Meres One at Rag and Bone, New York City/Photo by Ilana Novick.
NEW YORK – Meres One, an artist and curator of the dearly departed 5 Pointz in Long Island City, is back with his first mural following the untimely white-washing of the former graffiti mecca. This time, he’s popped up with a light bulb mural next to the Rag and Bone store on Houston and Elizabeth streets.
The bulbs are black, white and silver, with eyes like aliens. They are either exaggerated, stretched-out ovals or triangles. It gives the bulbs a stunned and annoyed look. The bottoms are coiled which makes the bulbs look like they are choking; maybe that’s why their eyes are popping out? Then again, that’s how I feel about the end of 5 Pointz, so the anger feels appropriate. The words (hashtags) #MeresOne #RestInPause and #5 Pointz are written underneath the bulbs. I’m hoping that Rest In Pause means the end of the Long Island City space is merely a pause in the world of graffiti and street art, that there’s something amazing coming.
The side of a clothing store, which Rag and Bone calls a “designated graffiti area,” is not quite the same as an entire giant building dedicated to graffiti, as 5 Pointz was, but perhaps it is a sign of where street art is now. There’s a lot of smaller, legal walls, often corporate sponsored, that offer a respite from potential arrest, but without the thrill and the freedom of the chase and the claim of spaces as your own. That’s not to say this isn’t often a good thing. Exposure is exposure, sometimes these walls are nonprofit, and plus with all the constant construction in New York, there will always be room for ephemeral tags, wheat pastes, throw-ups, even murals. It’s just a transitional moment, whose meaning (or lack thereof) I imagine I’ll be working out in this column for quite some time.
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
Meres One at Rag and Bone, New York City/Photo by Ilana Novick.Meres One at Rag and Bone, New York City/Photo by Ilana Novick.Meres One at Rag and Bone, New York City/Photo by Ilana Novick.Meres One at Rag and Bone, New York City/Photo by Ilana Novick.
This Noma Christmas-tree stand was made in the late 1920s or 1930s. The base is 14 1/2 inches in diameter. The stand is made of lithographed tin and pictures Santa’s sleigh and reindeer. It sold for $270 at a November 2013 Rich Penn auction in Iowa.
BEACHWOOD, Ohio – Holiday-related collectibles are especially popular if they relate to Christmas, Halloween, Fourth of July, Easter, Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day and even St. Patrick’s Day. But the most popular holiday for collectors is Christmas.
Families save tree ornaments, toppers, trim and lights, but it is harder to find a Christmas tree stand or fence. Early commercial tree stands were made of cast iron. Three or more legs held a tube large enough for the trunk of a tree and had large screws that dug into the tree trunk. The designs for the iron legs were much like the patterns found on iron stove feet or garden benches. The stands kept changing in style to match dominant furniture styles. By the 1920s, cone-shaped metal stands with lithographed tin pictures of Santa were popular. They resembled lithographed tin toys. Some of these stands were electrified for lights or hid a mechanism that made the tree revolve. Noma, the American company that made strings of Christmas tree lights and developed the bubble light in 1945, had started making stands in about 1926. By the 1960s, the Art Deco aluminum tree was popular, and stands with colored lights were made of shining metal to match. The most expensive antique stands are the early 1900 figural iron stands that look like a small Santa, a group of people or even reindeer. They sell for $200 to $750 each. Noma stands sell for about $200 to $300, and old aluminum stands with lights are $250 to $350. But beware. These have all been copied.
Q: I have a six-pack of 1955 Blatz Holiday flat-top beer cans. The pack has never been opened and it includes cans in all six colors. I think the cans, especially the pink and light blue, are valuable. What is the whole set worth?
A: There are many dedicated collectors of old and rare beer cans. Some would be eager to buy your rare set of 1955 Blatz holiday steel cans. In addition to light blue and pink, the set included green, chartreuse, dark blue and orange cans. Beer, previously sold in bottles, was first sold in cans in 1934. The cans were made of steel until 1958, when aluminum cans were introduced. Blatz Brewery opened in Milwaukee in 1846 and continued to operate under various owners until 1958, when it was sold to Pabst. The brand name is owned by Pabst today, too, but the original Blatz brewery has been converted to condos. We have seen a single green 1955 Blatz holiday sell for more than $250, so your complete set could top $1,000. To sell your cans, do some research and find the right market. Contact experts at the Brewery Collectibles Club of America (BCCA.com) and at Breweriana.com.
Q: I have a 6-foot-tall silver metallic Christmas tree that’s at least 50 years old. Does it have any value? Should I sell it?
A: Aluminum Christmas trees were popular in the 1960s. The first ones were made by the Aluminum Specialty Co. of Manitowoc, Wis., in 1959. The trees have wire branches wrapped with aluminum strips to represent “needles.” Early trees had collapsible tripod bases. Later, revolving bases were made, some with music. The trees came in various sizes and colors, but silver was the most popular. Since lights couldn’t be put on aluminum trees, most people used a lighted revolving color wheel at the base of the tree. Millions of aluminum trees were made in the 1960s by several manufacturers. They went out of fashion by the end of the decade and could be picked up at garage sales for just a few dollars. Reproduction and new aluminum trees are being made. Collectors have recently become interested in the old aluminum trees, and prices have risen. Some sell for over $100. If you like the tree, you may just want to keep it and display it during the holidays.
Q: About 25 years ago, I bought an “M.I. Hummel” signed print of the Madonna for $12. It’s 12 by 18 inches. My children had it framed for me. My daughter tried to search online for information about Hummel prints, but all she could find were figurines. Can you help?
A: Sister Maria Innocentia (Berta) Hummel (1909-1946) is most famous for the Goebel figurines based on her artwork. But before and after she became a nun in 1933, she drew and painted pictures that were also published as prints. The signature she used on yours is her convent name and means the original painting was done in 1933 or later. Your print would not sell today for much more than you paid for it, even with the frame.
Q: My husband’s grandfather’s uncle, named Otto Stark, was of German descent. He lived much of his life in the Indianapolis area and belonged to the “Hoosier Group.” We have a few pieces of his artwork and wondered if they would be of any value.
A: The Hoosier Group was made up of five Indiana artists whose paintings, murals and portraits of Indiana people and places were featured in many exhibitions and public buildings in the “Hoosier State.” The name “Hoosier Group” was first used to refer to them in 1894. Otto Stark (1859-1926) was born in Indianapolis and is known for his impressionist landscapes dating from the late 1800s and early 1900s. He started out as a woodcarver’s apprentice and later worked as a lithographer. Stark studied art in France. He opened a studio in Indianapolis in 1894 and later taught art. His oil paintings are offered for $2,000 to $4,000, and his watercolors for $400 to $1,000.
Tip: Store fragile Christmas tree ornaments in plastic zip-lock bags. Be sure there is some air in each bag when you zip it. The air bubble protects like bubble wrap.
Terry Kovel and Kim Kovel answer questions sent to the column. By sending a letter with a question, you give full permission for use in the column or any other Kovel forum. Names, addresses or email addresses will not be published. We cannot guarantee the return of photographs, but if a stamped envelope is included, we will try. The amount of mail makes personal answers or appraisals impossible. Write to Kovels, Auction Central News, King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.
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.
Effanbee Patsy Mae doll, composition, muslin, sleep eyes, human hair, box, 1935, 27 inches, $1,570.
Ralph and Terry Kovel, syndicated newspaper columnists, best-selling authors, avid collectors and national authorities on antiques, hosted the HGTV series Flea Market Finds with the Kovels. Watch the Kovels’ HGTV shows to become an expert on almost anything you see at a flea market. DVD sets of Seasons 1 and 2 (12 episodes each, plus a DVD of the final episodes of Seasons 1-4.) Available online at Kovelsonlinestore.com for $59.90 plus $4.95 postage, by phone at 800-303-1996; or mail to Kovels, P.O. Box 22900, Beachwood, OH 44122.
This Noma Christmas-tree stand was made in the late 1920s or 1930s. The base is 14 1/2 inches in diameter. The stand is made of lithographed tin and pictures Santa’s sleigh and reindeer. It sold for $270 at a November 2013 Rich Penn auction in Iowa.
Van Gogh’s ‘Self Portrait with Straw Hat’ at the Detroit Institute of Art. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. DETROIT (AP) – The fair market values of some of the most popular pieces in the Detroit Institute of Arts – including Bruegel the Elder’s The Wedding Dance and a Van Gogh self-portrait – have been released.
Christie’s auction house appraised about 2,800 paintings, sculptures, pottery and other city-owned artwork at the city’s request. The list of the items and how much each would fetch at sale were released Thursday by the city.
The Wedding Dance is valued at $100 million to $200 million, while Van Gogh’s Self Portrait with Straw Hat was given a price tag of between $80 million and $150 million.
State-appointed emergency manager Kevyn Orr hired Christie’s to do the work. Orr has said city-owned art in the museum can be considered an asset and could be vulnerable during a bankruptcy. He filed for bankruptcy in July, and federal Judge Steven Rhodes approved the petition Dec. 3.
The high values of some of Detroit’s pieces are not surprising, said Charles Guerin, director of the Hyde Collection in Glen Falls, New York.
“The art market has become a place to invest large sums of money,” Guerin said. “Art is a commodity, especially when you get into those numbers. It’s amazing somebody would even have $150 million to spend. There are a lot of wealthy people in the world who can look at $150 million as if it’s chump change.”
According to the appraisal by New York-based Christie’s, the city-owned pieces at the Detroit Institute of Arts are collectively worth between $454 million to $867 million. They represent about five percent of the museum’s estimated 66,000-work collection.
Orr has said the city’s debt is at least $18 billion. That includes $5.7 billion in unfunded health care obligations and $3.5 billion in unfunded pension liabilities. He is expected to present a plan of adjustment for fiscal restructuring to the bankruptcy court in early January that will include his recommendations for the art.
Guerin cautioned against selling any of the art, saying it would be “short-sighted.”
“Detroit is a great city. One of the things that make it a great city is that it has an absolutely great museum,” he said.
Here are some of the highlights of the appraisal:
– The Wedding Dance, Pieter Bruegel I, $100 million-$200 million.
– Self Portrait with Straw Hat, Vincent Van Gogh, $80 million-$150 million.
– The Visitation, Rembrandt Harmensz. Van Rijn, $50 million-$90 million.
– Le guéridon, Henri Matisse, $40 million-$80 million.
– Gladioli, Claude Monet, $12 million-$20 million.
– The Palla Altarpiece: Tobias and Three Archangels, Neri Di Bicci, $8 million-$15 million.
– Portrait of Hendrik Swalmius, Frans Hals, $6 million-$10 million.
– Madonna and Child, Giovanni Bellini and Workshop, $4 million-$10 million.
– Saint Jerome in His Study, Workshop of Jan Van Eyck, $4 million-$8 million.
– A dead hare with flowers and onions on a ledge, Jean-Simeon Chardin, $5 million-$7 million.
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
AP-WF-12-20-13 0214GMT
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
Van Gogh’s ‘Self Portrait with Straw Hat’ at the Detroit Institute of Art. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Black rhinos in Tanzania. Image by Brocken Inaglory. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) – A Chinese national acknowledged Thursday that he was the mastermind of an international smuggling operation that illegally transported more than $4 million in rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory from the U.S. to China over the last several years.
Zhifei Li, 29, of Shandong, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to 11 counts including conspiracy, smuggling, illegal wildlife trafficking and making fake documents. Each of seven smuggling counts carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence. Li’s sentencing is scheduled for April.
“Rhino horn can sell for more than gold and is just as rare, but rhino horn and elephant ivory are more than mere commodities,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Dreher said in a statement. “Each illegally traded horn or tusk represents a dead animal, poaching, bribery, smuggling and organized crime.”
All species of the rhinoceros are protected under U.S. and international law, and international trade in rhino horns and elephant ivory has been regulated since the mid-1970s. Elephant herds in Africa have been critically depleted over the years by ivory hunters.
According to court documents, Li paid a Long Island City antiques dealer for horns that had been acquired by two other people based in several U.S. states. One of the sources for the horns was a wildlife auction business in Missouri. The horns were allegedly shipped to Hong Kong and then mainland China wrapped in duct tape and hidden in porcelain vases.
Federal investigators began focusing on Li two years ago, after a confidential informant sold two raw rhino horns to a middleman at a rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike. The horns, which had been supplied by the government, were then sold to the Long Island City antiques dealer.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office estimated the total value of the horns, plus other smuggled objects made from the horns and from illegally obtained elephant ivory, was about $4.5 million.
The Long Island dealer, Qiang Wang, was sentenced to 37 months in prison two weeks ago in New York.
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
AP-WF-12-19-13 1918GMT
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
Black rhinos in Tanzania. Image by Brocken Inaglory. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.
