Paintings by women are the focus at Eldred’s March 13

Theresa Ferber Bernstein, 'Streetworkers,' estimated at $5,000-$10,000 at Eldred's.

EAST DENNIS, Mass. — More than 150 paintings by women artists head to market as part of Eldred’s Women In The Arts sale scheduled for Wednesday, March 13. The complete catalog is now available for bidding at LiveAuctioneers.

Theresa Ferber Bernstein (1890-2002) lived a remarkable — and remarkably long — life, creating paintings alongside her husband William Meyerowitz in their Upper West Side artist loft in New York City. William passed in 1981, but Theresa would keep on painting, even having a public exhibition of 110 of her works on her 110th birthday. Streetworkers is an undated oil on canvas in her later expressionistic style. It is the sale’s top-estimated lot at $5,000-$10,000.

Alice Beach Winter (1877-1968) specialized in portraits of children, and her talent in this area brought her lucrative work illustrating books and magazine covers. Portrait of a Young Girl is undated and was likely a commission. It is estimated at $2,500-$3,500.

A native Illinoisan, Pauline Palmer (1867-1938) became synonymous with the Chicago art world, where she would eventually become president of the Chicago Society of Artists in 1919. Village scene, Provincetown, Massachusetts is a signed but undated oil on canvas. The work is estimated at $3,000-$5,000.

Rosebee (born Cecelia Surdut, 1932-2016) began painting at age 57 and within three years won a jury award at an Illinois art show for her primitive works. Eldred’s sale includes Noah’s Ark, an 8 by 10in oil on board in her naive style. It is signed (07) ROSEBEE, so it’s likely a 2007 work. It carries an estimate of $700-$1,000.

Theresa Ferber Bernstein, 'Streetworkers,' estimated at $5,000-$10,000 at Eldred's.

Theresa Ferber Bernstein, 'Streetworkers,' estimated at $5,000-$10,000 at Eldred's.

Alice Beach Winter, 'Portrait of a Young Girl,' estimated at $2,500-$3,500 at Eldred's.

Alice Beach Winter, 'Portrait of a Young Girl,' estimated at $2,500-$3,500 at Eldred's.

Pauline Palmer, 'Village scene, Provincetown, Massachusetts,' $3,000-$5,000 at Eldred's.

Pauline Palmer, 'Village scene, Provincetown, Massachusetts,' $3,000-$5,000 at Eldred's.

Rosebee (Cecelia Surdut), 'Noah’s Ark,' estimated at $700-$1,000 at Eldred's.

Rosebee (Cecelia Surdut), 'Noah’s Ark,' estimated at $700-$1,000 at Eldred's.

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte has worked in editorial, design and the toy and auction industries for more than 30 years. He co-founded Auction Central News in 2007.

1957 Chevrolet Bel Air marketing artwork leads our five auction highlights

Original artwork for 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air promotional materials, which hammered for $2,050 and sold for $2,357 with buyer’s premium at Toystrainsandotheroldstuff.

1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Original Marketing Illustration, $2,357

FOWLER, Ind. – Jack Juratovic (1939-2018) was a legend in the automotive art space. He worked as a designer for General Motors in the 1960s with Larry Wood, who would go on to become a lead designer for Mattel’s Hot Wheels line just a few years later. Juratovic also created an extensive line of art generally featuring great steam locomotives of the past gloriously chugging along while being paced by vintage classic automobiles.

Juratovic was also an automotive memorabilia expert, and upon his passing his massive collection went to his children, who decided to return everything to the market so that other automotive enthusiasts could enjoy his lifetime of work. And so Toystrainsandotheroldstuff was chosen to disperse the collection in a sale held January 27.

One of the most sought-after items from the Juratovic trove was original artwork of the 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air created by staff artist E. H. Gressendorf of McCallum Associates, a Detroit agency working in support of the Chevrolet Division of General Motors. The so-called “tri-five” (1955-1957) platform was peaking with the 1957 model year, when the Bel Air’s fins would reach their apex before an extensive redesign in 1958.

Two dozen bids between the floor and online bidders ensued, sending the matted artwork to $2,050 ($2,357 with buyer’s premium) after the LiveAuctioneers bidder triumphed.

Large Early 20th-century Japanese Cloisonné Vase, $41,250

Japanese cloisonné vase with narrative decoration, which hammered for $33,000 and sold for $41,250 with buyer’s premium at Locati LLC.
Japanese cloisonné vase with narrative decoration, which hammered for $33,000 and sold for $41,250 with buyer’s premium at Locati LLC.

PINEVILLE, Penn. – The unexpected top lot in Locati LLC’s January 21 sale was this large early 20th-century Japanese cloisonné vase. Although unsigned and of good rather than outstanding quality, the decoration is most unusual. In addition to geometric and floral border patterns are panels of narrative decoration executed in the musen (wireless) technique: to one side a scholar at his desk, to the other a boy on a water buffalo.

Likely a piece made for the domestic market rather than export (in Buddhist parables, a herd boy’s search for his lost oxen is analogous to the pursuit of enlightenment), it hammered for $33,000 and sold for $41,250 with buyer’s premium against an estimate of $300-$500. The winning bid came via LiveAuctioneers.

Two Works by Paul Sawyier: ‘Garden with Fountain,’ $49,125, and ‘Fountain and Rose Garden,’ $28,820

Paul Sawyier, ‘Fountain and Rose Garden,’ which hammered for $22,000 and sold for $28,820 with buyer’s premium at Clars Auction Gallery.Paul Sawyier, ‘Garden with Fountain’, which hammered for $37,000 and sold for $49,125 with buyer’s premium at Clars Auction Gallery.
Two Works by Paul Sawyier: ‘Garden with Fountain,’ $49,125, and ‘Fountain and Rose Garden,’ $28,820

OAKLAND, Calif. – While most American Impressionists were based in the New England area, the style spread westward in the early years of the 20th century. Kentucky’s best-known exponent is Paul Sawyier (1865-1917). After studying under William Merritt Chase in New York City, he spent much of his career painting in watercolor close to the Kentucky River.

The two Paul Sawyier oils on board offered at Clars Auction Gallery on January 19 were probably painted in the last years of his life when – although changing his medium and moving to Brooklyn and then heading for the Catskills – he continued to paint Kentucky park scenes based on photographs. Both works at Clars were 2ft-by-20in garden scenes showing classical-style sculptures amid pastel flowers in full bloom, and came for sale from the New York estate of Philip F Schaefer.

Although estimated at $10,000-$15,000 each, buyers preferred the landscape format scene Garden with Fountain, which hammered for $37,000 and sold for $49,125 with buyer’s premium. The portrait format scene Fountain and Rose Garden hammered for $22,000 and sold for $28,820 with buyer’s premium.

Postal Facing Slip from the RMS Titanic, $18,200

A facing slip from the RMS Titanic postal service, which hammered for $14,000 and sold for $18,200 with buyer’s premium at Alex Cooper.
A facing slip from the RMS Titanic postal service, which hammered for $14,000 and sold for $18,200 with buyer’s premium at Alex Cooper.

TOWSON, Md. – The British and American postal clerks aboard transatlantic liners had the duty of sorting the mail during the passage. They used what were called ‘facing slips’ with printed headings for letters that were being sent to common destinations, franking them with a postmark recording the clerk, the ship, and the date.

Those sent from the RMS Titanic are particularly rare. This example offered for sale at Alex Cooper on January 27 is dated April 10, 1912 – five days before the ship sank – and carries the stamp of Oscar S. Woody. On the night of the wreck, Woody celebrated his 44th birthday with the four other clerks, the party cut short by the iceberg collision. They immediately began to haul the mail to the main deck to move it into the lifeboats, but in the end, none of the mail was saved, and all of the clerks perished. Woody’s body was recovered several days later, with a number of these ‘Brooklyn, NY’ facing slips in his pockets.

On the market for the first time since it was purchased at Matthew Bennett Philatelic Auctions in January 1970, it was estimated at $5,000-$8,000 and hammered at $14,000 and sold for $18,200 with buyer’s premium.

John Linnell’s Portrait of His Son James, $9,445

John Linnell’s watercolor and pen bust-length portrait of his son James, which hammered for £5,500 ($6,945) and sold for £7,480 ($9,445) at Dawsons Auctioneers.
John Linnell’s watercolor and pen bust-length portrait of his son James, which hammered for £5,500 ($6,945) and sold for £7,480 ($9,445) at Dawsons Auctioneers.

MAIDENHEAD, U.K. – This watercolor and pen bust-length portrait by the English artist John Linnell (1792-1882) is a particularly personal work. Painted circa 1825, it depicts his second son James Thomas Linnell (1820-1905) as a long-haired, red-headed boy and is inscribed on the verso ‘James Thos. Linnell’s Given to him by his father John Linnell 1879.’

During the early part of his life, John Linnell was associated with William Blake, to whom he introduced Samuel Palmer, George Richmond, and other members of the group of artists known as the Ancients. His eldest daughter Hannah married Samuel Palmer.

This 10 by 8in (25 by 20cm) portrait came for sale at Dawsons Auctioneers on January 25, attracting plenty of interest before hammering at £5,500 ($6,945), some 10 times the top estimate. With buyer’s premium, it sold for £7,480, or about $9,445. James Thomas Linnell would himself become a successful landscape artist in his own right, exhibiting at the Royal Academy from 1850 to 1888.

ACN Staff

ACN Staff

Content bearing the byline of ACN staff has been researched and written by multiple members of the Auction Central News team.

Rare prototype edition of Mao’s ‘Little Red Book’ heads to Chiswick Feb. 29

Scarce prototype edition of 'The Quotations of Chairman Mao', aka the 'Little Red Book', estimated at £30,000-£35,000 ($38,060-$44,405) at Chiswick Auctions.

LONDON — A scarce prototype edition of The Quotations of Chairman Mao Tse-Tung, the famous Little Red Book, will be offered at Chiswick Auctions this month. It forms part of one of the world’s largest and best private collections of Cultural Revolution artifacts, which will appear in the Thursday, February 29 sale of Books and Works on Paper.

The imprint of Mao’s Little Red Book was produced in August 1963, some 10 months before the official Beijing version was released in May 1964. Compiled and printed by the Shenyang Military Region, it numbers 156 rather than 250 pages and lacks the engraved portrait of the chairman or the slogan Workers of the world, Unite! that became integral to the finished edition. It includes quotation texts of Mao Tse-Tung from as early as 1937 into the 1940s.

A book never previously seen at auction, it is offered in its original white paper wrappers with an estimate of £30,000-£35,000 ($38,060-$44,405).

This is one of several rare editions of The Quotations included in the collection that was compiled during 25 years by the renowned New York antiquarian book dealer and children’s book specialist Justin Schiller. His home in upstate New York includes thousands of objects related to the Cultural Revolution, many of them bought during regular visits to China.

Schiller considers the propaganda from this period of history to be “the ultimate in fake news.” First attracted to the subject for its powerful aesthetic, Schiller also recognized its historical importance at a time when many Chinese were keen to offload the relics of a troubled past. At the beginning of his collecting journey in the 1990s, important material was relatively easy to come by. Today he estimates that at least 80 percent of the original propaganda material produced during the time of the Cultural Revolution has now been destroyed. Fakes and reproductions, made to appeal to the thriving collecting market, are now commonplace.

A particularly scarce survivor on offer at Chiswick Auctions is an original mango relic shrine from circa 1968. It has an estimate of £800-£1,200 ($1,015-$1,520). The cult of the mango was a short-lived phenomenon sparked by re-gifting of fruit (originally given to Mao by the nation of Pakistan) to worker-peasant propaganda teams. The imagery of mangos was in vogue for about a year, with the 1968 National Day (October 1) celebrations marked by an entire float of mangos paraded in Tiananmen Square.

A second shrine incorporating a bisque porcelain head and shoulders bust of Chairman Mao dates from circa 1960. It is emblazoned with slogans at its base that read Long Live the Great Teacher, Great Leader, Great Commander-in-chief, Great Helmsman Chairman Mao and is housed in a wooden box with a surround incised ‘Long Live Chairman Mao.’ The bust is estimated at £180-£220 ($230-$280).

A series of sculptural groups in bronze, porcelain, and stone include The Model Hero, a monumental head and shoulders bronzed bust of Lei Feng, most likely salvaged from a bridge or entrance arch (estimated at £5,000-£7,000 or $6,345-$8,880) and a near life-size plaster statue of young Mao going to AnYuan. Dated circa 1968, this image is based on the 1967 icon-making painting by Liu Chun Hua, who turned Mao into a philosopher-prophet with his clenched fist representing determination, and the umbrella indicating the hard journey.

This part of the Justin Schiller collection, including books, posters, original art, tapestries, sculpture, and memorabilia, will be presented in around 300 lots. They’ll remain in situ in upstate New York with the auction staged in London.

Scarce prototype edition of 'The Quotations of Chairman Mao', aka the 'Little Red Book', estimated at £30,000-£35,000 ($38,060-$44,405) at Chiswick Auctions.

Scarce prototype edition of 'The Quotations of Chairman Mao', aka the 'Little Red Book', estimated at £30,000-£35,000 ($38,060-$44,405) at Chiswick Auctions.

Original mango relic shrine from circa 1968, estimated at £800-£1,200 ($1,015-$1,520) at Chiswick Auctions.

Original mango relic shrine from circa 1968, estimated at £800-£1,200 ($1,015-$1,520) at Chiswick Auctions.

'The Model Hero', a monumental head and shoulders bronzed bust of Lei Feng, estimated at £5,000-£7,000 ($6,345-$8,880) at Chiswick Auctions.

'The Model Hero', a monumental head and shoulders bronzed bust of Lei Feng, estimated at £5,000-£7,000 ($6,345-$8,880) at Chiswick Auctions.

Near life-size plaster statue of young Mao going to AnYuan, estimated at £1,000-£2,000 ($1,270-$2,540) at Chiswick Auctions.

Near life-size plaster statue of young Mao going to AnYuan, estimated at £1,000-£2,000 ($1,270-$2,540) at Chiswick Auctions.

Porcelain figural group showing two comrades riding a rocket and holding a banner reading 'China exceed US and UK,' estimated at £500-£1,000 ($635-$1,270) at Chiswick Auctions.

Porcelain figural group showing two comrades riding a rocket and holding a banner reading 'China exceed US and UK,' estimated at £500-£1,000 ($635-$1,270) at Chiswick Auctions.

Portrait bust of Chairman Mao, estimated at £180-£220 ($230-$280) at Chiswick Auctions.

Portrait bust of Chairman Mao, estimated at £180-£220 ($230-$280) at Chiswick Auctions.

Roland Arkell

Roland Arkell

Roland Arkell is editor of Auction Central News and deputy editor at Antiques Trade Gazette. He has been writing about all aspects of the art and antiques market for more than 25 years.

Spectacular Schuco toys, petroliana, and advertising headline at Miller and Miller, March 1-2

1950s Schuco tin and plastic Mister Atom juggler, estimated at CA$500-CA$700 ($370-$515) at Miller & Miller.

NEW HAMBURG, Canada – A fine collection of mid-century Schuco toys will be offered at Miller & Miller Auctions on Friday, March 1. The 180 lots devoted to a single German toymaker were part of the remarkable holdings of the late Howard Meyer, a Canadian collector with a discerning eye who died in 2021.

Originally founded in 1912 under the name Spielzeugfirma Schreyer & Co, the Schuco factory assumed its more succinct branding in 1921.

Toys in the Meyer collection begin in this period – there are several of the classic 1920s and 1930s tin and fabric wind-up walking figures, including a duo of Drinking Tyrolians, estimated at CA$200-CA$300 ($150-$220) – but its primary focus is the toys made after the Second World War. It was during this period that Schuco focused production on the international market, with many of its toys marked ‘US Zone Germany’, allowing them to be sold outside of occupied Germany.

This distinctive marking was used well into the 1950s, as evidenced by a tin and plastic Mister Atom juggler that has an estimate of CA$500-CA$700 ($370-$515). Like many pieces in the collection, it is in near mint condition.

Many Schuco toys transitioned to plastic and diecast metal in the 1950s and 1960s. However, its range of lithographed tin vehicles remained hugely popular. More than a dozen motorcycles in the Meyer collection include two boxed examples of the Curvo 1000 from 1950-54, with estimates of CA$400-CA$600 ($295-$445) apiece, and two versions of the late 1940s Motodrill 1006, each estimated at CA$200-CA$300 ($150-$220).

There are also two Disneyland lithographed tin Alweg monorail sets, both in their boxes and never assembled. The circa-1961 version known as the gift set or ‘G-set’ is estimated at CA$500-CA$900 ($370-$665), and the circa-1962 super set, or ‘S-set’, is estimated at CA$500-CA$700 ($370-$515).

Among the top-estimated pieces in the sale are a series of boxed 1960s lithographed tinplate planes from the Elektro line. These were all patterned after the Vickers Viscount Turboprop but featured the livery of different airlines. Examples for Air France, Sabena (Belgian World Airlines), and Hong Kong Airways have estimates of CA$700-CA$900 ($515-$665) each.

The Petroliana & Advertising auction that follows on Saturday, March 2 is much wider in scope. However, toy collectors will doubtless admire a Westway AC 747 cutaway aircraft offered with the original box and tripod stand that is estimated at CA$3,500-CA$5,000 ($2,595-$3,705). British firm Westway pioneered the production of these detailed 1:72 scale models of the Boeing 747 in the 1970s that were sold to various operators for display in company offices. This one has the branding of British Airways.

The March 2 sale is led by full-size vehicle: a 1927 Packard Eight 443 seven-passenger touring car. Packards of this era are renowned for their luxurious finishes and exceptional engineering. For many years this car was on permanent display at the Antique Auto Museum in Niagara Falls, Canada, where it was dubbed ‘the Lindbergh Packard’ and said to have been made for Charles ‘Lucky’ Lindbergh. Hard supporting evidence for this claim remains to be found, but this low mileage, numbers matching car underwent a meticulous restoration in 2005 by Stan Uher of Classic Coachworks in Blenheim, Canada, where it was returned to its original black finish. It carries an estimate of CA$225,000-$250,000 ($166,755-$185,280).

Internet bidding for both online-only sales is available via LiveAuctioneers.

Two 1920s Schuco wind-up figures of Drinking Tyrolians, estimated at CA$200-CA$300 ($150-$220) at Miller & Miller.

Two 1920s Schuco wind-up figures of Drinking Tyrolians, estimated at CA$200-CA$300 ($150-$220) at Miller & Miller.

1950s Schuco tin and plastic Mister Atom juggler, estimated at CA$500-CA$700 ($370-$515) at Miller & Miller.

1950s Schuco tin and plastic Mister Atom juggler, estimated at CA$500-CA$700 ($370-$515) at Miller & Miller.

1950s Schuco Curvo 1000 lithographed tin motorcycle, one of two on offer in the March 1 sale, estimated at CA$400-CA$600 ($295-$445) at Miller & Miller.

1950s Schuco Curvo 1000 lithographed tin motorcycle, one of two on offer in the March 1 sale, estimated at CA$400-CA$600 ($295-$445) at Miller & Miller.

1961 Schuco 6333 Disneyland Alweg-Monorail G-Set in its original box, estimated at CA$500-CA$900 ($370-$665) at Miller & Miller.

1961 Schuco 6333 Disneyland Alweg-Monorail G-Set in its original box, estimated at CA$500-CA$900 ($370-$665) at Miller & Miller.

Roland Arkell

Roland Arkell

Roland Arkell is editor of Auction Central News and deputy editor at Antiques Trade Gazette. He has been writing about all aspects of the art and antiques market for more than 25 years.