Ann and Gordon Getty collection enjoys its last hurrah at Stair Feb. 29

Pair of AWN Pugin for John Hardman & Co. enameled brass vases, estimated at $1,500-$3,000 at Stair Galleries.

HUDSON, N.Y. – Still not had enough of the Ann and Gordon Getty collection? There’s a chance for a final bite at the apple when Stair Galleries sells a further 340 lots under the title A Confluence of 19th and 20th Century Design on Thursday, February 29. The catalog is available at LiveAuctioneers.

Following a three-day auction in upstate New York in January, the primary focus of this last hurrah is the Aesthetic movement, Gothic Revival, and Arts and Crafts works that Ann Getty bought in the 1990s to furnish a Greco-Roman-style estate in Berkeley Hills called Temple of Wings. Under Ann Getty’s stewardship, this historic house held a microcosm of late 19th-century taste: lighting and glass from Tiffany Studios, pewter by Archibald Knox for Liberty & Co., and ceramics by William De Morgan.

This may be the material that didn’t quite make the cut when Christie’s held its $19 million Temple of Wings auction back in June 2023, but there is plenty here to whet the appetite, with estimates set in the distinctly affordable range. They start at $50 and peak at $6,000-$8,000 for a Tiffany Studios bronze floor lamp with a later shade. Many items include provenances to auctions and dealerships in London and New York.

Highlights include a series of designs for Christmas cards by Danish illustrator Kay Nielsen (1886–1957) that were commissioned by the American card firm Cardoza in the 1950s. The designs on the theme of the Nativity were redrawn by Disney artists in pen and ink and gouache sometime later in the 1950s, with these pastels representing Nielsen’s final American works. Last sold at Sotheby’s in 1996, the five 14 by 10in designs have estimates of $4,000-$8,000 each.

Certain to generate plenty of interest at $1,500-$3,000 is a pair of reformed Gothic brass and enamel vases to a design by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-1852), architect of the Palace of Westminster and its renowned clock tower, the Elizabeth Tower. Although unmarked, they were made by made by John Hardman & Co, the Birmingham firm that enjoyed a close relationship with Pugin from the 1840s. Bought from London dealership H. Blairman & Sons in 1996, this is one of just a handful of pairs known, including one previously owed by Sir Stuart Knill, cousin of Pugin’s third wife Jane Knill.

These and other items feature in our slide show of 10 items to choose from in the last of the Ann and Gordon Getty sales.

Mechanical banks by J & E Stevens hauled in serious cash at Alderfer

Circa-1907 J & E Stevens Clown, Harlequin, and Columbine cast-iron mechanical bank, which sold for $14,080 at Alderfer Auction.

HATFIELD, Penn. – Alderfer Auction’s February 13 sale of Mechanical Banks and Toys enjoyed some good results – topped by a version of J & E Stevens’ Clown, Harlequin, and Columbine cast-iron mechanical bank. The circa-1907 design by James H. Bowen is based on the Italian Commedia Dell’arte and features three of the stock characters. When a coin is placed in the slot, the clown and Harlequin swing around – a motion that sets the Columbine spinning. The bank exists in several castings, with the first castings being among the rarest examples of all mechanical banks. A near-mint example sold for $103,300 at Morphy Auctions in 2007. Alderfer’s example had been repainted but, against an estimate of $500-$800, sold at $14,080.

An earlier J & E Stevens issue is the Bread Winners Bank, designed by Charles A. Bailey and registered in May 1886. The theme is corruption: Place the coin in the end of the club, raise the hammer, press the button, and the figure of Labor strikes Monopoly, sending ‘the Rascals up’. A good example was estimated at $800-$1,200 and hammered for $8,960.

Walter Dorwin Teague, dean of industrial design

This Walter Dorwin Teague Nocturne radio, model 1186, achieved $40,000 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2019. Image courtesy of Wright and LiveAuctioneers.

NEW YORK — Dubbed the dean of industrial design, Walter Dorwin Teague (American, 1883-1960) began his career in advertising and expanded into typography and commercial packaging before focusing on industrial design in the late 1920s. This proved to be a key time for the nascent field, as the United States would soon suffer severe economic hardship during the Great Depression. Companies needed to give customers reasons to buy their products, and they hoped industrial design would supply at least some of those reasons.

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A Harold Harvey painting, Goudji silver, and a 5-gallon stoneware churn scored at South Bay

Harold Harvey, 'On the Thames,' which sold for $45,000 ($56,250 with buyer’s premium) at South Bay.

EAST MORICHES, N.Y. – A stunning 1907 oil on canvas by Newlyn School artist Harold Harvey was the top earner for South Bay Auctions at its January 31 Art, Antiques, Silver, Jewelry & Sporting Goods sale. Complete results are available at LiveAuctioneers.

Harvey (1874-1941), like his Newlyn contemporaries, focused his eye on depictions of everyday life for the working people of England. On the Thames is a perfect representation of Harvey’s work, with two young men and their elder in a rowboat on the famed English waterway. Estimated at $10,000-$12,000, the painting hammered for $45,000 ($56,250 with buyer’s premium).

A sterling silver aquamanile, or ewer, in the form of an animal by Goudji (b. 1941-) took $23,000 ($28,750 with buyer’s premium) against a presale estimate of just $3,000-$5,000. Made with mother-of-pearl eyes, the aquamanile featured a hammered body with inlaid tiger iron panels.

Abstract expressionist Mary Abbott (1921-2019) had three works in the sale, and they all handily beat their high estimates. The leader was an untitled abstract of a woman’s blouse, made from oil, oil crayon, gouache, and graphite on paper. Estimated at $5,000-$7,000, it tripled its high estimate at $21,000 ($26,250 with buyer’s premium).

A 19th-century American stoneware 5-gallon churn with a cobalt leaping deer decoration delivered remarkable results. The product of John Burger, Jr. of Rochester, New York, the churn was estimated at $600-$800 but hammered for $5,600 ($7,000 with buyer’s premium).

A Tiffany & Co. sterling silver center bowl in the Olympian pattern sold for $3,000 ($3,750 with buyer’s premium). Dating to the early 20th century, the bowl carried a presale estimate of $700-$900.