HOUSTON – Simpson Galleries’ Sept. 10 and 11 auction demonstrated that regional auction houses can, and do, perform as well as larger houses for their consignors. The fine arts and antiques auction house achieved outstanding results with a private collection of jewelry and gemstones from the estate of the late Earl D. Mitchell of Houston.
“The Internet goes a long way toward leveling the playing field for smaller houses,” said Ray Simpson Sr., principal auctioneer at Simpson Galleries. “Our reach is limited only by our own innovation,” he said having more than 10,000 bidders registered in-house and online for Saturday’s and Sunday’s auction.
Absentee and Internet live bidding was available through LiveAuctioneers.com.
On the block were a 21.68-carat fancy yellow VVS2 diamond woman’s ring and a 14.73-carat J VS1 emerald cut diamond woman’s Henry Dunay ring. “The sale of these two stones has gained Simpson Galleries international attention for their jewelry offerings, and justifiably so,” said David Baker, director of jewelry at Simpson Galleries. The fancy yellow diamond hammering for just over $442,000 and the emerald cut diamond for $298,750.
Creating quite a stir on the floor and online were a Henry Dunay emerald ring and necklace (below), each sporting an emerald step-cut natural emerald with an estimated weight of 13 carats and selling for just over $100,000 and $65,000 respectively.
Jewelry wasn’t the only star of the auction. On offer was a Steinway & Sons macassar ebony L grand piano with bench, the Crown Jewel Collection, serial number “532688,” 1996, which attained $34,500.
“With aggressive and targeted marketing we were able to put this merchandise in front of a large number of qualified buyers. We had potential buyers flying in from New York to Los Angles the week of auction preview,” said Ray Simpson Jr., managing director of the three generational auction house.
From the fine art department, Richard Pettibone’s (American b. 1938) Andy Warhol, Flowers, 1964 (above), sold to an aggressive telephone bidder for $17,925, and Reuben Nakian’s (American 1897-1986) patinated bronze figural sculpture titled Voyage to Crete, (below) far surpassed the $8,000-$12,000 estimate when it attained $20,750.
Also worth noting: Simpson Galleries Sept. 10-11 auction set a new record price for American artist Robert Longhurst, an abstract sculpture (below) selling for $3,875. All three of Longhurst’s pieces offered selling for well over the high estimate to bidders participating on LiveAuctioneers.com online bidding platform.
All prices are inclusive of buyer’s premium.
For additional information contact Simpson Galleries at 713.524.6751 or email info@simpsongalleries.com.
Click here to view the fully illustrated catalog for this sale, complete with prices realized.
