ASTI, Italy – Nova Ars, known for their Modernism, 20th century Italian design and contemporary art auctions, will offer for the first time a fine selection of Persian and Oriental carpets, both antique and modern. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.com.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Art, antiques, jewelry and historical objects from two Tennessee plantations – Devon Farm of Nashville and Hamilton Place of Maury County – will be offered July 30, as part of the Summer Case Antiques Auction, to be held at the company’s gallery in Knoxville.
LONDON – The first comprehensive museum exhibition devoted to the portraits of pioneering American photographer, William Eggleston, is on view at the National Portrait Gallery.
NEW YORK – Time is running out on the popular exhibition “Crime Stories: Photography and Foul Play” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Some 70 works from the Met collection—ranging from 19th-century “rogues galleries” and photographs of crime scenes to work by contemporary artists inspired by criminal transgression—are featured in this installation, which closes July 31.
CHANTILLY, Va. (AP) – Astronaut Neil Armstrong’s gloves and helmet from his historic Apollo 11 Moon landing mission are on display at the Smithsonian.
VINELAND, N.J. – Bidders ventured into the outer limits at Bertoia’s May 20-21 spring toy auction, as one lot after another spurred aggressive competition to achieve estimate-smashing prices. From the moment a German-made Marklin oceanliner Amerika set sail, there was little doubt where it was headed: straight to the top of prices realized. The pristine 38-inch-long vessel, all original and retaining its lifeboats, masts, four stacks and other beautifully detailed appointments, cruised at top speed as it rose through the bidding ranks toward a final payday of $271,400, almost four times its high estimate. The buyer was a private party from Europe who chose to remain anonymous.
DALLAS – This September, at the Long Beach Expo, Heritage Auctions will present the Jon Alan Boka 1794 Cent Collection – the finest current collection of all 58 Sheldon-numbered 1794 cent varieties in private hands. The collection also will be on display Aug. 9-14. at the American Numismatic Association Convention’s World’s Fair of Money in Anaheim, California.
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Museum of Art unveiled the newest addition to its celebrated Neo-Impressionist collection Tuesday – Henri Delavallée’s painting, The Boot Polisher (1890).
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Donald Trump’s gravity-defying hair has generated plenty of attention, but have you seen George Washington’s?
You can check it out this month in Philadelphia, where a museum has put the hair of some early presidents on display.
OAKLAND, Calif. – Clars Auction Gallery’s July 17 sale of Fine Art, Decorative Art Furniture, Jewelry/Timepieces and Asian Art saw particular excitement when a rare painting by American tromp l’oeil artist William McCloskey (1859-1941) came up for bid. The oil on canvas titled Wrapped Lemons on a Tabletop (above) experienced highly competitive bidding and substantially outperformed it $70,000 to $100,000 estimate. Wrapped Lemons on a Tabletop (1888) achieved an impressive $216,000, making it the highest price for the artist in over five years and the seventh highest overall out of only 25 that have sold at auction.
Absentee and Internet bidding was available through LiveAuctioneers.com.
As Rick Unruh, vice president and director of Fine Art at Clars explained, “There are approximately 100 known works by McCloskey and perhaps even fewer exist of his most desired and collectible subject matter, still lifes of citrus fruit wrapped in tissue paper.” Unruh also explained, “Having this painting featured as the highlight of our July auction proved to be a very good decision when most of the major auction houses close down for the summer months until September. Dealers and collectors are most definitely looking for fine art gems such as the McCloskey painting during these months.”
Born in Philadelphia and trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, McCloskey oil still lifes epitomize a delicate execution and perfect realism that mesmerize the viewer. The painting, Wrapped Lemons on a Table Top, was one such example by the artist that caught the attention of some of the top and most well-respected galleries in New York that specialize in late 19th and early 20th century American fine art.
The telephone bidding on this lot was fast and furious. The outcome was more than exceptional for the seller in New Hampshire, who decided to forego waiting until the fall auction season.
Clars’ July 16-17 sale realized over $1 million with several other notable prices achieved. Also performing well in Fine Art was a bronze work by Canadian sculptor Sorel Etrog (1933-2014). Titled The Couple, (below) this 52-inch-high work sold for $27,830.
In the decorative arts category, the top seller was an American Gorham Martelé .958 hollowware suite that surpassed its high estimate selling for $12,100. Coming in second and also outperforming high estimate was the art glass group titled Seaform (below) by Dale Chihuly (American b. 1941), which achieved $11,495.
A stunning diamond and platinum ring highlighting an old European cut diamond weighing 1.93 carats was the top lot in the jewelry category and sold for solidly within estimate at $8,470.
Rounding out the auction was the Asian category that had its own surprises with several lots flying past high estimate. Two Chinese censers in particular had bidders fighting to the finish line. The first was a Guan-type tripod censer that was offered for $2,000-$4,000 but sold for $9,680. The next was a Ge-type censer (below) expected to achieve $1,500 but rose to $8,470.
For more information email info@clars.com.
Click here to view the fully illustrated catalog for this sale, complete with prices realized.