September 22, 2014 - Auction Central News

Works from Southern collection added to Ahlers & Ogletree sale Oct. 4-5

Signed oil on wood panel by the Armenian-American artist Hovsep Pushman (1877-1966), titled ‘Sacred Lotus of the Nile.’ Estimate: $30,000-$50,000. Ahlers & Ogletree image.

ATLANTA – Four original oil paintings from the renowned James Cowan Collection of fine artwork, gathered in the early part of the last century and mostly housed at a museum in Nashville, have been added to Ahlers & Ogletree’s already loaded two-day fall estates auction slated for Oct. 4-5. LiveAuctioneers.com will facilitate Internet live bidding.

The artworks are by the Armenian-American artist Hovsep Pushman (1877-1966), American artist Lillian Mathilde Genth (1876-1953), Dutch-American artist Willem Van Den Berg (1886-1970); and British-Italian painter Henry King Taylor (1799-1869). The works will blend nicely with the high-end furniture pieces and decorative accessories already in the sale.

The signed oil on wood panel by Pushman is seen as the strongest piece of the group, with a presale estimate of $30,000-$50,000. Titled Sacred Lotus of the Nile, the 28-inch-by-20-inch work (minus the original gilt and ebonized frame) depicts a woman at bust length with dark hair and wearing a jeweled tiara, necklace and emerald-green camisole, with Asian sculptural objects. The back of the work is inscribed with the title, and has a stamp from a photography studio in Aurora, Ill., where Cowan lived. The back also has a possible inventory number (“3A”).

Pushman was born in Asia Minor. When he was still in his teens his family emigrated to Chicago, where he studied Chinese culture, immersing himself in Asian art – a subject that was to become his forte. Pushman studied in Paris and toured the Orient, and was best known for his contemplative still lifes and sensitive portraits of women, such as the painting in this auction.

The oil on canvas painting by Henry King Taylor, titled Marine Painting with Promontory, is an apparently unsigned attribution, but with a pencil inscription “H.K. Taylor.” The work depicts schooners on a tumultuous and choppy sea, with two standing male figures. Measuring 16 inches by 24 inches (minus frame) the painting is expected to hit $8,000-$12,000.

Taylor was a master at the tricky genre of maritime paintings. He lived and was active in both Italy and the United Kingdom, which made him something of an anomaly in the art world, and his paintings today are highly sought after. In February 2007 one of his ships-at-sea works, titled Mount Orgueil Castle, Jersey, was sold through Bonhams in London for $27,774.

Lillian Mathilde Genth’s signed oil on board, titled Oldest Water Fountain, Tangier (est. $2,000-$4,000), depicts an Orientalist Tangier, Morocco cityscape, loosely and expressively rendered with Moorish architecture and figures in turbans and other traditional dress. The frame holding the 9 3/4-inch-by-13 3/4-inch painting displays the artist’s name and the title plaque on the bottom.

Genth was born in New York and died in Philadelphia, but she traveled the world in between. She was known early on for her paintings of female nudes in landscapes, but later in her career – around 1928 – she started painting scenes of her many travels, which took her to Spain, North Africa, Japan, China, Fiji, Bali, New Guinea and Thailand, where she did a portrait of the king.

The 16 1/2-inch-by-13 1/4-inch (minus the frame) oil on canvas painting by Willem Van Den Berg, titled Child with Fishbowl, carries a modest estimate of $1,500-$3,000. The painting, signed lower right, is a figural work, depicting a child wearing a large white collar over a black top holding a glass fish bowl with bright orange goldfish swimming inside the bowl.

Van Den Berg was Dutch-born, but he split his time between Holland and the United States, where his work was exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1935. He also studied in Paris, at the Barbizon School. His oeuvres included still lifes and figural paintings, as well as portraits and landscapes, but he’s probably best known for his images of peasants, farmers and fishermen.

Eager bidders will find the paintings’ provenance nearly as tantalizing as the desirable artworks themselves. In 1927, the city of Nashville received an anonymous donation of fine art – dozens of paintings that became the signature collection of the city’s new art museum at the Parthenon, a copy of the Greek temple built for an exposition in a Centennial Park in downtown Nashville.

It was revealed that the paintings had been given to the city by James M. Cowan, a wealthy insurance executive from Illinois with deep family ties to Tennessee. Cowan donated a total of 63 paintings to the museum, but that was less than a tenth of the estimated 700 works of art that he’d collected. Cowan had no children and the collection was broken up following his death.

Various nieces and nephews inherited the bulk of the estate. Dr. Kirven Weekley, a lineal descendant of Cowan, is the consignor of the paintings in the Ahlers & Ogletree auction. His maternal grandfather was Cowan’s nephew, and he acquired them through inheritance. His decision to part with the paintings presents a rare opportunity for serious collectors of fine art.

The auction was already packed with fine American and French furniture, a collection of antique Persian rugs, watches and other estate jewelry, landscape paintings by noted Austrian artists, scientific objects in excellent condition, sterling silver, Flora Danica china, decorative objects and a great selection of items from private collections out of Florida, Atlanta and St. Louis.

More than 1,000 quality, mostly fresh-to-the-market lots will cross the auction block, in a wide array of categories.

Inquiries regarding bidding or the auction may be made via e-mail (bids@aandoauctions.com) or by phone, at 404-869-2478.

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

Unsigned oil on canvas attributed to Henry King Taylor (British, 1799-1869), titled ‘Marine Painting with Promontory.’ Estimate: $8,000-$12,000. Ahlers & Ogletree image.

Signed oil on board by Lillian Mathilde Genth (American, 1876-1953), titled ‘Oldest Water Fountain, Tangier.’ Estimate: $2,000-$4,000. Ahlers & Ogletree image.

Signed oil on canvas painting by Dutch-American artist Willem Van Den Berg, titled ‘Child with Fishbowl.’ Estimate: $1,500-$3,000. Ahlers & Ogletree image.

Don Presley to auction antiques from upscale So. Calif. estates on Oct. 5

Vampire Killing Kit outfitted with all the accountrements to stave off an unwanted visit from a blood-sucking predator. Est. $8,000-$12,000. Don Presley image

SANTA ANA, Calif. – More than 500 top-quality lots from a Beverly Hills antiques store liquidation and estate pieces from Newport Beach and other upscale Southern California communities will be auctioned by Don Presley on Sunday, Oct. 5.

The auction begins at noon Pacific time / 3 p.m. Eastern. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide the Internet live-bidding services for the sale.

High-quality furniture, clocks, fine artwork, a monumental Baccarat chandelier, Russian and Continental bronzes by the likes of Chiparus, D. Alonzo, G. Omerth, Bruno Zach, Marcel Bouraine, Gerdago and other important artists will be crossing the auction block.

Other highlights including sterling silver, enamel over silver, KPM, Sevres, Lalique, Tiffany, a large Meissen figurine collection, Limoges, Dresden, porcelains, pottery and china.

In time for Halloween, Presley will offer an original and complete vampire-killing kit that includes a flintlock pistol. There is also an outstanding automaton of a girl.

Additional collector’s items in the auction lineup are badges of honor from various countries and Vatican City. Many are of sterling silver and enamel. Asian items include a large collection of celadon jade and other exceptional pieces.

There are many lots of fine jewelry and watches. Highlighting the category is a fine 18K Vacheron Constantin pocket watch, which has a $2,500-$3,000 estimate.

Western Americana will be led by an early cabinet card portrait of Apache tribal chief Mangas Coloradas (c. 1793-Jan. 18, 1863) by photographer A. Frank Randall. The image is in very good condition and has an $800-$1,200 estimate.

Many items are entered in the sale with no minimums or reserves. If there is a reserve, it will be the starting bid, said Presley.

Don Presley Auctions is located at 2202 S. Main St., Santa Ana, CA 92707.

For additional information on any item in the auction, email Don Presley at info@donpresley.com or call 714-633-2437.

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

‘Futuristic Dancer’ by Gerdago (Austrian), enameled and cold-painted bronze on onyx base, one of many Art Deco bronze figures to be auctioned. Est. $10,000-$15,000. Don Presley image

Within the extensive selection of Asian decorative art is a jeweled and enameled cloisonné Quan Yin figure with a deer. Est. $1,800-$2,500. Don Presley image

Evgeny Alexandrovich Lanceray (Russian, 1875-1946), bronze of a Ukrainian chumak driving oxen, signed, foundry mark, Ministry of Finance stamp. Est. $14,000-$16,000. Don Presley image

Edouard Drouot (French, 1859-1945), ‘Venus on the Waves,’ re-gilded in 24K gold, 27in tall, signed, French foundry mark. Est. $3,000-$4,000. Don Presley image

From a fabulous collection of antique badges and medals, a Russian Cross honor badge marked ‘1914 – 1917’ on verso, enameled metal. Est. $600-$800. Don Presley image

A wide array of porcelain includes Meissen figurines, like this 5½in woman with dog. Est. $1,000-$1,200. Don Presley image

Highlighting the jewelry and timepieces section is an 18K Vacheron Constantin pocket watch, est. $2,500-$3,000. Don Presley image

19th-century Trenton ceramics on view Mon./Tues. in Princeton, NJ

Circa-1893 hand-painted Princeton Football tankard made by Ceramic Art Co./Lenox, Trenton, N.J. Ex collection of The Silver Shop, Princeton, N.J. Est. $3,000-$5,000. Material Culture image

PRINCETON, N.J. – A pre-auction exhibition of important china and porcelain pieces created by Trenton, New Jersey ceramics manufacturers of the 19th century is being held Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 22 and 23 in Princeton. The items are on display both days from 11 am. to 5 p.m. at Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart, 1128 Great Road, Princeton, NJ 08540. A “farewell to Princeton” reception is planned from 5 to 8 p.m. on Monday evening. Refreshments will be served.

The antique ceramic wares were made by such fabled Trenton companies as Lenox, Ceramic Art Co. (CAC), and Willets Belleek. All are part of a larger selection of antique decorative art, silver, jewelry and watches from the private collections and remaining inventory of The Silver Shop. The prestigious retail establishment closed in July after 77 years of continuous operation on Princeton’s Palmer Square. All goods will be auctioned on Sept. 27-28 and Oct. 11-12 at the Material Culture gallery in Philadelphia.

Among the special highlights on display are pieces with a Princeton theme, including a large, circa-1893 Princeton Tigers Football Team tankard hand-painted by W.H. Clayton for Ceramic Art company Lenox of Trenton. Other auction lots of Trenton manufacture include full sets of china, a set of plates with an orchid motif, a CAC candleholder, and a large porcelain vase on which the artist Hans Nosek painted an elegant portrait of his wife.

Also having a Princeton connection are two very rare sets of Wedgwood (England) plates painted with images of all the major buildings on the Princeton University campus. These particular sets will be sold during the October 11-12 auction sessions.

A Princeton “institution,” The Silver Shop was frequented by three generations of Princetonians, virtually every New Jersey governor since 1937, and scores of celebrities – from Einstein to Springsteen.

The public is cordially invited to view the exhibition and attend the reception.

For additional information about the exhibition, reception or any item in the auction, call Nic Holland at 215-438-4700.

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

# # #

ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

Hans Nosek (Bohemian, 1876-1966), monumental porcelain vase with hand-painted portrait of the artist’s wife, 18in high, signed and dated 1907, Willets Belleek of Trenton, N.J. Ex collection of The Silver Shop, Princeton, N.J. Est. $4,000-$6,000. Material Culture image

Willets Belleek, Trenton, N.J., flared column vase with hand-painted poppies, circa 1900, unsigned, 12in high. Ex collection of The Silver Shop, Princeton, N.J. Est. $500-$1,000. Material Culture image

This impressive lineup shows the diversity and exceptional quality of wares produced by Trenton, N.J., ceramics and porcelain companies of the late 19th century. All ex collection of The Silver Shop, Princeton, N.J., and to be auctioned by Material Culture of Philadelphia. Material Culture image

Kovels Antiques & Collecting: Week of Sept. 22, 2014

A man's face is a clever decoration on a bellows used to fan flames in a fireplace. The rare 19th-century bellows sold at auction for $2,700.

BEACHWOOD, Ohio – In past centuries, fireplace tools consisted of a poker and tongs to rearrange burning logs, a small shovel to remove ashes, perhaps a whiskbroom to sweep up leftover fuel and ashes, and a bellows to encourage flames to burn brighter. The fireplace was the main heating source for small houses before 1900, so a bellows to coax a flame from a dying fire was important.

Early bellows probably were a bag made from the skin of a small animal and a piece of metal, usually brass, to direct the gust of air created by squeezing the bellows. Later examples had stiff wooden boards and leather sides. Nails rust, and leather and wood dry out, crack and have to be replaced, so most of the antique bellows found today are repaired or made in the 19th century. Many were hand-decorated, and some even had wooden sides carved by cabinetmakers. Many antique bellows have attractive folk art decorations and are wanted for the art, not for use with a fireplace. Most new and many old bellows sell for under $100, but in April 2014, an unusual 1800s bellows with original leather painted to look like a man’s face had a bid of $2,700 at a Showtime auction in Michigan.

Q: I inherited a framed painting that hung in my grandfather’s living room since at least the 1920s. It’s a painting of a gondola with a few passengers and a standing gondolier. But they’re not riding on a canal; instead, they’re floating down what appears to be an underground cave. The painting is signed “M. Gianni” in the lower left corner.

A: Here are a few things to do to learn more about your painting: First, make sure it really is a painting and not a print. If you can’t tell, take it to an expert in your area. Then check online artist databases. You can find some information online, but you can learn more if you go to your local library and ask someone there to help you search databases that the library subscribes to. “M. Gianni” may be an Italian artist named Maria Gianni, who was born in the 19th century but worked into the 20th. She painted using watercolors and gouache. If you have an original painting, its value depends on its condition and size. Some Maria Gianni paintings have auctioned for prices in the low hundreds, but others have topped $1,000.

Q: I have a 6-foot-tall cardboard cutout of Elvis Presley wearing his black leather outfit. I’ve had it for 20 years. What is it worth?

A: Life-size cardboard cutouts of Elvis still are being made and sell for about $20-$30 today.

Q: I bought some green frosted pressed-glass dishes at an estate sale. They are clear glass on the inside and frosted green-blue on the outside. The frosting looks green from the front and bluish from the back. The plates have “KIG Indonesia” in raised letters on the surface on the outer edge. Can you tell me anything about them? Are they safe to eat from?

A: Most frosted glass dishes are safe to use. Frosted glass is made by acid-etching or sandblasting clear glass. Since the “inside” of your dishes are clear and are the surface the food touches, you can be sure they are OK. “KIG” stands for Kedaung Industrial Group, which was founded in Jakarta, Indonesia, by Agus Nursalim in 1969. The company started out making glass and tableware for Indonesia but was soon exporting goods throughout the world. Eventually the Kedaung Industrial Group included more than 30 companies that made glassware, enamel cookware, ceramic housewares, stainless-steel flatware, glass blocks, ceramic tiles and other products. It claimed to be one of the world’s largest manufacturers of glass, and had retail stores in several cities. The company also made reproduction early-American glass. In the United States, products were sold at Walmart and other stores.

Q: We have an oak hanging map cabinet that’s 51 inches wide by 21 inches high. It holds seven large pull-down canvas maps printed by W. & A.K. Johnston of Edinburgh, Scotland. They include maps of Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America, the United States and a couple of the two hemispheres. The maps of Europe show the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Russian Empire, not the Soviet Union. The map of Africa is barely recognizable. There’s a large country in the center of the continent labeled “Congo Free State.” How old are the maps, and what is the full cabinet worth?

A: Look for a copyright date on the maps to date them more precisely. They predate World War I, which ended the Austro Hungarian Empire and saw the formation of the Soviet Union. The Congo Free State existed from 1885 to 1908, so the maps can more precisely be dated as pre-1908. William Johnston (1802-1888) and Alexander Keith Johnston (1804-1871) were partners in a printing business that they founded in Edinburgh in 1826. Alexander became a respected geographer, and the brothers’ firm eventually printed and sold maps, atlases, guidebooks and globes. Some very old maps can sell for millions. Your maps, designed for educational purposes, are not worth that much, but your cabinet and maps could sell for hundreds of dollars if the maps are in excellent condition.

Tip: When rewiring an old Arts and Crafts lamp, use fabric-covered wire that looks very much like the silk-wrapped cord used at the turn of the 20th century.

Take advantage of a free listing for your group to announce events or to find antique shows, national meetings and other events. Go to the Calendar at Kovels.com to find, publicize and plan your antiquing trips.

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.

Coal scuttle, tole, painted landscape, cutout handles, France, 12 inches, $70.
Wooden egg crate, J.G. Cherry Co., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, stenciled, bail handle, lid, c. 1900, 11 x 12 inches, $120.
Chompy the Beetle toy, lithographed tin, windup, red, yellow, orange, Marx, Japan, box, 1965, 6 inches, $180.
Medical spring bleeder, silver plate, engraved “Dr. Holiday,” slip case, c. 1835, 2 1/4 x 2 3/4 inches, $185.
Empire-style chair, wood, gilt trim, ormolu mounts, Sphinx front legs, griffin mounts, upholstered, 40 x 28 inches, $520.
Sign, “Eat Chicken Dinner,” “Candy,” tin, painted, 71 x 37 1/2 inches, $645.
Amish quilt, Trip Around the World, blue, red, green squares, black border, Lancaster, Pa., c. 1830, 72 x 75 inches, $900.
Electric lamp, Venus in shell, waves base, alabaster, Italy, 16 inches, $1,125.
Studio camera, steel, mahogany case, adjustable wood stand, Swift & Son, London, c. 1890, 58 3/4 inches, $1,250.
Silver coffeepot, George II, repousse, leaves, treen handle, William Holmes, England, 1767, 12 inches, $1,625.

Contemporary, modern and mid-century ceramics made since 1950 are among the hottest collectibles today. Our special report, “Kovels’ Buyers’ Guide to Modern Ceramics: Mid-Century to Contemporary,” identifies important pottery by American and European makers. Includes more than 65 factories and 70 studio artists, each with a mark and dates. Works by major makers, including Claude Conover, Guido Gambone and Lucie Rie, as well as potteries like Gustavsberg, Metlox and Sascha Brastoff, are shown in color photos. Find the “sleepers” at house sales and flea markets. Special Report, 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches, 64 pp. Available only from Kovels for $19.95 plus $4.95 postage and handling. Order by phone at 800-303-1996, online at Kovels.com; or mail to Kovels, Box 22900, Beachwood, OH 44122.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Hudson Motor Car museum opens in southeast Mich.

1934 Hudson Terraplane K-coupe. Imge by Cmasonwhf. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.

YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) –Ypsilanti celebrated its place in Michigan’s automotive history Sunday.

The southeastern Michigan community played host to both the public opening of the National Hudson Motor Car Company Museum and an annual orphan car show.

The Hudson museum is sharing space with the Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum in the city’s Depot Town section.

The Automotive Heritage Museum’s 18th annual Orphan Car Show was held at nearby Riverside Park. It’s dedicated to cars whose makers went out of business, including Plymouths and Oldsmobiles.

The Ypsilanti museum was home to a Hudson dealership years ago and has housed a showroom display dedicated to Hudson vehicles.

Now, thanks to a partnership with the Hudson Essex Terraplane Historical Society, the National Hudson museum has become a reality.

___

Online:

http://www.ypsiautoheritage.org

http://www.hudsonmuseum.org

AP-WF-09-21-14 1559GMT

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Pensacola celebrates 100 years of Naval aviation

An F-14A Tomcat in front of the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fla. Image by Kristian Jones, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) – The Florida Panhandle city long known as “The Cradle of Naval Aviation,” is celebrating 100 years of training the Navy’s top pilots.

Pensacola Naval Air Station hosted a black-tie gala Saturday night to mark the base’s 100th anniversary and the 50th anniversary of the National Museum of Naval Aviation, which is housed at the base, The Pensacola News Journal reported on Sunday.

Among the dignitaries at the event was Marine Corps Let. Gen. Jon Davis, deputy commandant for aviation. Davis told the newspaper that he did his flight training in Pensacola 30 years ago. Davis said the base and the city have played a critical role in the lives of many Navy and Marine flight students.

“Naval aviation is really important to the Marine Corps. I’m in charge of Marine aviation and so it’s my way of showing support to NAS Pensacola and Pensacola Naval Aviation for all you’ve done for the Marine Corps and keeping our nation safe,” he said.

Pensacola NAS has seen air cadet training for World War II and aviation training for the Korean and Vietnam wars.

The museum is home to numerous historical aircraft displays from many eras as well as a movie theater, a library, aircraft simulation rides and an extensive collection of military memorabilia across all branches of service.

Saturday’s event included a slide presentation of the first naval aviators and special recognition from former President George H.W. Bush. Bush’s grandson, Jeb Bush Jr., addressed the crowd and read a letter from his grandfather.

Aviation Museum director, artist and former pilot for the U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron, retired Navy Capt. Bob Rasmussen, said has high hopes for NAS and the museum going forward.

“I hope that the museum continues to expand. It’s expanded ever since it’s been here, since 1962, and a good part of that has been in the last 20 years,” he said.

AP-WF-09-21-14 1641GMT

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Picassos among artworks going on public view at Ohio State

Picasso's 1902 painting 'Mother and Child on the Shore.' Image courtesy of Wikiart.org.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – When retail mogul Leslie Wexner peers at one of the Picassos, Dubuffets or Giacomettis in the personal art collection he and his wife Abigail have amassed over the years, he feels a range of emotions that often include gratitude, defeat and exhilaration.

“I find it inspiring in a way – that tangible creativity you find in painting or performance,” says the philanthropist and chairman of L Brands, the company behind Victoria’s Secret, Limited and Henri Bendel.

Art lovers will get an opportunity to experience their own emotional responses to the Wexners’ rarely seen collection beginning Sunday, when 60 of their paintings and sculptures spanning the 19th through 21st centuries go on public display. “Transfigurations” runs through Dec. 31 at the Wexner Center for the Arts, on the campus of Ohio State University.

The exhibit marks the 25th anniversary of the center, named for Wexner’s father, and is curated by Robert Storr, a former senior curator at New York’s Museum of Modern Art who is now dean of the Yale University School of Art.

After acquiring works of mid-20th century New York abstract expressionists, particularly Franz Kline, Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning, Wexner gravitated toward the many periods of Pablo Picasso, the cubist and surrealist sculptor Alberto Giacometti and the often childlike abstractions of Jean Dubuffet. A dancer of Edgar Degas and several Susan Rothenbergs are also among works on display.

“It was never intended to be a collection,” Abigail Wexner says. “Emotional appeal or admiration for the quality of the picture was what we responded to the most.” Her husband adds, “It began with, ‘I like this drawing.’”

With the show, the Wexner Family Collection joins a recent trend from New York to Los Angeles of turning private collections into their own exhibits, says Inge Reist, director of the Frick Collection’s Center for the History of Collecting in New York.

The collections of the Clark Brothers and literary pioneer Gertrude Stein were shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2006 and 2012, respectively. The Meyerhoff Collection was displayed at the National Gallery in Washington in 2009. Philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad and the family of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton have built new art museums in Los Angeles and Bentonville, Arkansas, respectively, to house their collections.

Picasso expert Elizabeth Cowling says the Wexners’ collection will give spectators and scholars a rare opportunity to view many important pieces that haven’t been seen publicly in decades, if ever.

“It’s very exciting to think that these pictures are coming out in the open,” says Cowling, a professor emeritus at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. She cites Picasso’s Seated Nude Woman of 1959 and his Mother and Child on the Shore of 1902, as examples.

Among other rarities on display is Nude in a Black Armchair, which Picasso painted in 1932. His granddaughter, art historian Diana Widmaier Picasso, says it’s one of her personal favorites, depicting her grandmother Marie-Thérèse Walter.

“I had seen it at a Christy’s auction maybe about 10 or 15 years ago and loved it, but I didn’t know where it had gone,” she tells The Associated Press. “I didn’t expect to see it ever again.” Wexner bought it for a reported $45.1 million in 1999.

Widmaier Picasso says “Transfigurations” is a special opportunity to see the Wexners’ art because the couple is so private and Leslie Wexner didn’t start collecting art to put it on public display.

“He really did it for himself and for his family … together with his wife,” she says. “So it’s wonderful for the public to have this opportunity.”

Leslie Wexner says of all the works in the show, he’s most drawn to Picasso’s 1905 Boy in Blue, a stark portrait on a plain background. “I see a strength, a kind of determination in his expression,” he says.

His wife says Dog, one of a small group of animal sculptures Giacometti created in 1951, is probably her favorite because of its extraordinary attitude, but adds that picking just one “is like choosing between your children.”

Leslie Wexner says he so loved the sculpture that he bought it on the spot, had it wrapped in towels and whisked it off in a New York taxi.

The businessman says putting the works on view for the public is fitting: “We really feel that we’re just custodians, guardians of these pieces for a time. Humanity is really the owner.”

___

Online:

http://wexarts.org/transfigurations

AP-WF-09-19-14 2058GMT

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Last stretch of New York City’s High Line to open

At 10th Avenue and 17th Street a window from High Line Park provides unusual views of 10th Avenue Square. Image by bbaunach. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

NEW YORK (AP) – The last stretch of New York’s High Line opens Sunday, completing one of the nation’s most distinctive urban transformations: abandoned elevated rails that have been turned into a linear oasis of flowers, grasses and trees.

That last, half-mile section finishes the 22-block walkway that over five years has helped drive the hip gentrification of the Chelsea neighborhood on Manhattan’s West Side. Luxury condos, galleries, restaurants and boutiques have all but pushed out the industrial grime around the old freight route that once delivered goods to warehouses, meatpacking and manufacturing plants.

“The High Line has changed the dynamics of the city,” says Laurance Rassin, an artist showcasing his paintings and sculptures to visitors along the three-story-high walkway. “If Picasso were alive, he’d be painting on the High Line.”

As visitors stroll or relax on benches, actors read Shakespeare, musicians play violin and flute, and children gather for outdoor storytelling.

“I get to talk to everyone from students to movie stars, and I find out about different parts of the world,” says Rassin, who lives in a luxury high-rise overlooking the new, northern stretch.

That part of the park curves around Hudson Yards, a mammoth high-rise development that by 2024 will be home to more than a dozen new skyscrapers. Sections of rusty tracks are still visible in spots, a reminder of the area’s dirty and dangerous past.

Street-level freight trains ran on Manhattan’s West Side between 1851 and 1929, causing so many accidents that Tenth Avenue was known as “Death Alley.” So-called “West Side Cowboys” on horses rode in front of the trains to prevent collisions with vehicles and pedestrians.

That hazard spurred construction of the elevated High Line in 1934, allowing trains to roll right up to and, in some cases, inside buildings to deliver milk, meat, produce and other goods. The rise of interstate trucking led to the railway’s demise, and the last train ran in 1980, pulling carloads of frozen turkeys.

In 1999, when the weed-choked relic was under threat of demolition, a community-based nonprofit calling itself the Friends of the High Line was formed to find another use for it.

“We wanted to create a space where people could be immersed in nature,” says the group’s co-founder, Robert Hammond.

Today, the High Line park – built with $223 million in both government and private funds – draws nearly 5 million visitors a year, offering an expansive view of midtown Manhattan and the Hudson River. Visitors walk on concrete slabs softened by grasses, shrubs, and trees peeking from crevices and benches surrounded by blossoms.

On both sides along the High Line, private day-to-day lives becomes public.

One afternoon, a dog poked its head out of a brownstone window. And at night, with apartment lights on, a woman could be seen cooking in her tiny kitchen, steam rising from a pot.

It’s a New York feast of old and new, rich and poor, American and foreign.

“I’ve never seen anything like this, up in the air where you walk, and you can sit on benches in the sun near little gardens,” says Renata Buergel, an attorney from Hanover, Germany. “It’s a highlight of New York City, something new and special, young and green.”

For some, it means more money coming in.

At the High Line Pizza shop just under the elevated park, employees say business has more than doubled in the past two years.

But there’s a downside to the success. Some businesses in run-down brownstones have simply been shuttered as rents rise in the now-hot neighborhood.

For Auto Designs NYC, which customizes luxury cars, the nearby High Line is a nuisance.

“We get nothing out of it,” says employee Peter Makar. “Our rent went up, and about 16 times a day, I get asked for directions to the High Line.”

“And it’s right here,” he adds, pointing up.

AP-WF-09-21-14 0256GMT

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Islamic extremists threaten ancient sites in Iraq, Syria

The shrine of Jonah in Mosul was destroyed by explosives set by forces of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on July 24. Image by Roland Unger. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.

BAGHDAD (AP) – For more than 5,000 years, numerous civilizations have left their mark on upper Mesopotamia – from Assyrians and Akkadians to Babylonians and Romans. Their ancient, buried cities, palaces and temples packed with monumental art are scattered across what is now northern Iraq and eastern Syria.

Now much of that archaeological wealth is under the control of extremists from the Islamic State group. The militants have demolished some artifacts in their zealotry to uproot what they see as heresy, but they are also profiting from it, hacking relics off palace walls or digging them out to sell on the international black market.

Antiquities officials in Iraq and Syria warn of a disaster as the region’s history is erased.

In Iraq, black market dealers are coming into areas controlled by the Islamic State group or in safe regions nearby to snap up items, said Qais Hussein Rashid, head of the state-run Museums Department, citing reports from local antiquities officials still in the area.

When the militants overran the northern city of Mosul and surrounding Ninevah province in June, they captured a region were nearly 1,800 of Iraq’s 12,000 registered archaeological sites are located. They snapped up even more as they pushed south toward Baghdad.

Among the most important sites under their control are four ancient cities – Ninevah, Kalhu, Dur Sharrukin and Ashur – which were at different times the capital of the mighty Assyrian Empire. The Assyrians first arose around 2500 B.C. and at one point ruled over a realm stretching from the Mediterranean coast to Iran.

The heaviest damage confirmed so far has taken place in the grand palace at Kalhu, from which Assyrian King Ashurnasirpal II reigned in the ninth century B.C., Rasheed said. The palace walls are lined with reliefs describing the king’s military campaigns and conquests or depicting him hunting lions or making sacrifices to the gods.

“They are cutting these reliefs into small parts and selling them,” Rasheed continued. “They don’t need to excavate. They just need a chain saw to cut the king’s head or legs if they want.”

Recently they carved off a relief depicting a winged demon holding a sacred plant and sold it abroad, he said. “It is now beyond borders.”

Authorities fear other sites will soon face destruction, including Mosul’s city museum, which has rare collections of Assyrian artifacts, and the 2,300-year-old city of Hatra, a well preserved complex of temples further south. From both locations, militants ordered out antiquities officials, chastising them for protecting “idols,” Rasheed said.

So far, it appears the militants have not done anything with the artifacts at the sites because they are awaiting instructions from their religious authorities, he said.

The Islamic State militants seek to purge society of everything that doesn’t conform with their strict, puritanical version of Islam. That means destroying not only relics seen as pagan but even some Islamic sites – Sunni Muslim shrines they see as idolatrous, as well as mosques used by Shiites, a branch of Islam they consider heretical.

In and around Mosul, the militants destroyed at least 30 historic sites, including the Islamic mosque-shrines of the prophets Seth, Jirjis and Jonah. The shrines were centuries old in many cases.

But their extremist ideology doesn’t prevent them from also profiting from the sale of ancient artifacts, either by selling them themselves or taking a cut from thieves who are increasingly active in looting sites.

The shrine of Jonah was built on top of an unexcavated palace in the ancient Assyrian capital of Ninevah. After blowing up the mosque, thieves burrowed underneath and are believed to have taken artifacts, said Rasheed, citing reports from local antiquities officials who remain in Mosul.

It is unclear how much the militants are earning from antiquities. U.S. intelligence officials said the Islamic State rakes in more than $3 million a day from multiple sources, including smuggling of oil and antiquities, human trafficking, extortion of businessmen, ransoms and outright theft. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss classified assessments, said the militants sell goods through smuggling networks in the Kurdish region, Turkey and Jordan.

In civil war-torn Syria, looting of archaeological sites is believed to have increased tenfold since early 2013 because of the country’s chaos, said Maamoun Abdulkarim, Syria’s director-general of antiquities and museums. The past year, the Islamic State group has overrun most of the east, putting a string of major archaeological sites in their hands.

In one known case, they have demolished relics as part of their purge of paganism, destroying several Assyrian-era statues looted from a site known as Tell Ajaja, Abulkarim said. Photos posted online showed the gunmen using hammers to break apart the statues of bearded figures.

More often, the extremists seem to have latched onto the antiquities trade.

For example, the 2,300-year-old city of Dura Europos is being pillaged. The site is in one a cliff overlooking the Euphrates near the Iraq border in an area under the Islamic State group’s control, and satellite imagery taken in April show it pockmarked with holes from illegal digs by antiquity-seekers.

Images showed hundreds of people excavating on some days from dawn to nightfall, with gunmen and gangs involved, said Abdulkarim. Dealers are at the site and “when they discover an artifact, the sale takes place immediately,” he said. “They are destroying entire pages of Syrian history.”

Dura Europos is remarkably well preserved cultural crossroads, a city first founded by Alexander the Great’s successors and later ruled by Romans and various Persian empires. It boasts pagan temples, churches and one of the earliest known Jewish synagogues. Archaeologists in 2009 found likely evidence of an early use of chemical warfare: During a second century siege, Persian attackers dug tunnels under the city walls and set fires that poured poisonous sulfur-laced fumes on the Roman defenders above.

Alarmed by the militants’ advance, the United Nations’ cultural agency UNESCO adopted an emergency plan to safeguard Iraq’s cultural heritage. It called on art dealers and museums not to deal with Iraqi artifacts and alerted neighboring countries of potential smuggling.

“We are very, very, very concerned that the situation could be aggravated in a way that causes more and more damage,” Nada al-Hassan, of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, told The Associated Press.

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Associated Press writer Zeina Karam contributed from Beirut, Lebanon.

Follow Sinan Salaheddin on Twitter at https://twitter.com/sinansm

AP-WF-09-19-14 0716GMT

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