OAKLAND, Calif. – Clars Auction Galleries will present two sales on subsequent days. Its Fine Collectors Auction will occur on Friday, May 12, and its Fine Asian Works of Art and Collectibles sale is set for Saturday May 13. Both sessions will begin at 9:30 am Pacific time. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
LOS ANGELES — To wrap up its 2022 schedule, John Moran Auctioneers held its Winter Traditional Collector auction on December 6. Having more than 350 lots, this sale included a collection of porcelain cockatoo figures, decorative bronze sculptures, Louis XVI and Louis XV-style furniture, an impressive selection of quality silver tableware and fine art from John Frederick Herring, Sr., and Emil Prinz. Among the highlights were noteworthy items in categories including fine art, decorative art and dinnerware. But the top lot was in furniture — a gilded Gaveau grand piano.
NEW YORK – The lyricist Irving Berlin once wrote a love song to his favorite musical instrument that included the lyrics, “I love a piano, I love a piano, I love to hear somebody play upon a piano …” He said the tune, dubbed I Love a Piano and debuted in the 1920 Broadway review Stop! Look! Listen!, was one of his best efforts. Berlin wasn’t singing about just any old piano, mind you, but a grand piano.
DALLAS – Heritage Auctions offered select items from the Las Vegas estate of pop-singing sensation Phyllis McGuire in its Estate of Phyllis McGuire Auction Aug. 10.
Like so many of the Rat Pack-era McGuire Sisters’ songs, the results of the event were a huge hit. More than 1,000 bidders from around the globe took part in the event, leading the sale to perfect sell-through rates of 100% by value and by lots sold, and total sales of $1,853,356.