Nazi Looted Art, a Surprising Chinese Vase and More Fresh News

A Nazi official looted works of art from the Potocki Palace in Krzeszowice, Poland. Image by Spars. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

News and updates from around the arts and auction community:

  • In a gesture that should be a good example to others, the son of a Nazi official has returned three artworks that his family had looted from the southern Polish city of Krakow during World War II. [Read more from CBS News]
  • A Chinese vase has sold for 450 times its estimate after auctioneers mistook it for a copy until savvy bidders realized it was actually a 500-year-old valuable antique. [Read more from The Telegraph]
  • A Francis Bacon triptych is expected to fetch up to $70 million at auction. Three Studies For A Portrait Of George Dyer, which was  once owned by the celebrated author Roald Dahl, will be offered at Christie’s Post War and Contemporary Art sale in New York on May 17. [Read more from the North-West Evening Mail]
  • Spider-Man burst into comics in Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962). A near-mint copy of that landmark comic book featuring Spider-Man on the cover has sold for $454,100. [Read more from boingboing]

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Thiebaud paintings, Met Museum property propel Clars sale to $2M

Wayne Thiebaud’s 1958 ‘Watermelon Slice,’ one of his earliest still life paintings to reach the auction stage sold for $78,650. Clars Auction Gallery image

 

OAKLAND, Calif.– On February 18 and 19, Clars Auction Gallery presented to the market important fine art and prints and the first installment of select decorative art and furnishings deaccessioned from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The sale achieved $2 million with fine art reaching almost $1 million and the collection from the Metropolitan Museum of Art soaring past estimates achieving $285,000. Absentee and Internet live bidding was available through LiveAuctioneers.

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Jasper52 launches auction of Viking Age jewelry March 4

Viking warrior’s ring, 10th century, gilt bronze, size 13 1/4, professionally conserved and refurbished with the gold overlay restored. Estimate: $600-$700. Jasper52 image

 

NEW YORK – On Saturday, March 4, Jasper52 will conduct an online auction of Viking jewelry dating back to the Middle Ages. Absentee and Internet bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.

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Pittsburgh: Warhol, August Wilson and best cake in America

Duquesne Incline overlooking Pittsburgh. Plastikspork image. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

 

PITTSBURGH (AP) – If you’re planning a trip to Pittsburgh, you’ll need to learn a few things. Yinz is local for y’all. Carnegie is pronounced Car-NAY-gie (as in Andrew Carnegie, who made a fortune in Pittsburgh’s steel industry, and whose name adorns libraries, museums and more.) And you don’t get French fries WITH your sandwich at Primanti’s. You get fries ON your sandwich.

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Albuquerque Museum exhibits New Mexico film history

‘Breaking Bad’ cast-signed photograph. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers archive and Christiana Auction Gallery

 

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – A new Albuquerque Museum exhibit is spotlighting New Mexico’s movie industry from silent films to Breaking Bad.

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Arnold Palmer golf memorabilia goes on tour in March

Arnold Palmer signed photograph. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers archive and International Autograph Auctions Ltd.

 

LATROBE, Pa. (AP) – A treasure trove of memorabilia accumulated by Arnold Palmer during his Hall of Fame career is leaving his Pennsylvania hometown of Latrobe and hitting the road.

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Strong U.S. dollar expected to go far in Jasper52 coin auction March 5

1895-S Morgan $1 PCGS AU53, rare. Estimate: $6,600-$13,200. Jasper 52 image

 

NEW YORK – Investment-grade coins from around the globe will be auctioned off to the highest bidders by Jasper52 on Sunday, March 5. U.S. coins lead the way including a rare 1895-S Morgan silver dollar (above) estimated at $6,600-$13,200. Absentee and Internet live bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.

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RSL to auction Rocheleau collection of still & mechanical banks, Mar. 18-19

Exceptionally fine example of the small Boston State Bank. RSL Auction image

 

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. – The James A. Rocheleau collection of superior-quality still and mechanical banks will headline RSL Auction Co.’s Saturday/Sunday March 18-19 auction at the company’s New Jersey gallery. The entire opening session will be devoted exclusively to the 350-lot Rocheleau collection, which is known and admired throughout the bank-collecting community for its stellar condition. Day two will feature 500 lots of carefully curated multiple consignments of European and American antique toys and banks. Absentee and Internet bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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‘American Watercolor’ showcases masterpieces of movement

John Singer Sargent, ‘A Tent in the Rockies,’ 1916. Image courtesy WikiArt.org

 

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Prior to the 1860s, creating art with watercolor was seen as the realm of women and children, illustrators and amateurs. Artists wanting to prove their mettle used the most prestigious medium of the time: oil paint.

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Woody Auction features finest quality art glass March 18

Daum Nancy signed French cameo art glass covered jar in a rare shape and with a rare winter scene décor. Woody Auction image

 

DOUGLASS, Kan. – Woody Auction is offering a surefire cure for cabin fever with what it’s calling the finest art glass auction ever held at its Douglass gallery, opened in 2015. Offered will be over 350 lots, featuring three core collections of mainly art glass and art pottery. The sale will be held Saturday, March 18, starting at 9:30 a.m. Central time. Absentee and Internet bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.

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