James Turrell, Roden Crater: Complete Site Plan, 2008 30 w x 40 h inches Inkjet on paper Estimate: $6,000 – $8,000
PITTSBURGH – The Mattress Factory – a museum of contemporary installation art known worldwide for presenting exhibitions that push artistic boundaries – will hold a benefit art auction on Saturday, Oct. 18, beginning at 8 p.m. EST. Nearly 100 works will be offered, live and online, by noted artists such as James Turrell, Kiki Smith, John Waters and others.
On the day of sale, the auction will go live worldwide, via a partnership with LiveAuctioneers.com. Contemporary art lovers from around the globe will be able to compete with bidders on the auction room floor for collectible one-of-a-kinds by internationally recognized artists.
Since its founding in 1977, the Mattress Factory has served as a launch pad for over 300 name artists, such as Damien Hirst and Greer Lankton. Every five years, artists who have exhibited work there during the past three decades come together to help support the museum’s mission through a live auction of donated work. All proceeds help fund the Mattress Factory’s exhibitions, programs and operations.
OXFORD, Mich. – On Oct. 4 and 5, Midwest Auction Galleries Inc. will conduct a 1,000-lot Fine Arts and Antiques auction featuring the estate of Mr. and Mrs. John McHugh, of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
The McHugh collection includes 14 important artworks by Louis Icart, as well as an exceptional 19th-century carved mantel adorned by full-size maidens.
Many oil paintings will be offered, including works by Anton Otto Fischer, Charles Fazzino, Sidney Richard Percy, Louis Van der pol, George Thompson Pritchard, Salvador Dali and Louis Apol. Additionally, a selection of 19th-century etchings is consigned.
Always popular with bidders, paintings on porcelain consigned to the sale include examples by KPM and Limoges.
LONDON (AP) – Several letters that Princess Diana wrote to her former nanny, including one comparing her own dancing skills to those of an elephant, will be auctioned in London next week, and they are expected to sell for thousands of dollars.
Diana once famously danced with actor John Travolta at the White House. But as a teenager, she wrote in a 1978 letter to her former nanny that she loved dancing but that, “Watching me dance is like watching an elephant, so no one does!”
James Grinter, an auctioneer with Reeman Dansie, the house selling the four letters and two cards next week, said Tuesday he expects them to go for up to $18,000.
One of two made, an 18½-inch-tall artist’s proof of a pulled-feather luster epergne hand blown by master glass artist Richard Golding of Okra Studios, Stourbridge, England.
CHARLESTON, S.C. – One of the world’s great private collections of antique and studio glass – the Andy and Rob Collection – will be auctioned in its entirety on Oct. 5 in Charleston. Estate Road Show Auctioneers will produce the sale of more than 275 pieces of superior glass designs.
Andy Stone and Rob Brunton built their collection over a 10-year period, traveling extensively to obtain the finest, most-elusive examples while also consulting with world-renowned glass authorities and conducting their own independent research. The Phoenix residents were mentored by such UK-based notables of the art-glass world as Charles Hajdamach and Raymond Slack, an acclaimed expert on pressed glass. In the United States, Andy and Rob gained invaluable insight from Steuben authority/author Tom Dimitroff , glass author/historian Jim Measell of the Fenton Art Glass Co., and Dave Peterson, author and widely respected Vaseline/uranium glass authority.
Rare circa-1700 English Geo. I secretary with mirrored doors, est. $38,000-$45,000.
HOUSTON – Lewis & Maese Auction Company, specialists in fine arts and furnishings, will present a special 2-day Fall auction on Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 24 and 25, featuring fine art, furniture and decorative objects from two of Houston’s leading citizens: Lynn Wyatt and the late Ambassador Kenneth Franzheim II.
One aspect of the sale focuses on furnishings from the peach-colored River Oaks mansion of Houston socialite, philanthropist and patron of the arts, Lynn Wyatt. An international fashion icon who has appeared in the pages of Vogue and W, Wyatt’s impeccable taste extends to the interior décor and gardens of her home, located in Houston’s most exclusive neighborhood. In years past, Wyatt hosted many distinguished guests in her home, including Princess Grace of Monaco, Mick Jagger, and fashion designer Bill Blass. Wyatt’s discerning eye and insistence on quality are reflected in the articles consigned to Lewis & Maese’s sale.
The late Ambassador Kenneth Franzheim was a Houston businessman and philanthropist. His collection of Georgian period furniture, Spanish antiques, and paintings by Joshua Reynolds, Benjamin West, Diego Rivera and Picasso are everything that could be expected from a man of the world who sat on the Sphinx in Egypt and was special guest of honor for years at the King of Tonga’s birthday party.
Baum, L. Frank (1856-1919). Oliver Morosco’s Fairyland Extravaganza The Tik-Tok Man of Oz. Estimate $7000-$10,000. Image courtesy Bloomsbury Auctions.
NEW YORK – Bloomsbury Auctions New York will open the 2008 fall season with its largest sale to date Sept. 17-18. The two-day Bibliophile sale will consist of Americana, maps, literature , fine bindings, original art and art books, and the remarkable Fred M. Meyer collection of L. Frank Baum and related Oziana.
The sale commences with the Meyer material, which is especially well regarded among Oz collectors since Meyer is executive secretary of the International Wizard of Oz Club Inc. Over a period of more than 40 years, Fred Meyer amassed a wealth of first editions, manuscripts, printer’s proofs, rare toys and games, and drawings by W. W. Denslow, John R. Neill and others.
Day one continues with a fine group of original artworks and art-related books. Highlights from this section include a rare, full series of La Gazette du Bon Ton in original wrappers estimated at $50,000 – $70,000. This groundbreaking Parisian fashion periodical contains hundreds of pochoir plates by George Barbier, Raoul Dufy, George Lepape, Umberto Brunelleschi, A. E. Marty, Paul Iribe and many other masters of the Art Deco age of elegance. The day concludes with the sale of literature and fine bindings.
Rare 19th-century redware jar, only known intact piece by Tennessee potter John A. Lowe.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.-A major Tennessee pottery discovery, a rare complete Audubon octavo set, fine art and numerous Southern antiques are among the highlights of Case Antiques’ Sept. 27 Fall Auction. Among more than 300 cataloged lots is an extensive offering of Southern and European furniture, silver, samplers, paintings, and exceptional engravings.
One of the star lots of the sale is expected to be a rare 19th century Greene County, Tenn., redware jar stamped “J.A. Lowe” (John Alexander Lowe, 1833-1902). A pottery site attributed to Lowe was located and excavated near the Harmon Cemetery near Blue Springs in the 1990s, with thousands of shards recovered. “What makes this piece so exciting is it’s the first and only known intact piece of his pottery ever to surface,” said company president John Case.
“There’s also the interesting story of Lowe himself, who joined the Confederate army two days after his fellow potter, Christopher A. Haun, was hung for his role in the burning of the Lick Creek railroad bridge,” Case continued. “In a letter to his wife written hours before his death, Haun urged his wife to have ‘Bohanan, Hinshaw or Low’ finish off some of his wares. It’s a fascinating connection.”
Case specializes in Great Road Pottery, which includes most of the early pottery of Tennessee, and holds the current auction record for a piece of Great Tennessee pottery. In 2008 the company sold a redware pitcher attributed to the Cain Pottery of Sullivan County, Tenn., for $22,550.
LAMBERTVILLE, N.J. – On Saturday, Sept. 27 and Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008 at 12 noon (EST), the Rago Arts and Auction Center will host an auction dedicated to the furnishings and design of the early 1900s. The sale will be of particular interest to collectors of American art pottery, Gustav Stickley, lamps and Continental pottery, porcelain and glass should be particularly attentive.
The 1,000-lot sale reflects Rago customers’ ongoing interest in the decorative arts of Europe, in lighting from Tiffany and other great makers, as well as fine American Arts & Crafts.
American Art pottery is, as ever, a strong suit at Rago’s. Headline lots include a collection of ceramics from the Strong Museum in Rochester, N.Y., a private collection of decorated Marblehead, and third collection comprised of works by George Ohr. The latter includes a large crumpled bowl covered in gun-metal and green mottled glaze (presale estimate $7,000-10,000) and a twisted bulbous vase covered in two distinctive glazes (presale estimate $4,500-6,500).
Buyers will find a large selection of Dedham and Chelsea Keramic Art Works pottery, with many experimental vases by Hugh Robertson, including one covered in red, green, and blue mottled oxblood glaze (presale estimate $2,500-3,500) and much crackleware, including three very rare Crab plates (presale estimate $1,000-1,500). Also exceptional: a tall Grand Feu (California) vase covered in mahogany flambé glaze (presale estimate $6,000-9,000). At 13 inches by 6 inches, it is the largest example Rago’s has seen from this superior pottery (and is joined by other spectacular pieces by the same maker).
Other potteries/potters whose work will be sold: Grueby, Rookwood, Newcomb College, Rhead, California Faience, Fulper, Weller, Merrimac, Teco, Van Briggle, Pisgah Forest, Arequipa, North Dakota School of Mines, Roseville, Volkmar and Clewell.
Arts and Crafts furniture of import includes a circa-1901 Gustav Stickley trapezoidal china cabinet (presale $15,000-25,000), a Gustav Stickley Director’s table (presale $12,000-18,000) and a Gustav Stickley inlaid drop-front desk in its original ebonized finish (presale $20,000-30,000). In all, more than 100 fine examples of Stickley furniture will be offered, as well as more from L. and J.G. Stickley, Limbert, Roycroft, Lifetime and Old Hickory.
J. & J.W. Meeks pierce-carved marble-top rosewood etagere, with original finish (est. $45,000-$65,000).
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – More than 300 lots of outstanding, fresh-to- market merchandise in a broad array of categories will be offered on Saturday, Sept. 27 at Fontaine’s Auction Gallery in Pittsfield.
“This auction will feature hundreds of wonderful items from prominent area estates,” said John Fontaine of Fontaine’s Auction Gallery, “and it’s just one of four great sales planned for the rest of the year.” The other sales are the Henry Brownell Estate Auction (Saturday, Oct. 18); an Important Antique Clock Auction (Saturday, Nov. 8); and a Discovery Auction (Saturday, Dec.8).
Four lots in the Sept. 27 sale are capable of hammering at $50,000 or more. They are:
A rare and beautiful Louis Comfort Tiffany carved walnut corner armchair in very good and clean condition, with original finish. The top-crest rail is heavily carved, with a panel showing acorns and oak leaves. The chair has a nice tapestry seat, with padded arms and back (est. $50,000-$75,000).
A high-quality Petit & Boh Company 20-piece carved oak dining set, with carvings that are intricate, proportional and deep. The suite comprises a two-piece cabinet, sideboard, 60-inch table, server and 16 matching chairs, in very good condition, with original finish (est. $50,000-$75,000).
A gorgeous J. & J.W. Meeks pierce-carved, marble-top rosewood etagere in very good condition, with clean original finish. The piece features a nice carved flowing center crest over a bonnet top with filigree and scrolled carvings centered with a double rose (est. $45,000-$65,000).
A Tiffany Studios 22-inch banded Dogwood floral table lamp on an American Indian bronze base signed on the bottom plate “Tiffany Studios New York 529.” The leaded-glass shade shows a geometric shade throughout, created by green and white striated glass (est. $45,000-$55,000).
Emerald Marquis by John Littleton and Kate Vogel. Image courtesy of National Liberty Museum.
PHILADELPHIA – Final preparations are under way for the National Liberty Museum’s annual Glass Now gala auction of art glass, with proceeds benefiting the museum’s mission to inspire heroes and defuse violence. The museum’s major fundraiser, Glass Now: Generation to Generation, will take place Sept. 20 at Philadelphia Marriott Downtown starting at 5:00 p.m. More than 300 works of glass sculpture, and a stellar array of fine art jewelry will be included in both live and silent auctions. The live portion will also feature real-time Internet bidding via the Internet. This year’s benefit auction includes works from art glass giants such as Harvey Littleton, Dale Chihuly, Paul Stankard, Therman Statom and Steve Tobin, as well as up-and-coming young visionaries.
The annual Glass Now auction was started in 2000 to support the crucial education programs of Philadelphia’s National Liberty Museum. The museum is the only institution in the world that uses art glass as a symbol for liberty: beautiful and strong, yet fragile.
