September 23, 2014 - Auction Central News

Pérez Art Museum Miami examines printmaking in US

James Rosenquist, ‘Drawing on a Label, 1989, acrylic, pastel, pencil, charcoal, scroll of paper, and dirt on paper, 44 7/8 x 39 1/2 inches frame. Collection Perez Art Museum Miami, gift of Holding Capital Group Collection. Copyright James Rosenquist/Licensed by VAGA, New York, Photo: Sid Hoeltzell.

MIAMI – Pérez Art Museum Miami recently opened an exhibition exploring the evolution of fine printmaking in the United States in the period following 1960. The exhibition features several important prints and multiples gifted to PAMM from Holding Capital Group Inc., including works by Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, and James Rosenquist.

These works will be augmented by additional prints and objects loaned from the Holding Capital Group collection, which has been carefully assembled over the last 30 years and illuminates the significance of printmaking within the contemporary art context. On view through March 1, “Beyond the Limited Life of Painting: Prints and Multiples from the Holding Capital Group” includes works by Ellsworth Kelly, Jane Hammond, Sol LeWitt, Elizabeth Murray, Isamu Noguchi, Kiki Smith, and Andy Warhol, among numerous others.

The exhibition examines more than 50 years of printmaking, tracing its historic importance to public debate in the 1930s and 1940s to its emergence as a valued artistic medium in the Pop Art Movement of the 1950s and 1960s and through to its role in today’s creative production. “Beyond the Limited Life of Painting” focuses in particular on the generation of artists in the postwar period, who rejected Abstract Expressionism and actively returned to representation. With the resurgence of the figure and a newfound interest among artists in “found” imagery, printmaking acquired a new critical utility. Many artists came to believe that traditional art forms such as painting could be made more meaningful through the reproduction and circulation of powerful images to an ever-growing audience, leveraging the medium as a fresh way to communicate with the public.

“The Holding Capital Group collection features an exceptional selection of prints from across the last several decades, showcasing the diversity of artists engaged with the medium. PAMM’s exhibition of these works offers an opportunity to shed further light on the development of printmaking and its position in the fine art lexicon,” said Thom Collins, PAMM’s director. “The principals at Holding Capital Group have generously gifted several important works to PAMM’s permanent collection—extending the depth and scope of our 20th-and 21st-century holdings—and have loaned an additional selection to help make this exhibition possible. We are grateful for their support and vision and look forward to sharing these works with our many audiences.”

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Reading the Streets: Tony Cragg’s bronze works

Tony Cragg, ‘Caldera,’ New York City, photo by Ilana Novick.

NEW YORK – Tony Cragg’s sculptures, the latest in Madison Square Park’s Mad Square Art series, defied my mind’s futile attempts at categorization. At first I thought Caldera, the bronze behemoth that greeted me as I entered Madison Square Park from 23rd Street was a giant, solid beard, like that of an ancient king whose sedentary life eliminated the need for shaving.

Cragg aims to make bronze a more malleable material, less imposing, more flexible and open minded. I neglected to remember this as my mind performed gymnastics trying to categorize and label what I was seeing. All that thinking was preventing me from the best part, which was walking under, in and around the sculpture, looking up to the leaves and the sun on a beautiful fall day.

Sense regained, I walked east to Points of View, three swirls of twisted bronze sitting ever so calmly on the Oval Lawn, like waves plucked out of the ocean, The lawn was closed when I visited, but I imagined kids and dogs running around them, and me, just sitting in the grass enjoying the sculpture’s company.

At the northern end of the park is Mixed Feelings, also made of bronze, but painted blue, which resembles series of loosely tossed Frisbees, possibly neglected park- goers, realizing it might soon be too cold for a game.

Tony Cragg’s sculptures will be on view in Madison Square Park through Feb. 8. I’m looking forward to seeing how they look in the snow.

ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

Tony Cragg, ‘Points of View,’ New York City, photo by Ilana Novick.

Tony Cragg, ‘Mixed Feelings,’ New York City, photo by Ilana Novick.

Jet-setter’s wardrobe departing via Kerry Taylor auction Oct. 7

Hanna Smart climbing a tree in the Victorio & Lucchino dress, part of lot 347. Estimate: £150-250. Kerry Taylor Auctions image.

LONDON – The eclectic and fun wardrobe of Hannelore Smart, wife of the late British circus impresario Billy Smart Jr., is a highlight of Kerry Taylor Auctions’ early autumn antique and vintage fashion and textiles auction on Oct. 7. Internet live bidding will be facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com.

Hannelore Nagel, a beautiful German stewardess, met Smart on a Pan Am flight from London to Los Angeles in 1973. They were instantly attracted, fell in love and married just five weeks later on a beach in Acapulco.

Smart was the 10th and youngest child of the legendary founder of the world famous Billy Smart Circus. During the 1960s, Smart Jr. had earned himself a reputation as a ladies’ man and enjoyed well-publicised liaisons with Jayne Mansfield, Shirley Bassey and Diana Dors. Hannelore, with her striking looks, fun-loving personality and fabulous figure was to be his life-long companion until his death in 2005.

The couple traveled the world, mixed with the jet set and generally had an all-round good time. Hannelore always dressed the part and her wardrobe was both eclectic and extensive.

During the ’80s and ’90s she donned figure-hugging garments by Alaia, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Mugler. In the ’90s she experimented with Westwood and Commes des Garcons. One of her dresses, a 1983 Mugler is dyed the same shade of magenta as her favorite Rolls-Royce. Her collection includes not only clothing but shoes, bags, sunglasses and ski suits – she even had a ski helmet by Chanel.

The wardrobe will be dispersed over two sales – the first set in our Oct. 7 auction and the remainder in our Passion for Fashion sale in early December. This collection reflects the wardrobe of a woman of great humor, personality and style.

A portion of the sale proceeds will be donated to the Alzheimer’s Society.

For details, contact Kerry Taylor Auctions at 0044 (0)208 676 4600 or info@kerrytaylorauctions.com.

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

Hannelore Smart (right) wearing the Mugler dress in lot 346 standing next to her Rolls Royce, which is painted a matching shade of magenta. Estimate: £150-250. Kerry Taylor Auctions image.

Hannelore Smart wearing a Lily Farouche red satin ski suit, 1980s. Estimate: £100-150. Kerry Taylor Auctions image.

Lot 340, Vivienne Westwood tartan suit, 'Five Centuries Ago' collection, Autumn-Winter, 1997-98. Estimate: £300-500. Kerry Taylor Auctions image. — Lot 340, Vivienne Westwood tartan suit, ‘Five Centuries Ago’ collection, Autumn-Winter, 1997-98. Estimate: £300-500. Kerry Taylor Auctions image.

Lot 338, an Azzedine Alaïa burgundy leather suit, 1980s. Estimate: £200-300. Kerry Taylor Auctions image.

Lot 333, an Azzedine Alaïa woven pink and blue wool suit, circa 1987. Estimate: £200-300. Kerry Taylor Auctions image.

Lot 347, four colorful 1980s ensembles including this red and black denim ladybird-spot jacket and ra-ra skirt and a Victorio & Lucchino yellow and grey pleated taffeta cocktail dress with petal skirt. Estimate: £150-250. Kerry Taylor Auctions image.

Lot 329, a group of Azzedine Alaïa accessories, early 1990s. Estimate: £150-250. Kerry Taylor Auctions image.

Kovels release 47th edition of antiques price guide

‘Kovels’ Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide 2015,’ Terry Kovel and Kim Kovel,  Sept. 16, 2014, $27.95, paperback, 652 pages, 2,500 color photographs, ISBN: 978-1-57912-977-4

BEACHWOOD, Ohio – Antiques collectors have turned to the Kovel family for their peerless annual guide since the first edition appeared in 1968. In the past four decades, Americans have become much savvier and collecting has become much more popular. What has remained the same is the anticipation each year around the publication of the new Kovels’ Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide 2015 by Terry Kovel and Kim Kovel.

The 47th edition of the book includes advice for readers on trends and pricing patterns. The Kovels have added a valuable new section: “Price it Right: How to Set Prices to Sell Your Things,” in which they provide appraisers contact information, explain how to research prices before putting an item on the market, and provide detailed recommendations on navigating the process, including what to keep, when to enlist an expert and what impacts an item’s resale value.

Kovels is the most complete guide on the market, with more than 35,000 new price listings from the past year in over 700 categories and 2,500 new, full-color photographs. The book provides the latest antiques prices – not estimates. With a nationally syndicated newspaper column, newsletter and popular website, they are without a doubt America’s leading popular authorities on collectibles and antiques.

The guide enables any reader to easily find out what their item is and what it’s worth. The book features items sought by collectors from across the spectrum, rather than only the high-priced items found in most guides. The user-friendly book includes an index and cross-references for everything from art pottery, Depression glass and jewelry to furniture, coin-operated machines and sports memorabilia, along with up-to-date information about each category, logos, marks and dates. Also featured are hundreds of expert tips, comments on trends and pricing patterns, and the year’s record prices. All this enables collectors to buy, sell and collect with confidence.

A peek at some of this past year’s fascinating listings:

Highest price in the book: $875,000 for a carved figure of Santa Claus made by Samuel A. Robb of New York in 1923.
Lowest price in the book: $2 for a celluloid button with a rhinestone canter made for a dress.
Largest item in the book: a wooden and marble back bar with four columns, mirrors, and  cast-iron trim, 150 by 117 inches ($18,000).
Smallest item in the book: a micromosaic glass button picturing a building, 3/8 inch ($14).
A French Provincial dog’s bed with canopy and curved rails made around 1800, 29 by 24 inches ($1,722).

About the Authors: Terry Kovel is a lifelong collector. She has written more than 100 books on antiques and collectibles and writes a nationally syndicated newspaper column, a subscriber newsletter and an e-newsletter. She lives in Ohio. Kim Kovel, daughter of Terry and Ralph Kovel, grew up in a house filled with antiques and traveled regularly to antique shows and flea markets all over the country. Kim lives in Florida.

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Wright to auction Lawrence Laske design collection Oct. 24

Lot 273: Sottsass Associati Enorme telephone, Brondi Telefonia S.p.A., Italy, 1986. Image courtesy of Wright.

CHICAGO – Wright will conduct an online-only auction titled “Lawrence Laske: Design Studio and Collected Works” on Oct. 24 beginning at noon Central Time. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.

Composed of nearly 200 lots with estimates ranging from $100–$70,000, this auction is accessible to beginning collectors and design aficionados alike. Proceeds from the sale will benefit A Brain Tumor and a Dream, a foundation founded by designer Lawrence Laske in 2012, which will be housed in a former monastery in Caltabellotta, Sicily. Laske envisions the foundation as a workshop and retreat for visiting artists and designers from around the world.

Born in Chicago in 1963, Laske has worked in some of the most famous design studios of the 20th century, including those of Ettore Sottsass, Ingo Maurer and Philippe Starck, and his designs have been produced by manufacturers such as Alessi and Knoll.

Michael Jefferson, senior vice president of Wright, says of Laske’s oeuvre: “Never before have I experienced an output of drawings by a designer as rich and numerous as Larry’s. He firmly believes in seeing through every thought, idea and iteration in the drawn image.”

This singular auction is composed of objects, furniture, ephemera and hundreds of drawings from Laske’s impressive career as a designer.

“Larry is an inventor at heart, and the collection reflects a tremendously curious eye. From fully realized lamps, tables and paintings to handmade prototypes, full color presentation drawings, and unbelievable sketchbooks, the collection pushes the boundaries for what we sell at auction,” says Jefferson. “There are also dozens of works from famous and noteworthy designers, architects and artists who have donated work to Larry’s project, giving their seal of approval and support to the project.”

Highlights of the sale include comprehensive lots such as Beachy Thingy (estimate: $70,000-$90,000), which includes not only original sketches, prototypes and production pieces, but also the patent for production of Beachy Thingy chairs, and a pair of calculator prototypes and drawings for Ettore Sottsass Associati (estimate: $1,000-$1,500). Also exceptional is a set of seven flatware prototypes and their original drawings made for Alessi (estimate: $2,000-$3,000).

Also included are several objects and works of art donated by friends of Laske in support of A Brain Tumor and a Dream, such Alessandro Mendini, Ingo Maurer, Constantin and Laurene Boym, Eduardo Terranova, Mike Ryan, Richard Rogers and Piero Lissoni, among others.

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

Lot 118: Ettore Sottsass drawing for Sottsass Associati, Italy, c. 1987. Image courtesy of Wright.

Lot 133: Lawrence Laske Toothpick Cactus table for Knoll, USA, 1993/1997. Image courtesy of Wright.

Lot 195: Lawrence Laske Aluminum Lamp no. 2 model and drawings USA, 1987/1988. Image courtesy of Wright.

Lot 141: Lawrence Laske Niki porcelain ashtray, OWO, USA, 1989/90. Image courtesy of Wright.

Bidder offers $283K in government auction of historic lighthouse

Undated US Coast Guard photo of Halfway Rock Lighthouse. Public-domain image accessed via Wikimedia Commons.

SOUTH HARPSWELL, Maine (AP) – The top bidder in a government auction for a Maine lighthouse is willing to pay $283,000 for the 1871-built structure.

The federal General Services Administration shut down the auction for the Halfway Rock Light Station on Saturday. The government will now take from a week to a month reviewing the bid before deciding if it will be awarded. The agency typically identifies the winning bidder after the sale is approved.

The lighthouse is located on a two-acre ledge off of Bailey Island in Casco Bay. It is called Halfway Rock because it is roughly halfway between Cape Elizabeth and Cape Small. The lighthouse is 76 feet tall and located off of South Harpswell. The lighthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places.

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Artists hope to turn Maine State House copper into art

Maine State House as it looked prior to renovation. Photo by Albany NY. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) – To some, the weathered green copper sheets that have been removed from the Maine Statehouse dome may just look like scrap. But to the artists in Maine who are clamoring to get a piece, it looks like opportunity.

The state had planned to recycle most of the 100-year-old metal that’s being replaced with shiny new copper. But lawmakers are now considering whether to sell or give some of it to jewelers and artists for sculptures or keepsakes so that the public can share a piece of the historical copper.

For artists, like Andreas von Heune, it’s a no brainer.

“Why would we melt this down when we have this wonderful material that carries so much culture with it, so much history with it?” said von Huene, a 58-year-old sculptor who lives in Arrowsic.

One part of the plan, which the bi-partisan panel of legislative leaders that’s overseeing the dome restoration could vote on this week, includes selling some of the copper directly to jewelers and artisans to create art pieces.

The state would also hold a design competition to create souvenirs, which would be sold to the public. Other pieces of the copper would be used to create a public art piece for the Statehouse Capitol Complex.

Von Huene wants to use the green copper panels to create a sculpture within the plants and trees at the Viles Aboretum — or somewhere else with a view of the Statehouse dome — so that viewers’ eyes will be drawn from the art piece to where the copper laid for more than a century.

“So much of our lives are set on a book or computer monitor. When do we pick our heads up and look into the distance?” he said. If the sculpture makes that connection, “you’re going to pick your head up and look at the dome,” he said.

Much of the copper on the dome has already been replaced and the entire $1.3 million project is on schedule to be done in November.

But lawmakers are still grappling with how much the art proposal would cost and whether the state can afford it. The original plan to recycle most of the material was expected to produce around $15,000.

“Clearly, we don’t want to spend a million of taxpayer dollars in order to do something fancy with the roof,” said Senate Democratic Leader Anne Haskell of Portland. “The whole idea is to be able to allow people in the state of Maine to share the artistic and historical value of that copper.”

The Bangor Public Library, which completed a $3 million replacement of its own century-old copper roof last year, brought in around $10,000 by auctioning off pieces of the copper and jewelry crafted from the material, said Barbara McDade, the library’s director.

Several Maine artists have express interest in using the Statehouse copper for a variety of projects, said Julie Richard, executive director of the Maine Arts Commission, which is helping lawmakers with the art proposals.

Von Huene said that even if the plan doesn’t move forward, lawmakers’ interest in helping Maine’s art community is encouraging.

“Even if nothing comes from it, the idea that people in state government are willing to do something like this, that’s a very happy and healthy sign.”

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Follow Alanna Durkin at http://www.twitter.com/aedurkin

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Flood-damaged Minot museum now fully restored

MINOT, N.D. (AP) – The Ward County Historical Society Pioneer Village Museum in Minot is thriving three years after being swamped by Souris River floodwaters.

Damage to the museum on the North Dakota State Fairgrounds from the June 2011 flood was estimated at more than $1 million. But all 12 buildings have been restored with the help of Federal Emergency Management Agency money, private donations and volunteer help.

The museum village has a schoolhouse, log cabin, train depot, general store, post office, blacksmith shop and church, among other structures. The buildings feature early 1900s decor, and the train depot also has displays of Native American artifacts and materials depicting the history of coal mining in the region.

Volunteer auto mechanics have gradually been restoring antique vehicles that were severely damaged by the flood. A rotating antique car display was showcased on the grounds this summer. A different era was highlighted each month, featuring things such as horse-drawn vehicles and antique Model T’s.

The historical society also has formed a partnership with the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. Representatives from the tribe set up a display at the museum during the State Fair that included a Red River cart, artwork and other historical artifacts.

The museum draws about 7,000 visitors each year, mostly during the State Fair and the annual Norsk Hostfest Scandinavian heritage festival. This year’s Hostfest is Sept. 30-Oct. 4.

“A lot of out-of-state people think (the museum) is a treasure,” Site Director Sue Bergan told the Minot Daily News. “People are just amazed how perfect everything is since the flood.”

The 2011 flood caused by excessive spring snowmelt and rain inundated more than 4,000 homes, businesses and other structures in North Dakota’s fourth-largest city. Total damage was estimated at more than $700 million.

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Information from: Minot Daily News, http://www.minotdailynews.com

‘Vincent: the musical’ to mark 125 years since Van Gogh’s death

'Vincent van Gogh - Self-Portrait - Google Art Project (454045)' by Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853-1890). Image courtesy Google Cultural Institute

THE HAGUE (AFP) – The tragic life of Vincent van Gogh will be brought to the stage as a musical to mark 125 from the death of one of theworld’s greatest artists, organizers said Tuesday.

Simply called “Vincent”, the musical will open late next year along with several other events commemorating the Dutch Post-Impressionist painter’s death in July 1890.

The production aims to “bring Vincent van Gogh’s works to life in a non-traditional way,” Martine Willekens, spokeswoman for the Van Gogh Europe Foundation, told AFP.

Known for his bold colors and rough, vibrant painting style, Van Gogh was one of the most revolutionary painters of the 19th century.

He only sold one painting in his own short lifetime, which was wracked with bouts of mental illness and depression, including one famous episode where he sliced off part of his ear.

The role of Van Gogh himself has not yet been cast but the production will be directed by Dutch producer Albert Verlinde.

It is commonly believed that Van Gogh shot himself aged 37 in a small village near Paris, although researchers have also put forward theories that he may have been the victim of an accidental shooting.

“It’s perhaps a little odd to celebrate his death,” Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum director Axel Rueger told the Dutch news agency ANP. “But over the years the artist has become a global celebrity, a kind of rock star,” he said.

Next year’s celebration, called “125 Years of Inspiration,” will also include an exhibition of Van Gogh’s paintings in Amsterdam and that of Norway’s Edvard Munch, best known for his painting The Scream.

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Pérez Art Museum Miami gifted with artworks from JPMorgan Chase

Perez Art Museum Miami, photo by B137. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

MIAMI – At the Seventh Annual Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) Corporate Luncheon held Sept. 22, JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced a major gift of art to the museum’s permanent collection. This gift includes six works by American women: Pat Stier, Marilyn Minter, Jenny Holzer and Maya Lin, across a range of different media. The announcement was made by Lisa Erf, director of the JPMorgan Chase Art Program, at the luncheon following a discussion with PAMM Director Thom Collins on corporate art collecting for a community.

“JPMorgan Chase has a long history of supporting the arts in South Florida, and we are incredibly grateful for yet another gesture of the company’s commitment to culture and this community,” said Thom Collins, PAMM director. “This gift is the perfect example of how corporate collecting contributes to making art more accessible to our community.”

“This is a collection of art that belongs in a museum and for this generation to appreciate,” said Erf. “We are thrilled that these pieces have found a great home at PAMM.”

More than 300 of South Florida’s most influential business leaders attended the highly anticipated luncheon, which honors the corporate community for its vital support of the arts in South Florida. For the first time, the luncheon was held at the museum’s new, and now iconic waterfront facility. Attendees enjoyed the lunch reception and viewed the museum’s new exhibition, Beatriz Milhazes: Jardim Botânico, which opened just last week, and has received rave reviews by the national and international art community.

PAMM Chairman of the Board of Trustees Aaron Podhurst presented the Seventh Annual PAMM Corporate Honors to J.P. Morgan—the firm’s investment bank–, in recognition of the company’s vital impact on the arts in South Florida. In addition to having one of the most established corporate art collections, JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a long legacy of supporting cultural programs, and promoting education and access for the entire community. In South Florida, the firm has supported the Museum of Science, Fort Lauderdale Museum of Discovery of Science, and Miami Art Museum and Pérez Art Museum Miami’s educational and community programs since 1999.

The PAMM Corporate Luncheon raises funds for the museum’s education programs. PAMM is the largest provider of art education outside of Miami-Dade County Schools, reaching more than 50,000 children since opening in December 2013. Corporate support has made many of these free programs possible, which include: free family activities every second Saturday; Brick by Brick, a program for at-risk teens which takes place at community centers in underserved areas throughout Miami-Dade, and focuses on architecture, design and community planning; PAMM in the Neighborhood, a summer camp program for underserved youth; and more.

For the fourth consecutive year, presenting sponsor of the PAMM Corporate Luncheon was South Motors Automotive Group. Additional Pérez Art Museum Miami Corporate Luncheon supporters included: gold sponsors Cernuda Arte; Citi; City National Bank; Douglas Elliman Real Estate; JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Novela & Associates; Podhurst Orseck, P.A.; and UBS Wealth Management; and silver sponsors: Bank of America; BBVA Compass; Beaux Auctions; Carol C. Lumpkin and R. Hugh Lumpkin; Classical South Florida 89.7 FM; Itaú; Jose Milton & Associates; MSC Cruises; Perry Ellis International; RBC Wealth Management; The Americas Collection; U.S. Trust; and Weiss Serota Helfman Pastoriza Cole & Boniske, P.L.

About PAMM:

Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) promotes artistic expression and the exchange of ideas, advancing public knowledge and appreciation of art, architecture and design, and reflecting the diverse community of its pivotal geographic location at the crossroads of the Americas. A 29-year-old South Florida institution formerly known as Miami Art Museum (MAM), Pérez Art Museum Miami opened a new building, designed by world-renowned architects Herzog & de Meuron, in Downtown Miami’s Museum Park on December 4, 2013. The facility and is a state-of-the-art model for sustainable museum design and progressive programming and features 200,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor program space with flexible galleries; shaded outdoor verandas; a waterfront restaurant and bar; a museum shop; and an education center with a library, media lab and classroom spaces. For more information, please visit www.pamm.org , find us on Facebook (facebook.com/perezartmuseummiami ), or follow us on Twitter (@pamm).

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