DUBLIN – This oil by Irish artist Colin Middleton (1910-1983), titled K Knitting, was exhibited in Belfast in January 1961. It is one of a series of works Middleton started painting in the late 1950s depicting his wife, Kathleen, in domestic situations. The flattened picture space and geometric division recalls Middleton’s training and work as a damask designer. At Adam’s Wednesday, March 27 auction titled Important Irish Art, it has an estimate of €15,000-€20,000 ($16,360-$21,815).
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Introduced in 1960, the Bulova Accutron 214 was among the first commercially successful electronic watches. Rather than a typical balance wheel, it used a tuning fork (visible in the open-work dial) powered by a one-transistor electronic oscillator and a 1.55v battery – delivering an oscillating rate nearly 150 times faster than that of a typical mechanical watch. It was nicknamed the Spaceview for its green color scheme and what was called its ‘circuit board’ dial.
A new ‘heritage’ version of this watch came out a couple of years ago, but it is still possible to buy an original for less. This 14K gold example from circa 1965 has an estimate of $200-$400 in Turner Auctions + Appraisals’ sale of a single-owner collection of vintage wristwatches on Sunday, March 24. Vintage Watches: One Man’s Collection features more than 140 predominantly mid-century timepieces from a private collection in Northern California.
ADDISON, Ill. – As Ava Gardner (1922-1990) lived her last 35 years outside of the United States, moving first to Spain in 1955 and then to London in 1968, her U.S. passport was in regular use. Issued in October 1966 and later renewed at the U.S. Consul in London, it lists her full name as Ava Lavina Gardner, her birthplace as North Carolina, and documents her brown hair and green eyes. Numerous immigration stamps record regular travel to New York and Los Angeles in the late 1960s.
Offered together with a signed publicity photograph from the 1950s, the clipped passport will be offered at Leonard Auction’s Sunday, March 24 Online Auction from an estate in Chicago. It is estimated at $1,000-$1,500.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – This 1906 carousel horse by the famed Coney Island-based carousel designer William Mangels and master carver Marcus Illions was made for the Boblo Island Amusement Park near Michigan. Riders were able to select from 48 carved and painted mounts – 44 horses, two goats, and two deer. The handsome wooden steed is part of the Thursday, March 28 Collections and Estates Auction at Vallot Auctioneers. The owners acquired it from an auction in Detroit in 1990. It is estimated at $3,000-$5,000.
HOUSTON, Texas – Created in 1893, the Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec lithograph known as La Passagère du 54 – Promenade en Yacht (The Passenger of 54 – Yacht Ride) was commissioned in 1896 by La Plume (Léon Deschamps) to promote an exhibition of posters at the Salon des Cent in Paris. The text that overlays the image of a woman enjoying a deck chair on a yacht reads ‘Salon des Cent; 31 rue Bonaparte; Exposition Internationale d’affiches.’ This original printing on wove paper by Bourgerie & Cie has an estimate of $14,000-$16,000 at Simpson Galleries’ Fine Art and Antiques auction on Saturday, March 23.
