Stories for October '20

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FBI Offers $8000 Reward in Stolen Paintings Case
by M.A.D. staff

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $8000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the theft of six paintings. The paintings were stolen in Dallas, Texas, on or about March 26, 2019, while they were being transported from Santa Fe, New Mexico, ... (Read More)

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Vermont Bans Sales of “Animal Parts”
by M.A.D. staff

In 2022 antique scrimshaw and netsuke without documentation will be illegal to sell or buy in Vermont. A bill passed by the House and the Senate in Vermont regulating the sale of animal parts and products was delivered to Governor Phil Scott on October 2. He signed it into law on ... (Read More)

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Auction Prices Realized, October 2020
by M.A.D. staff

Here are a few notable prices of antiques sold recently at auction, as provided by press releases. All prices include the buyer’s premium when charged. We’re always looking for news of prices realized at auctions, particularly unusual or top lots. Send pictures, complete descriptions, and information to A.P.R., Maine Antique ... (Read More)

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Letter from London, October 2020
by Ian McKay,

The “Classic” Case of Lucretia, the Demonic Sphinx, and Punchinello Five of the best-selling lots from the wide-ranging July 29 “Classic Art” sale held by Christie’s are featured here, and we begin with an oil on panel that is a portrait of an unidentified man by an unknown Burgundian artist—but a ... (Read More)

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Collector’s Lens
by Hollie Davis and Andrew Richmond

The Young Collector Sometimes we like to muse about what we would do if independently wealthy. We would buy our friends a lot of “This made me think of you” gifts, we would probably have an array of interesting business cards printed just for laughs, and we might hand over mowing ... (Read More)

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Auctioneer Sentenced
by M.A.D. staff

On August 20 auctioneer David Hall was sentenced to one to three years in prison and ordered to pay $227,100 in restitution. In February Hall had pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny for not paying over $227,000 in auction proceeds to a consignor. He was scheduled to be sentenced in ... (Read More)

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The Philadelphia Print Shop Has a New Owner
by Lita Solis-Cohen

The Philadelphia Print Shop, a fixture on Germantown Avenue in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia and at major antiques shows, has been sold. The new owner is David Mackey, a Main Line commercial real estate/land developer, collector, and sometime dealer in maps and prints of Chester County (www.malvernmaps.com). Mackey ... (Read More)

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GSA Establishes Rules for Art in Federal Buildings
by Clayton Pennington

On September 25 the General Services Administration (GSA) published new rules regarding the “Art in Architecture” program for federal buildings in order to comply with Executive Order No. 13934, issued by President Trump on July 3. The Executive Order, titled “Building and Rebuilding Monuments to American Heroes,” required revisions in the ... (Read More)

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Hanging with Alexandra Mann-Nelson
by Julie Schlenger Adell

We are all spending much more time now in our houses and apartments because of COVID-19. Because we all might enjoy staring at someone else’s walls for a change, this column gives our readers an idea of what some of their colleagues, fellow collectors, and other readers surround themselves with ... (Read More)

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Lyman Parks Portraits: A Major Private Sale
by Lita Solis-Cohen

Private sales are a big part of the art and antiques business. Discoveries and record prices are reported by auctioneers and sometimes touted by dealers at shows. Museums occasionally send out press releases when they buy something special. But private sales are, well, private. We never know who is selling ... (Read More)

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Sales, Secrecy, and Sanctions
by Clayton Pennington

In late July the United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations issued a report, “The Art Industry and U.S. Policies that Undermine Sanctions,” that should have every dealer and auction house preparing to have their sales of over $10,000 be subject to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). While legislation to add ... (Read More)

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Treasures at a Click
by Fran Kramer

MidWeek Online Antiques Fair Treasures at a click—but you might need a “treasure map” to find them. Frank Gaglio of Barn Star Productions used the Ruby Lane platform (www.rubylane.com) for his two-part Antiques at Rhinebeck show in May and June, and then he chose it again for his Midweek Online Antiques Fair ... (Read More)

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The Annual NHADA Show Online
by Lita Solis-Cohen

New Hampshire Antiques Dealers Association By noon on opening day, Thursday, August 6, there were plenty of sales at the 63rd annual New Hampshire Antiques Dealers Association show. No one got up at 4 a.m. to stand in line, no tickets were sold, but in the first hour 40,000 single views ... (Read More)

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Antiques in Manchester Online
by Lita Solis-Cohen

Antiques in Manchester: The Collector’s Fair In the decade before the COVID-19 pandemic, Antiques in Manchester: The Collector’s Fair filled the ice rink at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, in August, opening a day before the long-running New Hampshire Antiques Dealers Association show and closing the following day. It ... (Read More)

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The Socially Distant Deerfield Antique Show
by Clayton Pennington

Deerfield, New Hampshire Spirits hung over the Deerfield Fairgrounds in Deerfield, New Hampshire, on Sunday, August 2. The first was the spirit of the past and the familiar. Gurley Antique Shows mounted a live one-day open-air antiques show, an event that was ubiquitous BC—Before COVID. The traditional, throwback antiques show, one easily ... (Read More)

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Summer Sale on the Cape
by Frances McQueeney-Jones Mascolo

Eldred’s, East Dennis, Massachusetts Photos courtesy Eldred’s When the green and white tent goes up each year around Memorial Day on the terrace at Eldred’s in East Dennis, Massachusetts, it signifies that summer and summer auctions have begun. Barring weather interference, it remains in place through mid-September. Summer sales are a fine ... (Read More)

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A Unique Compilation of Consigned Jewelry
by Mary Ann Brown

Antique Jewelry & Gemology Photos courtesy Doyle New York Doyle New York has continued to hold its full calendar of jewelry auctions during the pandemic—some online only, and some live but without participants in the salesroom. Its July 29 live fine jewelry auction included “a wide array of stylish designs ranging from ... (Read More)

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Rub-a-Dub-Dub, One Man in a Tub, Wyoming Bound
by Pete Prunkl

Wooten & Wooten, Camden, South Carolina Photos courtesy Wooten & Wooten The 2020 coronavirus pandemic has shifted the bidding landscape for at least one South Carolina auctioneer. “I may not go back to live sales,” said Jeremy Wooten of Wooten & Wooten a few weeks before his 371-lot July 25 sale. “The ... (Read More)

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A Decoy and a Wildlife Painting Make Auction Records
by Frances McQueeney-Jones Mascolo

Copley Fine Art Auctions, Hingham, Massachusetts Photos courtesy Copley Fine Art Auctions One of the most eagerly awaited summer sales is Copley Fine Art Auctions’ annual summer sporting sale, which is a reliable draw for collectors from all points to the Plymouth, Massachusetts, harbor. The COVID-19 pandemic dictated a very different event ... (Read More)

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Hanover Tavern Show Succeeds in the Face of Adversity
by Walter C. Newman

Antiques at the Tavern, Hanover, Virginia The second annual Antiques at the Tavern show had been originally scheduled for the weekend of May 1-3. No surprise—it was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The good news is that the show was held as rescheduled for July 17-19 at the historic Hanover ... (Read More)

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Shaker Sewing Table Shakes Up Auction
by Mark Sisco

Morphy Auctions, Denver, Pennsylvania Photos courtesy Morphy Auctions It wasn’t until near the very end of Morphy Auctions’ two-day fine arts sale in Denver, Pennsylvania, on July 14 and 15 that its highest price was recorded. In a sale replete with five-figure lamps, sculptures, and jewelry, it was a single piece of ... (Read More)

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Springfield Extravaganza
by Don Johnson

Springfield Antique Show and Flea Market, Springfield, Ohio On the opening day of the Springfield Antique Show and Flea Market’s three-day Extravaganza, rescheduled to July 10-12 on the Clark County Fairgrounds in Springfield, Ohio, dealer Web Wilson had something special to share. As he disappeared behind his booth and into his ... (Read More)

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Moyer Collection Sale
by Lita Solis-Cohen

Pook & Pook, Inc., Downingtown, Pennsylvania Photos courtesy Pook & Pook Dennis Moyer began spending his weekly allowance at farm sales when he was eight years old. Once a rite of passage in the Pennsylvania Dutch country, farm sales are now rare occurrences. Fifty years ago when Dennis Moyer and his wife, ... (Read More)

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Old-Fashioned Good Vibes
by Kathy Schoemer

William A. Smith, Inc., Plainfield, New Hampshire Photos courtesy William A. Smith, Inc. Yes, Virginia, the spirit of the antiques business is alive and well, at least it was on a warm July 1, a Wednesday, in the tiny New Hampshire village of Plainfield, where Bill Smith and Ken Labnon shared the ... (Read More)

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Humler & Nolan’s Final Auction
by Don Johnson

Humler & Nolan, Cincinnati, Ohio Photos courtesy Humler & Nolan This was it. When Humler & Nolan held its last auction, Rookwood XXX, an absentee/online-only sale conducted from Cincinnati and delayed to June 20 and 21 because of the coronavirus pandemic, it was truly the company’s last auction. The firm surprised clients ... (Read More)

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A Work in Progress: Rhinebeck Online
by Fran Kramer

Barn Star’s Antiques at Rhinebeck/RubyLane.com How do you buy and sell at an antiques show if you cannot physically walk through, have conversations with exhibitors and patrons, touch and hold objects, and, above all, take in the ambience and excitement? How about an online show run by the Internet platform Ruby ... (Read More)

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Salmagundi Club Online Auction
by Julie Schlenger Adell

Salmagundi Club, New York City Photos courtesy Salmagundi Club The Salmagundi Club, founded in 1871, held an online auction on June 19 offering submissions from its members and some works from the archives to raise funds for its operating budget. The event, usually held twice a year at the club’s lower Fifth Avenue ... (Read More)

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First Newspaper Printing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” Sells for $325,000
by Lita Solis-Cohen

Christie’s, New York City Photos courtesy Christie’s Music figured in the top lots at Christie’s books and manuscripts sale online June 2 through 18. The first printing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” in a newspaper sold for $325,000 (includes buyer’s premium), and the same price was paid for the original artwork for the ... (Read More)

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Online Sale Brings Great Results
by Frances McQueeney-Jones Mascolo

Grogan & Company, Boston, Massachusetts Photos courtesy Grogan & Company What does it mean when an auction house’s first online sale in its 33 years is its best ever? That’s what happened at Grogan & Company when the June 14 auction in the Boston gallery brought an impressive total of close to ... (Read More)

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Cameo Glass Vase Sells for $118,750
by Marice Richter

Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas Photos courtesy Heritage Auctions, HA.com Extraordinary pieces of decorative art glass, including some of the earliest and rarest examples of American craftsmanship and British cameo glass, highlighted Heritage Auctions’ June 4 sale of art glass, including Art Nouveau and Art Deco works. Bidders from the around the globe ... (Read More)
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