Large Chinese Ming-style gilt bronze Guanyin, 22in. I.M Chait Gallery / Auctioneers image
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – I.M. Chait Gallery / Auctioneers will conduct a two-day auction of Asian art, antiques and estate items on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 13-14. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.
Day One, which will start at 11 a.m. Pacific, consists of Lots 1 through 400. Day Two will begin Sunday, also at 11 a.m. Pacific, and consists of Lots 401 through 913.
Featured will be:
– a large group of Export Chinese blue and white porcelain from a Wilshire Corridor estate;
– a collection of Chinese snuff bottles from a Beverly Hills estate;
– an East Coast collection of antique Korean Choson ceramics including celadons and blue and white;
– antique Chinese porcelains from a Huntington Beach, Calif., collection;
– antique Chinese jades from a Montebello, Calif., collection;
– fine antique Chinese bronzes from a Midwestern estate.
For details phone I.M. Chait Gallery / Auctioneers at 310-285-0182 or email chait@chait.com.
Clive Uptton (1911-2006) ‘Save Fuel for Battle!’ original WWII poster issued by the Ministry of Fuel & Power, printed for HMSO by J. Weiner, circa 1944, 152 x 100 cm. Onslows Auctioneers image
STOURPAINE, UK – Onslows’ winter offering of vintage posters on Thursday, Dec. 18, will include Part Two of the Maxted collection of World War I posters.
LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet bidding.
The collection of nearly 100 posters was discovered in a house in Kent. The owners who had inherited the collection some years before had not fully appreciated what was in their possession. Their interest in finding more about the posters was sparked with the centenary of the outbreak of the World War I. When they looked more closely they realized they had a nearly complete collection of posters published by the Parliamentary Recruiting Committee between 1914 and 1916. The second part of the collection includes some famous posters with patriotic slogans including “Your King and Country Need You,” estimate £200-£250; “If the Cap Fits You,” estimate £200-£250; “The Empire Needs Men,” estimate £200-£300; and “The Recruiting Sergeant,” estimate £350-£400.
One of the top lots from the World War II propaganda section of the auction is the poster with now world famous slogan “Keep Calm and Carry On.” The poster is extremely rare due to it not being officially released, as Hitler’s invasion plans in 1940 were aborted. Only a handful of the posters in the larger 30-by-20-inches format have appeared on the market. The example in the auction is estimated to sell for £5,000-£7,000.
The auction contains a strong entry from this category with eye-catching designs by Fougasse for salvage campaigns and a marvelous large poster by Clive Uptton showing the D-day landings titled “Save Fuel for Battle.” On the home front is a memorable poster “Dig For Victory,” the photographic design of the boot on the spade became one of the most loved relating to the Women’s Land Army efforts to turn land over for food production in 1940. It could sell for in excess of £1,000
A rare group of posters issued by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) in the 1930s is expected to attract interest of from animal lovers. The posters mainly deal with issues of canine welfare. The posters were discovered in a house clearance in Weymouth in Dorset. One showing the risk of motorcars is estimated at £150-£200.
Lastly, and definitely worth a mention, is a collection of posters published by the General Post Office. The posters were discovered after the closure of a large central London oost office. The collection includes some rare examples dating from 1935 to the 1950s. A futuristic poster designed by Pat Keely in 1943 titled “Wireless War” is expected to sell for between £700-£1,000. The posters smacks of espionage and Bletchley Park.
Onslows specializes in auctioning vintage posters and is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
Clive Uptton (1911-2006) ‘Save Fuel for Battle!’ original WWII poster issued by the Ministry of Fuel & Power, printed for HMSO by J. Weiner, circa 1944, 152 x 100 cm. Onslows Auctioneers image
Bernard Partridge (1861-1945) ‘Take up the Sword of Justice,’ original Parliamentary Recruiting Committee poster No. 111 printed by David Allen, June 1915, 76 x 51 cm. This famous recruiting poster was published two months after the sinking of the RMS Lusitania. Onslows Auctioneers image
‘Keep Calm and Carry On,’ original WWII poster red background with white lettering and crown, printed 1939, 74.8 x 50.5 cm. Onslows Auctioneers image
Pat Keely (died 1970) ‘Wireless War,’ original GPO poster PRD 323 printed by Haycock Press, 1943, 74 x 92 cm. Onslows Auctioneers image
E.P. Kinsella (Edward Patrick born 1874) ‘Look well ahead for dogs near the road – and slow down,’ original poster No 226 printed for the RSPCA, circa 1930, 76 x 51 cm. Onslows Auctioneers image
‘Dig For Victory,’ original photogravure WWII poster printed for HMSO by J Weiner, 1941, 51 x 34 cm. Onslows Auctioneers image
‘Your King and Country Need You,’ original Parliamentary Recruiting Committee poster Nos 5, red and blue letterpress printed by L.S. & Co and Hazell Watson, October 1914, 76 x 50 cm. Onslows Auctioneers image
Arthur Wardle (1864-1949) ‘The Empire Needs Men!’ original Parliamentary Recruiting Committee poster No. 58 printed by Straker Bros., January 1915, 76 x 51 cm. Onslows Auctioneers image
Circa-1800 Aaron Willard tall-case clock, est. $3,000-$5,000. Quinn & Farmer image CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – When Skip Usry of Quinn & Farmer Auctions received a phone call from a client who wanted to sell what was described as a “funny-looking metal desk thingy,” he was curious. As the client went into greater detail about the designs on its doors, Skip’s acted on a hunch and sent Emilia Penney, Quinn & Farmer’s Modern Design Specialist, to get a closer look. Her visit yielded good news: the client had an original sculpture-front cabinet designed and created by Paul Evans.
The cabinet is now the centerpiece of Quinn & Farmer’s December 13, 2014 auction to be held at the company’s gallery in Charlottesville, Virginia. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
Ken Farmer, President of Quinn & Farmer Auctions, commented on the Paul Evans cabinet: “It’s exciting to have this great opportunity to showcase the work of an acknowledged master of modern American design.”
Welded and torch-cut of polychromed steel and bronze, and topped with slate, the cabinet is typical of Evans’ well-known body of work. It carries an estimate of $60,000-$80,000.
Some additional items of notable quality in this auction include an untitled “Sonambient” sculpture by Harry Bertoia, estimated at $8,000-$12,000; a Henry Dutton Morse untitled Nature Morte oil-on-canvas that is expected to bring $3,000-$5,000; and a redwood root coffee table by Mira Nakashima, which carries an estimate of $4,000-$6,000. A fine Aaron Willard tall-case clock is entered with a $3,000-$5,000 estimate, while and an early American shrank expected to achieve $2,000-$3,000.
The December 13, 2014 auction will begin at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, with absentee and Internet live bidding available through LiveAuctioneers.
For additional details on any lot in the sale, call 434-293-2904 or e-mail information@quinnfarmer.com.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.liveauctioneers.com.
Cabinet card photograph of Miss Randle Tennyson Ford, a member of poet laureate Alfred Lord Tennyson’s family. Photo: Ewbank’s Auctioneers
LONDON – Here’s something you don’t see every day, particularly in Lancashire: a collection of 19th century cabinet photographs of American Indian warriors, one of whom, it is speculated, might just possibly be the legendary Geronimo. The photographs were found in a small private collection not seen for 30 years and their sale later this month is set to excite buyers on both sides of the Atlantic.
Early photographs have held my fascination for many an hour and I am not alone. Collectors have also turned their attention to them, as well as vintage cameras and old albums, all hoping to find rare examples of early subjects, techniques and processes.
The same fascination gripped the Victorians when photography was only newly invented. It meant that for the first time, inexpensive, almost instant likenesses of family and friends were available to the masses.
The principal of making a permanent image using light and chemistry was developed by Frenchman Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in about 1825. However, the first practical steps toward modern photography were taken in 1839 by another Frenchman, Louis-Jacques Mandé Daguerre (1787-1851), who produced the first photographic process capable of practical application. It was called the daguerrotype, and it dominated the portraiture business for the next 20 years.
The most prolific photographic portrait of the period was the carte-de-visite, so called because it was the same size as a visiting card (54.0 mm (2.125 in) by 89 mm (3.5 in) and bore the likeness of the presenter. The tiny portraits took the place of the painted miniature and silhouette and their cheapness – about a shilling (5p) a time – led to such popularity that not only did people sit for their own to be taken, they also collected likenesses of the famous, which were on sale at booksellers and stationers.
Legend has it that the new fashion was started in France by Napoleon III. A young Paris daguerreotypist, André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri (1819-1889) had invented a camera that would take eight exposures on a single photographic plate, a system he patented in 1854. The resulting images were mounted on card to produce a sheet of cartes-de-visite at a much reduced cost. The story goes that in 1859, when Napoleon was marching his troops to war against Austria, he stopped off at Disdéri’s studio to have his portrait taken by the new technique, and the craze took off.
It took the Western world by storm. In England, it was the publication of a “Royal Album” in 1860 by John Mayall (1810-1901) that popularized the fashion. By 1861, Disdéri was said to be making more than £50,000 a year from the business and other photographers soon jumped on the bandwagon.
Studios sprung up in almost every town and city in Europe and across the United States. At one point, London’s Regent Street alone boasted 35. Soon, lavish, leather-bound albums were produced specially to house the pictures and the cabinet cards that followed.
Printed using the same albumen method – the substance found in egg whites caused the photographic chemicals to bind to the paper – the cabinet card grew in popularity because of its larger size of 108 by 165 mm (4.25 by 6.5 inches). When framed and placed on show in a cabinet, they were viewable across a room, hence the name.
Few Victorian families did not possess a photograph album and among its pages of snaps of relatives could also be found portraits of the royal family, politicians, actors, artists and other celebrities of the day. The albums themselves were miniature works of art and some were even fitted with music box movements, which played when the album was opened.
To open such a family album today gives a fascinating glimpse into one of the most exciting and rapidly changing periods in social history. One can spend hours comparing fashions, poses and techniques. Generally speaking, earlier pictures show the subject full length, being successively followed by three-quarter, and head-and-shoulder poses. Whichever pose is shown, it should be remembered that the sitter had to remain motionless, often with the aid of head clamps, for anywhere up to 30 seconds.
The fact that these miniature portraits are at present relatively inexpensive makes them ideal for collectors of more limited means. What helps keep prices low is that in their heyday between 1860-1880, millions were produced.
As with most old things, though, interest is picking up and good examples are an appreciating asset. Sitters who have become anonymous with the passage of time are worth only a couple of pounds, but well-known characters such as Buffalo Bill – and Geronimo – can fetch small fortunes
Victorian photograph albums start at about £25-£30 for one containing just family snaps to several thousand for famous names by well known photographers such as Disdéri and Mayall. It is also worth looking on the reverse of cabinet cards, which are often as interesting as the picture side. Most bear wonderfully ornate advertising vignettes extolling the photographer’s skills. Many collections are based on these rather than the portraits themselves.
The collection of American Indian photographs will be sold by auctioneers Silverwoods of Lancashire, Clitheroe, on Dec. 18. Among the most valuable is one by photographer A. Frank Randall of the charismatic leader Chato (1860-1934) a Chiricahua, or Warm Springs Apache, who fought under Geronimo attacking settlers in the New Mexico, Mexico and Arizona territories.
After surrendering to Gen. George Crook, he became a U.S. Army scout and led a delegation to Washington to present a petition to President Grover Cleveland in a vain attempt stop the deportation of Apaches to Florida. Ironically, he was later killed in an automobile accident. It is estimated at £1,000-£1,500.
The same estimate is carried by a photograph inscribed in ink “Apache Chief. Gila River. U.S.A.” Although unidentified, the auctioneer points out that there is a strong resemblance to Geronimo (1829-1909), a Chiricahua and the last and most feared Apache leader, who was born near Turkey Creek, a tributary of the Gila River.
He fought in revenge attacks after his mother, wife and three children were killed by Mexican soldiers in 1858. After evading U.S. troops for a decade, he surrendered in 1886 to Gen. Crook and was deported as a prisoner of war to Florida and finally Alabama. According to the auctioneers, the blankets in the photograph suggest a date of around 1870-1880, putting Geronimo’s age, if it is he, at between 40 and 50.
Another photograph is inscribed in the negative with “Al-Che-Say,” seated center left, while a later pen inscription on the reverse reads “Al-Che-Say and relations.” It is estimated at £400-£600.
Al-Che-Say (1853-1928) was a prominent Chiricahua chief who joined the U.S. Army as a scout with Gen. Crook in 1872 and helped quell an Apache uprising in 1872-73, being cited for gallantry for attempting to get Geronimo to surrender. He received a Congressional Medal of Honor for his service. He left the Army when the Apache wars ended in 1886, remaining close friends with Geronimo until the latter’s death in 1909. He later became a cattleman and continued to fight for better conditions for his people, meeting with Presidents Cleveland, Roosevelt and Harding.
ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE
Cabinet card photograph of Miss Randle Tennyson Ford, a member of poet laureate Alfred Lord Tennyson’s family. Photo: Ewbank’s AuctioneersChato, the charismatic leader of Apache warriors. Photo: Silverwoods of Lancashire‘Apache Chief. Gila River.’ But is it Geronimo? Photo: Silverwoods of LancashireAl-Che-Say and relations, a cabinet photograph estimated at £400-£600. Photo: Silverwoods of LancashireCabinet photograph of Rudyard Kipling, autographed by the man himself. It sold for £750. Photo: Ewbank’s AuctioneersRare cabinet photograph of Alice ‘Trix’ Kipling, sold for £380. Photo: Ewbank’s AuctioneersCabinet photograph of Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin at the tender age of 6. It sold for £90. Photo: Ewbank’s Auctioneers
Spencer 11-1/8 inch double-sided cast-iron rooster doorstop with intricately detailed feathers and comb, est. $5,000-$7,000. Morphy Auctions image
DENVER, Pa. – Morphy’s last toy auction of the year traditionally includes a broad mix of categories to please every collector. That winning formula is once again in place as Morphy’s team prepares for a December 13-14 auction of 1,781 quality lots, starting with more than 300 lots of rare marbles and finishing with original comic strip art and dozens of classic comic books. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
Swirls, onionskins, lutzes and sulphide marbles are waiting to be picked up, held against the light and admired by collectors. The trove of little glass wonders spans the production range that began with handmades, moved through the transitional period and culminated with brilliantly hued machine-made Akro Agates. Lot 117, a fabulous orange and yellow shrunken core onionskin marble with floating mica, 1-1/8 inches in diameter, is estimated at $2,000-$3,000. Lot 214, a rare 3-lobed onionskin with mica panels, 1-15/32 inches in diameter, is described in the auction catalog as the “the first we have seen in this style.” It has two opposing panels of red and white, and two opposing panels of yellow and red. In 9.5 condition, it could command a $4,000-$6,000 price on auction day.
There’s a United Nations of toys from which to choose, which great pieces from many of the top German, Japanese and American manufacturers. Lehmann toys, which have been on the rise lately, are well represented by a Tut-Tut, Echo (blue motorcycle with rider), Autobus, Dancing Sailor, Ajax the Strongman, and Anxious Bride – a marvelous depiction of a well-dressed woman being transported to her wedding by a livered driver on a three-wheeled motorbike.
Also German made, Lot 769, an early, hand-painted Carette clockwork limousine has beveled-glass windows and opening doors. Its estimate is $3,000-$6,000.
Two Tippco clockwork Graf Zeppelins are tethered in back-to-back lots, 762 and 763. The former, at 26 inches long, is expected to make $3,000-$6,000, while the 14½-inch example could land at $1,200-$1,600.
Many comic character toys are ready to entertain, from jiggers to Marx Merry Maker bands and Disney toys. Lot 1526, a boxed Marx wind-up Blondie’s Jalopy toy is in excellent condition and estimated at $2,000-$3,000.
Three Japanese robot stars will cross the auction block in consecutive order, each with a $4,000-$8,000 estimate. They are: Lot 1413, a friction-powered Space Man with rare, colorful box; Lot 1414, a boxed Astro-Scout; and Lot 1415, A friction X-27 Explorer with original box.
Among the top trains and accessories are several Marklin productions: Lot 694, a hand-painted Central Station, est. $1,800-$2,000; Lot 695, a 1 gauge passenger train set, $600-$1,200; and a lot of two 1 gauge passenger cars – a Schlafwagon and Speisewagon, $300-$600. Many American-made Lionel train lots are included. Lot 1477, a Lionel Walt Disney Mickey Mouse Circus Train No. 1536 with colorful original box, is estimated at $800-$1,200.
The figural cast iron section offers dozens of desirable doorstops and bookends replicating animals, buildings, floral presentations, and human figures. All of the top brands and designers may be found in the selection, including Hubley, Fish, Bradley & Hubbard, Albany Foundry, Littco and Judd. Leading the group is Lot 436, a Spencer 11-1/8 inch double-sided cast-iron rooster doorstop with intricately detailed feathers and comb. Estimate: $5,000-$7,000. The cast-iron grouping also includes several figural sprinklers. Lot 417, a handsome wood duck sprinkler, 13 inches tall, has a $1,500-$2,000 estimate.
Also crossing the auction block will be a mixed selection of cast-iron still and mechanical banks. Leading the lineup is Lot 529, a J. & E. Stevens Bank Teller estimated at $20,000-$30,000. Three other popular Stevens mechanical banks are entered with individual estimates of $4,000-$6,000. They include: Lot 519, a fully functional Boy Scout Camp in beautiful condition; Lot 522, a Professor Pug Frog; and Lot 525, a Lion & Hunter. Lot 528, a Stevens Horse Race bank is entered with a $6,000-$9,000 estimate.
All 500+ dolls will be auctioned during the Sunday session, and what a parade of beauties they form. Lot 1157 is a remarkable French Bru poupee that has remained in its original Philadelphia Quaker family for generations. The 21-inch bisque-head doll comes with an extensive wardrobe of clothing, shoes, accessories and even furniture and a valise. It is estimated at $3,000-$5,000. A second French poupee with Bru characteristics is 35 inches tall and has a heavy French white kid lady body. Entered as Lot 1155, it also has an estimate of $3,000-$5,000.
Lot 1073, a 14-inch Jumeau bebe, is an early 2nd-series portrait doll and is estimated at $3,500-$5,000. Another Jumeau highlight is Lot 1071, a large and lovely 27-inch bebe with original French composition and wood body and French bisque socket head. It could potentially charm a winning bid of $2,500-$4,000.
Morphy’s Dec. 13-14 Toy & Doll auction will begin on both days at 9 a.m. Eastern Time. For additional information on any item in the sale, call 717-335-3435 or email info@morphyauctions.com.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
Spencer 11-1/8 inch double-sided cast-iron rooster doorstop with intricately detailed feathers and comb, est. $5,000-$7,000. Morphy Auctions image
Rare 3-lobed onionskin with mica panels, 1-15/32 inches in diameter, 9.5 condition, est. $4,000-$6,000. Morphy Auctions image
J. & E. Stevens Bank Teller cast-iron mechanical bank, est. $20,000-$30,000. Morphy Auctions image
Marklin hand-painted Central Station, est. $1,800-$2,000. Morphy Auctions image
Early, hand-painted Carette clockwork limousine with beveled-glass windows and opening doors, est. $3,000-$6,000. Morphy Auctions image
Jumeau 14-inch bebe, early 2nd-series portrait doll, est. $3,500-$5,000. Morphy Auctions image
French Bru 21-inch bisque-head poupee with extensive wardrobe of clothing, shoes and accessories; plus doll furniture and valise, est. $3,000-$5,000. Morphy Auctions image
Japanese tin litho friction Space Man toy with colorful original box, est. $4,000-$8,000. Morphy Auctions image
The Andrew Carnegie Mansion, home of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Image by Matt Flynn, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Thanks.
NEW YORK (AP) – The Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, revamped, restored and expanded after a three-year closure, is reopening at last, all decked out for the 21st century in its historic Carnegie Mansion home just a few blocks up Fifth Avenue from the Guggenheim and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Visitors to the museum, which opens Friday, will be hard-pressed to recognize the old-fashioned, somewhat wonky entity of old. It’s now four stories of cutting-edge galleries, hands-on and community-friendly.
The spacious garden, adjoining café and gift shop, housed in Andrew Carnegie’s 19th century picture gallery, will be accessible from a 90th Street gate and open to the public at no charge.
Inside, ticket-holders should come ready to experience a new kind of museum straddling art and science, 19th century architecture and a 21st-century Jetsons sort of world, where 3-D designs can be downloaded and hundreds of wallpaper patterns can be viewed (or designed) at the touch of a finger. Visitors are invited to use the museum as a practical design resource and exploration center as much as a museum in the traditional sense.
“I can’t wait to see how people make use of this,” said museum director Caroline Baumann, stepping gingerly around multi-touch surfaces the size of billiard tables, contemporary design pieces and even some antique French furniture. “It really makes the heart soar.”
With 60 percent more gallery space than it had before, the Cooper Hewitt opens with 10 new shows at once, making use of all four floors.
On the ground floor, “Designing the New Cooper Hewitt” recounts the museum’s transformation, which involved 12 design teams and took a decade to realize.
The first floor features a “Process Lab” with an industrial-size 3-D printer, among other tools. The lab invites visitors to explore the process of problem-solving behind design.
A “Beautiful Users” exhibit includes pitchers, wheelchairs and other objects from daily life, examining the shift toward user-oriented design.
A quick climb up one more staircase and the juxtaposition of traditional and cutting-edge really starts to take flight. “Making Design” brings together a wide range of works from the museum’s permanent collection, while “Hewitt Sisters Collect” tells the story of Eleanor and Sarah Hewitt and their collections of textiles, hatboxes, wall coverings, furniture and even birdcages (notice the sound of chirping birds), among other decorative arts.
Elsewhere, an Immersion Room allows visitors access to the Cooper Hewitt’s extensive collection of wall coverings and projects them, full-scale, onto the walls.
The third floor, formerly closed to the public and now transformed into a 6,000-square-foot gallery, features the exhibit “Tools: Extending Our Reach.” Highlights include a walk-through installation composed of dozens of hammers, saws and other basic tools, suspended so they appear to be exploding, and a 24-hour, delayed live feed of the sun’s surface, courtesy of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts – an illustration of the power of complex tools like satellites and telescopes. The exhibit is reminiscent at times of what you might expect from a science museum.
The final elements of the museum’s transformation will be added this spring when seating and terraces are added to the garden, an “evolved version” of the 1902 original, and each museum visitor will be loaned an interactive “pen.”
The grippy black stylus, around 8 inches long, can be used to doodle or design on any of the generously sized multi-touch tables throughout the museum; to locate specific items in the collection (doodling a zigzag pattern, for example, brings up all items with a zigzag in their design); or to download background material.
A unique Web address on each entry ticket lets the visitor download material to be accessed later online.
As for the mansion itself, the detailed, teak-veneer parquet floors have been replaced by century-old teak in the same seven patterns that Carnegie installed. The Caldwell light fixtures – one of the earliest types of electrical lighting in the city – are gleaming again. And multiple layers of paint have been removed to reveal the ornately carved Caen limestone ceiling just inside the 91st Street entrance.
“This was one of the first homes in the world to have air conditioning, heating and an elevator system, really cutting-edge technologies of the time,” Baumann said. “Andrew Carnegie would be pleased if he could see it today.”
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The Cooper Hewitt museum, on Fifth Avenue between 90th and 91st Streets, will be open daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, starting Dec. 12. Hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday through Friday, and 10 a.m.-9 p.m. on Saturdays. The garden will be open to the public from 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. (9 p.m. on Saturdays). Admission is $18 for adults, $12 for seniors and students. Children under 18 are free. Saturday evenings are “pay as you wish.”
Imperial apple green carved jade, pearl, diamond and platinum Buddha pendant necklace, c1925, POA from T. Robert. The Mayfair Antiques & Fine Art Fair image
LONDON – For the third year in a row, the Mayfair Antiques & Fine Art Fair takes place at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square from Thursday, Jan. 8, until Sunday, Jan. 11. Organized by the Antiques Dealers Fair Limited and held in association with Mayfair property specialist Wetherell, this boutique event has built up an enviable reputation among its international audience.
The fair attracts collectors, interior designers and people seeking the finest things in life. It has boasted an exhibitor waiting list since before the first event even took place. The majority of the 44 exhibitors are members of the British Antique Dealers’ Association and LAPADA, the Association of Art and Antiques Dealers.
Newcomers include Kinghams Art Pottery Ltd. bringing Martin Brothers, Wedgewood’s Fairyland and William de Morgan collections; Art Nouveau and Art Deco glass experts M&D Moir selling Lalique, Gallé, Daum, Monart and more; Dinan & Chighine, specializing in 17th to 20th century decorative engravings and watercolors; Manya Igel Fine Arts with a fine collection of paintings by Royal Academicians and members of the New England Art Club; and Timothy Langston Antiques with English, Continental and Oriental furniture, objects, paintings and decorative lighting.
As well as bringing English antique furniture, returning exhibitor W.R. Harvey & Co. (Antiques) Ltd is showing a collection of 18th century Chinese furniture from Shanxi Province, among which is a decorated lacquer book cabinet depicting a rural idyll, framed with butterflies, the symbol of marital bliss and happiness, £6,500. Walton House Antiques is bringing a superb late 17th century William and Mary period walnut and elm chest of drawers on turned walnut bun feet, circa 1680-90. with an arabesque design seaweed marquetry panels on both the top and the drawer fronts, selling for £15,000. Walton House Antiques’ stand features three dealers – Nicholas Arkell (furniture), Cambridge Fine Art (traditional oil paintings) and BBC Antiques Roadshow expert Richard Price (clocks).
The Art Deco period is currently very much in vogue, so collectors are in for a treat. Jeroen Markies’ Art Deco Strohmenger baby grand satinwood and walnut piano came from the White House in North London, a guest house for the stars of the silver screen filming at Elstree Studios during the 1920s and ’30s, and is for sale for £16,500. Both Jeroen Markies and Gazelles of Lyndhurst offer original Art Deco items from pianos, leather suites and cocktail cabinets to lighting, sculpture, tea sets and vases.
For more information email info@adfl.co.uk or phone +44 (0)1797 252030. The show’s website is www.mayfairfair.com.
ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE
Imperial apple green carved jade, pearl, diamond and platinum Buddha pendant necklace, c1925, POA from T. Robert. The Mayfair Antiques & Fine Art Fair imageGeorge III large silver tea/water urn, made in London in 1771 by Daniel Smith and Robert Sharp, £7,500, from Mary Cooke Antiques. The Mayfair Antiques & Fine Art Fair imageEighteenth century Italian couched floss silk on silk satin textile, in the region of £5,000 from Marilyn Garrow Fine Textile Art. The Mayfair Antiques & Fine Art Fair imageMartin Brothers vase with dragons, 10in. tall, 1894, £12,500, from Kinghams Art Pottery Ltd. The Mayfair Antiques & Fine Art Fair image
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, designed by architect Frank Gehry, is in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain.
NEW YORK – The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation announced today that its board of trustees has approved the renewal of the agreement for the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao for the next 20 years, through 2034.
This long-term renewal builds on a groundbreaking 20-year alliance that has contributed to the urban, economic, cultural and social revitalization of Bilbao and the Basque Country, enriching and stimulating the local and regional arts scene and tourism industry, and creating an innovative museum concept that has consolidated the Guggenheim museum network internationally and increased the visibility of its extraordinary collections of modern and contemporary art.
Since opening in 1997, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has welcomed close to 17 million visitors and presented nearly 140 exhibitions. Its landmark building, designed by Frank Gehry, was hailed as the most important structure of its time and has catalyzed a global conversation about the relationship between art and architecture. The museum’s collection spans from the mid-20th century to the present day, concentrating on postwar painting and sculpture in America and Europe and including key works by such artists as Anselm Kiefer, Willem de Kooning, Gilbert & George, Robert Motherwell, Doris Salcedo and Richard Serra as well as modern and contemporary Basque and Spanish artists, including Eduardo Chillida, Christina Iglesias, Juan Muñoz, Jorge Oteiza, Antonio Saura and Antoni Tàpies.
The renewal agreement provides for a range of new initiatives that will broaden the partnership, including commitments by the foundaation to present an exhibition drawn from the permanent collection of the Guggenheim Museum at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao over a six-month period every two years, hire a new curator based in New York who will be dedicated to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, provide the opportunity for a select group of students from the Basque Country to participate in SRGF’s museum internship program in New York, and establish a program to enable two young artists from the Basque Country each year to gain extensive knowledge of New York as a creative center for artists. Additionally, the agreement confirms and formalizes a position on the SRGF board of trustees for a representative of the Basque Administration.
The renewal agreement also provides for an annual payment by the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Foundation to SRGF, and for the Basque administration’s continuing support of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao’s art program and acquisitions.
More information about the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation can be found at guggenheim.org.
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, designed by architect Frank Gehry, is in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain.
