PHILADELPHIA — Freeman’s is thrilled to announce the results of its July 1 single-lot auction, This Important State Paper: Signer Charles Carroll’s Copy of the Declaration of Independence, which achieved a historic $4.42 million sale price, exceeding by a remarkable five times its pre-sale high estimate of $800,000. This result marks the second-highest price ever paid at auction for any copy of the Declaration of Independence, and is the highest price ever paid at auction for an American document printed in the 19th century. It more than quadrupled the world auction record for a Stone printing of the Declaration of Independence set in New York City in 2019.
Civil War-era cavalry flag flew to $40K at Cowan’s, June 25
CINCINNATI – On June 25, Cowan’s, a Hindman company, held an American Historical Ephemera and Photography auction. It realized more than $705,000 and saw active and competitive bidding throughout. The sale presented an outstanding selection of 18th to early 20th century material and reflected important historical periods including the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the Indian Wars, World Wars I and II, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Women’s Suffrage Movement.
Quinn’s to auction 300+ lots of rare and signed books, maps & prints, July 8
FALLS CHURCH, Va. – On Thursday, July 8, Quinn’s Auction Galleries will host an outstanding 317-lot auction of rare and signed books, antique maps, prints and autographs, with absentee and Internet live bidding available through LiveAuctioneers. Selections include works by Thomas Wolfe, Ernest Hemingway, Ulysses S. Grant, and Dutch engraver/cartographer Henricus Hondius II. The art category features an unpublished Frederic Dorr Steele illustration titled The Slavering Hound, which was created for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Dali Museum celebrates boundary-breaking photographer Lee Miller
ST.PETERSBURG, Fla. – Although her first work was as a model, Lee Miller (1907-1977) – the trusted confidante of many influential artists and an eyewitness to some of the most extraordinary moments of the 20th century – made lasting contributions as a photographer. Sweeping in scope and intimate in focus, The Woman Who Broke Boundaries: Photographer Lee Miller surveys her fascinating personal life and remarkably incisive portraiture and photojournalism. The exhibition is organized by The Dali Museum and will feature more than 130 images from Miller’s prolific body of work. The exhibition will be on view exclusively at The Dali Museum July 3 through January 2, 2022.
July 8 auction offers Americana, folk art & outsider Art
NEW YORK – The realms of Americana, Folk Art, and Outsider Art covers a startlingly wide range of objects and artifacts. Source materials range from silver, ceramics, cloth, glass, brass, iron, cardboard, wood, tin, paper, and stone. Items that can qualify include board games, trade signs, wind-up toys, fireplace tools, paintings, prints, drawings, carvings, pitchers, plates, paperweights, carnival targets, alphabet blocks, coverlets, candlesticks, vases, plates, flags, trophies, tankards, canes, and frames, to name just a scant few.
McInnis sells Picasso that sat in Maine closet for 50 years
AMESBURY, Mass. (AP) – A mixed-media painting attributed to Pablo Picasso has been sold after spending 50 years in a closet in a house in Maine. The Boston Globe reports that John McInnis Auctioneers, based in Massachusetts, auctioned the painting titled Le Tricorne on June 26.
Uncle Sam: patriot, pitchman, enduring symbol of the USA
NEW YORK — Holidays in the United States of America range from the secular to the religious. Some are somber, while others revolve around food and convivial celebrations. The quintessential American holiday, of course, is Independence Day, aka the Fourth of July, which typically means fireworks, parties with family and friends, food, and even parades.