December 3, 2013 - Auction Central News

Univ. of Texas’ Ransom Center acquires Ed Ruscha archive

Ed Ruscha. Photo by Sten M. Rosenlund. Courtesy of Ed Ruscha and Gagosian Gallery.

AUSTIN, Texas—The Harry Ransom Center, a humanities research library and museum at The University of Texas at Austin, has acquired the archive of artist Edward Ruscha (b. 1937). The materials reveal Ruscha’s creative process and offer a unique perspective of one of the most influential artists working today.

Born in Omaha, Neb., Ruscha moved to Oklahoma City in 1941 and to Los Angeles in 1956 to attend the Chouinard Art Institute. He had his first solo exhibition in 1963 at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles. In the years since, he has been widely recognized for his paintings, drawings, photographs and artist’s books.

Ruscha is known for art that often manipulates words and phrases in unconventional ways. Ruscha’s art is deeply influenced by his love of books and language, as reflected by his frequent use of palindromes, unusual word pairings and rhyme. He has often combined the cityscape of Los Angeles with vernacular language, and his early work as a graphic artist continues to strongly influence his aesthetic and thematic approach.

Ruscha’s archive comprises five personal journals filled with preliminary sketches and notes; materials related to the making of his artist’s book of Jack Kerouac’s “On The Road” (2010); notes, photographs, correspondence and contact sheets relating to the creation and publication of his many other artist’s books, including “Twentysix Gasoline Stations” (1962), “Every Building on the Sunset Strip” (1966) and “Some Los Angeles Apartments” (1965); and materials relating to his short films “Miracle” (1975) and “Premium” (1971); his portfolios; and several art commissions.

Once processed and cataloged, the materials will be accessible in the Ransom Center’s reading room to students, researchers and the public.

“The Ransom Center is committed to the idea of having the public share in these treasures through exhibits and also encouraging scholarship by allowing the study of these important materials and subjects,” said Ruscha. “The thought that my working documentation could be in this magnificent repository is a wonderful honor and destination of great respect. I now see that the Ransom Center is the home to end all homes.”

Ruscha has been the recipient of many awards and honors, including a 1971 Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Grant in 1978 and the 2009 Artistic Excellence Award from Americans for the Arts. In 2013, he was honored by Time magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential People.”

“Ed Ruscha’s art draws upon literature, photography and film,” said Ransom Center Director Stephen Enniss. “His archive complements and extends the Center’s diverse collections and will be an invaluable resource for all those interested in studying the art, photography and literature of our time.”

In 1962, Ruscha’s first book, “Twentysix Gasoline Stations,” revolutionized the genre of artists’ books. He is often credited with establishing the way modern artists’ books are conceived, designed and consumed. The archive will complement the Ransom Center’s extensive collection of artists’ books.

“Ruscha is one of the most important artists of his generation,” said Peter Mears, curator of art at the Ransom Center. “His career, beginning with the 1960s Pop Art movement, spans a half-century of modern and contemporary art practice. His use of words and wry phrases, prominent throughout his artwork, will add a whole new dimension to the research experience here linking the visual and literary disciplines together in new and exciting ways.”

The purchase of the archive was primarily supported by generous donors, including Michael and Jeanne Klein, the Marlene Nathan Meyerson Foundation, and Mark Wawro and Melanie Gray. The university provided additional support for the acquisition.

Ruscha, who continues to live and work in Los Angeles, donated a substantial portion of the archive to the Ransom Center, including a complete set of his artist’s books, print portfolios, 16 mm reels of his films and a complete set of exhibition posters.

“We have long considered Ed Ruscha’s remarkable artworks as a visual form of narrative,” said Michael and Jeanne Klein. “How wonderful it is that his creative process will be studied at the Ransom Center alongside Jack Kerouac’s notebook and the papers of so many other authors whom Ruscha has admired.”

“Ed Ruscha’s influence on contemporary art and photography has been profound,” said Marlene Nathan Meyerson. “His archive will enrich our understanding of one of the most important artists of our time.”

Ruscha’s paintings are held in numerous museum collections internationally, and the Getty Research Institute and the J. Paul Getty Museum jointly hold a significant collection of Ruscha’s photographs. Ruscha has been included in numerous museum group exhibitions and has been the subject of solo retrospectives, most recently in the Getty Museum’s 2013 exhibition “In Focus: Ed Ruscha.”

Online: http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/

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ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

Art concept related to Ed Ruscha's artist book edition of Jack Kerouac's novel 'On the Road.' The edition was published in 2010. Image courtesy of the Harry Ransom Center. — Art concept related to Ed Ruscha’s artist book edition of Jack Kerouac’s novel ‘On the Road.’ The edition was published in 2010. Image courtesy of the Harry Ransom Center.

Snapshot of Texaco Jackrabbit station in Kingman, Ariz., related to Ed Ruscha's first artist book 'Twentysix Gasoline Stations,' which was published in 1963. Image courtesy of the Harry Ransom Center. — Snapshot of Texaco Jackrabbit station in Kingman, Ariz., related to Ed Ruscha’s first artist book ‘Twentysix Gasoline Stations,’ which was published in 1963. Image courtesy of the Harry Ransom Center.

Snapshot of Conoco station in Albuquerque, N.M., related to Ed Ruscha's first artist book 'Twentysix Gasoline Stations,' which was published in 1963. Image courtesy of the Harry Ransom Center. — Snapshot of Conoco station in Albuquerque, N.M., related to Ed Ruscha’s first artist book ‘Twentysix Gasoline Stations,’ which was published in 1963. Image courtesy of the Harry Ransom Center.

Antique toys, marbles, banks, robots at Morphy’s, Dec. 13-14

Tin litho and plastic battery-operated Change Man robot, Horikawa, Japan, comes with original box. Est. $4,000-$6,000. Morphy Auctions image.

DENVER, Pa. – As the landscape begins to reflect the first signs of the holiday season, with twinkling lights and snow-flocked trees visible through windows everywhere, collectors know it’s time for their favorite buying event of the year: Morphy’s December toy auction. This year the event is slated for December 13-14 and includes a colorful 1,750-lot array of antique toys, rare marbles, banks, trains and Part II of the incomparable Enzo Pertoldi robot and space toy collection. Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

The Friday session will open with 300 lots of antique and vintage marbles. A prized selection gathered by Morphy’s marble expert Brian Estepp includes Lot 165, a rare maglight Indian marble measuring 2 3/8 inches in diameter. This remarkable piece with spotting reminiscent of end-of-the-day glass appears to have a black ground, but under a black light, it turns red. It is expected to roll out of the gallery on auction day for $7,000-$10,000.

Other marble highlights include Lot 135, a 2 5/16in shrunken-core onionskin, est. $6,000-$10,000; Lot 129, a 1¾in painted-dog sulphide, $1,500-$2,500; and Lot 64, a three-quarter-inch unglazed china floral marble, $1,000-$2,000. Additionally, Lot 41, a near-mint clambroth measuring over 2 1/16in is estimated at $1,500-$2,500; while Lot 15, a 4-lobe onionskin with suspended mica is entered with a $1,000-$2,000 estimate. In addition to the handmade examples, the grouping also includes some very desirable machine-made marbles.

“Everyone is wondering where they should put their money these days, and I still believe the best place to put it is in the bank, as long as it’s a nice, old mechanical bank in fine condition,” said Dan Morphy, CEO of Morphy Auctions. Morphy is an expert on mechanical banks and authored the 2007 reference book titled “The Official Price Guide to Mechanical Banks.”

Morphy’s Dec. 13 session contains more than 100 mechanical and still banks. Mechanicals are led by four coveted J & E Stevens productions: Lot 386, a Girl Skipping Rope, $12,000-$16,000; Lot 378, an excellent-plus Breadwinners, $12,000-$18,000; Lot 385, a North Pole bank, $10,000-$15,000; and Lot 401, a Shoot the Chute, $15,000-$25,000. Made by Philadelphia’s Kyser & Rex, Lot 346, an Organ Grinder & Performing Bear is expected to make $9,000-$14,000.

Topping the still bank category is Lot 343, an extremely rare Board of Trade bank made by Harper. “To my knowledge, this is one of only two or three that exist. It came out of a house in Lancaster, Pennsylvania,” said Morphy. Estimate: $6,000-$9,000.

More than 100 cast-iron toys – both automotive and horse drawn – will be offered in the opening session. The highest-estimated cast-iron lot, at $20,000-$30,000, is a rare 11-inch-long Hubley “Say It With Flowers” Indian motorcycle delivery van. Turquoise blue with a black-uniformed driver, the vehicle retains its factory flower decals on both sides and is an all-original piece. “This toy was consigned to us by its original owner, who is 91 years old and lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where the Hubley plant was located,” said Morphy.

Next to cross the auction block will 75+ European tin toys by Lehmann, Gunthermann, Martin and other fabled German manufacturers; followed by 100+ character toys. Highlights include Lot 626, a Schuco tinplate Mickey Mouse holding a balloon and riding in a wind-up cart, $2,000-$3,000; Lot 642, a Tinko Japanese celluloid wind-up dancer, $1,200-$1,800; and Lot 655, a Japanese tin friction Dream Car, $1,500-$2,500. Friday’s activities will conclude with more than 100 lots of pressed steel, including pedal cars, trucks and cars.

The Saturday session will start off on an extraterrestrial note with Part II of the world-renowned Enzo Pertoldi robot and space toy collections. More than 400 lots will be offered, with many classics included, such as Lot 1184, a painted and litho’d-tin Diamond Planet Robot, $6,000-$9000; Lot 945, a boxed, wind-up tin-litho Chime Trooper, $4,000-$8,000; and Lot 991, a near-mint tin-litho and plastic battery-operated Change Man in its original box, $4,000-$6,000. Other top lots from the Pertoldi collection include Lot 1020, a painted and lithographed-tin crank-wind X-27 Explorer, $4,000-$6,000; and Lot 971, a Musical Drummer Robot, $3,000-$5,000. Both robots come with their original boxes.

The remainder of the session is devoted to 350+ train lots. Three lots of particular importance are: Lot 1434, an American Flyer Spiegel passenger train set in original box, $3,000-$6,000; Lot 1436, an American Flyer #1448 Minute Man set in original box, $2,000-$4,000; and Lot 1437, a J.C. Penney department store passenger train set in its original box, $2,000-$4,000.

For additional information on any item in Morphy’s Dec. 13-14 auction, call 717-335-3435 or e-mail serena@morphyauctions.com. Both sessions will start at 9 a.m. Eastern Time.

View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

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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

Tin litho and painted crank-wind X-27 Explorer, Yonezawa, Japan, comes with original box. Est. $4,000-$6,000. Morphy Auctions image.

Rare 11in Hubley ‘Say It With Flowers’ Indian motorcycle toy, cast iron, American. Est. $20,000-$30,000. Morphy Auctions image.

Lionel O-gauge No. 700E freight train set, pre-WWII. Est. $3,000-$6,000. Morphy Auctions image.

J. & E. Stevens ‘Breadwinners’ cast-iron mechanical bank. Est. $12,000-$18,000. Morphy Auctions image.

J. & E. Stevens ‘North Pole’ cast-iron mechanical bank. Est. $10,000-$15,000. Morphy Auctions image.

Schuco Walt Disney Donald Duck wind-up toy, German, retains original hang tag, Schuco key and extremely rare original box. Est. $1,200-$1,800. Morphy Auctions image.

Rare maglight Indian marble with spotting and colors reminiscent of end-of-the-day glass, 2-3/8in dia. Est. $7,000-$10,000. Morphy Auctions image.

Tin litho and painted Diamond Planet Robot, Yonezawa, Japan. Est. $6,000-$9,000. Morphy Auctions image.

Early calculator tallies $313,000 at Auction Team Breker

Thomas de Colmar’s Arithmomètre (lot 8), sold for 233,600 euros ($313,000). Auction Team Breker image.

COLOGNE, Germany – As clothes are said to make the man, so in the world of auctions and antiques, an exceptional housing or original box can sometimes influence the price of an item exponentially. Such was the case at Auction Team Breker’s marathon 900-lot auction of antique toys and technology in which an example of the world’s first commercially made calculator, Thomas de Colmar’s Arithmomètre (lot 8), sold to a private French collector for 233,600 euros ($313,000).

LiveAuctioneers.com provided Internet live bidding.

Not only is the Arithmomètre a milestone in its own right, but this 1835 example was housed in a luxuriously appointed boulle case engraved as a “Souvenir de l’Inventeur” to de Colmar’s sister-in-law, Emilie Charlotte Reynaud de Barbarin.

From calculators to computers, a 1976 Apple I – the first ready to use PC in the world to offer monitor and keyboard access – was bought for nearly 246,000 euros ($330,000) by another collector from overseas (lot 22). In addition to an original monitor, software and peripherals in near-mint condition, the motherboard also retained its original cardboard shipping box that had been signed and authenticated by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

A contemporary photograph taken in the Steve Jobs’ family home showed a pile of identical white boxes awaiting shipment to the company’s first customer, California electronics chain the Byte Shop.

Another landmark was the first officially named Mac computer, a rare surviving prototype of the unsuccessful “Twiggy Mac” series from 1983 (lot 19), which fetched 30,750 euros ($41,200).

Meanwhile a three-rotor 1944 Enigma cyphering machine (lot 10) and a lilliputian German watch-form Kryha-Liliput cipher device (lot 11) from 1924, both of which were in their original cases, sold for 39,350 euros ($53,100) and 9,850 euros ($13,300) respectively.

Continuing the trend of top prices for pieces in superb original condition was a single-owner collection of scientific instruments whose strength was 19th century surveying apparatus. Two German transit theodolites, both with well-preserved original lacquer, by Hildebrand of Freiburg (lot 213) and Sartorius of Göttingen (lot 252) garnered particular interest, selling for many times their estimates at 8,000 euros ($10,800) each.

Casework also proved important for mechanical music instruments, which ranged in size from the mighty – a Frati & Co. pneumatic orchestrion with the vocal capacity of a small band (lot 366) for 8,000 euros ($10,800) – to the miniature, a gem-set necessaire formed as a grand piano by Russian silversmith Konstantin Egorovitch Knyasev (lot 421) for 30,750 euros ($41,500).

Two French automata with an Oriental inspiration proved especially popular. The first, an early and intricate piece for the Chinese market, depicting three artisans and a musician at work in the forecourt of a stately building, fetched 18,500 euros ($25,000) (lot 431). The second was a large and elaborate electric advertising automaton titled “The Mysterious Illusion” (lot 436), whose Mandarin magician and elusive assistant had originally entertained passers-by from the windows of Midwestern businesses during the 1930s. The publicity piece, which was accompanied by period testimonials and photographs from the shops which leased it, fetched 36,900 euros ($49,800). An automaton with a contemporary American theme was the 2013 “Portrait of Obama” by Christian Bailly (lot 438), which sold to an online bidder from the U.S. for 27,800 euros ($37,500).

As with the instruments, original boxes add a special cache for toy collectors and can mean the difference between an average and an exceptional price. Auction Team Breker’s sale featured a fine private collection of about 400 antique tin toys which included the work of German makers Bing, Lehmann, Carette and Marklin as well as classic Japanese makers of the 1950s and ’60s. In the first category were favorites such as Lehmann’s Masuyama Rickshaw (lot 574) for 4,300 euros ($5,800), Bing’s largest limousine (lot 629) for 11,000 euros ($15,000) and a Marklin horse-drawn coupe (lot 560) for 6,400 euros ($8,600), while among the second were elegant automobiles like ATC’s Buick (lot 687) for 5,000 euros ($6,750), mostly in pristine condition and many in their original boxes.

Also in its original box was a fine Jouet de Paris Train Automobile Rénard, produced in a short run for the luxury department store Grand Magasins du Louvre (lot 593), which fetched 17,700 euros, ($24,000).

A convoy of over 70 miniature tin motorcycles inspired some of the most heated bidding of the day, with the work of William Krauss of Nuremberg (lot 767) at 9,200 euros ($12,500) and a rare Chinese tin toy cycle from the 1930s (lot 764) at 11,400 euros ($15,400), more than tenfold its estimate – just two of the exceptional prices achieved. Others included a large and near-mint Tipp & Co. motorcycle (lot 737) for 9,200 euros ($12,400) and a Johann Distler cyclist and female pillion (lot 799) for 9,800 euros ($13,200).

Aeronautical transport was represented by a selection of early biplanes, gliders and airships, including a Wright-pattern Aerona (lot 530) which floated to a new home in a significant German toy museum for 6,600 euros ($8,900). With its roots planted firmly on the ground was a rare Marklin tree stump monkey bank – illustrated in the maker’s 1910 catalog but previously unknown – (lot 846) for 6,900 euros ($9,300). Creating interest among collectors in several categories, a Tipp & Co. Calculating Boy (lot 3) brought a surprisingly high 6,750 euros ($9,100), a new record price for this piece.

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

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

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

German watch-form Kryha-Liliput cipher device (lot 11) from 1924, in its original case, sold for 9,850 euros ($13,300). Auction Team Breker image.

German transit theodolite by Hildebrand of Freiburg sold for many times its estimate at 8,000 euros ($10,800). Auction Team Breker image.

Gem-set necessaire formed as a grand piano by Russian silversmith Konstantin Egorovitch Knyasev sold for 30,750 euros ($41,500). Auction Team Breker image.

‘The Mysterious Illusion’ automaton fetched 36,900 euros ($49,800). Auction Team Breker image.

Bing's largest toy limousine sold for 11,000 euros ($15,000). Auction Team Breker image. — Bing’s largest toy limousine sold for 11,000 euros ($15,000). Auction Team Breker image.

Tin motorcycle by William Krauss of Nuremberg made 9,200 euros ($12,500). Auction Team Breker image.

Tipp & Co. Calculating Boy set a new record, selling for 6,750 euros ($9,100). Auction Team Breker image.

Asian bronzes, jade, woodblock prints featured Dec. 8 at Woodbury

WOODBURY, Conn. – On Sunday, December 8th at 12 noon Eastern Time, Schwenke’s Woodbury Auction will hold its Annual Holiday Fine Estates Auction, with Internet live bidding through LiveAuctioneers. Several estates form the core of this 500 lot plus sale, principally comprised of fine and decorative arts from a descendant of Edmund A. Tarbell, noted American impressionist painter, and Asian bronzes, jade and woodblock prints from estates in New York and Connecticut.

Principal among the highlights is a fine Asian gilt bronze figure of Tara, as well as an Asian gilt bronze seated water buffalo. Both descended from the painter Edmund A Tarbell, and the water buffalo bronze was featured in a painting by Tarbell which is still in the family of the painter. The bronzes carry modest pre-sale estimates in the mid-hundreds.

Other Asian decorative arts lots include several assorted jade pieces, including a fine carved boulder jade piece on stand, and several carved jade pendants. Asian jewelry includes a rare Chinese carved jade Guanyin figure mounted with a diamond in pendant form. Many Japanese woodblock prints are also being offered, including a rare triptych woodblock of a Geisha bathhouse.

Another highlight lot is a fine pair of Dutch round delft chargers, 19th century with floral decoration, 12¾in in diameter, from a Connecticut estate, estimated at $300-$400. Other porcelain lots of interest include an English porcelain hand painted dessert set, comprising 18 pieces, a rare Staffordshire porcelain bird feeder, and many other lots of Staffordshire, pearlware, creamware and other Continental and Asian porcelains.

Top lot of the several silver lots in the sale is a Tiffany & Co. sterling silver service for twelve in the Wave Edge pattern, circa 1891, presented together with four additional Tiffany hollow ware items, all cased in a custom Tiffany & Co. sycamore fitted case. The service, which weighs 198.5 troy ounces, is expected to fetch $10,000.

Other early silver includes an American coin-silver engraved teapot by John C. Moore (Am. 1825-1845), of tapering octagonal form, with spurred spout and handle and domed lid with similarly shaped and engraved knop, marked on bottom “New York” and pictorial marks for John C. Moore, 7in high, 5in body diameter. Continental silver includes a fine Dutch silver tea caddy, circa 1750-1760, lid with lion finial, heart shaped makers mark with initials ES flanking a tree. Weight 9.740 troy oz., 6in high, 4in wide.

Mid-century furniture and decorations are also on offer, including two different pairs of modernist brass lighting devices. First is a pair of Finnish brass lamps designed by Paavo Tynell, Finnish, 1890-1973, circa 1950, produced by Taito, each with six lights, two wirework finials over oval shades with cutout star ornamentation on two crossed supports and round bases. The lamps are stamped on top of fixture with conjoined double “T” logo, “Taito NM 713 B made in Finland,” 70 1/2in high, 19 1/2in wide. Second is an unusual pair of 1950’s brass and wood tripod lamps with brass and caged wood central column on bulbous body, wood and brass tripod bases, with custom suede and brass grommet shades. 28 1/2″ high, 11in diameter.

Fine period furniture lots include a French carved 18th century coffer, a George III carved mahogany silver cabinet, an English oak welsh dresser, a gilt and decorated Adam demi-lune console table, and a South German baroque walnut veneered pine three drawer commode, mid 18th century, with crossbanded serpentine top above similarly shaped drawers, raised on a scalloped base and bracket feet. 32 1/2in high, 44in wide, 24in deep.

A fine framed oil on canvas by Helene Girod de L’Ain (Fr. b.1926), is one of the star fine art lots. The painting is signed lower left “Girod de L’Ain,” signed and titled verso “Girod de L’Ain Les Bleuets,” and bears a paper label on stretcher “NY Circulating Library of Paintings Inc.” Sight size: 31in high, 31in wide.

A New York estate yielded a rare Max Ernst (Ger. 1891-1976), “Figure” lithograph proof print, inscribed, signed in ink lower border, “Eprouve d’essai sur la bon a tirer! La figure – apparat en bleu sous – gleiche Max Ernst.” Sight: 24 1/2in high, 18in wide; Frame: 31in high, 24in wide. According to family tradition, this print is a proof of a lithograph that was meant to be included in a portfolio of lithographs to be sold to fund the International Rescue Committee, an organization which was conceived by the estate representative’s father. For some reason Ernst never completed his contribution, but the proof print remained with the family until now.

Many fine jewelry lots are included in the sale, including an 18K gold eight loop puzzle ring, several 14K and 18K gold bracelets and necklaces, many pearl and diamond jewelry pieces from a West Coast estate, and other estate and Chanel costume jewelry. Many couture furs are also being offered in the sale.

The sale also includes a large selection of estate oriental carpets including Persian and Caucasian room and scatter sized rugs, and other regional Asian rugs of varying sizes. Featured carpet lots include two fine Shirvan rugs, a Persian Tabriz garden rug, a palace size Indo-Persian rug, and a multi-colored Chinese room size carpet.

For additional information on any lot in the sale, call Woodbury Auction at 203-266-0323.

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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

Reading the Streets: A visit from Space Invader

Space Invader on the Bowery, New York. Photo by Nic Garcia via Gothamist.com

NEW YORK – Not to be outdone by Banksy, everyone’s favorite enigmatic Parisian, Space Invader, visited New York in November, following on the heels of Banksy’s October “Better Out Than In.”

Space Invader is named after the 1970s video game of the same name. He (I’m assuming he, but the artist remains anonymous) composes tiled mosaics of a variety of characters.

I mistakenly thought he simply recreated the characters in his namesake video game. At first, I didn’t understand the appeal. Because Space Invader’s mosaics so skillfully mimic the pixilation of vintage Nintendo games, the work seemed blurry, and possibly mocking my less-than-amazing vision. The mosaics however, warrant a second look, and inspiration comes from all kinds of video games, movies, and cartoons.

The piece that first changed my mind was a mosaic Snow White perched above the Olympia Restaurant on the corner of Delancey and Essex Street. The bright primary colors were so striking, I took a moment to step back, and suddenly the Disney favorite revealed herself.

From then on, I was excited to find a small cartoon monkey at 90 Bowery, an apple that plays on the I Heart New York campaign, and even a classic Space Invader, which seemed more expressive than others I’d seen before. Its black eyes appeared to be giving me side-eye from the wall of the Bushwick Collective, perhaps smirking at my initial skepticism.

Space Invader’s time in New York was sadly cut short by an arrest, but I have a feeling he won’t stay away for long. Meanwhile, keep an eye out for Invader’s short film Art4Space, first screened in New York, but hopefully destined for wider release.

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ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

Space Invader on the Lower East Side, New York. Photo by Nic Garcia via Gothamist.com

Space Invader in SoHo, New York. Photo by Nic Garcia via Gothamist.com

Space Invader in Bushwick, New York. Photo by Jamie Rojo via BrooklynStreetArt.com

Chasing rainbows: The intense competition for colored diamonds

Clockwise from top left: Vivid greenish-blue radiant cut .92 carat diamond, vivid yellowish-green 1.01 carat diamond, vivid purple .81 carat diamond, rare fancy red diamond. All images by Zach Colodner, courtesy Optimum Diamonds.

SAN FRANCISCO – Sotheby’s in Geneva made auction history last month when it sold the Pink Star – a 59.60-carat oval cut pink diamond – for $83,187,381, a world auction record for any diamond (or gemstone or jewel, for that matter). Sotheby’s David Bennett called the stone “a true masterpiece of nature.” Four bidders competed for the stone, the largest internally flawless, fancy vivid pink diamond ever to be certified.

If you have ever looked at a fuschia wildflower and marveled at its impossibly bright color, consider the spectrum of naturally occurring colored diamonds: from yellows and browns — the most common colors — to pink and blue, to deep greens, purples and reds—the most rare. While colored diamonds are usually muted in tone, some rare specimens are so candy-vivid you can’t believe they are not treated. There is even a diamond known as a “chameleon” that, as the name suggests, actually changes color.

For 20 years, before retiring recently to work in the auction business, Josh Cohn was a colored-diamonds specialist with the Gemological Institute of America, the non-profit organization that sets the standard for grading gemstones. At GIA, Cohn would examine stones to grade them and determine whether their color occurred naturally or synthetically. The GIA analysis of colored diamonds encompasses aspects of clarity, color and place of origin for certification. Treated stones are also graded. (The Institute’s website is a superbly illustrated source of information about, and images of, colored diamonds: http://www.gia.edu.)

“Some of the naturally occurring colors can look highly artificial, and some treated diamonds have more subtle colors; without advanced testing, you can’t tell if stones have been treated,” says Cohn.

Causes and Origins

Of the known causes in natural colored diamonds, color can be influenced by radiation or trace elements, such as nitrogen or boron, interacting with the crystal during its development. Artificial treatment processes including radiation and high temperature /high pressure (hpht) are used to quickly replicate the color effects that take tens of millions of years to come about naturally. Again, cautions Josh Cohn, you can’t discern treated stones with the naked eye or even through a loupe. The best way to guarantee the diamond you are buying is through a report from an accredited laboratory, such as GIA.

Different diamond colors are associated with different mine locations throughout the world. The famous Hope blue diamond is thought to have been mined in India at the Kollur mine some three centuries ago. Mr. Cohn, who now works as a consultant for Morphy’s auction house in Pennsylvania, says developments in mining technology have more recently opened deposits of colored diamonds, such as the deep pinks from the Argyle mines and the bright yellows found in the Ellendale Mines, both olocated in Western Australia. The Pink Star/Dream was mined in 1999 by De Beers in Africa.

“The Golconda mines in Southern India were once known as the best source for pink diamonds, but other mines have come to the fore.” said Cohn.

Auction Market

The market for colored diamonds has been extremely strong over the past year, culminating with the record-setting sales of November. One day before Sotheby’s sold the Pink Star/Dream, Christie’s offered a fancy-vivid orange diamond, at 14.82 carats the largest known to exist. The pear-shape orange diamond (also known as a “fire diamond”) eclipsed its estimate of $17/20 million to fetch $35.5 million at Christie’ in Geneva.

In April of this year, the pink Princie diamond, found centuries ago in the Golconda mines of southern India, was bought by a telephone bidder at Christies in New York, for $39.3 million. The diamond’s provenance included ownership by the super-wealthy royal family of Hyderabad.

Colored diamonds in the middle range also have elicited intense bidding this year: at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, in April, a 7.85-carat vivid fancy yellow diamond ring with an antique cushion cut outstripped its estimate of $150,000-$200,000 to realize $542,500.

Colored Diamonds in Museums

Those who wish to see colored diamonds up close have several options. The storied Hope Diamond, on display at the Smithsonian’s Harry Winston gallery (part of the enormous collection of gems and minerals that is part of the institution’s Natural History Museum) is probably the most famous colored diamond of all. It’s a 42.5-carat blue diamond whose popular history includes, according to the museum’s online catalog: “a stint in the French crown jewels, a daring theft, two re-cuttings, an English king, a wealthy American socialite, a bit of mystery and a curse or two.”

The DeYoung Red Diamond, at 5.03 carats, is one of the largest natural fancy dark red diamonds known. It was gifted to the Smithsonian by a Boston jeweler who acquired the rare and extremely valuable stone as part of a collection of estate jewelry, wherein it was wrongly identified as a garnet.

Another amazing blue diamond on display at the Smithsonian is called the Blue Heart, a heart-shape 30.62 carat blue diamond taken from a South African mine in1908, as a rough stone of 100.5 carats.

In San Francisco at The De Young Museum, an exhibition of Bulgari jewelry on display through February 2014 includes some beautiful examples of fancy yellow diamonds. A trio of tremblant brooches, so-named because of the setting that allows some of the diamonds to tremble slightly, thus increasing their radiance, are modeled on sprays of flowers. A beautiful single-flower brooch has delicate, curling petals, shaded by pave diamonds that range from white, to pale yellow, to brighter yellow at the tips.

A Colorful Future for Diamonds

The momentum for large colored diamonds offered at auction seems undiminished. Sotheby’s December sale includes a 51.75 fancy vivid yellow cut-cornered square diamond ring, estimated at $2.5/3.5 million. No doubt we will see other examples as the important winter and spring sales unfold.

Search for colored diamonds in upcoming auctions at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

The Orange: a fancy vivid orange diamond of 14.82 carats sold at Christies Geneva on November 12, 2013 for $36 million against a pre-sale estimate $17/20 million. Image courtesy Denis Hayoun Diode SA Geneva

A vivid greenish-blue radiant-cut .92 carat diamond. Zach Colodner image, courtesy Optimum Diamonds

A vivid yellowish-green 1.01 carat diamond. Zach Colodner image, courtesy Optimum Diamonds

A vivid purple .81 carat diamond. Zach Colodner image, courtesy Optimum Diamonds

A rare fancy red diamond. Zach Colodner image, courtesy Optimum Diamonds

Bulgari flower brooch, 1968; platinum, emerald, white and yellow diamonds. Image courtesy FAMSF

Rodin’s ‘The Kiss’ brings $485,000, seals $1.9M Heritage sale

Rodin's 'The Kiss' bronze nearly doubled the estimate, selling for $485,000. Heritage Auctions image.

DALLAS – Auguste Rodin’s The Kiss, standing 15-3/4 inches high, which was discovered in a private collection in Amarillo, Texas, sold for $485,000 at Heritage Auctions. The rare and important bronze – ranking alongside The Thinker as one of Rodin’s most recognizable works – led a $1.9+ million selection of major impressionist and post-impressionist paintings, sculpture and drawings on Nov. 8.

LiveAuctioneers.com provided Internet live biddings.

Many of the auction’s top lots were discovered in private Texas collections.

“It’s gratifying to be able to bring important works from Texas collections to the market,” said Brian Roughton, director of American and European art at Heritage. “It validates the high level of connoisseurship and world-class sophistication of collectors in this region.”

Two post-impressionist masterpieces by Henri Martin, from an important private collection in San Antonio, enjoyed intense bidder interest, as Petit bassin près de la tonnelle sud de Marquayrol (Jardin de l’Artiste) or Small pond near the South Arbor Marquayrol (Garden of the Artist) hit $149,000 and Charmille realized $118,750. The Nov. 8 auction marks the first time the two works have been seen by the market since the 1960s.

Works by School of Paris artists remain popular with bidders as Edouard-Léon Cortès’ Place de la Republique, Paris, from 1918, sold for $62,500 and Pierre Eugene Montezin’s Le Casino, a lively landscape of Cannes, took $59,375, more than double its estimate. Montezin’s Les Paons, a striking work depicting a male and a female peacock from the collection of former Dallas Mayor Starke Taylor and his wife, Carolyn, sold for a strong $43,750.

Additional highlights include:

Paysage d’Hiver á Chaponval by Gustave Loiseau. Realized: $53,125;
La ferme à Châtillon-sur-Seine by Camille Pizzarro. Realized: $46,875;
Nu allongé contre un lit by Henri Baptiste Lebasque. Realized: $46,875.

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

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

'Petit bassin près de la tonnelle sud de Marquayrol,' an oil on canvas by Henri Jean Guillaume Martin, sold for $149,000. Heritage Auctions image. — ‘Petit bassin près de la tonnelle sud de Marquayrol,’ an oil on canvas by Henri Jean Guillaume Martin, sold for $149,000. Heritage Auctions image.

Jean Guillaume Martin's oil painting titled 'Carmille' sold for $118,750. Heritage Auctions image. — Jean Guillaume Martin’s oil painting titled ‘Carmille’ sold for $118,750. Heritage Auctions image.

'Place de la Republique, Paris,' painted in 1918 by Edouard-Léon Cortès sold for $62,500. Heritage Auctions image. — ‘Place de la Republique, Paris,’ painted in 1918 by Edouard-Léon Cortès sold for $62,500. Heritage Auctions image.

Pierre Eugene Montezin’s 'Le Casino,' an oil on canvas landscape of Cannes, made $59,375. Heritage Auctions image. — Pierre Eugene Montezin’s ‘Le Casino,’ an oil on canvas landscape of Cannes, made $59,375. Heritage Auctions image.

'Paysage d'Hiver á Chaponval' by Gustave Loiseau sold for $53,125. Heritage Auctions image. — ‘Paysage d’Hiver á Chaponval’ by Gustave Loiseau sold for $53,125. Heritage Auctions image.

London Eye: November 2013

Mark Poltimore, chairman of Sotheby’s Russia, conducts proceedings at Sotheby’s sale of important Russian Art in London on Nov. 25. Image Auction Central News

LONDON – Back in the dot-com boom period of 2000-2003, the staid and conservative world of fine art auctioneering looked with something of a jaundiced eye on the new-fangled Internet and the so-called World Wide Web. Few indeed were those who recognized the potential of new technology to radically alter the commercial landscape of the traditional art market. While most auctioneers battened down the hatches and hoped it would all go away, a few plucky individuals took a risk, jumped ship from their secure posts in the world of bricks and mortar and joined one of the new Internet start-ups. Sadly, few of those early pioneering businesses survived the subsequent financial meltdown, but by effectively taking one for the team they thus paved the way for the world we now inhabit in which Internet bidding is playing an increasingly prominent role.

Mark Poltimore, current chairman of Sotheby’s Russia, was one of the brave souls who a dozen years ago packed his gavel and set off for the sunlit uplands of Internet auctioneering. In doing so he gained perhaps a deeper insight into Internet auction technology than less adventurous colleagues in the art market. That experience may have been in the back of his mind as he mounted the rostrum at Sotheby’s in London on Monday evening to conduct a sale of Russian art.

Halfway through the evening, he brought the hammer down on Lot 19 – a painting of a seated nude by Nikolai Fechin (1881-1955) – one of a number of lots that had been deaccessioned by the Palm Springs Art Museum.

‘The largest internet bid I’ve ever taken,’ said Sotheby’s Mark Poltimore as he sold Nikolai Fechin’s ‘Nude’ for £1,258,500 ($2.06 million) at Sotheby’s Russian sale in London on Nov. 25. Image courtesy of Sotheby’s.

Simply titled Nude, the work had been estimated at £500,000-£700,000 ($800,000-$1,120,000) but a steady battle between the room, the telephones and a particularly determined bidder on the Internet eventually drove the hammer up to £1,258,500 ($2.06 million).

“That was one of the largest internet bids I’ve ever taken,” pronounced Lord Poltimore from the rostrum. The significance of those throwaway words in the context of his earlier experience with the now long-defunct E-Hammer.com would have been lost on a saleroom packed with members of the Russian nouveau riche.

Fechin’s Nude was a welcome highpoint in a sale that had been deprived of much of its promised blue-chip action by the fact that the two star lots had been sold by private treaty prior to the auction. Petr Petrovich Konchalovsky’s enormous Family Portrait in the Artist’s Studio, and Robert Rafaelovich Falk’s Man in a Bowler Hat (Portrait of Yakov Kagan-Shabshai), both dated from 1917 and were prominently hung in the center of the salesroom.

Petr Petrovich Konchalovsky’s monumental ‘Family Portrait in the Artist’s Studio,’ and Robert Rafaelovich Falk’s ‘Man in a Bowler Hat (Portrait of Yakov Kagan-Shabshai),’ hanging at Sotheby’s on Monday Nov. 25. Both lots were sold by private treaty prior to the auction. Image Auction Central News.

Drawing heavily on the prevailing painterly language of postimpressionism, both works reportedly sold to London-based Russian billionaire oligarch Pyotr Aven, chairman of the Alfa Banking Group. Sotheby’s declined to confirm the prices, but Russian trade sources at the sale told Auction Central News that the prices were £4.75 million ($7,775,000) for Family Portrait and £6.1 million ($10 million) for Man in a Bowler Hat.

Robert Rafaelovich Falk’s ‘Man in a Bowler Hat (Portrait of Yakov Kagan-Shabshai),’ sold by private treaty, reportedly to Russian billionaire oligarch Pyotr Aven, for an unconfirmed £6.1 million ($10 million) before Sotheby’s Russian art sale on Nov. 25. Image courtesy of Sotheby’s.

The highest price of Sotheby’s Russian week was the £2,210,500 ($3.6 million) paid by a first-time Russian buyer for a magnificent pair of Russian Imperial porcelain vases, while Christie’s hit an even higher price the following day when they sold Ilya Mashkov’s (1881-1944) canvas titled The Bathers for £4,114,500 ($6,665,490).

This pair of Russian Imperial porcelain vases fetched £2,210,500 ($3.6 million), the highest price of Sotheby’s Russian art week in London. Image courtesy of Sotheby’s.

Ilya Mashkov’s ‘The Bathers,’ which sold for £4,114,500 ($6,665,490) the highest price of Christie’s Russian art week in London on Nov. 26. Image courtesy of Christie’s.

There are said to be around 500,000 Russians domicile in London — hence the capital’s new sobriquet “Moscow-on-Thames.” Certainly the high-spending Russian and Eastern European contingent were in evidence for the Russian sales. If the London auction sales confirmed their taste for art, we know rather less of their taste in music, but it is a fair bet that the majority of them would be familiar with the output of one Robert Zimmerman, known to most of the world as Bob Dylan. One had only to wander across the street from Sotheby’s to the Halcyon Gallery to witness Dylan’s most recent project and it had nothing to do with music.

Halcyon Gallery in New Bond Street, where Bob Dylan’s exhibition of welded iron sculpture titled ‘Mood Swings’ is currently on display. Image Auction Central News.

“Mood Swings” is a huge exhibition devoted to Dylan’s sculpture in iron and steel. The recently opened Halcyon Gallery is a vast building but Dylan seems to have had no trouble filling its many rooms with his elaborate screens and wall panels composed of welded chains, bolts, springs and clamps.

Bob Dylan’s welded iron sculptures on display at London’s Halcyon Gallery, just opposite Sotheby’s in New Bond Street. Image Auction Central News.

“I’ve been around iron all my life ever since I was a kid,” says Dylan in a wall panel in the exhibition. “I was born and raised in iron ore country where you breathe it and smell it every day. And I’ve always worked with it one way or another.” His sculptural activities may come as a surprise to the legions of fans who have listened to Bob’s music through the decades, many of whom will now be wondering how he ever found time in his busy writing, recording and touring schedule to brandish a welding torch (Monday write, Tuesday weld?).

Dylan’s sculpture is a derivative take on the work of the modernist sculptor David Smith, and lacks the visual poetry and sense of composition that established Smith’s reputation as a great American master. Unlike Smith’s muscular constructions made from discarded engineering components, these Halcyon works seem to have been made from preordered parts that have the shiny, box-fresh quality of off-the-peg interior design.

‘Mood Swings,’ an exhibition of singer Bob Dylan’s iron sculpture at Halcyon Gallery in New Bond Street, until Jan. 25. Image Auction Central News.

Dylan’s sculptures may have been inspired by visual artists of far greater renown but at least he is not being accused of plagiarism. Damien Hirst, on the other hand, is once again in the news for allegedly drawing a little too much on the work of another artist. Hirst’s recent photo shoot for GQ magazine features pop diva Rihanna as Medusa crowned with snakes with a python around her neck. Now artist Jim Starr is claiming that the image seems strangely similar to one of his own works which, coincidentally, had appeared in a Dreweatts auction catalog adjacent to one of Hirst’s works. Approached by the London Evening Standard newspaper, Hirst’s dealers, the fashionable White Cube gallery, declined to comment.

Happily no such brouhaha surrounds the work of London-based Anglo-Indian artist Natasha Kumar, whose Indian-inspired paintings, prints and drawings are winning her a broad collecting base around the world. Her recent exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society in Exhibition Road, a mere stone’s throw from the great Asian collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, has won her even more admirers.

This work by Natasha Kumar was recently on display at the Royal Geographical Society in South Kensington and will be on show at the Asia House Christmas Fair at 63 New Cavendish St. on Dec. 6-8. Image courtesy Natasha Kumar.

‘On the Ganges, Sunrise,’ by British artist and printmaker Natasha Kumar, which will be among works on display at the Asia House Christmas Fair at 63 New Cavendish St. on Dec. 6-8. Image courtesy Natasha Kumar.

The exhibition featured paintings and drawings based on her travels in Rajasthan and were complemented by outdoor sculptures in polished stone by British artist Paul Vanstone.

“It is always a real joy to be part of the Royal Geographical Society,” Kumar told Auction Central News. “This is our second Kumar and Vanstone exhibition in the Pavilion Gallery. The glorious building has surprising spaces with wonderful lawned gardens that back onto the Royal Albert Hall. Paul’s large torso works and his heads in pure black and pure white marble look amazing here.”

British sculptor Paul Vanstone’s polished stone torsos on display the Royal Geographical Society in Kensington. Image courtesy Paul Vanstone and the Royal Geographical Society.

Kumar’s works will be on show at the Asia House Christmas Fair at 63 New Cavendish Street on Dec. 6-8.

Asian works also featured in the recent Antiques for Everyone Fair at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham in early November. One of the fair’s most interesting and successful components was a ‘Young Guns’ section devoted to dealers under 40 years of age.

The Young Guns pavilion at the Antiques for Everyone Fair at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham in early November where organizers reported a ‘genuine improvement’ in trading conditions. Image courtesy Antiques For Everyone Fair.

“It’s been a thrill to bring my eclectic stock to such a popular and well-known fair and do such good business,” said George Johnson, who trades as Lady Kentmores, an antiques shop in Callandar, Perthsire. Among the more encouraging sales at the fair was a Llanrwst oak dresser, circa 1730, offered by Melody Antiques of Chester, (Fig. 14) which sold for around £8,000 ($13,000), a Guanyin female figure in wood and gesso, that sold for £800 on the stand of antiquities specialist A.B.Antico, (Fig. 15) and a late 19th century equestrian oil on canvas titled Colonel Arthur Hill with his Favourite Hunter, by Benjamin Cam Norton, dated 1873, sold by Blackbrook Gallery, Leicestershire for £5,950. (Fig. 16)

This Llanrwst oak dresser, circa 1730, was sold by Melody Antiques of Chester for £8,000 ($13,000) at the Antiques for Everyone Fair in early November. Image courtesy Antiques For Everyone Fair.

A Guanyin female figure in wood and gesso that sold for £800 on the stand of A.B. Antico at the Antiques for Everyone Fair in November. Image courtesy Antiques For Everyone Fair.

A late nineteenth century oil on canvas, ‘Colonel Arthur Hill with his Favourite Hunter,’ by Benjamin Cam Norton, 1873, sold by Blackbrook Gallery, Leicestershire, for £5,950 at the Antiques For Everyone Fair at the NEC in November. Image courtesy Antiques For Everyone Fair.

The fair’s organizer, Dan Leyland, said afterwards: “It’s been particularly pleasing to welcome the support of the Young Guns and to see so many of our new and returning dealers report good business. The market genuinely appears to be improving. We’ve welcomed more exhibitors than for some years, and the prospects for 2014 look most promising.”

Given the prominence of Scottish dealers at the fair, one wonders what impact the forthcoming referendum on Scottish independence might have on Caledonian representation at future events of this kind. Only time will tell.

VIDEO: ‘Terracotta Daughters’ explores gender preference in China

A view of 'Terracotta Daughters,' created by Prune Nourry. Image courtesy of the artist.

NEW YORK – As a continuation of Prune Nourry’s ‘Holy Daughters’ project in India, the artist’s new ‘Terracotta Daughters’ sculptures make a statement about gender preference in China. Nourry has created an army of 116 life-size ‘Terracotta Daughters’ as a contemporary postscript to China’s famed Terracotta Soldiers.

Nourry’s installation will commence a world tour after a Paris debut in April 2014, with subsequent stops planned in Switzerland (June) and New York City (October).

The army will return to China in 2015, to be buried in a “contemporary archaeological site until 2013,” Nourry said.

Nourry is currently in residence at the Invisible Dog Art Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Click to view a trailer about the Terracotta Daughters that samples a 52-minute film being made about the project and a 21-minute version that will be aired during the world tour.

http://vimeo.com/79253556

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ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Auktionsgespraeche: Das feiern von 150 jahren geschmeidige kurven

Sechsarmiger Silberkandelaber, 1898-99, von Henry van de Velde, Teil der Ausstellung des Musées royaux ď Art et Histoire, Brussel. © VG Bildkunst, Bonn, 2013; Fotonutzungserlaubnis der Klassik-Stiftung, Weimar

MÜCHEN – Der Jugendstil war ein unsichtbarer Blitzeinschlag, welcher eine komplette Kehrtwende des künstlerischen Stils verursachte. Irgendwann um 1890 erschien er in Deutschland wie blühender Wein, rankte sich um den Historizismus, dessen klassische Linienführung er durch die geschmeidigen Kurven der Natur auslöschte. Der neue Stil, auch bekannt als Art Nouveau, war eine Synchronizität die Gustav Klimt und andere abtrünnigen Künstler Wiens berührte, aber auch den Maler Alphonse Muncha in Mähren, die englische Illustratorin Audrey Beardsley sowie den französischen Glaskünstler René Lalique. Er überwand sogar den Atlantik, um in den Designs von Louis Comfort Tiffany in New York zu erscheinen.

An der Spitze der Jugendstilbewegung stand der Belgien-stämmige Künstler und Architekt Henry van de Velde. Aus Anlass seines 150. Geburtstages, hat Quittenbaum Kunstauktionen, München, eine besondere Auktion seiner Arbeiten für den 10. Dezember geplant.

Der geschäftsführende Direktor Askan Quittenbaum bemerkte dazu: “Sein 150. Geburtstag wird von vielen Museen gefeiert und da unsere Stärke der Jugendstil ist, dachten wir auch eine besondere Auktion ausrichten zu müssen.”

Obwohl er zugab, dass es nicht einfach gewesen sei, eine große Stückzahl von einem derart beliebten und begeistert gesammelten Designer zusammenzutragen, hat das Auktionshaus es trotzdem geschafft, eine respektable Auswahl von van de Velde Objekten zu sammeln. Der Verkauf wird komplettiert durch eine exquisite Auswahl zeitgenössischer Stücke, wie beispielsweise solche von Glaskünstler Emile Gallé sowie Architekt and Designer Josef Hoffmann.

“Henry van de Velde sah es als Herausforderung, die gesamte Kunst von A bis Z zu gestalten.”, sagt Quittenbaum: “Er nutzte dieselben Methoden wie William Morris in der Kunst- und Handwerksbewegung, was bei heutigen Künstlern nicht der Fall ist.”

Tatsächlich verließ van de Velde, der Malerei in Antwerpen studierte, seinen Pfad, um die umfassenderen Möglichkeiten von Architektur und Design einzubeziehen. Seine Verwendung fließender Rundungen erregte die Aufmerksamkeit von Karl Ernst Osthaus, Gründer des Volkwang Museums, der ihn bat, die Innengestaltung des Museums zu übernehmen.

Kurz nach der Jahrhundertwende avancierte van de Velde bis 1915 zum Direktor der Großherzoglichen Sächsischen Kunstgewerbeschule in Weimar. 1919 wurde die Schule in Bauhaus umbenannt, van de Veldes Theorie ausweitend, dass auch Gebrauchsgegenstände wohlgestaltete künstlerische Arbeiten sein können.

Vielleicht wurde van de Velde durch die Handhabung vieler verschiedener Kunstdisziplinen an der Schule inspiriert, war es für ihn genauso angenehm, die Linien eines Hauses künstlerisch zu entwerfen, wie Bucheinbände, Kleidung, Besteck oder Porzellan. Genauso wie Architekt and Designer Frank Lloyd Wright sah er wohlgestaltete Accessoires als wesentlichen und harmonischen Teil des gesamten architektonischen Objekts.

Quittenbaums bieten ein paar dieser liebevoll gestalteten Stücke an, wie Los 28, ein Türgriff von Frisiersalon Haby in Berlin von 1901. Los 61 sind vier einfache Seidentaschentücher mit einem von van de Velde gestalteten Monogramm bestickt, welche zur selben Zeit geschaffen wurden wie ein Set Tafeltücher für die Großeltern des Malers Curt Herrmann, ca. 1906.

Um zu sehen, wie sich in van de Velde Projekten Architektur und Kunst vereinigen, können Jugendstil Enthusiasten auch historische Orte besuchen. Weimarer Höhepunkte schließen das Haus Hohe Pappeln ein, welches er 1907 für seine Frau und 5 Kinder entwarf; das Friedrich Nietzsche Archiv, welches er auf Bitte des Philosophen Schwester 1902 neu gestaltete und natürlich die frühere Kunstgewerbeschule.

In der Villa Esche, entworfen für den Fabrikanten Herbert Esche in 1902 – 1903 in Chemnitz, bekommt man einen Eindruck davon, wie es war, umgeben von van de Veldes Arbeiten zu leben. Das Museum dokumentiert die Art der freundlichen Arbeitsbeziehung, die van de Velde mit vielen seinen Klienten pflegte. www.villaesche.de

Bevorstehende Auktionen

Dorotheum: 3. Dez. – Pfeifen, Auktionsort: Praha (Prag).

4. Dec. – Kunst, Antiquitäten und Schmuck, Auktionsort: Klagenfurt. www.Dorotheum.com

Hauswedell & Nolte, Hamburg: 3. Dez. – Moderne Kunst Teil I und II.

4. Dez. – Kunst nach 1945. www.Hauswedell-Nolte.de

Bassenge Photoauktionen und Moderne Kunst, Berlin: 4. Dez. – An Important American Private Collection, Fotobücher und Fotoliteratur, Fotografie des 19.–21. Jahrhunderts. www.Bassenge.com

Anticomondo, Köln: 6./7. Dez. Spielzeug- und Reklameauktion. www.Anticomondo.de

Kusthaus Lempertz, Köln: 6./7. Dez. Asiatische Kunst China, Tibet/Nepal, Indien, Südostasien, Korea, Japan. www.Lempertz.com

Leipziger Münzhandlung Auktion H. Höhn: 6./7. Dez., Radisson Blu Hotel, Leipzig www.Numismatik-Online.de

Schmidt Kunstauktionen Dresden: 7. Dez. – Bildende Kunst des 15.-21. Jahrhundert. www.Schmidt-Auktionen.de

ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

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