Early French fashion doll by Bru Jne et Cie, 14 inches. Frasher’s Doll Auctions image. OAK GROVE, Mo. – Frasher’s annual winter auction on Feb. 2 in Scottsdale, Ariz., titled “Fluer de Lys” features a fine selection of over 250 antique and collectible dolls. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.
Many wonderful French bebes by Jumeau, Schmitt, Gauthier, Gesland and others are highlighted by a “mystery doll” with unique modeling, incised “F” and is thought to representative of the exquisite doll heads of the Frayon firm.
An equally stunning early Schmitt bebe with wonderful enlongated almond eyes is another highlight.
Also included are several French poupees by Bru, F.G. and Jumeau; German characters by Kammer & Rinehardt, Marseille, and Kestner; Asian models by Kestner and Simon Halbig; French characters by S.F.B.J.; an outstanding 14-inch toddler model of Kestner Hilda and a choice Hilda baby; a Hertel & Schwab “Jubilee” googly in original suit; lady dolls by Dressel, Kestner and Simon Halbig; vintage bisque kewpies; Austrian enamel miniature furnishings; a superb offering of doll hats, shoes, dresses and accessories; along with select composition Alexander Wave and Wac portrait dolls; Dionne Quintuplets; Patsty family dolls; and Shirley Temple dolls.
All will go under the hammer at the auction in the popular winter getaway city, Scottsdale, Ariz.
For details contact Barb Frasher, phone 816-625-3786.
Internet live bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com.
Early French fashion doll by Bru Jne et Cie, 14 inches. Frasher’s Doll Auctions image.
Rare French ‘A.T.’ bisque head and shoulderplate, size 8, by Thullier. Frasher’s Doll Auctions image.
Splendid French bisque bebe by mystery maker, marked ‘F’ and thought to be from the porcelain firm of Frayon, who created heads for such firms as Steiner and Halopeau. Frasher’s Doll Auctions image.
Early French bebe with extreme almond-shaped eyes, 18 inches, attributed to Schmitt & Fils. Frasher’s Doll Auctions image.
Fine representation of the flapper by Cuno & Otto Dressel, mold 1469. Frasher’s Doll Auctions image.
Asian character baby by Kestner and exotic-look Simon and Halbig mold 1329. Frasher’s Doll Auctions image.
Right: Photo of Steve Rubell in a relaxed pose at Studio 54. Auctioned for $540. Image supplied by Palm Beach Modern Auctions.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (ACNI) – They partied like it was 1979 at Palm Beach Modern Auctions’ January 19th sale of Studio 54 photographs and memorabilia from the estate of the late Steve Rubell. Personally amassed 25 years ago by the charismatic co-owner of New York’s most famous discotheque, the collection of mementos headlined a $1 million auction that also included important modern design and furnishings evocative of the Studio 54 era. The Rubell collection accounted for $332,500 of the day’s tally.
Helen Frankenthaler (American, 1928-2011), ‘Drawing on Woodblock Proof I,’ 1977. Skinner Inc. image. BOSTON – Skinner Inc. will auction prints, photographs, paintings, and sculpture on Friday, Feb. 1 at its Boston gallery. The auction, presented in two sessions, will feature prints and photography starting at noon EST and painting and sculpture beginning at 4 p.m LiveAuctionceers.com will provide Internet live bidding
Fine Prints and Photography
The February prints and photography auction offers more than 250 works, and covers a range of styles, countries and periods. Artists include Albers, Appel, William Blake, Braque, Calder, Chagall, Corot, Dali, Dine, Dürer, Frankenthaler, Hirst, Katz, Ellsworth Kelly, Miró, Moore, Picasso, Rembrandt, Renoir, Rouault, Stieglitz, Uelsmann, Vasarely, Villon, Warhol, Whistler, and others.
A highlight of the Fine Prints auction is Helen Frankenthaler’s Drawing on Woodblock Proof I (lot 79, estimated between $50,000 and $60,000), which uses one block from Frankenthaler’s four-block Essence Mulberry. The Essence Mulberry series was inspired by the observation of a mulberry tree, laden with fruit, growing outside the studio of Frankenthaler’s publisher, Kenneth Tyler. The resplendent tree reminded her of an exhibition of 15th century woodcuts shown at the Metropolitan Museum. The faded palette of those much older works proved an enduring source of inspiration.
Several works by Andy Warhol will be offered including Liz from an edition of 300 published by the Leo Castelli Gallery, New York in 1964 (lot 201, $7,000 to $9,000), and Northwest Coast Mask from an edition of 250 published by Gaultney, Klineman Art in 1986 (lot 204, $10,000 to $15,000). The iconic “Campbell’s Soup Can” makes an appearance on a shopping bag in Campbell’s Soup Can on Shopping Bag (Tomato soup) printed by the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston in 1966 (lot 202, $3,000 to $4,000).
Chagall lithographs include Le bouquet de l’artiste from an edition of 75 (Mourlot, 410) from 1964 (lot 57, $7,000 to $9,000), Le couple devant l’arbre from an edition of 40 (Mourlot, 292) from 1960 (lot 56, $4,000 to $6,000), and four others. Rembrandt’s etching entitled The White Negress circa 1630 (lot 162, $1,000 to $1,500), Dürer’s The Virgin Surrounded by Many Angels from 1518 (lot 74, $1,500 to $2,000), and William Blake’s illustration from The Book of Job: There Were not Found Women Fair as the Daughters of Job (lot 29, $1,200 to $1,800) will also be offered.
Photographs include works by Adams, Edgerton, Siskind, Winogrand and others. Aaron Siskind’s suite of 10 photographs from the series Pleasures and Terrors of Levitation will be offered (lot 248, $10,000 to $15,000), along with classic images from Ansel Adams (lots 222 & 223), and a collection of six Garry Winogrand photographs, including Central Park Zoo (1967), Coney Island, New York (1952), and others (lot 261, $3,000 to $5,000).
Fine Paintings
Alexander Max Koester’s Children and Geese in a Lakeside Meadow (lot 538, $50,000 to $70,000) presents a charming and beautifully rendered pastoral scene. Works by John Joseph Enneking include Peaches Spilling from an Overturned Basket (lot 383, $10,000 to $15,000) and Storm in the Adirondacks (lot 397, $4,000 to $6,000). Two A.T. Hibbard works, Maple Sugaring (lot 448, $5,000 to $7,000) and Docked in Rockport (lot 485, $10,000 to $15,000), and a charming landscape by Charles Daubigny, Untitled (La vallée de l’Oise) (lot 335, $7,000 to $9,000) will also be offered.
Featured modern and contemporary works include St. Tropez by Francis Picabia (lot 601, $50,000 to $70,000), Untitled (Red Nucleus) by Alexander Calder (lot 646, $25,000 to $35,000), Phenomena Broken Prism Finder by gestural artist Paul Jenkins (lot 648, $20,000 to $30,000), and a group of works by Lynda Benglis (lots 652 to 654; 662 & 665).
The enigmatic St. Tropez, circa 1937-1939, was created while Picabia was working in Southern France. It demonstrates the artist’s ever-changing approach to various painting techniques and materials. In the rolling surf and broad sky of the image, observers will notice a strong crackle-pattern that displays a multicolor ground: a prime example of the type of reworking and overpainting for which Picabia was known, and, indeed an earlier composition, probably from the late 1920s lies underneath the visible work.
A group of works by Lynda Benglis include 19th Century Blush (lot 652, $4,000 to $6,000), executed in pigmented encaustic wax on ceramic, and Left and Right Hands #4 (lot 662, $3,000 to $5,000), executed in egg tempera and gold leaf. Sculptural pieces by Benglis include an untitled work of pigmented translucent abaca paper laminate and steel wire (lot 653, $800 to $1,200), and a colorful glazed ceramic work (lot 654, $800 to $1,200).
Fine Sculpture
An impressive pair of bronze Great Danes by Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington (lot 551, $125,000 to $175,000) will be offered. These magnificent sculptures portray two Great Danes in very different attitudes and demeanors. Huntington was known for her sculpture of animals, and she created a number of Great Danes throughout her career, both in stone and in bronze.
For details about this auction contact Robin Starr, director of American and European Works of Art, email: rstarr@skinnerinc.com or phone 508-970-3206.
Internet live bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com.
Helen Frankenthaler (American, 1928-2011), ‘Drawing on Woodblock Proof I,’ 1977. Skinner Inc. image.
Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987), ‘Liz,’ 1964, edition c. 300, published by Leo Castelli Gallery, New York (Feldman & Schellmann, II.7). Skinner Inc. image.
Aaron Siskind (American, 1903-1991), Suite of 10 photographs from the series ‘Pleasures and Terrors of Levitation’: #37, 1953; #474, 1954; #477, 1954; #482, 1954; #484, 1954; #491, 1954; #58, 1956; #63, 1956; #99, 1961; #121, 1961; and P. and T. of L., 1961. Skinner Inc. image.
Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington (American, 1876-1973), ‘Pair of Great Danes.’ Skinner Inc. image.
Francis Picabia (French, 1879-1953), ‘St. Tropez,’ c. 1937-1939. Skinner Inc. image.
Paul Jenkins (American, 1923-2012), ‘Phenomena Broken Prism Finder,’ 1984. Skinner Inc. image.
Lynda Benglis (American, b. 1941), ‘19th Century Blush,’ 1994. Skinner Inc. image.
Lynda Benglis (American, b. 1941), ‘Left and Right Hands #4,’ 1990. Skinner Inc. image.
Victorian lace wedding dress. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Susanin’s Auctions.
FORSYTH, Ill. (AP) – Women gliding down the wedding aisle 111 years ago could seek material assistance if their bodies had been jilted by capricious genetics.
Fashion requirements around 1902 suggested the bride’s radiance would be enhanced by a full bosom and that, of course, posed a problem if you didn’t happen to have one. The haute couture answer, according to vintage clothing expert Nancy Torgerson, was “bust ruffles.”
Torgerson collects antique clothing, and her Forsyth home is bedecked with fashion statements your great-great-great-grandmother would have been intimately familiar with.
“Bust ruffles were a fashionable feature,” says Torgerson, 71, lifting and dropping some on a silk wedding dress to demonstrate how the ruffles give the illusion of amplitude. “It was called pigeon breasted, which I think is ugly, but at the time it was attractive to them.”
Perhaps nothing shows us as whom we were quite so intimately as the glad rags we used to wear. Torgerson has collected antique clothing, mostly women’s, for more than 20 years. A talented seamstress, she started collecting after being asked to make vintage clothing for costumed historical re-enactors. She began prowling antique stores and other emporiums, hunting the genuine article to “make sure I was doing it right” and fell into collecting as easy as slipping into something comfortable.
Her husband, Dick, would accompany her on frequent fabric fishing expeditions and got swept up in the hustle and bustle of it all. So much so, he now collects antique sewing machines.
“I was looking for something to collect. I like anything mechanical, and there were all these old sewing machines,” says Torgerson, 73, who regularly dresses up himself to play a 19th-century Illinois governor who actually lived in Decatur, Richard J. Oglesby, a man to whom he bears a remarkable resemblance. But unlike Oglesby, Torgerson now has dominion over several dozen venerable sewing machines. “And I think the oldest machine I have is from 1860,” he adds.
All these ye olde Singers et al survived the journey down through the years because they were expensive and treasured objects. Nancy Torgerson says wedding dresses frequently persist in the fabric of time because they, too, were precious things. “I didn’t start out to collect wedding dresses, but then I found that is what people saved,” she explains. “And they saved them because they were special.”
You can get a taste of what the preserved nuptial styles of yesteryear look like when Torgerson gives a presentation on wedding dresses and accessories from the 19th and early 20th centuries Jan. 27 at Rock Springs Nature Center in Decatur. She’ll have plenty of samples for the audience to look at, including several flashy numbers going back as far as 1841 that don’t faintly resemble the fluffy white and impractical creations that adorn 21st-century brides.
For a start, many old dresses are not white but in hues ranging from bronze to a brownish red. One silk 1859 number is done in brown and black silk stripes with some added flash coming from accents executed in black velvet. Torgerson points out that the version of the 1859 dress we’re feasting our eyes on now has a skirt altered to reflect the hot fashion trends of the 1870s, and thereby hangs a tale: These bridal gowns were reusable, designed to be available for parties, events and other special occasions. Nobody back then wanted to spend a fortune in time and money making a dress you could only wear once, big-bosomed or otherwise.
“A dress like this would have been a very serious investment,” she says. “So wear it once and put it away like we do today? No, no, no.”
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Online: http://bit.ly/V9kyUK
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
AP-WF-01-17-13 2308GMT
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
Victorian lace wedding dress. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Susanin’s Auctions.
One of the paintings stolen from the museum was ‘Waterloo Bridge, London’ by Claude Monet, 1901. Rotterdam police photo. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
BUCHAREST, Romania (AFP) – Three Romanians have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in a major art heist in Rotterdam in October, the Mediafax news agency reported Tuesday.
Romanian police confirmed to AFP that they “led operations in connection with the theft of paintings in the Netherlands,” but refused to elaborate. The three Romanians were detained at the request of the Romanian prosecutors’ office dealing with terrorism and organised crime (DIICOT), according to Mediafax.
When contacted by AFP, DIICOT spokeswoman Nadina Spinu confirmed only that an “investigation was ongoing” and declined to give further details so as “not to interfere” with the probe.
Seven masterpieces, including paintings by Picasso, Matisse, Monet and Gauguin, were stolen from the Kunsthal museum in the southwestern city of Rotterdam on Oct. 16 in one of the world’s most spectacular art heists in years.
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
One of the paintings stolen from the museum was ‘Waterloo Bridge, London’ by Claude Monet, 1901. Rotterdam police photo. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
The World War II version of the Purple Heart medal in its presentation case. Image by Jonathunder. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – When Army Cpl. George Hemphill returned to North Carolina from fighting in World War II, he tried to put the horrors of life as an infantryman behind him by not talking about what he had seen. That included not asking about the Purple Heart he had received and mailed home for safekeeping.
So imagine his confusion when he learned that a Florida man had purchased his medal in 2000 at an antique store in South Carolina with the hope of one day returning it to its rightful owner. And that a man in Vermont now had his Purple Heart and wanted to return it to him in a ceremony to honor his service.
“I’m just flabbergasted,” said Hemphill, 90, of Union Mills. “I don’t know what to think. They’re just going out of their way to give it back to me. I’m just grateful to them for all the work they’re doing. And the expense, it’s just something. I don’t know how to describe it.”
Hemphill received his Purple Heart in a ceremony Sunday afternoon at the Rutherfordton Community Center. Capt. Zachariah Fike of Burlington, Vt., who runs the nonprofit Purple Hearts Reunited, presented the award to Hemphill, along with a Bronze Star that Hemphill never knew the military had granted him.
Fike has returned 20 of the awards since he started Purple Hearts Reunited in 2009, each time either to the family members of the recipient or to a museum if no family members survived. Sunday marked the first time he’s reunited a Purple Heart with a living recipient.
“Returning these medals brings closure to the families. I absolutely love doing it,” said Fike, noting donations don’t nearly cover his expenses of buying the Purple Hearts and travel to present them. “I’ve spent quite a bit of money on this project. I would do it 10 times over because it’s the right thing to do.”
Hemphill received his Purple Heart after being hit by shrapnel Sept. 11, 1944, from enemy sniper fire that blinded him for three weeks. While still in a field hospital, he mailed the Purple Heart to his mother and didn’t ask about it again.
For decades, he thought it was in a box of medals that his mother kept. He later gave the box to his daughter, Donna Robbins, who didn’t know what medals he had won because her father wouldn’t discuss the war with his only child.
The Purple Heart, however, never got to Hemphill’s mother. Its exact whereabouts were unknown until October 2000, when Robert Blum of Pensacola, Fla., paid about $70 for it in an antique store in Columbia, S.C. He kept it safe for more than a decade when he couldn’t find the owner.
A friend told him about Fike, who tracked down Hemphill. Blum mailed it to Vermont – insured and registered to make sure history didn’t repeat itself.
“The best part of this story is that if I had found him right away, I would have just mailed it to him,” said Blum, who planned to attend the ceremony Sunday. “It would have been over and done with. By going through Capt. Fike, he’s getting all the awards. Now the man is getting everything he really deserves.”
Hemphill also only began opening up about his time in combat last year with his daughter. Talking about his experience “brings out memories we try to forget,” Hemphill said. “When you’ve seen what I’ve seen … I’m not the hero. The heroes are still over there – the ones that didn’t come back. They’re the real heroes.”
He didn’t want a ceremony – and when he lost that fight, he didn’t want anyone to know about it, said Robbins, Hemphill’s daughter.
“He said people will think he’s putting on airs,” Robbins said. “But I told him the Purple Heart means the world to us. I have a son, and he wants to keep the medals forever.”
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Martha Waggoner can be reached at http://twitter.com/mjwaggonernc
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
AP-WF-01-19-13 1825GMT
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
The World War II version of the Purple Heart medal in its presentation case. Image by Jonathunder. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
‘Water Lilies,’ Claude Monet, at the Dallas Museum of Art. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
DALLAS (AP) – While viewing artwork can be culturally enriching, one Dallas museum is making sure the experience doesn’t cost people a thing.
The Dallas Museum of Art this week is rolling out a new program that will offer free admission as well as free memberships.
With the new program, dubbed “DMA Friends & Partners,” members will get a card to track their participation. They’ll then earn credits to convert to rewards including access to special programs.
The museum, which had a free general admissions policy up until 2001, will still charge for special exhibitions and some events.
Museum officials say the return to free admission is made possible by generous donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations.
Right: Photo of Steve Rubell in a relaxed pose at Studio 54. Auctioned for $540. Image supplied by Palm Beach Modern Auctions.
