Stories for July '19
(Fragment)Heritage Auctions Launches Monthly Online Fine Art Auctions
Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas, will launch monthly fine art auctions this summer. The monthly auctions, which will be held the second Thursday of each month, will complement Heritage’s live auctions and other current online auctions of prints and multiples and photographs. The sales will feature a combination of material primarily ... (Read More)
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(Young Collectors)Get On Board
The Young Collector
Part of our impetus for uprooting our lives so completely a couple years ago was the desire to be part of a community. We both grew up in small towns, the kind of place where you saw your teacher at church and the cashier in the grocery store ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Signed Newport Fly Tea Table Shown in Reopened Museum
When the Whitehorne House Museum at 416 Thames Street, Newport, Rhode Island, reopened on May 29, it put on view a tea table with the chalk signature of joiner Joseph Sanford. The Newport Restoration Foundation bought the table at Sotheby’s in January 2019. Armin Allen, a foundation trustee, did the ... (Read More)
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(Computer Article)Multiple Lists, Desktops, and Monitors
Computer Column #366
Doing research for something as simple as this column can result in piles of notes. Sorting and organizing such notes amounts to organizing the column or another research report.
In high school we old-timers were taught to put the notes on file cards. This still works. A book collector ... (Read More)
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(Book Review)Books Received, July 2019
These are brief reviews of books recently sent to us. We have included ordering information for publishers that accept mail, phone, or online orders. For other publishers, your local bookstore or a mail-order house is the place to look.
Monet: The Late Years by George T.M. Shackelford (Kimbell Art Museum and ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)The Stuff about the Stuff: The Value and Imperiled Future of Collectors’ Papers
Part II of II
As an antiques reporter, I have always loved best the assignments that send me into archives to read the papers of collectors from past generations. Besides enjoying the guilty pleasure associated with reading other people’s mail, I have found these troves to be filled with fascinating and ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)In the Trade: Christopher P. Settle Antiques, Newton, Massachusetts
In the Trade
Some might say that Massachusetts dealer Christopher Settle took a circuitous route to dealing in fine antiques. But that would not be true. At loose ends after college, where he’d been an English major, he took a job as a packer for an Ann Arbor, Michigan, moving company. ... (Read More)
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(Book Review)Augmenting the Canon
What a great title for a catalog that brings new scholarship up to date in the field of American Neoclassical furniture and decorative arts. Augmenting the Canon is the latest addition to a shelf of catalogs written by Stuart Feld, this one with his daughter, Elizabeth. The first catalog in ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Another Look for Ten Bucks
Editorial, July 2019
In early April an intriguing new service was added to eBay. Before bidding on or buying Asian art, eBay users in the United States can now pay $10 via PayPal to have the object looked at—via the eBay listing and not in person—by an expert in Asian art ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Winterthur Acquires a Landscape by Duncanson
Museums are making up for the fact that African American artists have rarely made it into the mainstream of art history by making an effort to tell a more inclusive story. Winterthur is the latest to announce an important acquisition to this end. It has acquired a major oil painting ... (Read More)
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(Book Review)American Glass: The Collections at Yale
The Francis P. Garvan Collection at Yale University has been the focus of studies of American furniture, pewter, silver, and clocks, making it one of the best known in the country. After a three-year study by John Stuart Gordon, the Benjamin Attmore Hewitt Associate Curator of American Decorative Arts at ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Chippendale’s Drawings for the Director
Two hundred and seventy-five years ago Thomas Chippendale (1718-1779) opened a cabinet shop on St. Martin’s Lane in London and published The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director, which became the most famous furniture pattern book of all time. Most of the original drawings for the 160 engravings in this first edition ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)N.C. Wyeth Exhibit at Brandywine River Museum and Somerville Manning Gallery
N.C. Wyeth: New Perspectives, an exhibition organized by the Brandywine River Museum of Art, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and the Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine, will fill galleries at the Brandywine River Museum of Art June 22 through September 15 before being exhibited at the Portland Museum of Art from ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Forty Historic 13-Star Flags to Be Displayed Together
A New Constellation: A Collection of Historic 13-Star Flags opened on Flag Day, Friday, June 14, and will be on view through Sunday, July 14, at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. “It is the first time a major exhibition of thirteen-star flags has been put together, and ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Deerfield Antiques Show Adds Shuttle Bus
The August 5 Deerfield Antiques Show at the Deerfield Fairgrounds in Deerfield, New Hampshire, will add a shuttle bus to transport customers to and from the parking area. Promoters Joshua and Rachel Gurley of Gurley Antique Shows also plan to move the line closer to the show and into the ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)New York Attorney General Acts in National Book Auctions Case
Portions of this article were originally published in the Ithaca Times.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has officially taken action against National Book Auctions, the disgraced consignment and auction business formerly stationed in Freeville, New York.
In special proceedings filed on May 15 in Tompkins County Court, the attorney general’s office ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Art Advisor Sues Over Nonpayment
A New York City artist and advisor is claiming that a Florida woman owes her a cut of a million-dollar sale of a Mary Cassatt pastel.
On May 10 Christine Keefe of New York City filed suit against Rosalie James of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, for breach of contract. The lawsuit ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Stolen Hamilton Letter Resurfaces
On February 27, 1950, Francis E. Kelly, the attorney general of Massachusetts, sent a four-page letter to dealers of rare books and documents, informing them that the attorney general’s office was investigating the loss or theft of “irreplaceable” historical documents taken from the Massachusetts Archives. The letter listed missing documents ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Letter from London, July 2019
There is a definite Middle and Far Eastern flavour to this month’s selection, though most of my Chinese picks from recent sales will have to wait until the next “Letter” appears.
This month lobsters and other Japanese treats get greater prominence, along with some spectacularly successful Islamic treasures, a Mughal dagger, ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Anniversary Party at MidWeek
Barn Star Productions’ MidWeek One-Day Antiques Fair will be held on Wednesday, August 7, in Manchester, New Hampshire, during Antiques Week in New Hampshire. The show will be open from 1 to 7 p.m. To celebrate the show’s 25th year, Barn Star Productions is inviting all paid attendees to join ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Exhibitions
Chris Morel (b. 1958), Summer Aspens, oil on linen, 24" x 36".
—Through July 20 —Santa Fe, New Mexico
Nedra Matteucci Galleries presents One Man’s Home, featuring oil and watercolor paintings by Chris Morel, including his signature southwestern landscapes as well as paintings from recent travels through the western United States and ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)An 1893 Time Machine
For $150,000, including buyer’s premium, a lucky phone bidder won an amazing piece of America’s clock history at Sotheby’s New York City June 4 “Important Watches” auction. Without dedicated sales or a clock department any longer, Sotheby’s needs to make extra efforts to alert antique clock buyers when lots like ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Record for Paul Evans
A Paul Evans Sculpture Front sideboard, 100½" long, established a new world record auction price for the designer when it sold for $536,000 (includes buyer’s premium) at Sotheby’s on May 23. The estimate was $120,000/180,000. Made of lacquered and gilt steel and brass with a painted wood base and a ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Fresh Wyeth Sells for $203,150
At its May 18 and 19 auction, Simpson Galleries, Houston, Texas, sold a fresh-to-market Andrew Wyeth watercolor for $203,150 (includes buyer’s premium), well above the estimate of $80,000/100,000.
The buyer was a private collector, underbid by a “prominent art dealer,” according to Mark Prendergast, director of consignments and marketing at Simpson ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Egyptian Queen by Frank Frazetta Brings $5.4 Million
The 1969 fantasy painting Egyptian Queen by Frank Frazetta (1928-2010) sold for a world record $5,400,000 (with buyer’s premium) on May 16 at an auction of vintage comic books and comic art held by Heritage Auctions in Chicago, Illinois. The price is a record for original comic book art sold ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)“Supernova” Gold Coin Brings $282,000
A rare U.S. gold coin struck at the San Francisco Mint in 1857 and recovered five years ago from a shipwreck sold for $282,000 (with buyer’s premium) on May 16 in New Orleans at an auction conducted by Legend Rare Coin Auctions, Lincroft, New Jersey. According to the auction house, ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Strong Results for Carved Emeralds
Antique Jewelry & Gemology
Photos courtesy Freeman’s ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Americana and International Auction
Pook & Pook, Inc., Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Photos courtesy Pook & Pook
The Mahantongo Valley, Pennsylvania, turned and painted sugar bowl or spice cup and cover illustrated on the front and back covers of the Pook & Pook May 4 auction catalog sold for $128,100 (includes buyer’s premium). Dated 1861, it is inscribed ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Gachot Collection Highlights Americana Sale
Freeman’s, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Photos courtesy Freeman’s
The collection of the late Richard and Irene Gachot was offered as 60 of the lots at the spring Americana sale at Freeman’s on April 30. The Gachots renovated a Quaker farmhouse on Long Island in 1961 and furnished it with the help of antiques dealer ... (Read More)
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(Show)The 2019 Philadelphia Antiques and Art Show
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
"What an incredible time to be a buyer. There may be fewer masterpieces on the market, but there are fewer collectors to compete for them,” said Americana dealer David Schorsch of Woodbury, Connecticut, on the phone the day after he bought a diminutive Pennsylvania chest of drawers offered by ... (Read More)
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(Show)The Bedford Spring Art and Antiques Show
The Art, Design & Antiques Show, Bedford, New York
Fellow dealers of longtime New Canaan, Connecticut, antiques dealer Donald Rich came together to put on a small show, The Art, Design & Antiques Show at Bedford Historical Hall, on April 27 and 28 to honor Rich’s memory. Held just across the ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Spring Masterpiece Sale Surpasses Expectations
Slotin Folk Art Auction, Buford, Georgia
Photos courtesy Slotin Folk Art Auction
Folk art, including self-taught or Outsider art, continues to be all the rage. Museums, whether dedicated to this genre or not, are hosting exhibits, resulting in great attendance. Auctions, whether dedicated to this genre or showcasing an assortment of these ... (Read More)
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(Auction)The Salem Academy and College Sale
Myers Auction and Realty, East Bend, North Carolina
When Salem Academy and College, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, deaccessioned its collections, it involved more than selling stored items that no longer met the school’s mission. Antique furniture, pottery, and clocks were found in common areas, dormitories, the library, attics, basements, offices, closets, and ... (Read More)
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(Auction)The Clarke Hess Estate
Horst Auctioneers, Ephrata, Pennsylvania
Photos courtesy Horst Auctioneers
Horst Auctioneers, Ephrata, Pennsylvania, held the first of three sales on behalf of the estate of Clarke E. Hess of Lititz, Pennsylvania, on Friday and Saturday, April 26 and 27. Hess passed away at age 64 in November 2018 following a six-year battle with ... (Read More)
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(Show)From Z to A at Liberty with Unplanned Side Trips
Liberty Antiques Festival, Liberty, North Carolina
The long-running Liberty Antiques Festival is organized alphabetically from row A on the left to row Z on the right. For almost 20 years, your reporter has worked the sale from left to right. Some years the dealers at the end of the alphabet were ... (Read More)
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(Auction)The Collection of Robert and Ruth Vogele
Wright, Chicago, Illinois
Let’s hear it for the iconoclast collector! A tip of the hat to those with discerning taste and a passion for the visual. We honor the seeker of visual perfection and give homage to collectors who endlessly seek what they must possess, then act when they find it. ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Buyers Shoot the Works for $8 Million at Morphy
Morphy Auctions, Denver, Pennsylvania
Photos courtesy Morphy Auctions
On April 24 and 25, in the sixth major firearms auction since its acquisition of the James D. Julia Company, Morphy Auctions of Denver, Pennsylvania, piled up an impressive total of over $8 million in firearms sales. In a press release, president and auctioneer ... (Read More)
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(Auction)A Focused Photography Market Makes its Choices
Swann Galleries, New York City
Photos courtesy Swann Galleries
Swann Galleries’ April 18 auction of classic and contemporary photographs in New York City lived up to its name with a wide array of offerings, from Eadweard Muybridge to Edward S. Curtis to Edward Weston to Edward Ruscha. I could go on with ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Color Is One Key to Success
Bonhams, Los Angeles, California
Photos courtesy Bonhams
Department director Scot Levitt believes that color was the key to success at the April 16 Bonhams auction of California and Western paintings and sculpture in Los Angeles. “The compositions filled with bright color sold exceptionally well, while the more monochromatic or muted ones did ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Revolutionary Engraving Leads at Potomack
The Potomack Company, Alexandria, Virginia
Photos courtesy The Potomack Company
The Potomack Company’s spring auction consisted of just over 1400 lots, offered in five parts over three days. First, a three-session sale was held at the firm’s galleries in Alexandria, Virginia, on April 13. That sale was divided among European and Chinese ... (Read More)
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(Show)Sale This Way
The Collector’s Eye, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
The arrow sign was about as simple as they come. Wooden and with black letters on a white ground, it read “Sale This Way.” The sign, part of a wide mix of merchandise at The Collector’s Eye on April 7 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was ... (Read More)
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(Show)Destination Weekend at Oglebay Institute’s 65th Annual Antiques Show & Sale
Wheeling, West Virginia
Now in its 65th year, the Oglebay Institute’s Antiques Show & Sale at Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, West Virginia, is not just an event that offers fantastic antique and vintage items; it is a destination weekend on many levels. Held the first weekend in April, this year April ... (Read More)
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(Show)A Bit of the Divine in the Midwest
Midwest Antique & Art Show, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
If a single item could sum up the Midwest Antique & Art Show held April 7 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a reasonable choice would have been a bootjack offered by Tom van Deest of Cedar Rapids. To use an old adage, “The devil ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Historical Documents and Art Highlight Sale
Eldred’s, East Dennis, Massachusetts
Photos courtesy Eldred’s
Eldred’s kicked off its spring sale held April 5 and 6 with a rich selection of nearly 200 historical and political artifacts and ephemera from two large collections from Rhode Island relating to the Baylies family, merchants of South Dighton, Massachusetts. Bidders were eager and ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Contents of the Stephen Daniels House
Kaminski Auctions, Beverly, Massachusetts
Photos courtesy Kaminski Auctions. All prices include the buyer’s premium.
The Stephen Daniels house, built in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1667, and modified over the centuries, was the source of antiques featured in the first day of Kaminski Auctions’ two-day sale held March 30 and 31 in the Beverly, Massachusetts, ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Thirty-Seven Old Judge Cabinet Baseball Cards Bring $431,000
The North Fork Collection of N173 Old Judge cabinet baseball cards from 1888—37 in all, sold as individual lots—brought a combined $431,000 (with buyers’ premiums) at a March 28 auction conducted by Weiss Auctions in Lynbrook, New York. The 500-lot auction grossed a little less than $750,000.
The top lot of ... (Read More)
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