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Philippe Starck makes sleek, elite designs available to all

A Philippe Starck 1988 coffee table dubbed Trois Étrangetés sous un Mur (Three Strangers under a Wall) achieved €5,200 ($5,540) plus the buyer’s premium in October 2023. Image courtesy of Quittenbaum Kunstauktionen GmbH and LiveAuctioneers.

NEW YORK – French industrial designer Philippe Starck (b.1949-) has dedicated himself to democratizing style, placing sleek and attractive objects in reach of the average person. He has designed hundreds of everyday items, including coffee pots, kitchen utensils, lamps, toothbrushes, and furniture that appeals to a wide audience. Yes, he has also turned his talents to inherently exclusive items such as yachts, motorbikes, and custom furniture, but many of his most renowned pieces can be had for under $1,000. The 75-year-old has been designing items for major retailers, even dabbling in technology and AI. His first Target collection, consisting of 59 everyday objects for the home, debuted in 2002.

Starck got his big break in the 1970s after designing the interiors of two nightclubs in Paris. François Mitterrand, France’s president at the time, saw his work and called on Starck to revamp a private apartment in the Élysée Palace. Within a few years, Starck was a go-to designer, tapped to create custom furniture for elite hotels in the United States. A set of three of his distinctive-looking bar stools for the Royalton New York in 1988 earned $4,200 plus the buyer’s premium at Wright in January 2023.

This trio of Philippe Starck Royalton barstools, made for the New York hotel of the same name, earned $4,200 plus the buyer’s premium in January 2023. Image courtesy of Wright and LiveAuctioneers.

It’s not easy to describe Starck; terms such as ‘bold’, ‘subversive’, and ‘boundary-pushing’ come to mind, but they don’t adequately sum up the man. It’s equally challenging to categorize the style of his work, as his designs have varied widely throughout his career as he has adapted his aesthetic to meet the needs of his clients. Overall, it’s safe to say his designs all seem to share a common goal: to prompt people to think about how they interact with and use everyday items, from his pronged toothbrushes to his desk lamps with a tilted on/off switch to his bar stools that are meant to be leaned against instead of sat upon.

A pair of Easylight floor lamps dating to 1979, which Philippe Starck designed for Electroma, made €13,000 ($13,855) plus the buyer’s premium in October 2023. Image courtesy of Quittenbaum Kunstauktionen GmbH and LiveAuctioneers.

Starck’s approach to lighting defied traditional styling, as evidenced by his 1979 Easylight floor lamps for Electroma, which look more like batons than lamps. A pair made €13,000 ($13,855) plus the buyer’s premium in October 2023 at Quittenbaum Kunstauktionen GmbH.

Sophisticated collectors clamor for Starck custom designs and one-offs, some of which have attained prices ranging from $10,000 to $25,000. His Tom Double standing mirror, designed in 1985 for the French company 3 Suisses, seldom appears on the market today. The only one in the LiveAuctioneers sold items database achieved €25,000 ($26,660) plus the buyer’s premium in January 2023 at Maison R&C Commissaires-Priseurs Associes.

A Tom Double standing mirror, designed in 1985 by Philippe Starck, attained €25,000 ($26,660) plus the buyer’s premium in January 2023. Image courtesy of Maison R&C Commissaires-Priseurs Associes and LiveAuctioneers.

“I think he is a super-important designer, and his range of design work really goes across the board,” said Richard Wright, CEO of Rago/Wright. “I have sold about 138 of his pieces, and I think only eight have sold over $10,000, so it’s a very interesting time to look at his work. A really smart collection can be built today.”

Wright predicted that as the market for Starck’s designs grows in value, many more notable pieces will emerge from the collections of prescient buyers who have held onto them for decades.

This Philippe Starck Pepper Young coffee table, named for a character in a book by science fiction author Philip K. Dick, brought $2,800 plus the buyer’s premium in January 2024. Image courtesy of Wright and LiveAuctioneers.

Designers can be idiosyncratic or quirky, and Starck displays this predilection in the unique way he names his designs. His biomorphic glass-topped Pepper Young coffee table takes its moniker from a character in the 1969 sci-fi novel Ubik, by Philip K. Dick. This book must have been a personal favorite of Starck’s, as he also renamed his first industrial design company from Starck Product to Ubik. Featuring globe-shaped supports that add stability to the design, the Pepper Young table was first released in 1978. One made $2,800 plus the buyer’s premium at Wright in January 2024.

Two of Philippe Starck’s WW Stools, dating to 1990 and named after the German film maker Wim Wenders, who commissioned them, went out at €11,000 ($11,725) plus the buyer’s premium in June 2023. Image courtesy of Quittenbaum Kunstauktionen GmbH and LiveAuctioneers.

Starck’s product names can be whimsical as well, as with his Prince Aha table and his Dr. No chair, both designed for Kartell. Other names are inspired by the people who commission the items. This was the case with Starck’s WW Stool, which appeared in 1988 by the request of German filmmaker Wim Wenders. A pair of these stools that dated to 1990 realized €11,000 ($11,725) plus the buyer’s premium in June 2023 at Quittenbaum Kunstauktionen GmbH. According to the Design Museum Ghent, Wenders asked Starck to design a chair that would permit him to work while standing. Starck came up with a sculptural stool that took inspiration from how plants grew.

A pair of MacGee bookshelves by Philippe Starck realized €6,000 ($6,395) plus the buyer’s premium in December 2020. Image courtesy of Piasa and LiveAuctioneers.

Another inventive piece was his MacGee bookshelf, a design for Baleri Italia in 1984, in which he simplified the concept of a bookshelf. The vertical support holding up the five shelves was inclined in order to allow the unit to lean against a wall. A pair of MacGeebookshelves realized €6,000 ($6,395) plus the buyer’s premium at Piasa in December 2020.

One of Philippe Starck’s most famous designs is his Louis Ghost chair in transparent acrylic. A limited edition 10th anniversary chair produced in 2012 for Kartell secured $1,100 plus the buyer’s premium in August 2022. Image courtesy of Wright and LiveAuctioneers.

His most famous design is also among his most affordable: the Louis Ghost chair, made of transparent acrylic. A single limited edition 10th anniversary example of the Louis Ghost, released in 2012 by Kartell, sold at Wright in August 2022 for $1,100 plus the buyer’s premium.

While Starck’s current focus is on designing ecologically sustainable products, his works from the 1970s and 1980s are what furniture collectors chase. A colorful glass coffee table created for Daum Crystal Nancy in 1988, named Trois Étrangetés sous un Mur (Three Strangers under a Wall), achieved €5,200 ($5,540) plus the buyer’s premium in October 2023 at Quittenbaum Kunstauktionen GmbH.

Another angle on the 1988 Philippe Starck coffee table called Trois Étrangetés sous un Mur (Three Strangers under a Wall), which sold for €5,200 ($5,540) plus the buyer’s premium in October 2023. Image courtesy of Quittenbaum Kunstauktionen GmbH and LiveAuctioneers.

Starck has created a wryly witty, modern, and functional body of work that achieves the near-impossible: almost everyone likes it. “I think Starck is arguably among the first designers who really hits it with scale. He was bringing good design to the masses and he made these beautiful objects inexpensive,” Wright said. “He worked from high end, one-off bespoke to mass-produced plastic and was able to maintain his design aesthetic while changing materials. That can be hard to do.”

Clementine Hunter, an artist pure and true

Clementine Hunter’s circa-1970s painting ‘Uncle Tom & Eliza in the Flower Garden’ features a favorite motif of the artist: zinnias. It sold for $16,500 plus the buyer’s premium in April 2021. Image courtesy of Slotin Folk Art Auction and LiveAuctioneers.

NEW YORK – Sometimes described as the Deep South’s version of Grandma Moses, Clementine Hunter (1886 or 1887-1988) took up painting late in life, in the 1940s, when she was a grandmother. By then, she had seen many changes, living under Jim Crow laws and with the prolonged aftermath of slavery in the South.

Hunter was born and raised on the Hidden Hill Plantation near Natchitoches, Louisiana, and was the granddaughter of Creole people who had been enslaved. Hidden Hill is said to be the inspiration for the famed anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and it was later renamed Little Eva Plantation after a character in the book. At age 15, Hunter’s father was hired as a laborer at Melrose Plantation down the road. She followed him there to pick cotton, and saw that plantation devolve from a functional farming operation to surviving only by welcoming artists in residence.

One of Clementine Hunter’s earliest paintings was ‘Early Funeral’, which she painted on a window shade. The work achieved $70,000 in September 2021 and holds the world record for the artist at auction. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Company and LiveAuctioneers.

Like many self-taught Southern folk artists, Hunter made her art with found materials. According to the National Museum for Women in the Arts, she rendered her first painting, depicting a baptism in the river, on a window shade with paints discarded by one of the Melrose Plantation artists. “She used whatever surfaces she could find, drawing and painting on canvas, wood, gourds, paper, snuff boxes, wine bottles, iron pots, cutting boards, and plastic milk jugs,” the museum’s website states.

‘Doctor Comes A’ Callin’’, a circa-1940s work by Clementine Hunter, went for $15,000 plus the buyer’s premium in November 2020. Image courtesy of Slotin Folk Art Auction and LiveAuctioneers.

Describing her as a memory painter, Steve Slotin, co-owner and operator of Slotin Folk Art Auction in Buford, Georgia, said Hunter portrayed the plantation and its rural setting and culture, which was fast disappearing. “She saw a whole different lifestyle than most people would ever have the opportunity to see – cotton picking, harvesting of pecans, the [river] baptisms, and the simple life of living in this rural existence,” Slotin said. “She documented it all and did it in a very pure and simple way that still resonates.” One such documentary work by Hunter is Doctor Comes A’ Callin’, recording an era when doctors would routinely make house calls to see patients. The circa-1940 oil on cardstock went for $15,000 plus the buyer’s premium in November 2020 at Slotin.

Hunter’s gift emerged when the Melrose Plantation curator-artist Francois Mignon gave her some art materials, and she returned the next morning with a finished painting. “He recognized it as her having a lot of talent and encouraged her to continue,” Slotin said. Her work improved after she received a steady stream of better materials, freeing her from scavenging nearly empty paint tubes from the artists’ trash. “That’s really how she got started,” he said.

Detail shot of Clementine Hunter’s circa-1970s painting ‘Uncle Tom & Eliza in the Flower Garden’, which sold for $16,500 plus the buyer’s premium in April 2021. Image courtesy of Slotin Folk Art Auction and LiveAuctioneers.

Her fame truly spread when Look magazine ran a feature story on her in 1953 and the Delgado Museum (now known as the New Orleans Museum of Art) mounted a solo exhibit of her work in 1955, the first time a Louisiana museum did so for an African American artist. Segregation laws barred Hunter from seeing it during the museum’s public hours, however.

Neal Auction Company in New Orleans has witnessed a lot of interest in paintings by the Louisiana artist from collectors both near and far. “The market for Clementine Hunter’s work has been on an upward trajectory over the last few years, with new collectors continually joining the fray. Her works are consigned to us primarily from the South, but are increasingly going to collections both private and public nationwide,” said Marney N. Robinson, the firm’s director of fine art.

Detail of Clementine Hunter’s signature on ‘Early Funeral’, which achieved $70,000 in September 2021. It represents the world auction record for the artist. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Company and LiveAuctioneers.

The top price on the LiveAuctioners platform for Clementine Hunter is Early Funeral, the aforementioned oil painting on a window shade laid on Masonite, which attained $70,000 plus the buyer’s premium in September 2021 at Neal Auction Company. “This work is a particularly early example from Hunter,” Robinson said. “It came from the estate of Iris Brittain Rayford, who amassed one of the most important collections of early Hunters seen to date.”

‘Woman Carrying Gourds’, an oil on board by Clementine Hunter, made $68,000 plus the buyer’s premium in September 2021. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Company and LiveAuctioneers.

Clementine Hunter’s oeuvre draws its appeal from its subject matter and its honesty. “Entirely self-taught, she disregarded formal perspective and scale to create vibrant scenes that were both autobiographical and universal in many ways,” Robinson said. Hunter realized a vivid tableau of plantation activities in Woman Carrying Gourds, an oil on board that made $68,000 plus the buyer’s premium at Neal Auction Company in September 2021 and also came from the Iris Brittain Rayford collection.

Detail of Clementine Hunter’s ‘Woman Carrying Gourds’, which made $68,000 plus the buyer’s premium in September 2021. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Company and LiveAuctioneers.

“Collectors value genuineness, a strong quality in Hunter’s and many other self-taught artists’ works. I see collectors gravitating toward this rawness and also looking to strengthen their collections with works by women artists and those previously overlooked in the traditional canon,” Robinson said. “Hunter not only became a successful female Black artist, but her work also largely featured strong women undertaking the tasks of traditional country life.”

Slotin has watched the market for Hunter’s work soar to unprecedented heights. “It’s a little mind-blowing for us, because in the ‘80s we were trying to present her work to the public, and we were getting $1,000 to $2,000 for a painting,” he said. “Now you see them at $5,000, $10,000, $15,000, and $20,000, and the market has tightened up a bit as more collectors get in and there are fewer works available.”

An untitled circa-1980s oil on board by Clementine Hunter showing Melrose Plantation, her home starting when she was a teenager, realized $18,000 plus the buyer’s premium in April 2024. Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries and LiveAuctioneers.

He has also seen Hunter’s work attract the attention of art forgers. Bogus Hunters were prevalent enough in the late 2000s to prompt an FBI investigation. Robinson said her auction house defended itself against this grim fact by developing a relationship with Tom Whitehead, a longtime friend of the artist, to authenticate all Hunter paintings it offers. Among the works authenticated by Whitehead is an untitled Hunter painting of Melrose Plantation, her home as of her teenage years, which realized $18,000 plus the buyer’s premium in April 2024 at Swann Auction Galleries.

This 1950 oil on canvas board painting by Clementine Hunter, ‘Baptismal Procession’, earned $17,000 plus the buyer’s premium in May 2023. Image courtesy of Auctions at Showplace and LiveAuctioneers.

Hunter’s religious-themed works rank among her most sought-after subjects. Baptismal Procession, an oil on canvas board dating to 1950, sold for $17,000 plus the buyer’s premium at Auctions at Showplace in May 2023. The epitome of folk art, this energetic painting depicts people holding parasols outside a church while others gather in the river to be baptized. As is typical for Hunter, she paints her figures in bright colors.

Another detail of Clementine Hunter’s circa-1970s painting ‘Uncle Tom & Eliza in the Flower Garden’, which sold for $16,500 plus the buyer’s premium in April 2021. Image courtesy of Slotin Folk Art Auction and LiveAuctioneers.

Another of Hunter’s favorite things were zinnias, a flower that loves warm weather and blooms across the South. Uncle Tom & Eliza in Flower Garden, an oil on canvas panel seemingly teeming with zinnias, sold for $16,500 plus the buyer’s premium in April 2021 at Slotin.

Clementine Hunter was both an artist and an archivist, documenting a bygone era with clarity and color. Driven to capture visions of the life she knew, she shared her art with countless others who saw its power and its grace. Though it might look unstudied and even crude, the fundamental purity and the truth of her work shines forth and moves viewers, regardless of where and when they were born.

A. Lange & Söhne, first among German luxury watchmakers

Set in an 18K rose gold case, this A. Lange & Söhne ref. 760.032F Pour Le Mérite tourbillon watch made $65,000 plus the buyer’s premium in October 2023. Image courtesy of Freeman’s Hindman and LiveAuctioneers.

NEW YORK – Rivaling any of the finest luxury watches made in Switzerland, the confections of German watchmaker A. Lange & Söhne are prized for their quality and exclusivity. Ferdinand Adolph Lange founded his namesake firm in 1825 in the town of Glashütte in the Saxony region of Germany. He was the first watchmaker to set up shop there, but others soon joined him, and Glashütte is now known as the birthplace of the German watchmaking industry.

This circa-2000 A. Lange & Söhne 18K rose gold manually winding watch with a power reserve brought €15,000 ($16,065) in September 2022. Image courtesy of Cambi Casa D’Aste and LiveAuctioneers.

Sascha Wendt, one of three CEOs at Henry’s Auktionshaus in Mutterstadt, Germany, stated that interest in luxury watches has accelerated in recent years. “All major brands have generated enormous growth. Of course, interest in A. Lange & Söhne watches was already high before that,” he said. “Thanks to a long tradition, a classic design, and the standard 3/4 plate movement, which was already used in the brand’s pocket watches, they have a high recognition value.”

A trio of A. Lange & Söhne commemorative watches, collectively dubbed the ‘165 Years-Homage to F. A. Lange’ set, achieved €450,000 ($483,485) plus the buyer’s premium in October 2018. Image courtesy of Henry’s Auktionshaus AG and LiveAuctioneers.

Early A. Lange & Söhne models and commemoratives are particularly coveted, such as a set titled 165 Years-Homage to F. A. Lange, which achieved €450,000 ($483,485) plus the buyer’s premium in October 2018 at Henry’s Auktionshaus AG. The cases of the three watches in this set are in 18K gold, with solid gold dials, and retain their original alligator straps and gold buckles. Meant to mark the 165th anniversary of A. Lange & Söhne, the release comprised three watch models, each of which was limited to between 50 and 265 pieces. “The set of three, which has the same limitation number for each watch, was only issued 20 times with the corresponding special case,” Wendt said, adding that the set offered at Henry’s Auktionshaus AG came from a German collector who kept the watches as an investment and never wore them.

An A. Lange & Söhne ref. 139.035F Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase Lumen watch sold for $80,000 plus the buyer’s premium in October 2023. Image courtesy of Freeman’s Hindman and LiveAuctioneers.

Among its most recognizable and cherished contemporary models is the Lange 1, which debuted in 1994, after Lange’s great-grandson Walter Lange assumed control of the company. Outfitted with digital date display, time, and seconds, this model possesses all the horological details of a highly technical watch, but with a restrained aesthetic. A ref. 139.035F Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase Lumen watch in a 41mm case size sold for $80,000 plus the buyer’s premium at Freeman’s Hindman in October 2023.

This A. Lange & Sohne Lange 1 platinum tourbillon watch realized €72,000 ($77,285) plus the buyer’s premium in December 2022. Image courtesy of Henry’s Auktionshaus AG and LiveAuctioneers.

In its nearly 200 years of existence, A. Lange & Söhne has witnessed the evolution of watchmaking. The firm has stayed true to its roots, designing stately watches that exude sophistication and style and feature coveted complications. A. Lange & Söhne is one of several luxury brands to produce tourbillon (French for whirlwind) watches. Patented in 1801, a tourbillon is a mechanical device that enhances a watch’s timekeeping accuracy by negating gravity’s effects on its balance and escapement functions. A circa-2000 Lange 1 Centennial Tourbillon watch in platinum, ref. 704.025, realized €72,000 ($77,285) plus the buyer’s premium in December 2022 at Henry’s Auktionshaus AG. This manual-winding model was a limited release, with only 150 produced.

Incorporating the aesthetics of triangles is this A. Lange & Söhne platinum Datograph Flyback watch that earned $55,000 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2023. Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.

Circles define the shape of a wristwatch, but A. Lange & Söhne has made triangles key elements of its most appealing watch dials. The company’s website states: “While thinking in circles is conventional in watchmaking, we factor in the particular design principle based on the triangle when we develop watches. Models such as the Lange 1 Moon Phase, the Richard Lange Jumping Seconds, and the Datograph Up/Down incorporate the most simple defined shape in geometry.” A fine representative example of A. Lange & Söhne’s penchant for placing three circular features in a watch dial to create a triangle is a platinum Datograph Flyback that sold for $55,000 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2023 at Heritage Auctions.

While many A. Lange & Söhnes are in platinum or white gold, it offers watches in rose gold as well. A circa-2013 ref. 760.032F Pour Le Mérite tourbillon watch, in 18K rose gold and having unisex appeal, made $65,000 plus the buyer’s premium in October 2023 at Freeman’s Hindman.

A circa-2000 Little Lange 1, designed for the women’s watch market by A. Lange & Söhne, went for €20,000 ($21,410) in June 2023. Image courtesy of Cambi Casa D’Aste and LiveAuctioneers.

The market remains robust for A. Lange & Söhne wristwatches for both men and women. While the firm is best known for its men’s watches, it has several offerings designed to suit the smaller wrists of women, such as its Little Lange 1 and Saxonia models. A circa-2000 36mm Little Lange 1 watch in rose gold brought €20,000 ($21,410) in June 2023 at Cambi Casa D’Aste.

Collectors of the A. Lange & Söhne brand tend to favor watches from the 1990s and models released in limited editions as well as those with sophisticated complications. “Watches from the first series after Walter Lange revived the manufactory in the 1990s are particularly sought after,” Wendt said. Luxury watches that rise to the level of horological art, as do the creations of A. Lange & Söhne, captivate collectors with their distinctive looks and German engineering.

Toshiko Takaezu turned clay into poetry

A Toshiko Takaezu Moon vessel set a new auction record for the artist when it achieved $430,000 plus the buyer’s premium in April 2023. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center and LiveAuctioneers.

NEW YORK – A handful of artists have taken the material of clay to new heights. One of the most celebrated is Toshiko Takaezu (1922-2011), whose ceramics are prized for their artistic skill and complex execution as well as their poetic surfaces.

Born in Hawaii, she worked in several mediums during her five-decade career, from painting and bronze sculpture to fiber art, but she is renowned for her ceramics and, in particular, what she called her “closed form” vessels.

These works have been likened to abstract paintings in the round. “Her gestural style, distinctive palettes, and complex layering of glazes align with the practices of Abstract Expressionists who were her contemporaries,” according to the website of the MFA Boston museum.

Another view of the Toshiko Takaezu Moon vessel that set a world auction record for the artist in April 2023 when it achieved $430,000 plus the buyer’s premium. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center and LiveAuctioneers.

Her most famous closed-form sculptures were her Moon vessels, which are also her most coveted. A circa-1985 Moon vessel, having fine glazing all over in shades of purple and maroon, achieved an auction record for the artist of $430,000 plus the buyer’s premium in April 2023 at Rago Arts and Auction Center.

“This one had it all. Great provenance, excellent condition, great scale, iconic form, and killer glaze combination,” said David Rago of Rago Arts and Auction Center in Lambertville, New Jersey, explaining that the record-setting Moon came from a Hawaiian collection of friends of the artist who were the sole owners of the piece before it was consigned for sale.

Details of the record-setting Toshiko Takaezu Moon vessel that set a world auction record for the artist in April 2023 when it achieved $430,000 plus the buyer’s premium. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center and LiveAuctioneers.

Describing her work as sublime, quiet, meditative, and Zen, Rago said, “I know of no other potter, possibly with the exception of Rose Cabat, who captured the moon pot form and played with it so successfully for so long. She found many variations on the theme beyond how she chose to color them. There is a Zen quietude she captured in clay and in the way she decorated the vessels.”

A Toshiko Takaezu ‘Spring Moon’ vessel with a rattle embedded inside it brought $140,000 plus the buyer’s premium in October 2023. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center and LiveAuctioneers.

Takaezu’s Moon vessels were all unique, and occasionally, she would place a clay bead wrapped in paper inside one so it would make a rattling sound when moved. A Spring Moon with an embedded rattle brought $140,000 plus the buyer’s premium in October 2023 at Rago Arts and Auction Center.

An alternate view of Toshiko Takaezu's ‘Spring Moon’ vessel with a rattle embedded inside it. The piece brought $140,000 plus the buyer’s premium in October 2023. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center and LiveAuctioneers. — An alternate view of a Toshiko Takaezu ‘Spring Moon’ vessel with a rattle embedded inside it. The piece brought $140,000 plus the buyer’s premium in October 2023. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center and LiveAuctioneers.

“Works at this level are one in 500, maybe? She just didn’t go here that often. I think, when she made something like this, because of all the time and effort put into it, she really just WENT for it,” Rago said, citing Spring Moon’s variation of form, excellent scale, and wonderful glaze combinations. The piece, which was shown at a key Chicago exhibition on the Navy Pier in 2000, also had fine provenance and was in great condition.

This ‘Full Moon’ vessel by Toshiko Takaezu is notable for the leaf-like fine glazing design at the top. The circa-1970 sculpture took $15,000 plus the buyer’s premium in October 2021. Image courtesy of Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) and LiveAuctioneers.

Moon vessels range in size as well as color, with some of the largest measuring about 30in. A circa-1970 Full Moon vessel, distinguished by its leaf-like fine glazing design, took $15,000 plus the buyer’s premium in October 2021 at Los Angeles Modern Auctions.

Interest in Toshiko Takaezu has remained strong since her death in 2011, and 2024 brought two concurrent museum exhibitions focused on her, one at the MFA Boston and the other at the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum in Long Island City, New York. Collectors’ interest has only grown across time. Rago first started offering Takaezu’s work in the 1980s and once bought personally from the artist in her New Jersey studio. But in 2023 alone, the auction house sold about 200 Takaezus.

Another view of a circa-1970 Toshiko Takaezu ‘Full Moon’ vessel that took $15,000 plus the buyer’s premium in October 2021. Image courtesy of Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) and LiveAuctioneers.

“The market for her work, in general, is insane. The record at auction for anything by Toshiko, up until 11 months ago, was about $30,000,” Rago said. “We sold one piece last April [the aforementioned Moon] for $540,000 [including the buyer’s premium], and we’ve sold 15-20 pieces for more than $30,000 since then, and a number have brought over $100,000. Prices spiked in anticipation of both of the museum shows, but also because of her showing at the Venice Biennale in 2022.”

This Toshiko Takaezu tall closed-form sculpture, notable for its cylindrical shape, sold for $24,000 plus the buyer’s premium in September 2021. Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.

The late artist benefits from gallery representation in New York, and the David Zwirner Gallery mounted an online show of her work in 2024 as well, Rago said, adding: “Her time has come, especially in this contemporary mindset: a woman, not Caucasian, who ran with the AbEx artists, and was deeply respected as a teacher at Princeton University as well as an artist.”

Another tall closed form by Toshiko Takaezu, dating to circa 1995, earned $16,000 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2023. Image courtesy of Wright and LiveAuctioneers.

While Takaezu is perhaps best known for her orb-like forms, she did not restrict herself to any one style. A tall and bullet-like closed-form vessel, standing 31 ¾in tall, sold for $24,000 plus the buyer’s premium in September 2021 at Heritage Auctions. The glazing is lyrical and reminiscent of ‘color stain’ painters such as Helen Frankenthaler.

A similar tall closed-form vessel dating to circa 1995 earned $16,000 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2023 at Wright.

An untitled closed-form vessel with rattle by Toshiko Takaezu went out at $14,000 plus the buyer’s premium in November 2022. Image courtesy of Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) and LiveAuctioneers.

Her color combinations enhanced her work, but she also added design elements such as the fine banding of horizontal incising on an untitled closed form blessed with a rattle. That circa-1995 vessel went out at $14,000 plus the buyer’s premium in November 2022 at Los Angeles Modern Auctions. She also created pieces such as a circa-1958 double-spouted bottle that realized $13,000 plus the buyer’s premium in September 2022 at Rago Arts and Auction Center.

A double-spouted bottle by Toshiko Takaezu realized $13,000 plus the buyer’s premium in September 2022 at Rago Arts and Auction Center. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center and LiveAuctioneers.

Takaezu, who said working with clay was like poetry, allowed herself to be inspired by the earthy material as she brought pieces to life on her pottery wheel. Collectors who have a deep appreciation for these paintings-in-the-round have driven a vibrant and growing market for her otherworldly ceramics.

Andrea Valluzzo

Andrea Valluzzo is an award-winning journalist who has worked for media publications for more than 20 years. Today, she enjoys writing about antiques, collectibles, art and the art of collecting. Based in Connecticut, she's also an avid scrapbooker who loves Broadway shows.

Spurned when new, Erik Magnussen’s silver designs have found an enthusiastic audience

A sterling silver footed bowl by Erik Magnussen for Gorham achieved $24,000 plus the buyer’s premium, well above its $3,000-$5,000 estimate, in December 2023. Image courtesy of Schwenke Auctioneers and LiveAuctioneers.

NEW YORK – Danish American silversmith Erik Magnussen (1884-1961) dreamed up stunning, innovative silver designs in the late 1920s, but he might have been a little too far ahead of his time.

This Art Deco-era footed silver dish for Gorham by Erik Magnussen, having toucan-form handles, made $6,000 plus the buyer’s premium in May 2023. Image courtesy of Toomey & Co. Auctioneers and LiveAuctioneers.

Shortly after emigrating to the United States and setting up shop in New York City, he was hired by Gorham in Providence, Rhode Island in 1925 to refresh and rejuvenate its silver production line. Magnussen was with the firm only until 1929, but his work was breathtaking.

“Magnussen transitioned from his earlier Skønvirke, or Arts & Crafts, style when he was in America and hired by Gorham to be its chief designer, to lead the way in modernizing the company’s silver designs. This shift led to many avant-garde designs that were not always easy to sell to consumers at the time they were produced, but these objects are extremely sought-after today,” said John P. Walcher, senior specialist for decorative arts at Toomey & Co. in Chicago. “Holloware, including coffee services, candlesticks, bowls, and other serving articles are the most desired now. The lines are clean and in keeping with the Art Deco period, but advanced and modern, almost as if they were produced post-war. Magnussen was certainly looking to the future with his creations.”

An Erik Magnussen Art Deco sterling silver bowl earned $3,250 plus the buyer’s premium in October 2021. Image courtesy of Auctions at Showplace and LiveAuctioneers.

His output for Gorham was a mix of conservative Georg Jensen-eque designs that satisfied the firm’s commercial aims, along with more experimental designs done in small editions or as unique works for exhibition, said David Halpern, the in-house 20th century specialist at Millea Bros. in Boonton, New Jersey and its director of select auctions. “Like a lot of European designers who came to America, Magnussen tried to find an American Modern vernacular that ultimately was a bit of pastiche – freely mixing Cubist forms with Native American motifs, industrial design shapes, adding precious stones and Bakelite – all with a lot of technical skill and difficult handwork, to create something recognizable as Art Deco but distinct from designs coming out of Europe. These rare pieces are what collectors prize. They can sell well into the six figures.”

Magnussen was not prolific – fewer than 150 items of his have sold on LiveAuctioneers to date – so demand for his work has remained relatively consistent across time, especially for pieces created during his tenure at Gorham. In general, the auction market is strong for Magnussen silver but has cooled slightly following a surge in the Covid-19 years, which prompted many of those cloistering in lockdown to entertain themselves by bidding online, Halpern said. “Artists like Erik Magnussen are somewhat immune from the swings in that good pieces rarely come to market, so when they do, they tend to be strong,” he said. “The highest prices occurred about 10 years ago, but that probably reflects the strength and rarity of a few pieces that came to market then. My hunch is that similar rarities would do just fine in today’s market.”

Details of a sterling silver footed bowl with an intricate base by Erik Magnussen for Gorham, which trounced its $3,000-$5,000 estimate and achieved $24,000 plus the buyer’s premium in December 2023. Image courtesy of Schwenke Auctioneers and LiveAuctioneers.

Magnussen’s large modernist holloware is especially prized. The highest price on the LiveAuctioneers platform for Magnussen is a sterling silver footed bowl he made while at Gorham, which attained $24,000 plus the buyer’s premium, well above its $3,000-$5,000 estimate, in December 2023 at Schwenke Auctioneers.

Magnussen often incorporated animals into his pieces, including birds, fish, deer, giraffes, camels, and various insects. A jaw-dropping footed silver dish he designed for Gorham had handles in the forms of toucans. It made $6,000 plus the buyer’s premium in May 2023 at Toomey & Co. Auctioneers. “The animals he used are often seen as either a finial or as equidistant supports, as the toucans are on the dish we sold,” Walcher said, praising the execution of the dish as “wonderful.” “The toucans are playful, yet refined in design, using their bills to reach back over the bowl, as if to see if there is something for them inside.”

Detail of one of the toucan-form handles on an Art Deco-era footed silver dish for Gorham by Erik Magnussen, which made $6,000 plus the buyer’s premium in May 2023. Image courtesy of Toomey & Co. Auctioneers and LiveAuctioneers.

As a newcomer to New York when skyscrapers began dotting the city’s skyline, Magnussen was inspired by its architecture, as seen in his famed Cubic coffee service, which is in the collection of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Museum in Providence. While not as radical, a pair of sterling candlesticks he created in the late 1920s for Gorham also was inspired by skyscrapers. Bringing $4,000 plus the buyer’s premium in August 2018 at Regency Auction House, the pair has round stepped bases below lofty columns with goblet-form capitals. The candlesticks are made more alluring thanks to the dramatically incised lines Magnussen added that run both vertically and horizontally.

A pair of Erik Magnussen sterling candlesticks for Gorham brought $4,000 plus the buyer’s premium in August 2018. Image courtesy of Regency Auction House and LiveAuctioneers.

A bowl for Gorham, this one lidded, which claimed $2,250 plus the buyer’s premium in May 2018 at Millea Bros. Ltd., ranks among Magnussen’s creations that demand sustained attention. “This is a nice piece that at first glance seems indebted to Jensen, but on closer scrutiny really fits into his more experimental work,” Halpern said. “The berry and leaf decoration is modern and reductionist, built out of ball-bearings on a simple scrolling band. The saucer shape and incising are elegant, but clearly fit into an industrial design vernacular.”

This Erik Magnussen for Gorham sterling silver centerpiece bowl with repousse borders and vertical lines took $2,500 plus the buyer’s premium in May 2023. Image courtesy of Auctions at Showplace and LiveAuctioneers.

A bowl for Gorham, this one lidded, which claimed $2,250 plus the buyer’s premium in May 2018 at Millea Bros Ltd., ranks among Magnussen’s creations that demand sustained attention. “This is a nice piece that at first glance seems indebted to Jensen, but on closer scrutiny really fits into his more experimental work,” Halpern said. “The berry and leaf decoration is modern and reductionist, built out of ball-bearings on a simple scrolling band. The saucer shape and incising are elegant, but clearly fit into an industrial design vernacular.”

A lidded bowl by Erik Magnussen for Gorham took $2,250 plus the buyer’s premium in May 2018. Image courtesy of Millea Bros Ltd and LiveAuctioneers.

Bowls tend to comprise the majority of Magnussen’s commercial wares, although he also designed thermal carafes, dishes, coffee and tea services, and pitchers. A hand-hammered sterling silver bowl of his is notable for its overall plain surface that contrasts with the applied scroll-form supports holding jade balls. It earned $3,250 plus the buyer’s premium in October 2021 at Auctions at Showplace.

Details of an Erik Magnussen Art Deco sterling silver bowl that earned $3,250 plus the buyer’s premium in October 2021. Image courtesy of Auctions at Showplace and LiveAuctioneers.

Checking off all the boxes for the ideal design of a vase is a lustrous sterling silver example standing 10in tall. Its fine sheen is accented by the lack of decoration, save two horizontal lines near the rim and a pattern of vertical lines at the base. Quintessentially Art Deco, this Magnussen vase realized $2,700 plus the buyer’s premium in January 2018 at Rago Arts and Auction Center.

A sterling silver vase by Erik Magnussen for Gorham realized $2,700 plus the buyer’s premium in January 2018. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center and LiveAuctioneers.

Despite Magnussen’s imaginative and meticulous work, Gorham found it difficult to convince buyers to purchase his most avant-garde pieces. After parting ways with the Rhode Island company, he launched his own firm in Chicago and then Los Angeles before returning to Denmark in 1939. But time has been kind to his American silver designs. What was once far too daring and unconventional for the tastes of standard silver customers now delights contemporary collectors who see the beauty in his wild and wonderful approach.

Andrea Valluzzo

Andrea Valluzzo is an award-winning journalist who has worked for media publications for more than 20 years. Today, she enjoys writing about antiques, collectibles, art and the art of collecting. Based in Connecticut, she's also an avid scrapbooker who loves Broadway shows.

Jeweler Henry Dunay created bold yet elegant designs

This Henry Dunay ceylon sapphire, diamond, and gold ring realized $8,250 plus the buyer’s premium in September 2022. Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.

NEW YORK — Apprenticing with a New York City jeweler at age 14, Henry Paul Dunay (1935-2023) worked his way up from errand boy to master jeweler, launching his own firm in 1956. His surname was actually Loniewski, but he changed it at age 18 to his mother’s maiden name, fearing his birth name would hold him back in business.

His designs, which were celebrated for their striking and elegant appearances, immediately won favor and made him one of the first American jewelers to become a brand name. A crucial career boost came early on when he began selling his jewelry in Neiman Marcus department stores. Another came in 1967, when he won an important De Beers international award, which proved to be the first of four he would earn; major commissions soon followed. By the 1980s, Dunay was designing about 150 pieces a year and even dabbled in what he called “Jeweled Art” collections, creating Fabergé-inspired quartz eggs festooned with gold and jewels.

A Henry Dunay gold, platinum, and diamond collar necklace sold for $19,000 plus the buyer’s premium in January 2021. Image courtesy of Collective Hudson and LiveAuctioneers.

His gold jewelry is especially treasured today. “Dunay was considered one of the founding fathers of American jewelry design due to his innovative and distinctive style that set him apart in the industry. His designs are known for their boldness, often featuring intricate details and unique shapes that catch the eye of collectors and enthusiasts,” said Natalie Ahlers, marketing coordinator at Ahlers & Ogletree Auction Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia.

A Henry Dunay emerald and diamond necklace in 18K gold attained $27,500 plus the buyer’s premium in November 2022. Image courtesy of Ahlers & Ogletree Auction Gallery and LiveAuctioneers.

Detail of a Henry Dunay emerald and diamond necklace in 18K gold, which attained $27,500 plus the buyer’s premium in November 2022. Image courtesy of Ahlers & Ogletree Auction Gallery and LiveAuctioneers.

Finishing was one aspect in which Dunay excelled. An example displaying his talent in this realm is an 18K gold bracelet in a pleasing hammered finish that brought $6,000 plus the buyer’s premium in November 2022 at Ahlers & Ogletree. “The bracelet’s hammered finish, a signature technique of Henry Dunay, made it desirable due to its craftsmanship, unique texture, and the artistic touch that he brought to his creations, appealing to collectors who appreciate fine craftsmanship and distinctive design elements,” Ahlers said. “His most distinctive style is his sabi finish, inspired by the Japanese tradition of wabi-sabi, celebrating the beauty of imperfection and impermanence, giving it a timeless appeal.”

This 18K gold bracelet in a hammered finish by Henry Dunay needed no gemstones to make it stunning. It brought $6,000 plus the buyer’s premium in November 2022. Image courtesy of Ahlers & Ogletree Auction Gallery and LiveAuctioneers.

While somewhat scarce, his sabi pieces can still be found for decent prices. A gold sabi necklace having a very subtle textural finish was a good buy at $8,500 plus the buyer’s premium in October 2020 at Heritage Auctions.

A gold necklace in Henry Dunay’s signature sabi finish made $8,500 plus the buyer’s premium in October 2020. Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.

This suite of Henry Dunay jewelry in the sabi finish took $14,000 plus the buyer’s premium in December 2021. Image courtesy of Freeman’s Hindman and LiveAuctioneers.

Prices for Henry Dunay jewelry on the auction market mostly land in the $5,000 to $20,000 range, but there are pieces available at a variety of price points. “The average price one can expect to pay at auction for a good piece of Henry Dunay jewelry varies widely based on factors such as the specific piece, its condition, rarity, and current market demand. Prices can range from several thousand dollars to tens of thousands for more exceptional pieces,” Ahlers said. The highest auction total on the LiveAuctioneers platform for his jewelry is a gold and 14.73-carat emerald-cut diamond ring that attained $250,000 plus the buyer’s premium at Simpson Galleries, LLC in September 2016. The value this ring achieved was driven not only by Dunay’s design and fine goldsmithing, but also the size of the diamond he used. While not flawless, the diamond was rated VS1, so its clarity is fairly high.

The highest auction price on the LiveAuctioneers platform for Henry Dunay jewelry is this gold and 14.73-carat emerald-cut diamond ring that achieved $250,000 plus the buyer’s premium in September 2016. Image courtesy of Simpson Galleries, LLC and LiveAuctioneers.

The market for Dunay’s jewelry has been fairly stable. “Currently, pieces that showcase the sabi design are popular among his collectors,” Ahlers said. “Serious collectors from various regions, including the East Coast and greater New York area, are competitive in acquiring his jewelry.”

Dunay’s jewelry often incorporated sensuous curves, such as in a highly textural gold, platinum, and diamond collar necklace that sold for $19,000 plus the buyer’s premium in January 2021 at Collective Hudson.

A Henry Dunay gold link chain necklace earned $12,000 plus the buyer’s premium in November 2020 at Fortuna. Image courtesy of Fortuna and LiveAuctioneers.

Another desirable look is the seemingly simplistic design of a gold link chain necklace that earned $12,000 plus the buyer’s premium in November 2020 at Fortuna. Its design is compelling and timeless.

Prolific and innovative in his lifetime, Henry Dunay may no longer be the household name he was since his company closed in 2009, but his designs still resonate with collectors who have a passion for serious statement jewelry. resonate with collectors who have a passion for serious statement jewelry.

Andrea Valluzzo

Andrea Valluzzo is an award-winning journalist who has worked for media publications for more than 20 years. Today, she enjoys writing about antiques, collectibles, art and the art of collecting. Based in Connecticut, she's also an avid scrapbooker who loves Broadway shows.

Kenojuak Ashevak shared all the colors of the Arctic

Kenojuak Ashevak’s 1960 stonecut print ‘The Enchanted Owl’ achieved CA$140,000 ($103,275) in December 2023. Image courtesy of First Arts Premiers Inc. and LiveAuctioneers.

NEW YORK – Outsiders tend to think of the Arctic region in northern Canada, sometimes known as Canada’s Last Frontier, as a mostly white mass of land that is frozen for most of the year. But Inuit artist Kenojuak Ashevak (1927-2013) grasped the beauty and the potential of this seemingly barren landscape. She lived in the Inuit hamlet of Kinngait (previously known as Cape Dorset) in the Nunavut Territory. A prolific printmaker and sculptor dubbed the ‘Poet of the Arctic,’ she captured the colors and the spirit of her ancestral home in her artworks, which are avidly sought by collectors across the world.

‘Woman with Animals’, a Kenojuak Ashevak mixed media on board, made $5,000 plus the buyer’s premium in April 2019. Image courtesy of Santa Fe Art Auction and LiveAuctioneers.

When she received one of the distinguished Canadian Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts in 2008, a presenter said of her work: “Only those who know it, and who draw it, understand the color in the Arctic landscape.” Rich blues of the ocean and sky, golden fields, radiant yellow suns, and brightly colored animals in her prints draw the viewer into a world teeming with life and energy.

‘Summer Courtship’, a Kenojuak Ashevak stonecut from the year 2000, secured CA$3,200 ($2,355) plus the buyer’s premium in September 2023. Image courtesy of First Arts Premiers Inc. and LiveAuctioneers.

“Over a period of more than 50 years, Kenojuak’s ability to capture the vibrant and emotive spirit of the Arctic landscape led to her contribution of graphic works to the Cape Dorset co-op, which vividly showcased the kaleidoscopic variety of colors found in the Arctic,” said Nadine Di Monte, executive director and specialist at First Arts Premiers Inc, based in Toronto.

Ashevak is celebrated not just as an artist but as a trailblazer. “She was among the first generation of Inuit artists to embrace drawing in the late 1950s – a time when the concept of being an artist as a profession was virtually unknown in the Canadian Arctic,” Di Monte said. “Her dedication and unprecedented success helped define the role of an artist in her community during the early days of the art-making experiment in Kinngait (Cape Dorset).”

Kenojuak Ashevak’s 1994 stonecut ‘Tattooed Sun’ took CA$7,000 ($5,155) plus the buyer’s premium in October 2020. Image courtesy of First Arts Premiers Inc. and LiveAuctioneers.

Printmaking in the region dubbed the Great White North has a fairly short history that begins around 1957, when southern Canadian artist James Houston arrived in the Cape Dorset area. Previously, Inuit artists expressed themselves by stitching intricate clothing and fabric items, or carved bone, ivory, and stone. European missionaries brought them paper and drawing tools, and the first Inuit printmakers began creating works in 1959 as the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative, which was better known locally as the Kinngait Co-Op. Ashevak, who grew up living a traditional and nomadic lifestyle common to Inuit people, was the first woman artist to join the co-op.

According to the Canadian Museum of History, “Inuit artists have used printmaking to illustrate Inuit myths and history, as well as Arctic animals, and to document traditional ways of life and a changing cultural and social landscape.”

Detail of Kenojuak Ashevak’s 1960 stonecut print ‘The Enchanted Owl’, which achieved CA$140,000 ($103,275) in December 2023. Image courtesy of First Arts Premiers Inc. and LiveAuctioneers.

Her most famous image is the stonecut print The Enchanted Owl, which she created in 1960. This image was widely seen and even graced one of Canada’s postage stamps in the 1970s. An example attained CA$140,000 ($103,275) at First Arts Premieres Inc. in December 2023.

“The Enchanted Owl is highly desirable for collectors due to its iconic status and the artist’s fondness for owls as a motif,” said Di Monte, noting that the prints were made in an edition of 50 using two colors, with the first 25 in red and black and the second 25 in green and black. “The red versions – colloquially called ‘red-tail’ – are generally more coveted, as this is the image that has been reproduced on stamps, in books, films, and other ephemera.” Ashevak’s ‘green-tailed’ version also has significant value, she added, citing a First Arts sale in December 2022 in which an example realized CA$120,000 ($88,715) plus the buyer’s premium.

A green-tail version of Kenojuak Ashevak’s famed 1960 print ‘The Enchanted Owl’ attained CA$120,000 ($88,345) in December 2022. Image courtesy of First Arts Premiers Inc. and LiveAuctioneers.

“The essence of the appeal of her prints and visual language lies in her ability to blend traditional subjects, themes, and her environs with a decidedly modern aesthetic, resulting in some of the most iconic and instantly recognizable images in not just Inuit art, but in Canadian art as a whole,” she added. Among Ashevak’s motifs were owls, foxes, rabbits, fish, birds, and mythical creatures.

Birds were indeed one of her most favorite subjects, as evidenced by the 1960 stencil print Birds from the Sea, which sold for CA$30,000 ($22,125) plus the buyer’s premium in December 2022 at First Arts Premiers Inc. “Birds from the Sea stands out as a notable print for several reasons. Following the success of her Rabbit Eating Seaweed in the inaugural Cape Dorset print catalog of 1959, the subsequent Kinngait collection featured 10 of Kenojuak’s works, including this print,” Di Monte said. “It is considered a paragon of Kenojuak’s artistic evolution and bears a strong resemblance to the celebrated Rabbit Eating Seaweed in its enchanting allure.”

The 1960 Kenojuak Ashevak stencil print ‘Birds from the Sea’ sold for CA$30,000 ($22,125) plus the buyer’s premium in December 2022. Image courtesy of First Arts Premiers Inc. and LiveAuctioneers.

Di Monte called this print captivating and described it as “a balletic scene of these hybrid kelp-like birds in mid-flight. The colors in this airborne dance of feathers and foliage are applied with subtlety, with ink laid by printmaker Iyola Kingwatsiak in a way that creates gradations suggesting both the depth of the ocean and the interplay of light and shadow.”

Kenojuak Ashevak’s 1960 stonecut print ‘Complex of Birds’ earned CA$26,000 ($19,210) plus the buyer’s premium in July 2020. Image courtesy of First Arts Premiers Inc. and LiveAuctioneers.

One of Ashevak’s most intricate stonecut prints from 1960 was Complex of Birds, which took CA$26,000 ($19,210) plus the buyer’s premium in July 2020 at First Arts Premiers Inc. Paying homage to the Inuit tradition of appliqueing designs onto seal skin, this monochromatic work features individual images of figures interacting with wildlife. The figures are interconnected, though, so the overall design becomes one image when hands, feet, and wings meld into one another. The 24-by-26-inch print is thought to be her only 1960 print in which the original graphite drawing was produced on a large sheet of paper. The well-mapped out placement of each figure in relation to each other, as well as the white space, speaks to the overall complexity and difficulty in her design.

A 1961 print by Kenojuak Ashevak, ‘Multi-Feathered Bird’, brought $3,250 plus the buyer’s premium in January 2020. Image courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery and LiveAuctioneers.

Another example showing her fondness for avian subjects is the 1961 print Multi-Feathered Bird, which brought $3,250 plus the buyer’s premium in January 2020 at Clars Auction Gallery.

The auction market for Ashevak’s artworks is active, presenting collectors with a variety of price points. Di Monte stated there is a relatively even split between Canadian and international buyers, indicating her works are prized both domestically and globally.

“In terms of collectability, her career spanned several decades; prints and drawings from both her early and later periods are highly sought after. However, it is her early prints from the late 1950s and early 1960s that are particularly desirable,” she said.

A stone sculpture by Kenojuak Ashevak, ‘Bird in transformation’, went out at CA$4,600 ($3,395) plus the buyer’s premium in October 2022. Image courtesy of Champagne Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.

While Ashevak is best known for her prints, which typically bring prices in the mid-five-figures, she also carved stone animals and humans. Her stone sculpture Bird in Transformation went out at CA$4,600 ($3,395) plus the buyer’s premium in October 2022 at Champagne Auctions.

She also did mixed media works, and a particularly colorful example is Woman with Animals, which made $5,000 plus the buyer’s premium in April 2019 at Santa Fe Art Auction.

This 1993 print by Kenojuak Ashevak, ‘The Sun’s Return’, realized $2,750 plus the buyer’s premium in January 2019. Image courtesy of Clark’s Fine Art & Auctioneers, Inc. and LiveAuctioneers.

New collectors looking for affordable pieces by Ashevak would do best to avoid her circa 1960s works and instead target her later ones. Even with it selling above its conservative $400-800 estimate, the 1993 stonecut with stencil print The Sun’s Return was a good buy at $2,750 plus the buyer’s premium in January 2019 at Clark’s Fine Art & Auctioneers, Inc.

Kenojuak Ashevak created a far-ranging oeuvre that is instantly identifiable. Her themes and highly imaginative subjects may seem unique to the Arctic, but they also resonate with global audiences.

Andrea Valluzzo

Andrea Valluzzo is an award-winning journalist who has worked for media publications for more than 20 years. Today, she enjoys writing about antiques, collectibles, art and the art of collecting. Based in Connecticut, she's also an avid scrapbooker who loves Broadway shows.

Walt Kuhn found substance in the lives of circus performers

Walt Kuhn’s ‘Contralto,’ a 1947 oil portrait of a singer, earned $42,500 plus the buyer’s premium in March 2022. Image courtesy of Barridoff Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.

ABOVE: Walt Kuhn’s ‘Contralto,’ a 1947 oil portrait of a singer, earned $42,500 plus the buyer’s premium in March 2022. Image courtesy of Barridoff Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.

NEW YORK — Almost all artists are intrigued by alternative lifestyles, and Walt Kuhn (1877-1949) was no exception. He painted bold and psychologically charged portraits of circus and vaudeville performers that still resonate though vaudeville is extinct and the circus might soon join it.

Kuhn was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was fascinated with show performers and the entertainment industry. His mother reportedly introduced him to art and theater as a young child, and he attended countless performances of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus. He once secured a press pass to its Madison Square Garden performances, allowing him wide access to the performers backstage. This helped give his portraits more of an intimate look, such as in an oil-on-canvas painting of a ruddy-cheeked red-headed acrobat that attained $50,000 plus the buyer’s premium in February 2018 at Clars Auction Gallery.

This 1944 painting of a red-haired acrobat by Walt Kuhn attained $50,000 plus the buyer’s premium in February 2018. Image courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery and LiveAuctioneers.

According to the Sullivan Goss gallery’s website, “For the remainder of his life, employment in the entertainment industry acted as a second career and source of income for the artist. More importantly, it provided limitless inspiration for his canvases.” Shortly before he was institutionalized in 1948, he had even hoped to launch an open-air venue for circus and show business acts in Ogunquit, Maine, close to his studio in Cape Neddick, where he summered.

Kuhn rode a wave of American Modernism that took off shortly after the famous 1913 Armory Show in New York, which he helped organize. A prolific artist who created some 3,000 studies and paintings in his lifetime, he is best known for his oil portraits of performers. He often painted sitters from real life, though sometimes he relied on models. His subjects have a strong frontal gaze and are pictured without all the trappings of the circus in order to focus attention on the person.

Walt Kuhn’s 1927 portrait ‘The Tumbler’, a watercolor on paper, took $21,000 plus the buyer’s premium in August 2021. Image courtesy of Barridoff Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.

“There’s not a lot of people who can get away with painting these outlandish characters and having them bring big money, but that’s really where he brings his big money,” said Jeremy Fogg, a fine art consultant at Barridoff Auctions in South Portland, Maine. “His landscapes bring a fraction of what his performers bring. He created this fascination with that circus lifestyle.”

In his portraits, he removes the performers from the stage and sets them against a monochromatic backdrop, usually painted in jewel-like tones of greens, reds, or purples, and sometimes white or black. Instead of delighting the audience with a performance, his sitters adopt solemn facial expressions. Some even look downcast or angry, perhaps illustrating to viewers the hardships they faced in life.

Detail of Walt Kuhn’s ‘Contralto,’ a 1947 oil portrait that earned $42,500 plus the buyer’s premium in March 2022. Image courtesy of Barridoff Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.

The deep shadowing in a 1947 portrait, Contralto, adds to its emotional intensity, and the heavy makeup the sitter wears appears more like a mask to dissuade the viewer from getting to know her. The portrait earned $42,500 plus the buyer’s premium in March 2022 at Barridoff Auctions.

While his oil portraits bring the most money, Kuhn’s watercolors and works on paper perform well, with several commanding $20,000 to $40,000. A 1927 watercolor portrait, The Tumbler, took $21,000 plus the buyer’s premium in August 2021 at Barridoff Auctions. Dressed in a one-piece blue costume with a sash around his waist, the performer adopts a slightly jaunty stance and defensively crosses his arms in front of him.

An atypical subject matter for Walt Kuhn is this 1944 seascape oil on canvas, which brought $23,000 plus the buyer’s premium in August 2021. Image courtesy of Barridoff Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.

Kuhn didn’t just paint performers, however. His subjects also included still lifes and landscapes, which also find favor with buyers. A 1944 seascape oil on canvas of his brought $23,000 plus the buyer’s premium in August 2021 at Barridoff Auctions. Images of waves crashing against the rocky shore is a perennially popular subject with New England audiences.

Fogg said the auction market has recorded a wide range of prices for Kuhn’s works, from a $1.5 million portrait of a circus performer that sold in 2021 at Christie’s to quick sketches and small drawings that can bring about $1,000. “It really depends, there’s just a big jump. There is a lot of work out there for him,” he said. “He did a lot of works on paper that people love, little sketches where he is doing the same figures, but really quick and moving fast. Because there are people who want to get into his market at every level, those pieces find their way onto the market.”

A 1929 still life of flowers by Walt Kuhn realized $4,500 plus the buyer’s premium in February 2024. Image courtesy of Freeman’s Hindman and LiveAuctioneers.

Among his paintings that are accessible to new collectors are his still lifes of flowers, which he painted in a slightly more traditional manner. An example realized $4,500 plus the buyer’s premium in February 2024 at Freeman’s Hindman.

Kuhn watercolors also appear at reasonable prices, particularly those that do not depict his signature subject matter. A watercolor and ink drawing titled Indian Brave on Horseback sold for $1,400 plus the buyer’s premium in May 2022 at Freeman’s Hindman. While born in New York, he actually started his career as an illustrator in San Francisco, California. Traveling out west, he was taken with the landscape and even created a series titled An Imaginary History of the West, which was inspired in part by the Western novels he read.

Walt Kuhn’s watercolor titled ‘Indian Brave on Horseback’ went out at $1,400 plus the buyer’s premium in May 2022. Image courtesy of Freeman’s Hindman and LiveAuctioneers.

Despite a lack of attention across the years — the last major Walt Kuhn exhibition was a retrospective at the DC Moore Gallery in 2013, commemorating the centennial of the Armory Show — prices for Kuhn’s work have been strong recently. “I do think he’s having a little moment in the sun right now,” Fogg said.

Andrea Valluzzo

Andrea Valluzzo is an award-winning journalist who has worked for media publications for more than 20 years. Today, she enjoys writing about antiques, collectibles, art and the art of collecting. Based in Connecticut, she's also an avid scrapbooker who loves Broadway shows.

Bid Smart Walt Kuhn

Tiffany Studios windows radiate beauty and stir the soul

A circa-1916 Tiffany Studios ‘Gabriel Blowing His Horn’ window made $85,000 plus the buyer’s premium in September 2021. Image courtesy of Fontaine’s Auction Gallery and LiveAuctioneers.

NEW YORK — The use of stained glass windows in churches to illustrate stories from the Bible dates back as far as the 10th century. Pictorial lessons for the masses were key as literacy rates in medieval Europe were poor. These colorful windows typically depicted Jesus, angels, and religious figures amid symbolic and venerated motifs signifying concepts such as rebirth, immortality, truth, charity, love, and purity. The practice of wealthy donors funding stained glass windows has a long history as well, and in the 19th century, patrons turned to Tiffany Studios when they wanted to make a statement while glorifying their house of worship.

Boris Lovet-Lorski gave Art Deco a sultry shape

‘Diana,’ a Boris Lovet-Lorski bronze featuring the Roman goddess known for hunting, attained the highest price for the artist on the LiveAuctioneers platform when it sold for $47,500 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2021. Image courtesy of Freeman’s Hindman and LiveAuctioneers.

NEW YORK — At the height of the Art Deco era, Boris Lovet-Lorski (Lithuanian and American, 1894-1973) was one of the most celebrated sculptors working in New York City. The metropolis had already become a locus for art thanks to the 1913 Armory Show, and in the mid-1920s, it was a Mecca for Art Deco enthusiasts.

Born in Lithuania, Lovet-Lorski studied architecture and sculpture in Russia at the Imperial Academy of Art and worked as an architect until arriving in the United States in 1920. The ‘20s were a heady time in New York. Following World War I, the city was booming economically and artistically. Art Deco skyscrapers such as the Chrysler building and the Empire State building sprang up during this era, forever changing the appearance of the skyline.

Thriving in the culturally diverse atmosphere of New York, Lovet-Lorski soon became well known for his lyrical and well-balanced sculptures that were inspired by forms from antiquity and a variety of cultural styles, but had a modern bent.

Another view of Boris Lovet-Lorski’s bronze, ‘Diana,’ which attained the highest price for the artist on the LiveAuctioneers platform when it sold for $47,500 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2021. Image courtesy of Freeman’s Hindman and LiveAuctioneers. — Another view of Boris Lovet-Lorski’s bronze ‘Diana,’ which attained the highest price for the artist on the LiveAuctioneers platform when it sold for $47,500 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2021. Image courtesy of Freeman’s Hindman and LiveAuctioneers.

“Lovet-Lorski is best known for his sculptural works that depict human figures and animals in a distinctive Art Deco style characterized by voluminous forms, sensuous lines, and stylized details,” said Director of Arts and Design at Heritage Auctions, Samantha Robinson.“The artist’s work in stone and bronze continues to command strong prices at auction. Collectors are particularly drawn to his depictions of mythological figures and horses.”

Among his sculptures paying homage to Greek and Roman mythology is Diana, a bronze featuring the Roman goddess known for hunting. This work, dating to 1927-29 and depicting the goddess with two highly stylized dogs at her heels, attained the highest price for the artist on the LiveAuctioneers platform. It sold for $47,500 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2021 at Freeman’s Hindman.

Boris Lovet-Lorski’s ‘Polymnia,’ a carved marble sculpture standing 25 ½-in tall, achieved $34,000 plus the buyer’s premium in April 2022. Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.

Several of his sculptures were inspired by Greek myths, including Polymnia, a carved marble sculpture standing 25 ½in tall, which achieved $34,000 plus the buyer’s premium in April 2022 at Heritage Auctions. The title translates to ‘one of many hymns.’ “Polymnia is a spectacular example of Lovet-Lorski’s work in carved marble, depicting the Greek muse of sacred poetry, hymn, and dance in half-length format,” Robinson said. “While her lack of arms reinforces the suggestion of antiquity, the style in which she is executed was quite modern in the 1920s. Her facial features, hair, and body are highly stylized, reduced down to their simplest elements. She is at once powerful and elegant.”

A lustrous bronze ‘Venus’ by Boris Lovet-Lorski realized $4,600 plus the buyer’s premium in July 2022. Image courtesy of New Orleans Auction Galleries and LiveAuctioneers.

In keeping with the Art Deco aesthetic, Lovet-Lorski’s work has a streamlined, fluid look that ripples with sensuality, as seen in a highly polished bronze of Venus holding her arms above her head, winglike. It went out at $4,600 plus the buyer’s premium in July 2022 at New Orleans Auction Galleries.

“His work is very much indicative of the Art Deco period, and as such appeals to modern tastes,” said Michele M. Carolla, a fine art specialist in British and American paintings and works on paper and sculpture at New Orleans Auction Galleries. “His initial training as an architect is reflected in his sculpture, with the emphasis on the linear, the elongated forms or limbs, the sharp, angular contours, and the reduction of elements to their most basic, highly polished surfaces,” she said.

This well-defined Boris Lovet-Lorski sculpture, dubbed ‘Poodle’ and measuring 17 by 7 by 15in, brought $3,000 plus the buyer’s premium in September 2018. Image courtesy of Toomey & Co. Auctioneers and LiveAuctioneers.

Adding a touch of whimsy to his oeuvre is a sculpture in pewter dubbed Poodle. Boasting well-defined features, it made $3,000 plus the buyer’s premium in September 2018 at Toomey & Co. Auctioneers.

His white marble sculpture busts are also desirable, though they typically do not see the prices that his highly reflective dark bronze sculptures bring. A carved marble Lovet-Lorski bust was a good buy at $3,500 plus the buyer’s premium in September 2023 at Material Culture. Small in stature and measuring just 11in tall, including the wood stand, this bust can easily be displayed.

This carved marble bust by Boris Lovet-Lorski sold for $3,500 plus the buyer’s premium in September 2023. Image courtesy of Material Culture and LiveAuctioneers.

Perhaps due to the limited number of his sculptures, which range from bronze to marble examples, demand has long been strong, Carolla said. “The auction market for Boris Lovet-Lorski’s sculpture at the moment is robust and has remained fairly consistent over the last few years.”

Those who seek his sculptures tend to be advanced collectors of Art Deco material located both in the United States and Europe, Robinson said. “While Lovet-Lorski also worked in other media, such as painting, drawing, and lithography, his sculptural works dominate the upper ranks of his auction record. Sculptures dated to the late 1920s and early 1930s, the height of Art Deco, are the most highly sought after.” New collectors looking for accessible entry points to his art would do well to focus on his two-dimensional works, Robinson added.

A group of 10 lithographs by Boris Lovet-Lorski earned a robust price of $7,000 plus the buyer’s premium in July 2021. Image courtesy of Shapiro Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.

Noting that Lovet-Lorski’s works do not come up at auction that often, especially his sculptures, Carolla advised beginning collectors “to concentrate on his drawings. They are stylistically and thematically similar to his sculptures — some may even be preliminary sketches for his sculptures — but they generally sell for under $500.”

Lithographs typically are accessible to new collectors and can be sourced individually or in group lots. A lot offering 10 Lovet-Lorski lithographs sold for $7,000 plus the buyer’s premium in July 2021 at Shapiro Auctions. The lithographs on loose pages were originally printed in a bound portfolio by the artist in 1929 when in Paris.

Due to problems with arthritis, which developed in the 1930s and became worse as time passed, Lovet-Lorski was forced to change his medium from sculpture to painting. He reportedly could not lift his hands over his head, which prevented him from creating heavy sculptures.

Boris Lovet-Lorski’s ‘Ceremonial’, a circa-1960 oil on canvas, went out at $4,400 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2021. Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries and LiveAuctioneers.

Lovet-Lorski endeavored to make his two-dimensional works just as compelling as his sculptures. Ceremonial, a circa-1960 oil on canvas measuring 42 by 50in, went out at $4,400 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2021 at Swann Auction Galleries. “His late-career abstract paintings, like the current work, echo the mythological and fantasy subject matter of his Art Deco works while channeling the artist’s ‘innermost self,’ his memories, and his interest in natural beauty,” according to the auctioneer’s catalog description of this painting.

Another distinctive abstract work from this era is a 1961 tile mosaic that sold for $3,200 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2022 at Rago Arts and Auction Center.

A 1961 abstract tile mosaic by Boris Lovet-Lorski took $3,200 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2022. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center and LiveAuctioneers.

From his sleek and elegant Deco-era sculptures that accentuate form and line to later explorations of vibrant color in his abstract paintings, Boris Lovet-Lorski retained a highly distinctive style throughout his career. Referencing classical and ethnographic themes helped provide continuity throughout his body of work, and in turn makes it appealing to contemporary collectors.

Andrea Valluzzo

Andrea Valluzzo is an award-winning journalist who has worked for media publications for more than 20 years. Today, she enjoys writing about antiques, collectibles, art and the art of collecting. Based in Connecticut, she's also an avid scrapbooker who loves Broadway shows.

Art Deco Art Deco sculpture Bid Smart Boris Lovet-Lorski

Andrea Valluzzo

Andrea Valluzzo

Andrea Valluzzo

Andrea Valluzzo

Andrea Valluzzo

Andrea Valluzzo

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