from the New Hope/Lambertville area, and a 70-piece Lunt sterling silver flatware set in the English Shell pattern will be offered, as will some coin silver. A few still banks and even a selection of circus posters found in the basement will be sold to the highest bidder.
A tent will be set up on the lawn where multiple auctioneers will be selling smalls and some of the furniture from the house, plus a portion of the antiques inventory from the barn. Cindy Stephenson commented that River Road Antiques imported sizable shipments from Europe that included armoires, painted cupboards and other well-chosen pieces of furniture. Starting at 10 a.m., auctioneers will be working their way from room to room in the barn, with one of them selling antiques and the other conducting the auction of chandeliers, lamps, shades and parts. The parts, alone, represent “considerable dollar value,” Stephenson said.
Because of the no-reserve policy on everything but the real estate, and because so much merchandise will be available at one venue, Stephenson said she expects a big turnout on auction day.
For additional information about the real estate, call Cindy Stephenson at 215-322-6182 or 215-499-4188. Inquiries about residential contents or the inventory from the antiques and lighting businesses may be directed to Tom Wakeley at 215-332-6182 or 215-850-4778. E-mail info@stephensonsauction.com. Visit the company online at www.stephensonsauction.com.
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ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
A circa-1860, 5-bedroom residence on the property adjacent to Red River Antiques & Lighting will be auctioned on Oct. 1, as will all of its antique antique furnishings. Photo: Stephenson’s Auctioneers.Lunt sterling silver flatware service. Stephenson’s image.Jane Gilday oil painting. Stephenson’s image.Pumpkin pine cupboard. Stephenson’s image.One of many circus posters found in the residence. Stephenson’s image.
Alice Cosgrove (New Hampshire, 1909-1971), tempera on posterboard, circa 1950, New Hampshire Historical Society’s collection, Gift of Mary Louise Hancock. CONCORD, N.H – What comes to mind when you think of New Hampshire? What best symbolizes the state and its people? The New Hampshire Historical Society offers up more than 100 possible answers in the exhibition “Icons of History: Objects that Define New Hampshire.” The exhibition’s Part I opened in May at the society’s museum, at 6 Eagle Square in Concord, and will be on view through the end of the year. The exhibition’s Part II is now open at the society’s headquarters at 30 Park St. in Concord, through July 7, 2012.
“Icons of History: Objects that Define New Hampshire” is funded by the New Hampshire Antiques Dealers Association, with additional support from the Robert O. Wilson Historical Research Fund, the Una Mason Collins Fund, and the McIninch Foundation.
“We are grateful to the New Hampshire Antiques Dealers Association for its generous sponsorship of this exhibition, and for all it does to preserve and promote New Hampshire’s history,” said the society’s executive director Bill Dunlap. “We are delighted to partner with them in sharing these iconic treasures with the public.”
For nearly two centuries the New Hampshire Historical Society has collected and preserved thousands of objects, books, documents, and photographs about the state’s past, and the treasure trove of items in “Icons of History” reflects the breadth and depth of these collections. Ranging from fine art to signs, military artifacts to political campaign items and tea sets to clothing, each object tells a story about New Hampshire’s history, character and culture.
Visitors will rediscover familiar icons of New Hampshire, like the legendary and popular symbol of New Hampshire, the Old Man of the Mountain, painted on the door of a Concord Coach, or majestic White Mountain paintings, and portraits of notables like Daniel Webster and Franklin Pierce, the only U.S. president from New Hampshire. At the same time, Icons of History offers new and unexpected treasures that reveal the richness of New Hampshire’s heritage, including retail signs, needlework, pottery and tools crafted by everyday citizens.
The exhibition includes a rare watercolor and ink drawing of a late-18th-century noncommissioned New Hampshire militia soldier, attributed to George Melvill of Candia and Farmington. Dated between 1794 and 1792 and acquired by the Society in 2009, the watercolor is the only drawing of an 18th-century noncommissioned militia soldier known to exist in public or private collections.
North Country local residents will appreciate “Berlin Falls, N.H. and Berlin Mills,” a colored lithograph depicting a bird’s-eye view of an iconic New Hampshire locale in 1888, and advertising connoisseurs have a wide selection of signs to enjoy. Advertising items on display include a sign promoting a hatters shop owned by Benjamin Kimball, dating around 1800, and an original poster by Alice Cosgrove, New Hampshire’s official state artist, who used her talent to mold the state’s image in the years after World War II.
The Civil War is remembered, too: a Civil War lottery box from Lebanon, N.H., was used to draw names of eligible men to be drafted into the United States Army in the Civil War. The exhibition also includes “The Glorious Little Flag,” which symbolizes the valor and courage soldiers displayed in the horrific setting of the Confederate Andersonville prison, where 13,000 Union prisoners of war died. A small band of soldiers from 5th New Hampshire Volunteers drew a flag on a scrap of cloth with red and blue ink and sang patriotic signs on the Fourth of July, 1864.
The 100-year-old library building at 30 Park St., which opened on Nov. 23, 1911, is arguably the most significant object in the society’s collection. Financed through a gift by Edward and Julia Tuck, and designed by Guy Lowell, it was constructed using the finest materials of its day and was meant to serve future generations of New Hampshire. The society will be celebrating the stately building’s centennial, which includes a documentary film, Tuck’s Gift, on the building’s origins, construction and opening. The film is produced in partnership with New Hampshire Public Television (NHPTV), made possible in part by a grant from the New Hampshire Humanities Council and with major support from Merrimack County Savings Bank and other generous sponsors. “Tuck’s Gift” will air in November on NHPTV. The society will also offer a screening to the public on Saturday, Nov. 26.
Icons Part II is open Tuesday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to the library’s gallery is free. The museum is open Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. After Oct. 15, the museum is closed on Mondays. Admission is $5.50 for adults; $4.50 for seniors; $3 for children 6-18, with a family maximum of $17. Children under 6 and members of the New Hampshire Historical Society are admitted free.
For more information, visit nhhistory.org or call 603-228-6688.
The top seller of the sale overall was this Japanese small cloisonne enamel box of circular shape, by Namikawa Yasuyuki (1845-1927). This box was estimated to sell for $1,000 to $1,500 but achieved an astounding $38,513 in highly competitive bidding. Image courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery.
OAKLAND, Calif. – Clars Auction Gallery’s Sept. 10 and 11 sale was the grand finale of their fiscal year earning $1.5 million and gained worldwide media attention surrounding the Amelia Earhart collection that was offered.
The September event was the fifth highest earning sale in the firms’ history and their 2011-2012 fiscal year was their most successful coming in just under $12.5 million, an impressive 41 percent increase over last year.
President Redge Martin attributes this increase to “the best staff we’ve ever had, our expanding reputation in the industry, high-end buyers still willing to pay good prices for quality items plus the strength of the Asian market.”
The September sale featured over 2,500 lots from 285 consignors. There were 750 successful buyers with 40 percent being sold online.
The collection of Amelia Earhart photographs and memorabilia earned $31,000 overall with the key lot being the No. 6 Luxor flying goggles worn by Earhart in her first crash in July 1921 while learning to fly with Neta Snook. The goggles which sported a cracked lens, evidence of the accident, sold for $17,775.
Over $13,000 was earned on the rich selection of photographs and memorabilia with the high seller in this category being an autographed silver gelatin print inscribed “To my friends of the media audience,” which sold for $3,245.
The prices achieved and the worldwide media attention given to this collection continue to confirm the world’s fascination with this pioneer in aviation.
While Amelia Earhart may have stolen the show at Clars September event, the fine art, decoratives, jewelry and Asian categories also performed solidly across the board.
The fine art category featured impressive offerings from both important American and European artists, from the Dutch Renaissance to Contemporary. The high seller in this category came from French Modernist Bernard Cathelin (French, 1919-2004). His 1967 oil on canvas, Premiere Neige dans la Valee du Morin sold within estimate at $22,515. Taking second place was Rites of Passage I, 1963, by American Modernist Leon Golub (1922-2004), which earned $20,145, followed by Edouard Cabane’s (French, b. 1857) 14 oils on canvas titled Stations of the Cross. This collection of works sold for $17,775.
The decoratives and antique furnishings category of this sale featured a particularly rich selection of sterling. Topping this category was a David Andersen for Shreve & Co. .830 silver and sterling silver 27- piece hollowware suite in the Viking pattern, circa 1888-1925, which sold for $27,775. Also offered in this category was the always highly sought Swiss Black Forest carved bear, circa 1880. This example, which measured 35 inches high, sold for over high estimate at $6,100. Selling for twice its high estimate was an Austrian cold painted bronze scenic lamp by Franz Bergman (1838-1894). Executed in the Moorish taste, this lamp sold for $12,980.
Fine estate jewelry brought remarkable prices at the Sunday session. An emerald bead, pearl, rose cut and antique diamond accented necklace with complementary double strand bracelet, both of silver and 18K yellow gold sold for $17,775 followed closely by a diamond eternity band ring set with 17 asscher cut diamonds, weighing approximately 6.30 carats. This lots earned $16,500.
Rounding out the sale was the impressive Asian category. The prices realized on many of these lots reflect the investment quality of the items that were offered. The highlight of this category and the top seller of the sale overall was a Japanese small cloisonné enamel box of circular shape by Namikawa Yasuyuki (1845-1927). This box was estimated to sell for $1,000 to $1,500 but achieved an astounding $38,513. Selling for almost four times its high estimate was a pair of Chinese ivory wrist rests, late Qing/early Republic period, which sold for $20,145. Selling for 22 times its high estimate was a pair of 19th century Japanese boxwood netsuke. Estimated to bring $800 on the high side, this pair went for $18,960.
A complete list of all lots sold and prices realized is available at www.clars.com .
Clars will kick off what is destined to be another very exciting year with their first sale of the 2011-2012 season on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 15 and 16.
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
These No. 6 Luxor flying goggles worn by Earhart in her first crash in July 1921 while learning to fly sold for $17,775. Image courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery.
This autographed silver gelatin print inscribed ‘To my friends of the media audience’ by Amelia Earhart sold for $3,245. Image courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery.
The high seller in the art category came from French Modernist Bernard Cathelin (French, 1919-2004). This 1967 oil on canvas, ‘Premiere Neige dans la Valee du Morin’ sold for nicely within estimate at $22,515. Image courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery.
Topping the decoratives category was this David Andersen for Shreve & Co. .830 silver and sterling silver 27-piece hollowware suite in the Viking pattern, circa 1888-1925, which sold for $27,775. Image courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery.
Fred Robertson, Los Angeles, rare table lamp, glazed earthenware, leaded slag glass, 15 inches high. Estimate: $20,000-$30,000. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center. LAMBERTVILLE, N.J. – Rago Arts and Auction Center will hold its third auction of 20th Century Design for the year on Saturday, Oct.1, and Sunday, Oct. 2, at noon Eastern. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.
Included among the more than 950 lots are rare vessels and artwork descended from Susan Frackelton’s family; a fine and extensive collection of American art pottery from the Litchfield Historical Society; a good grouping of orotone photographs, including work by Edward S. Curtis; a fine collection of hand-painted porcelain and earthenware vessels by Rozenburg; sculptural glass by some of the best American contemporary craftspeople, such as Harvey Littleton, Mary Ann “Toots” Zinsky, Dale Chihuly, Michael Pavlik, John Lewis and Jon Kuhn; contemporary Italian glass by Michele Burato and Massimo Micheluzzi; rare furniture and lamps by San Francisco designer John Dickinson; particularly fine studio furniture from the New Hope area by George and Mira Nakashima, Phil Powell and Paul Evans.
“The October 1st and 2nd auctions have been tightly curated,” said David Rago. “Clients will find select property that we are really proud to be offering, with work from 1890 to 2005, including fine decorative ceramics, contemporary glass, and high end studio and designer furniture.”
Early 20th century Arts & Crafts Movement items will be sold on Saturday. Sunday will be reserved for 20th-21st century Modern Design.
Doors will open on sales days at 9 a.m.
European Ceramics:
The sale includes European ceramics such as Rozenburg, Wedgwood, Martin Brothers and Haviland & Co. There are several lots of Moorcroft and MacIntyre. MacIntyre Pottery was the launching ground for the career of William Moorcroft, as he subsequently became known for his own pottery. Featured in the sale is lot 229, a MacIntyre vase with poppies, circa 1902, estimated at $2,500-$3,500. Other featured European pieces include lot 243, a Wedgwood Fairyland Luster vase with maidens and candles, estimated at $2,500-$3,500.
American Art Pottery:
American pottery in the sale include Walrath, W.J. Walley, Van Briggle, Union Porcelain Works, Tiffany Studios, Teco, Susan Frackelton, Rookwood, Marblehead, Saturday Evening Girls, Newcomb College, Grueby, Roseville, Pewabic, Merrimac, North Dakota School of Mines, John Bennett, Chelsea Keramic Art Works, George Ohr and Fulper.
Featured in the sale is lot 150, a Susan Frackelton three-handled earthenware bowl painted with landscapes in the Delft manner, which was descended in the Frackelton family, brought to us by Susan Frackelton’s own great-grandson, estimated at $5,000-$7,000. Also of note is lot 17, a complete Grueby eight-tile frieze of “The Pines,” coming directly from an original Aurora, Ill., residence, estimated at $10,000-$15,000. Lot 15 is a Grueby massive jardinière with leaves and buds, estimated at $5,000-$7,000. Lot 294 is a massive sand jar by Jacques Sicard for Weller, painted with vines and thorns, possibly from the Weller Theater in Zanesville, Ohio, where several such pieces were featured in its day. This super-size piece is estimated at $10,000-$15,000.
Early 20th Century Furniture:
Featured lots include lot 75, a Gustav Stickley knock-down settle, circa 1903, estimated at $15,000-$20,000; lot 194, a Gustav Stickley nine-drawer dresser, estimated at $7,500-$11,000; lot 207, a rare Charles R. Ashbee for the Guild of Handicrafts architect’s desk, England, circa 1890-1902, estimated at $8,000-$10,000; and lot 204, a Roycroft bride’s chest, estimated at $6,000-$9,000.
Lighting:
Featured lots include 181A, an important Karl Kipp table lamp with geometric leaded glass shade, estimated at $20,000-$30,000; 160, Fred Robertson (Los Angeles) rare table lamp with glazed earthenware and leaded slag glass, descended through the Robertson family and never before offered for sale, estimated at $20,000-$30,000; lot 179, a rare Dirk Van Erp lamp estimated at $25,000-$35,000; and lot 188, a Duffner & Kimberly leaded glass chandelier shade with a poppy pattern, estimated at $25,00-$35,000. A fine and rare Tiffany Studios chandelier, direct from a Michigan residence, is estimated at $25,000-$35,000.
Metalwork:
Early 20th century metalwork in the sale includes items in copper, bronze, silver and silver plate by makers such as Albert Berry, Archibald Knox for Liberty, Dirk Van Erp, Gustav Stickley, John Pearson, Joseph Heinrichs, Roycroft, Stickley Brothers, Tiffany Studios, WMF and more.
Featured in the sale is lot 164, a rare Joseph Heinrichs for Shreve & Co. mixed metal covered bowl with horn and stone arrowheads, estimated at $10,000-$15,000.
Glass:
Glass in the sale includes makers such as Durand, Gallé, Lalique, Loetz, Quezal, Steuben and Tiffany Studios. Featured lots include lot 358, a Loetz Titania vase estimated at $2,000-$3,000 and lot 372, a Lalique luminaire with birds, Fauvettes, circa 1930, estimated at $2,000-$3,000.
Prints, Photographs, Works on Paper:
Artists in the sale include: Arthur Wesley Dow, Edward S. Curtis, Gustave Baumann, Otto Eckmann and Frances H. Gearhart.
Susan Frackelton’s family has also provided the us with several of her works on paper, which has been grouped as one lot (153) of six works: four pencil botanical drawings, one pen and ink landscape, and one illuminated page, estimated at $1,500-$2,000.
Also of note in the sale are two fine Gustave Baumann color woodblock prints, lots 42 and 43, Processional and A Lilac Year, estimated at $6,000-$9,000 and $6,000-$8,000 respectively.
Mid 20th-21st Century / Modern: Sunday, Oct. 2, noon
Sunday’s Modern Design auction features over 500 lots of furniture, lighting and decorative arts. Prominent Modern pieces by George Nakashima, Paul Evans, Philip and Kelvin LaVerne, John Dickinson, Tommi Parzinger, James Mont, Dale Chihuly, Jon Kuhn,Massimo Micheluzzi, Mary Ann “Toots” Zynzky and many more will be coming up for bids.
Modern Furniture:
Featured pieces in the sale include lot 794, Johnny Swing Nickel Couch, USA, 2003, consisting of approximately 7,000 nickels, the fifth of a proposed edition of 25. Purchased by the consignor from the artist, it is estimated at $45,000-$65,000.
As always, there is a fine representation of Nakashima Studios pieces in the sale, such as a two-part cabinet sold as two lots, 839, estimated at $3,000-$4,000 and 840, at $7,000-$9,000. Both come with a copy of the original invoice and drawing. Other notable Nakashima pieces include two exceptional coffee tables, lots 523 and 852, each estimated at $20,000-$30,000.
Also featured are several fine pieces by Paul Evans, such as lot 816, an exceptional Argente vitrine, purchased by the consignor from Paul Evans in 1973, estimated at $45,000-$65,000; lot 513, a rare room divider authenticated by Dorsey Reading, Evans’ studio manager, is offered at $8,000-$10,000; lot 501, an exceptional custom-designed dining table, estimated at $30,000-$40,000; and lot 502, a set of six Patchwork dining chairs, is estimated at $8,000-10,000.
Modern Lighting:
Highlights include several French lamps of note such as: lot 701, a large Serge Mouille adjustable wall-mounting lamp, estimated at $9,000-$12,000; lot 702, a rare adjustable desk lamp by Jacques le Chevallier and René Koechlin of ebonite and aluminum, circa 1928, at $12,000-$18,000; and lot 705, a rare gilded wrought-iron Persane floor lamp attributed to Jean Royère, from the collection of graphic designer and art director Erik Nitsche, $9,000-$12,000.
Metalwork:
Lot 664 is a particularly extensive and complete set of Gio Ponti sterling silver flatware for 12 in the Diamond pattern for Reed & Barton, estimated at $6,500-$8,500. Other metalwork in the sale includes lot 750, a Harry Bertoia bronze Sonambient sculpture, estimated at $25,000-$35,000; and lot 738, an important figural sculpture by Franz Hagenauer for Werkstatten Hagenauer, at $20,000-$30,000.
Modern Fine Art:
Artists’ works sold in this sale: Paintings by Donald Deskey; prints by Harry Bertoia; sculpture by Edwin and Mary Scheier, Pedro Friedeberg, Steven Montgomery, Val Bertoia; woodblock prints by Wharton Esherick, and more.
The sale includes an important wall-hanging figural sculpture by Edwin and Mary Scheier, lot 626, estimated at $4,000-$6,000. Made of guanacastle wood and fur, this piece is possibly the Scheiers’ first wood sculpture to come to auction, and one of only about 100 made between 1970-1978 during their stay in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Another notable work is lot 738, an important figural sculpture by Franz Hagenauer for Werkstatten Hagenauer, estimated at $20,000-$30,000.
Art Glass:
Featured in the sale is lot 571, a fine Albore vessel by Mary Ann “Toots” Zynsky, made of fused and thermo-formed color glass threads, which is estimated at $8,000-$12,000. Also of note is lot 566, a large and spectacular Jon Kuhn cube glass sculpture on steel base, attractively presented at $12,000-$18,000.
Modern Ceramics:
There are several Picasso/Madoura hand-painted ceramic pieces in the sale, including: lot 904, a white plate with flute player and cavaliers, estimated at $2,000-$3,000; lot 905, a plate with flowers and apple, at $1,000-$1,500; lot 906, a figural vessel with lady portrait, at $3,000-$4,000; and lot 907, an owl pitcher, estimated at $2,500-$3,500.
Also of note is lot 629, an important three-piece earthenware totem by Edwin and Mary Scheier, estimated at $10,000-$15,000.
For details visit Rago’s website www.ragoarts.com or phone 609-397-9374.
Joseph Heinrichs for Shreve & Co. multi-metal bowl with stone arrowheads. Estimate: $10,000-$15,000. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center.
Tiffany Studios rare chandelier, height to crown: 22 inches. Estimate: $25,000-$35,000. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center.
Mary Ann ‘Toots’ Zynsky Albore glass vessel, 2004. Estimate: $8,000-$12,000. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center.
Johnny Swing Nickel Couch, 2003, 31 x 90 x 44 inches. Estimate: $45,000-$65,000; Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center.
Paul Evans Argente vitrine, 1973, welded and dye-painted aluminum, laminate, glass, mirror, 93 1/2 x 40 1/2 x 21 1/4 inches. Estimate: $45,000-$65,000; Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center.
An iron collar and lock are haunting reminders of America’s role in the slave trade. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers Archive and Early American History Auctions.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – The United States National Slavery Museum led by former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch papers filed Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court say the museum has more than $3 million in debts and that after bankruptcy proceedings, no funds would be available to creditors.
Museum organizers originally planned to build in Richmond but chose Fredericksburg in 2002 when the city offered Wilder 38 acres along the Rappahannock River.
The museum was supposed to open by 2004 but was never able to raise sufficient funds. No work on the site has been done since 2007.
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) – About 50 works by artists including Maud Gatewood and Herb Jackson are being sold as the former Fayetteville Museum of Art sells its collection to pay off debt.
The Fayetteville Observer reported some of the works were sold Thursday at Methodist University. About 300 people are invited to the private sale. Only six of 22 works offered at the live auction sold, which brought in $13,000. Other works were offered in a silent auction.
A fine arts company in Charlotte is selling several hundred pieces that comprise the rest of the permanent collection in addition to what did not sell at the auction. Proceeds will go toward the debts that forced the museum to close last year.
The museum board first planned to sell all the paintings through the Charlotte company. Then, the board agreed that it would be good to make sure some of the pieces stayed in Fayetteville.
Works by Joe Cox and Claude Howell also were for sale.
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Madelaine Leaning on Her Elbow With Flowers in Her Hair, oil on canvas, 50.17 x 41.28cm, completed in 1918. HOUSTON (AP) – A $25,000 reward has been offered and Houston police have made a public appeal for help in finding a painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir reported taken from a west Houston home.
Renoir’s Madelaine Leaning on Her Elbow With Flowers in Her Hair is part of a private collection at the Vaughn Christopher Art Gallery in Houston.
According to a police statement Wednesday, officers were called to a west Houston home Sept. 8, where a person reported that an armed white man wearing a ski mask and gloves entered and demanded money and jewelry.
Police say the complainant pointed out the painting on the wall and its value, so the gunman took the painting and its frame and left. The complainant wasn’t injured.
Police did not reveal the painting’s value.
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
