December 8, 2015 - Auction Central News

Demand for modern design powers Palm Beach Modern’s Nov. 21-22 sale to $1.5M

Gino Sarfatti for Arteluce (Italy) chandelier, $23,750

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The market for modern art and design was put to the test in a two-session sale held Nov. 21-22 at Palm Beach Modern Auctions (PBMA) and came through with flying colors and a $1.5 million total. The 700 beautifully presented lots attracted more than 125 guests competing onsite against five constantly engaged phone lines and an Internet console that buzzed with activity via Liveauctioneers from start to finish. In all, more than 1,200 online bidders from 15 countries signed up for the event, which was PBMA’s largest ever. Afterward, purchases were shipped as far afield as Japan, Australia and Chile.

Reading the Streets: The Swarm

Tito Na Rua and The Royal King Bee, Bronx, N.Y., Photo by Ilana Novick — Tito Na Rua and The Royal King Bee, Bronx, N.Y. Photo by Ilana Novick

NEW YORK – On the same street my great-grandparents opened their first grocery store as newly minted Americans 100 years ago, a battle for the heart of the Bronx plays out with bees, Joe Nobody, and one Dr. Pain and his army of hipster insects, trying to exterminate their hives with the “financial pesticide” of gentrification.

Stephenson’s issues a call to arms for Dec. 11 militaria, gun sale

U.S. military uniforms, two for Army major generals; one for a WWII Marine gunnery sergeant

SOUTHAMPTON, Pa. – Two advanced private collections have merged in perfect formation as the core of Stephenson’s Friday, December 11 Militaria & Firearms Auction. The 400-lot sale includes uniforms, a wealth of US and Nazi Germany World War II medals, insignias and memorabilia; and approximately 70 lots of antique and vintage firearms.

Dutch art stolen from museum in 2005 traced to Ukraine

Matthias Withoos (Dutch, 1626-1703), ‘De Grashaven,’ stolen from the Westfries Museum in 2005. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – A trove of Dutch Golden Age art stolen from a provincial Dutch museum nearly 11 years ago has been linked to a volunteer militia in Ukraine.

Roland holiday auction Dec. 12 covers season’s wish lists

Lot 427 - Joan Miro lithograph, est. $4,000-$6,000. Roland Auctions image — Lot 427 – Joan Miro lithograph, est. $4,000-$6,000. Roland Auctions image

NEW YORK – On Saturday, Dec., Roland Auctions NY will present its fifth annual holiday auction featuring over 700 lots of fine and decorative arts selected from choice estates throughout Manhattan and extending along the East Coast from Cape May, New Jersey, to Lexington, Massachusetts.

Artwork saved Portland man who fled Nazi Germany with family

The painting Paula Engleberg was able to keep as she and her family fled Germany. Image courtesy of Art Hunt. — The painting Paula Engelberg was able to keep as she and her family fled Germany. Image courtesy of Art Hunt.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Edward Engelberg, a Portland resident who came to the U.S. as a refugee from Nazi Germany, has always been fascinated by the painting his family brought with them.

It depicts a woman in a Mona Lisa-like pose, smiling faintly.

Brooklyn Museum exhibit chronicles Coney Island history

Red Grooms (American, born 1937). Weegee 1940, 1998-99. Acrylic on paper, 56 1/8 x 62 in. (142.6 x 157.5 cm). Private Collection. Photo: Courtesy of Marlborough Gallery, New York; © 2013 Red Grooms/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

NEW YORK (AP) – Hear the words Coney Island and Cyclone, Steeplechase and other rides immediately spring to mind.

The historic Brooklyn landmark has a long and storied history that dates to the Civil War.

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