La Belle Epoque unveils highlights of exciting Feb. 5 debut auction

 

Byron Browne, ‘Sunset on the Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts,’ est. $8,000-$12,000

NEW YORK – La Belle Epoque Auction Gallery will hold its much-anticipated debut auction on February 5. This beautifully curated event will feature more than 300 lots of fine art, furniture, decorative accessories and more. Amongst the many highlights are a Byron Browne (American, 1907-1961) modernist abstract painting titled Sunset on the Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts; and six leather and chrome LC2 club chairs by Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand for Cassina. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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‘Saving Yellowstone’ chronicles origins of America’s first national park

On March 1, Scribner will release Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America by historian Megan Kate Nelson, which explores how the country’s first national park came to be. Image courtesy of Scribner
On March 1, Scribner will release Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America by historian Megan Kate Nelson, which explores how the country’s first national park came to be. Image courtesy of Scribner
On March 1, Scribner will release Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America by historian Megan Kate Nelson, which explores how the country’s first national park came to be. Image courtesy of Scribner

NEW YORK — Each year, nearly four million people visit Yellowstone National Park — one of the most popular of all national parks — but few know the fascinating and complex historical context in which it was established. Vividly narrated and illuminating, Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America (Scribner; on sale
March 1) by historian Megan Kate Nelson (author of the Pulitzer Prize Finalist The Three-Cornered War) shines a light on the creation of our first national park, and makes clear how frequently the grandest goals of our country precipitate the suffering and subjugation of many who called this land home, and how our most progressive visions can be warped by the reality of the American project.

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Rare Tom Brady card from his 1st Super Bowl year heads to auction

A 2002 Topps Finest X-Fractor Tom Brady card, one of just 20 made and the only example with a PSA grade of 10, goes to auction on Jan. 31. Images courtesy of Saco River Auction and LiveAuctioneers
A 2002 Topps Finest X-Fractor Tom Brady card, one of just 20 made and the only example with a PSA grade of 10, goes to auction on Jan. 31. Images courtesy of Saco River Auction and LiveAuctioneers
A 2002 Topps Finest X-Fractor Tom Brady card, one of just 20 made and the only example with a PSA grade of 10, goes to auction on Jan. 31. Images courtesy of Saco River Auction and LiveAuctioneers

SCARBOROUGH, Maine (AP) – One of just 20 special football cards featuring Tom Brady in the year he won his first Super Bowl is coming up for auction on January 31. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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Get ready to play: boutique Vintage Guitars sale set for Feb. 1

Ibanez semi-hollow ES335 model with Gibson Lucille hard case, est. $900-$1,200
Ibanez semi-hollow ES335 model with Gibson Lucille hard case, est. $900-$1,200
Ibanez semi-hollow ES335 model with Gibson Lucille hard case, est. $900-$1,200

NEW YORK – Few categories of collectibles are hotter than vintage guitars. Be they electric or acoustic, be they decades old or centuries old, choice examples will always draw a serious, attentive audience, ready and eager to bid. The next buying opportunity geared toward six-string aficionados will take place on Tuesday, February 1, starting at 8 pm Eastern time, when Jasper52 conducts and auction of vintage guitars. It is a tightly curated sale featuring 32 lots.

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SFO Museum focuses on ‘Antique Scientific Instruments’

Geissler tube rotator [with modern tube], late 19th century. James W. Queen & Company, Philadelphia, brass, mahogany, lacquer, glass, resin, iron, wire. Courtesy of Mark McElyea. L2021.1301.004a–b

Geissler tube rotator [with modern tube], late 19th century. James W. Queen & Company, Philadelphia, brass, mahogany, lacquer, glass, resin, iron, wire. Courtesy of Mark McElyea. L2021.1301.004a–b
Geissler tube rotator [with modern tube], late 19th century. James W. Queen & Company, Philadelphia, brass, mahogany, lacquer, glass, resin, iron, wire. Courtesy of Mark McElyea. L2021.1301.004a–b
SAN FRANCISCO – Curiosity & Discovery: Antique Scientific Instruments explores the beauty and allure of the tools scientists have used to learn more about our world. The exhibition mounted by the SFO Museum will run through April 3, 2022.

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Picasso heirs clarify no ‘Picasso NFT’ is being sold online

Portrait photograph of Pablo Picasso, taken in 1908. His heirs have clarified that they have not authorized the creation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) based on the legendary artist’s work. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons; it is in the public domain in the United States because it was published or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office before January 1, 1927.
Portrait photograph of Pablo Picasso, taken in 1908. His heirs have clarified that they have not authorized the creation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) based on the legendary artist’s work. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons; it is in the public domain in the United States because it was published or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office before January 1, 1927.
Portrait photograph of Pablo Picasso, taken in 1908. The artist’s heirs have clarified that they have not authorized the creation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) based on his work. Image is in the public domain in the United States because it was published or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office before January 1, 1927. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

GENEVA (AP) – Pablo Picasso’s family is not selling a digital asset linked to one of his works after all. After a granddaughter and great-grandson of the artist trumpeted the upcoming sale, lawyers for the family said Thursday that his heirs have not authorized the launch of any such “Picasso NFT.” An intra-family disagreement has cropped up over it.

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Wadsworth Athenaeum’s MATRIX series spotlights Nevine Mahmoud

Nevine Mahmoud, ‘Wax Lips seated,’ 2021. Polyester resin, plastic, plastic chair and steel hardware. Courtesy of the artist and M+B, Los Angeles. Photo credit: Ed Mumford
Nevine Mahmoud, ‘Wax Lips seated,’ 2021. Polyester resin, plastic, plastic chair and steel hardware. Courtesy of the artist and M+B, Los Angeles. Photo credit: Ed Mumford
Nevine Mahmoud, ‘Wax Lips seated,’ 2021. Polyester resin, plastic, plastic chair and steel hardware. Courtesy of the artist and M+B, Los Angeles. Photo credit: Ed Mumford

HARTFORD, Conn. — Glass, stone and resin compose sculptural works by Nevine Mahmoud that simultaneously evoke the human body, inanimate objects and organic forms. They are at once natural and manufactured; alive and disembodied; inviting and disturbing. The nine works in the exhibition are arranged across the gallery space by the artist, who is deeply engaged in exhibition design, to propel visual associations and conversations between the works. Nevine Mahmoud / MATRIX 188 is on view at the Wadsworth from February 3 to May 1.

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Harry Winston, the once and forever king of diamonds

A Harry Winston ring featuring an Asscher-cut 31.04-carat diamond earned $600,000 plus the buyer’s premium in December 2020. Image courtesy of New Orleans Auction Galleries and LiveAuctioneers.
A Harry Winston ring featuring an Asscher-cut 31.04-carat diamond earned $600,000 plus the buyer’s premium in December 2020. Image courtesy of New Orleans Auction Galleries and LiveAuctioneers.
A Harry Winston ring featuring an Asscher-cut 31.04-carat diamond earned $600,000 plus the buyer’s premium in December 2020. Image courtesy of New Orleans Auction Galleries and LiveAuctioneers.

NEW YORK — Born in 1896 in New York City, Harry Winston was destined to one day be crowned the “king of diamonds.” His father ran a small jewelry shop and the young Winston soon showed himself to be a quick study. When he was just 12 years old, he spied an emerald being sold as a piece of green glass on a tray of costume jewelry in a pawnshop. To avoid alerting the shop owner, he bought it along with another stone for the grand sum of 50 cents and resold it for $800 a few days later.

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