Freeman’s- Sets world auction records for American woman artists

Freeman’s- Sets world auction records for American woman artists

Exemplary works by women artists once again yielded strong results in Freeman’s June 6 American Art and Pennsylvania Impressionists auction. Totaling $2.64M and attracting an impressive number of new buyers (40% of total), the sale reconfirmed the auction house’s ability to steward fresh-to-market works with strong provenance to successfully satisfy market demand.

 

The sale was led by Winter Decoration—a large-scale view of Lambertville by celebrated Pennsylvania Impressionist Fern Isabel Coppedge (1883-1951)that more than doubled its pre-sale low estimate of $100,000 to achieve $252,000. New world auction records were set for both Philadelphia Illustration Artist Sarah S. Stilwell Weber (1878-1939) and Emma Fordyce MacRae (1887-1974), a graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and member of the Philadelphia Ten. Weber’s Three of Us (Saturday Evening Post Cover) elicited spirited competition and exceeded expectations, shattering the existing world auction record of $52,000 to realize $119,700 against an estimate of $30,000-50,000. MacRae’s Melina in Green sparked a lengthy bidding war that ultimately saw the striking portrait achieve $63,000easily surpassing its $8,000-12,000 estimate as well as the 2008 world auction record of $23,750. 

1938 Vauxhall 12hp Supercharged Trials Special

 

The sale also garnered strong interest for works by 19th century artists that were fittingly exhibited salon-style in the gallery. Highlights from this collecting category included Still Life with New York Tribune, Beer Stein, Pipe and Tobacco by William Michael Harnett (1848-1892) and Near the Outlet of the Waccasassa River, Florida by Hermann Herzog (1832-1932), which sold for $69,300 and $40,950, respectively.

Freeman’s June 7 Collect: American Art Sale was led by a new world auction record for William Formby Halsall (1841-1919); Gay Head in Winter soared past its $2,000-3,000 estimate to realize $37,500. A similarly strong result was achieved for Manuel Azadigian (1901-1924), whose Spring in the Valley sold for $15,120over five times its pre-sale low estimate of $3,000. The sale marked a rare auction appearance for the Armenian-American artist, who had a short career on account of his untimely death. 

“These back-to-back sales once again proved our long-held belief that works most often sell best where they were made, and we are proud to extend the list of Philadelphia artists for whom we hold the auction record,” remarked Chairman Alasdair Nichol. “Collectors’ tastes are diversifying, and we are excited by the continuing opportunity to usher formerly overlooked artists into the spotlight.”

 

 

PRESS INQUIRIES

Heather Holmes [email protected]

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT FREEMAN’S CLICK HERE

 

H&H Classics- 1938 Vauxhall 12hp Supercharged Trials Special

H&H Classics- 1938 Vauxhall 12hp Supercharged Trials Special

1938 Vauxhall 12hp Supercharged Trials Special

 

A BUTCHER’S VAN, THEN A MILITARY TRUCK, AND THEN A RACE WINNING TRIALS CAR

1938 Vauxhall 12hp Supercharged Trials Special Has Had Three Lives

A race winning Vauxhall trials car estimated to sell for £11,000 £13,000, with H&H Classics, started life as a humble butcher’s van, was then commandeered for active service during WW2 and then transformed into a race winning trials car. That is some serious shape shifting. The car will be offered for sale at the nextH&H Classics auction at the Imperial War Museum Duxford on September 8th.

 

It was converted into a Trials Special by Cyril Crosby, foreman of Vauxhall’s Experimental Engine Test Department, during the 1940s, and uprated with a 1500cc, 12hp engine in 1948 which was then supercharged and it went on to win multiple class awards from 1947-1955.

Race Winning 1938 Vauxhall 12hp Supercharged Trials Special

 

Starting life as a Bedford HC 10hp 5 cwt butcher’s van, this very successful trials special has a fascinating history which the vendor has been able to unearth since acquiring it in 1965. 

When war was declared in 1939 the van was commandeered by the Government for active service. In 1942 it was returned to the baker with 20,000 miles recorded resplendent in a khaki colour scheme. It was subsequently acquired by Cyril Crosby, a Vauxhall employee (foreman of the Experimental Engine Test Department) who had competed in motorcycle events since 1925 and was looking for a suitable donor in order to create a special that would be able to compete with Morgans and MGs in trials. 

In competition trim the car weighed in at 1800lbs which was about equal to the MG T Type two-seaters it regularly competed against. Between 1947 and 1955 it was entered in numerous events and was extremely successful gaining many class awards and outright first places including: 1st 1948 MCC Exeter Trial, 1st 1949 MCC Land’s End Trial, Triple Award 1950 Land’s End Trial, 1st 1952 Land’s End Trial, 1st 1952 1-hour Silverstone, 1st 1953 Land’s End Trial etc. A detailed list of its awards is contained in the accompanying history file.

The chassis sidemembers were modified and a crossmember installed that allowed the engine to be moved back some seven inches. A strong tubular crossmember was added to the rear to cope with the twin-mounted spare wheels. The brakes remained standard although an MG fly-off handbrake was modified and fitted as well as a remote-control gear change. 

At first, the original engine of 1203cc was retained but after being damaged in 1948 on a difficult trial stage it was replaced by a 1442cc 12hp unit bored out to 1489cc to get as close as possible to the 1500cc maximum permitted.

Mr Crosby eventually sold the car in the mid-1950s and the vendor purchased it from a lady in Luton in 1965. On passing her driving test she had asked her husband for a sportscar and was said to be somewhat in awe of the available performance! By now the car had deteriorated and a considerable amount of work was needed to restore it properly although this was mainly mechanical as the body had remained in good order. 

Before work commenced Mr Crosby got in touch having heard about the project and some of the gaps in its story were filled. Upon completion of the mechanical side the body colour was changed from red to white, the seats welded in and refurbished, and the chrome work replaced. No longer campaigned in trials, it was enjoyed on the road and became a regular on the Kent vintage rally circuit.

 

 

FOR MORE PRESS INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT THE H&H CLASSICS PRESS OFFICE:

Julian Roup ON +44(0)7970563958

OR email [email protected]

FOR MORE PRESS INFORMATION ABOUT H&H CLASSICS CLICK HERE

 

H&H Classics- Oscar Winner Rex Harrison’s 1943 Ford GPW Jeep

H&H Classics- Oscar Winner Rex Harrison’s 1943 Ford GPW Jeep

H&H Classics- Oscar Winner Rex Harrison's 1943 Ford GPW Jeep side view

 

FORMERLY THE PROPERTY OF OSCAR WINNER REX HARRISON, 1943 FORD GPW JEEP, FOR SALE WITH H&H CLASSICS AT THE IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM, DUXFORD, SEPTEMBER 8TH ESTIMATE £25,000 – £30,000

This WW2 survivor, formerly the property of Oscar-winning actor Rex Harrison. still retains many genuine WW2 parts. It comes up for sale for an estimate of £25,000 to £30,000 with H&H Classics at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, on September 8th.

It is understood to have served with the 6th US Armoured Division in World War 2and finished its war in Italy. It subsequently became the property of Rex Harrison, the Oscar-winning film star who played Professor Henry Higgins in ‘My Fair Lady’ (Lerner and Loewe’s great musical masterpiece) and Dr John Doolittle in ‘Doctor Do Little’. Copies of Italian paperwork and a logbook relating to Rex Harrison’s ownership, two images with Rex Harrison in the Jeep including one depicting himself and Rita Hayworth accompanies the vehicle.

Oscar Winner Rex Harrison and Rita Hayworth in his 1943 Ford GPW Jeep

 

Paul Cheetham of H&H Classics comments: “We are delighted to offer such an iconic WW2 Jeep with its links to the film world. Professor Henry Higgins it seems had an appreciation for tough and robust qualities, be it in vehicles like this Jeep,or indeed the Cockney character of Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady.”

It has been subject to a full service and mechanical fettling in July 2021.

Arguably more iconic than a Sherman Tank or P-51 Mustang, the Jeep is for many the definitive WW2 vehicle. Equipped with a torquey L-headed 2.2-litre engine driving all four wheels via a three-speed manual box and two-speed transfer case, the tough, go-anywhere four-seater did its job exceptionally well. By the end of the war, 647,870 Jeeps had been produced – 281,448 of which were manufactured by Ford.

This 1943 example of the Ford GPW is thought to have ended its war in Italy after the end of hostilities, being registered ‘GE 62652’. The Jeep is subsequently understood to have been painted in Green over the original paintwork, which is being carefully removed in areas and revealing the original wartime painted decals. 

The Ford GPW still retains many of its genuine WW2 features including the body-tub, front bumper, early bonnet, combat wheels shod with Firestone Bargrip tyres, very scarce lubrication bags, rare USA shovel and the canvas and frame are thought to be original too. Fitted with a period Willys MB unit (with engines commonly changed during WW2), the GPW has been subject to a 12-volt conversion. 

 

Incorrectly declared as manufactured in 1947 by the DVLA, ‘XBV 227’ will be supplied with a letter from the IMPS (Invicta Military Preservation Society) and MVT (Military Vehicle Trust) stating the correct date of manufacture as 1943 for the DVLA rectification.

Imported into the UK in 2015, the Ford GPW will have  UK-plates in time for the sale. and a current V5C. It has been the subject of much mechanical fettling in July 2021 including engine and ignition system service, a new master cylinder, fuel system flush and new points, plugs and condenser.

 

FOR MORE PRESS INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT THE H&H CLASSICS PRESS OFFICE:

Julian Roup ON +44(0)7970563958

OR email [email protected]

FOR MORE PRESS INFORMATION ABOUT H&H CLASSICS CLICK HERE

 

World’s First Public Tender of Rare Australian Pink Diamonds

World’s First Public Tender of Rare Australian Pink Diamonds

Chinese carved and underglaze red “Dragons and Waves” vase (Lot 12, $150,000-250,000) Freeman's Auction

A fine Argyle Diamond Mine certified pink oval cut diamond of 4PP colour weighing 0.54 carats estimated to fetch AUD$200,000 – 270,000 at the yourdiamonds.com Public Tender.

yourdiamonds.com, an Australian technology start-up in the diamond sector, founded by Tim Goodman, a former Executive Chairman of Sotheby’s Australia, has been asked to sell a collection of rare pink diamonds by an Australian finance corporation as mortgagee in possession.

yourdiamonds.com will offer the first ever Public Tender for Australian pink diamonds strictly from 21 June – 01 July 2021, by Order of a Mortgagee in Possession and the Property of Various Private Collectors and Investors.

The five pink diamonds ranging from 0.40 carat to 1.01 carat, originally sourced from the world-famous Argyle Diamond Mine, are expected to fetch over US$1million. The request to sell the gems inspired Tim to expand the sale to include other pink diamonds originally from the Argyle mine.

With the closure of the Argyle Mine in November 2020 after 40 years of producing 90% of the world’s pink diamonds the Public Tender is expected to attract attention from regional and overseas bidders.

The catalogue will be capped at just 30 pink diamonds. The final accumulated collection will be the subject of a high security travelling road show around the Australian capital cities. The sealed Tender Bids will be opened at 10.00am in Sydney on Friday 02 July in the presence of a Partner at international accountants, Grant Thornton.

yourdiamonds.com launched with a global campaign announced on its new website to invite consignments of additional pink diamonds from private and trade sellers. .

The trade asking prices for Australian pinks from the Argyle mine are said to have increased by more than 10% per annum in a blaze of publicity over many years. However there is no secondary market, so selling a pre-owned pink diamond can be problematic for the end private consumer.

“We are creating a secondary market. The primary market is strong and the timing is perfect for sellers.  Subject to the success of this first project we intend to conduct a Public Tender of Australian pink diamonds twice a year. We may extend the scope to include diamonds of other colours originally sourced from the Argyle Mine,” Tim Goodman said.

Pink diamonds have been all the talk in the auction room after Christies recently sold a 2.17ct fancy pink for $3.5million and will offer another exceptional pink stone estimated to fetch $38million on 23 May.

 

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON YOURDIAMONDS.COM CLICK HERE.

Freeman’s- Rare Chinese Porcelain & Celadon Lead Asian Art Sale

Freeman’s- Rare Chinese Porcelain & Celadon Lead Asian Art Sale

Chinese carved and underglaze red “Dragons and Waves” vase (Lot 12, $150,000-250,000) Freeman's Auction

 

 

RARE CHINESE PORCELAIN AND CELADON LEAD FREEMAN’S ASIAN ARTS AUCTION

Freeman’s will hold its Asian Arts auction on April 8, the sale will showcase a rare example of Chinese Porcelain, a carved twelve-panel “Coromandel” folding screen, and a hanging scroll attributed to the Empress Dowager Cixi.

 

The sale provides an excellent opportunity for collectors to browse a fine selection of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, and Southeast Asian ceramics, jades, lacquer, sculpture, furniture, and works of art from a range of centuries and dynasties.

 

RARE “DRAGONS AND WAVES” PORCELAIN

The highlight of the auction is a Chinese carved and underglaze red “Dragons and Waves” vase (Lot 12, $150,000-250,000), a rare example of a small group of wares made for the Yongzheng court. The work features reserved dragons carved in low relief against a ground of crashing waves executed in a red underglaze.

 

ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

Also on offer is a Chinese Longquan incised celadon-glazed bottle vase (Lot 2, $20,000-30,000), potentially among a body of works made for Chinese imperial use during the early 15th century reigns of the Yongle and Xuande emperors; A Chinese carved twelve-panel “Coromandel” folding screen (Lot 81, $20,000-30,000), a fine example of popular 17th & 18th century interior screens; and a hanging scroll attributed to the Empress Dowager of China, Cixi, titled Jiutian Chuilu (Grapes) (Lot 84, $15,000-25,000) A diplomatic gift to Congressman and Mrs. Edwin H. Conger, survivors of the Boxer Rebellion.

 

 

AUCTION

April 8th, 2021 | 10AM EDT

 

SALE ENQUIRIES

Ben Farina | Head of Sale

[email protected]

 

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON FREEMAN’S CLICK HERE.

Freeman’s- Auction World Record Set For Carl Moll at $4.75M

Freeman’s- Auction World Record Set For Carl Moll at $4.75M

First Edition Champlain Book, Freeman's Auction Lot 3

 

FREEMAN’S BEST FINE ART SALE EVER REALIZES $6.4M AND SETS NEW WORLD AUCTION RECORD FOR CARL MOLL AT $4.75M

Freeman’s is delighted to announce the results of its February 23 European Art & Old Masters auction, which realized over $6.4M—the best Fine Art sale total that Freeman’s has ever recorded. With spirited bidding throughout the sale from bidders both online and on the telephone, the 67-lot auction achieved an impressive 90% sell-through rate and nearly quadrupled its pre-sale high estimate.

 

WEIßES INTERIEUR (WHITE INTERIOR) BY CARL MOLL SELLS FOR $4.75M, SETTING NEW WORLD AUCTION RECORD

The undoubted highlight of the sale was the stellar result achieved for Carl Moll’s White Interior (Lot 56). After extensive, competitive bidding both online and from a dozen telephone bidders located around the world, the work shattered the previous world auction record of $385,653 and ultimately sold to a private American collector for $4,756,000—more than 8 times its pre-sale high estimate. It is believed the buyer has the intention to exhibit the painting at The Neue Galerie in New York in the future. The significant painting is Freeman’s highest selling lot to date, surpassing the house’s 2011 record of $3.1m achieved by an important Imperial white jade seal from the Qianlong period.

 

Said Head of Sale, David Weiss:

“Today’s sale set a new house record for Freeman’s with the sale of a stunning painting by the Austrian artist Carl Moll which fetched nearly $4.8m. It was a privilege to have been entrusted with such an exceptional work which had been in the same family for over a hundred years. The consignors are understandably thrilled. ”

 

Said Chairman, Alasdair Nichol:

“I couldn’t be more delighted with the results of today’s European Art sale particularly as it was hot on the heels of our best American Art auction yet held last December totaling $5.2m. In spite of all the challenges of the past year, Freeman’s continues to have an extraordinarily successful year which is truly a testimony to the efforts of our outstanding team.”

 

WORKS BY SCHIKANEDER AND RENOIR SURPASS PRE-SALE HIGH ESTIMATES

There was great interest in fresh-to-market works from private and institutional collections, including The Calm Sea, Nocturne (Lot 40) by Jacob Schikaneder, which more than doubled its pre-sale high estimate to realize $346,500. Similarly, Roses (Lot 58) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, which was deaccessioned by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia, realized over triple its pre-sale high estimate, selling for $302,400 after a lengthy battle among nineteen telephone bidders.

 

ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

Other notable highlights included the sale of: Yuri (Georgiy) Ivanovich Pimenov’s The Lemonade Stand

(Lot 67) which sold for $91,700, more than 6-times its pre-sale high estimate; Gustav Klimt’s, Dame Wittgenstein (Study for Bildnis Margaret Stonborough-Wittgenstein) (Lot 55), which surpassed its pre-sale high estimate, achieving $88,200; Étude pour Le Martyre de Saint Procès et Saint Martinien by Valentin de Boulogne (Lot 16)a recently authenticated bozzetto and the first and only one to ever come on the market, realized $78,750, more than doubling its pre-sale high estimate; Venus at the Forge of Vulcan (Lot 6) a work from the Neapolitan School (17th century), which was once a part of the Getty Museum’s collection, sold for $47,250, more than 6-times its pre-sale high estimate; La Sympathie (Lot 61) by Hippolyte Petitjean which sold for $44,100, surpassing its pre-sale high estimate; and Un Témoin Muet (Lot 51) by Evariste Carpentier which realized $30,240, far exceeding its pre-sale estimate of $6,000-10,000.

 

 

SALE ENQUIRIES

David Weiss | Head of Sale

[email protected]

 

PRESS ENQUIRIES

Madeline Hill | Press

[email protected]

 

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON FREEMAN’S CLICK HERE.

Freeman’s- First Edition Champlain Book Sold for $200k+

Freeman’s- First Edition Champlain Book Sold for $200k+

First Edition Champlain Book, Freeman's Auction Lot 3

Freeman’s is delighted to announce the results of its February 18 Books and Manuscripts auction, which realized over $445k. With spirited bidding throughout the sale from bidders both online and on the telephone, the 166-lot auction achieved an impressive 91% sell-through rate and surpassed its pre-sale high estimate.

FIRST EDITION OF SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN’S LES VOYAGES DU SIEUR DE CHAMPLAIN SOARS PAST PRE-SALE HIGH ESTIMATE

The undoubted highlight of the sale was the stellar result achieved for Samuel de Champlains’s Les Voyages du Sieur de Champlain, Paris, 1613 (Lot 3). After competitive bidding, the first edition of the French Explorer’s second books sold for $201,600—more than tripling its pre-sale high estimate.

 

ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

Other notable highlights included the sale of: Vladimir Nabokov’s Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle

(Lot 99) which sold for $15,120, more than three times its pre-sale high estimate; Thomas Birch and J.H. Seymour’s, The Geographical Pastime, or the Complete Tour of Europe (Lot 48), which achieved $13,100, more than five times its pre-sale high estimate; Evening Clouds, East Side of the Sierra Nevada, California, a photograph by Ansel Adams (Lot 124), realized $10,710; and a complete deck of Harlequin Playing Cards from Chas E. Carryl (Lot 49), which sold for $8,820, more than seven times its pre-sale high estimate.

 

 

 

SALE ENQUIRIES

Darren Winston | Head of Sale

[email protected]

 

PRESS ENQUIRIES

Madeline Hill | Press 

[email protected]

 

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON FREEMAN’S CLICK HERE.

Roseberys- Yayoi Kusama Pumpkins Lead Print Auction

Roseberys- Yayoi Kusama Pumpkins Lead Print Auction

Roseberys London: The first Modern & Contemporary Prints & Multiples auction of the year at Roseberys will take place on Tuesday 9 March, starting at 11am. This sale has a strong focus in particular on collectible works that are on trend, including works by the Connor Brothers, David Shrigley, Banksy and Takashi Murakami. This sale is ideal for young collectors starting out, as it boasts a large number of high impact and recognisable works from artists such as Andy Warhol, Yayoi Kusama, Terry Frost and David Hockney.

Elizabeth Wormald, Junior Specialist who assisted in curating of the auction comments ‘Running themes throughout the sale includes a large selection of prints by pioneering female artist Dame Laura Knight, which are rare to find on the market. They are all beautiful examples of her etching skills, with the majority of the works portraying women from a women’s eye. Elsewhere within the sale, another reoccurring work from the same artist are a wide selection of prints (lots 192-202) by the prolific English Pop Artist Peter Blake. Lots 262 – 268 is a group focused around YBA women such as Tracey Emin. And as always, we have a solid selection of works by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami on offer.’ Yayoi

Yayoi Kusama Pumpkin up for bid at Roseberys auction
Yayoi Kusama Pumpkin up for bid at Roseberys auction

Leading the sale are two high covetable pumpkin prints by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. A Pumpkin BB-C [Kusama 329’] in blue and A Pumpkin GB-D [Kusama 332] ‘in green. Both screenprint in colour on arches wove were produced in 2004 and come with a provenance purchased from the publisher, Okabe Hanga Shuppan, Kanagawa, Japan. They both come with an estimate of £12,000- £18,000. Yayoi Kusama has consolidated a name for herself for her genius and innovative work. To date she is one of the most highly sought-after artists of her generation. Her aesthetic is perhaps best typified by her pumpkin art such as the lots on offer at Roseberys. 

Estimated to make £15,000- £20,000 is this work by elusive British artist Banksy. Titled Police Riot Van (Dismaland Gift Print), the digital print in colours with hand finish on wove, created in 2015 was a one of 52 prints given to employees from Banksy at Dismaland, the temporary art project organised by the street artist in the seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare. The print is accompanied by a Dismaland hi-vis jacket and tin can lid Mickey Mouse ears, worn by the employee during their time working at the park. It also comes accompanied by a bank statement and payslip issued by BM Dismaland Ltd. Elizabeth Wormald, Junior Specialist comments, ‘Banksy gifted works rarely come up to auction, so it’s great to see this Dismaland print on offer.’ 

Offered at £2,500- £3,500 is lot 20, the complete suite of five lithographs in colours by British artist Henry Moore OM CH FBA RBS, 1898-1986. Titled Helmet Head Lithographs [Cramer 356-360], the complete folio was published by Gerald Cramer, Geneva, in 1974-75. Moore is one of the most significant British artists of the twentieth century best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Moore also produced many drawings, along with other graphic works on paper such as the lots on offer. 

Unique work by The Connor Brothers, titled The Preceding Accumulation of Emotional Distress created in 2020 for their lockdown series; is offered at £2,500- £3,500 within the auction. The unique mixed media collage, digital print, crayon and hand-finished acrylic on wove comes with a provenance from the Artistan Gallery, 2020. The Connor Brothers are best known for their paintings and prints featuring vintage pin-up beauties and Old Hollywood starlets such as the lot on offer. The Connor Brothers—a pseudonym for the British artists Mike Snelle and James Golding—initially retained anonymity under their fictional guise. They posed as fictional twin brothers Franklyn and Brendan Connor, who had escaped from a California cult (called “The Family”) by running away to Brooklyn at age 16 to become artists. Today, Snelling and Golding have shed their guise, and align their work with social causes such as the European refugee crisis. 

Offering to the market at £2,000- £3,000 is work by British artist Tracey Emin CBE RA. Titled Hades Hades Hades, the screenprint on cotton, stitched onto floral fabric published by Counter Editions, London in 2009 shows her love of using texture and fabric in her works. Tracey Emin is a notable and prolific artist recognized for her place in the Young British Artists movement of the 1990s, and in particular for her provocative and controversial works. As illustrated in this artwork, Tracey Emin explores very personal and turbulent childhood experiences alongside sexual history, which is often described as confessional. The repeated text Hades on this left-hand screen print evokes the underworld in Greek mythology, a word which later became synonymous in Christianity with hell. For Emin Hades has a further, more personal meaning as it was the name of a night club in Margate, and a place where she experienced some of her best and darkest teenage memories. The right-hand side of the print shows a sketchily drawn figure on her knees who appears to be holding a hammer in one hand. 

Lot 14 is a great example of a linocut on offer within the auction by Cyril Edward Power, (1872-1951). Cyril Edward Power was an English artist best known for his mastery of linocut prints, long-standing artistic partnership with artist Sybil Andrews and for co-founding the Grosvenor School of Modern Art in London in 1925. He was also a successful architect and teacher. Today Power’s work is held in collections worldwide, including the British Museum, National Gallery of Australia, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. A similar version to the work on offer at Roseberys can be found within the V&A collection. This exquisite example of Power’s linoprint work at Roseberys comes with an estimate of £2,000- £3,000. 

The complete portfolio of 50 screenprints and photolithographs in colours on wove by Scottish artist Sir Eduardo Paolozzi CBE RA, (1924–2005) titled General Dynamic F.U.N., 1967-70, published by Alecto Studios has been entered into the sale at £1,500- £2,000. Paolozzi was one of the pioneers of the pop art movement in the UK and was admired for his mechanistic sculptures and his kaleidoscopic print projects. Within these series of screenprints Paolozzi explored familiar household names of advertising, high fashion and Hollywood. Between Tuesday 12 November 2019 – Saturday 4 January 2020, the work was on view at the Hayward Gallery at the Southbank Centre in London. The artist’s friend and occasional collaborator, J.G. Ballard, described the General Dynamic F.U.N as a ‘unique guidebook to the electric garden of our minds.’ 

Coming with an estimate of £1,500- £2,000 is an etching with aquatint in colours on Magnani wove titled Stromboli’ by British artist, Victor Pasmore CH CBE (1908-1998). Stromboli was one of a series of etchings made at the 2RC studio in Rome, for which Pasmore used a very direct method of working on the plate to produce large and fluid areas of colour aquatint. Aquatint is a printmaking technique that produces tonal effects by using acid to eat into the printing plate creating sunken areas which hold the ink. To produce this work, he poured a solvent onto the varnished copper plate, while controlling the run and spread of the liquid. The area thus bared for aquatinting and etching was then modified and augmented to complete the image. Pasmore is famous for pioneering the development of abstract art in Britain in the 1940s and 1950s. The work on offer at Roseberys is a wonderful example of his work. 

The complete suite of seven screen-prints in white on black wove, together with accompanying book is being offered at £1,000- £1,500 within the auction by Italian contemporary artist Maurizio Nannucci. Living and working in Lives and works in Florence and South Baden, Germany, Nannucci’s work portfolio includes photography, video, neon installations, sound installation, artist’s books, and editions. A large focus within his work has been exploring the relationships between art, language and image since the 1960s with the creation of “Dactilograms” – a more diverse dimension of meaning and a new perception of space. The work on offer at Roseberys is a prime example of Nanucci’s use of language as an artform. 

The final highlight within the auction comes from the legendary king of Pop Art, Andy Warhol. Included within the sale are three prints by the renowned American artist, with lot 208 print from ‘The American Indian series (Red)’ being the highlight of the group. By the mid-1970s, Andy Warhol was veering away from his earlier focus on mainstream celebrities and toward more eclectic subjects. The image featured on this poster is a painting created by Warhol of Native American civil rights activist Russell Means, who he produced a series on in 1976. Within the artwork Warhol presents Means with exaggerated, glamorized features; that are similar to the series from the mechanical approach of Warhol’s earlier celebrity portraits. Through a combination of mass technology and ornamental technique, Warhol transforms a commonplace image, such as the lot on offer, into a dignified and majestic portrait that pays tribute to both an individual and his people. The offset lithographic poster in colours on thin wove comes with an estimate of £1,000 – £1,500. 

Modern & Contemporary Prints & Multiples: Live online only auction Tuesday 9 March, 11am 

View the fully illustrated catalogue here 

There is no in person viewing for this auction. We offer video viewing and extra images. Please contact [email protected] for condition reports and further information. 

 

For more information about Roseberys, CLICK HERE

 

Roseberys- Private Collection of Silver & Judaica

Roseberys- Private Collection of Silver & Judaica

 Roseberys London are proud to a bring a Private Collection of Silver & Judaica to the market on Wednesday 17 March, starting at 11am. The size and quality of this collection of scrolls and Judaica make this auction a very special event. The varied and impressive collection features an illuminated Book of Ecclesiastes scroll, several highly collectable Esther scroll cases by the Bezalel School, and numerous examples from across Europe, Israel and the former Ottoman Empire. There are also some lovely examples of contemporary Judaica silver including several pieces by Mila Tanya Griebel, whose work has been exhibited widely in Britain and the US, with a number of museums buying work for their permanent collections, a number of pieces by Hazorfim, and a large silver rose bowl by Graham K Arthur. 

Peter Greenway, Director at Roseberys comments ‘We are thrilled to be selling this collection. It is one of the largest single owner collections of Judaica sold in the UK in the last few decades. It is unusual to see such a wide spectrum of Judaica in a single owner sale. The sale is split into categories including silver, scrolls, works of art, jewellery and watches, all ranging in prices. Another highlight within the sale is a collection of rare modern silver, made in the late 20th century. There is a growing market for all Judaica, so we are excited to see the results of this auction.’

Lot 2: William Tillyer, British b.1938- Untitled, 1980

The highlight of the sale is lot 311, a miniature illuminated Megillat Kohelet [Book of Ecclesiastes Scroll], early 20th century. Estimated to make £2,000- £5,000, this scroll is written in a handsome Hebrew scribal hand in tiny lettering bordered by colourfully painted polychrome birds, fruit, lions within roundels and architecture on a yellow ground. Book of Ecclesiastes scrolls are far rarer than Esther scrolls, and the beautiful illumination on this example makes it even more special. It is in good condition commensurate with age. 

Estimated to sell for £1,000 – £2,000 is a HaMelech Esther scroll, megillah, in a silver case and original olive wood box, by the Bezalel School, Jerusalem, c.1925. Both the case and box are signed in Hebrew ‘Bezalel Jerusalem’. The scroll case is beautifully chased with panels depicting scenes from the Book of Esther including Mordecai beseeching Queen Esther on behalf of their people, Esther beseeching her husband, King Ahasuerus, and Mordecai being led in triumph on a horse by Haman. This type of scroll is known as a ha-melech scroll because most of the columns, written in Hebrew, begin with the word ha-melech (the king). Pieces by the Bezalel School of Art and Design have become highly collectible. Established in 1906 by artist Boris Schatz as the “Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts”. Bezalel has evolved into one of the world’s most prestigious art schools. 

A fine example of a scroll case included within the auction is lot 312. The small jewelled Israeli HaMelech Esther scroll case, unmarked, assumed gold, c.1960 is attributed to Licica Smilovici. The case of hexagonal form with panelled sides is decorated with vertical bands of geometric scrollwork set with rubies and emeralds, the crown finial centred by a rampant lion. The scroll case has been entered into the market with an estimate of £4,000- £8,000. A very similar scroll sold within Sothebys auction titled ‘ A Treasured Legacy : The Michael and Judy Steinhardt Judaica Collection’ in 2013 made over £9,000. 

Lot 334 on offer is a silver travelling Hanukkah lamp in the form of a book, possibly Polish, made in the mid-19th century. The lamp that comes with an estimate of £800- £1,200 is engraved on the cover in large Hebrew characters ‘Shaddai’ (The Almighty), and the base is engraved with the Star of David, beside a maker’s mark LC/T in a shield-shaped punch. The interior has eight square compartments, the front four hinged and opening to form a straight line of eight, which conceals along the front a Hebrew inscription including the word Hanukkah. On the first night of Hanukkah, the first light is lit using the shamash. On each subsequent night, an additional light is ignited until on the final night, all the lights burn. This lamp would be great for anybody travelling or needing a compact, foldable lamp for the home. 

Coming with an attractive estimate of £200- £300 is a highly collectable early 20th century (1931) 9ct gold jump hour digital wristwatch. The wristwatch comes with Glasgow hallmarks, 1931, and later leather straps. This style of watch coined the term ‘digital watch’. Although the movement is mechanical, the hours, minutes and seconds are read through small apertures in the case. The time is displayed using ‘digits’ – hence the name digital. These early mechanical digital watches are the predecessors of modern digital watches. While electronic digital wristwatches first appeared in the 70s, the very first digital wristwatches actually came onto the scene in the 1920s. 

Lot 320, estimated at £2,000-4,000 is a silver filigree spice tower of architectural form, by the Bezalel school, Jerusalem, c.1920. This highly collectable piece has five domed turrets and a flag engraved ‘Jerusalem’ in Hebrew to hinged cover, the square foot applied on one side with Hebrew words reading ‘Bezalel Jerusalem’. It is also stamped with an Austrian import mark for 1901-21, and mounted on a hardstone base. Many Jewish families will use a Spice Tower (besamim) at the end of Shabbat. Strong, sweet spices such as cinnamon sticks, cloves and nutmeg are placed inside it. The sweetness of the spices symbolizes the Jews’ collective hope that sweetness will prevail beyond the actual holiday–during the coming weeks, months and years. Although the tradition of using besamim boxes dates back to the mid-1500s, few early examples have survived. The oldest ones still in existence are from the mid-1800s, according to Jay Weinstein, author of “A Collectors’ Guide to Judaica” (Thames and Hudson, out of print). Spice boxes are rarer than other ceremonial objects. As a result, the best older examples are more sought after, and their value is expected to remain strong and increase. 

Offered with an estimate of £400- £600 is a pair of late 19th century Polish silver Tefillin cases (phylacteries) Warsaw, maker’s mark Pogorzelski. These cases also have a later Russian duty mark for 1908-17, both engraved with foliate decoration and Hebrew inscriptions reading ‘for hand’ and ‘for head’ respectively to the front. They are beautifully engraved with foliate decoration and Hebrew inscriptions reading ‘for hand’ and ‘for head’ respectively to the front. They are exceptional examples of Tefillin’s, the silver boxes worn by Orthodox Jewish men on their head and arm during weekday morning prayer. The Tefillins’ also come complete with pale blue velvet linings. 

Lot 181 is a rare relic of the roaring twenties – the golden era of tobacco. The pagoda-shaped silver cigarette holder by Asprey comes with an estimate of £400- £600. This is not your average cigarette box. Chinoiserie enjoyed a revival in the 1920s-1930s and Asprey, always at the forefront of stylish, innovative design responded with creations of this sort. The lovely, unusual piece has an opening with a twist of the finial to reveal three wooden triangular compartments for cigarettes. 

Lot 316 is a fine example of a miniature Sefer Torah mounted on ivory capped wooden rollers, probably 18th century, from Germany or Poland, estimated to make £5,000- £10,000. The text is arranged according to the vavei ha‘amudim format, 42 lines to a column, the black velvet mantle embroidered in gold thread with a Star of David and thread border. The Torah (or Pentateuch) is commonly acknowledged to be the oldest section of the Hebrew Old Testament, containing the five books of Moses. The process of writing a Torah is an extremely long one – it can take up to a year. Every Torah is written entirely by hand, with each of the 304,805 letters inscribed with a quill and specially prepared ink. 

At £1,000- £2,000 is this large Austro-Hungarian menorah, mid-19th century, stamped only with 13 standard mark. The menorah is stunningly designed with finial of a lion rampant supporting a vacant shield, the central column with applied lion masks from which issue the rounded wire branches, each with chains dependant. The Lion of Judah is traditionally regarded as the symbol of the Israelite tribe of Judah. The cylindrical base of stem is applied with cut-out deer in forest setting and the large oval base is finished off with applied with grotesque mask feet. This is a lovely, impressive example of a menorah – the traditional Jewish symbol of light. 

Estimated to make £400- £600 is a 19th century Russian provincial silver Torah pointer, yad, from Vilnius, c.1860. The maker A. Magat, assay master Alexander Myanovsky, decorated the midsection with an applied lion mask and the squared handle is set with a small tear-shaped coral cabochon to spherical finial engraved with two Hebrew letters beneath a single hoop. Now in Lithuania, in 1860 Vilnius where the Torah pointer was made was part of the Russian Empire. During the second half of the 19th century, the Jewish community in Vilnius thrived and the city became known as the capital of Torah studies, or “the Jerusalem of Lithuania” among world Jewish communities. 

An interesting silver menorah formerly presented to Margaret Thatcher, stamped ‘925 sterling’ comes with an estimate of £2,000 – 3,000 (lot 416 ). The menorah complete with eight branches, comes with an auxiliary miniature oil jug and is decorated in floral patterns. An engraving to base reading ‘Presented to the Prime Minister The Rt. Hon Margaret Thatcher FRS MP, With very best wishes from the Lubavitch Foundation UK, July 1989’. The provenance of the menorah was that it is was presented to Margaret Thatcher by the Lubavitch Foundation in July 1989. A photo of Thatcher and the menorah-flanked by Rabbi Aron Dov Sufrin and several others-hung on the wall of Rabbi Aron Dov Sufrin (Director of Education of Lubavitch schools in London) until his death in 1997. Passed on to his son, the photo is now said to hang in the Chabad House office. 

A Private Collection of Silver & Judaica: Live online only auction Wednesday 17 March, 11am 

View the fully illustrated catalogue here 

Please note that Roseberys cannot guarantee that any of the scrolls offered in this auction are kosher. 

Lots 1-413 are part of a private collection being sold on behalf of a charity. 

There is no in person viewing for this auction. 

We offer video viewing and extra images. Please contact [email protected] for condition reports and further information. 

 

For more information about Roseberys, CLICK HERE

 

Golding Young- Historic Newbold Pacey Hall Auction

Golding Young- Historic Newbold Pacey Hall Auction

On Wednesday the 27th  and Thursday the 28th of January, Golding Young Auctioneers & Valuers will be presenting a 2-day auction for the contents of the historic, Newbold Pacey Hall.

 

Situated in the heart of Warwickshire, sits a mansion, surrounded by a parkland setting. It has been in the same family since it was built by William Little in 1780 – 1790. Much of the contents in the sale belonged to, or was gifted to the family throughout the decades in which they resided in the house, (which is now being sold alongside its contents).

A set of early 19thC 'Grand Tour' Parthenon Frieze plaster plaques
A rare 17thC Venetian glass campana shaped flask

 

As with any estate contents sale, the auction is packed full of curios and collectables, alongside bold pieces of furniture and large scale paintings purchased for a period property of this size and stature. Many of these wonderful treasures would have been acquired by members of the family who went out on ‘Grand Tours’ to bring them back for use as display pieces, to show off to guests visiting the house, or even for entertainment after a long dinner. These pieces are described as such in the auction catalogue and are highlighted by lot 285, a set of early 19th C ‘Grand Tour’ Parthenon Frieze plaster plaques, estimated at £500-800.

 

Richard Plant, Auctioneer and Valuation consultant, commented on the process of unveiling the contents, much of which had been hidden away in cupboards for decades:

 

“It’s always a privilege and a pleasure to go into a property of this kind to value and prepare the assets for auction; every drawer you find and cupboard you open holds new and untold treasures, which tell the story of the house and its inhabitants. The house clearly belonged to an extremely well connected family and it is now time for these unique and exceptional items to find a new home. It was an honour to spend time at Newbold Pacey and to find items that had been beautifully preserved, wrapped in newspaper and untouched since the turn of the 20th century. Some of the items we found were extremely rare and include a favourite of mine, lot 368, a 17th century  or earlier Venetian glass flask the likes of which I have never seen before in my many years of working in the profession. It’s a museum quality piece and a rare treat to find.”

 

The item is estimated to sell for £300-500.

A large 17thC carved poker work walnut coffer
A fine pair of George IV rosewood chaise longues

 

Aside from a stunning selection of glassware, the auction contains everything you would expect to find in a country house from this period, with an assortment of furniture to suite all pockets and all home sizes, as well as collectors’ pieces and antiquarian books for buyers who love the intrigue and provenance of this family home.

 

Amongst the array of furniture, is lot 38, a beautifully carved 17thC poker work walnut coffer, which may be in need of a little restoration, yet has still been well preserved. Thought to have been transported to the UK from Portugal, this piece would serve as a stunning and uniquely chic addition to any country house. The price reflects the age and rarity of the coffer, and once restored, it could be a useable household storage chest that would also look marvellous alongside lot 224, a fine pair of George IV rosewood chaise longues, estimated at £1,500-£2,500.

Jacob More (British 1740-1793). The Falls of Tivoli
Jacob More (British 1740-1793). The Roman Campagna

 

Two large scale paintings by the Scottish artist Jacob More are without doubt the most impressive pieces in the paintings section of the sale. These two are complemented by a beautiful range of smaller pictures, including a selection of good quality watercolours, portraits and sketches undertaken by members of the family.

 

Entitled ‘The Falls of Tivoli and The Roman Campagna,’ two imposing oil on canvas works depict classical Roman scenes typical of the artist, who lived and worked in Rome throughout the 18th century. These two paintings are likely to have been purchased by a family member on a ‘Grand Tour’ who would have rolled the canvases up before transporting them back to the UK to be mounted in gesso frames.  As the most expensive lots in the auction, lots 1306 and 1307 boast high estimates of £20,000-30,000 which reflect the large scale nature of the works themselves.

A rare and important collection of Royal hair lockets, together with an account of the opening of the coffin of King Charles I in 1813, the seven hinged gold (unmarked) and glass lockets each bearing a name tab and a locket of hair for: Edward IIII, George II, George III, Queen Charlotte, Ernest King of Hanover, George IIII, William IIII and The Duke of Wellington
A George III silk pin cushion from the Royal household

 

Perhaps the most intriguing items in the auction however, are those with royal provenance and connections to prominent figures of the 18th and 19th centuries such as Lord Nelson and The Duke of Wellington. It is known that a family member lived and worked at Windsor Castle, which supports the connection to how a number of such items ended up at Newbold Pacey to begin with. These include lot 1418, a rare and important collection of Royal hair lockets, together with an account of the opening of the coffin of King Charles I in 1813. The seven hinged gold and glass lockets each bear a name tab and a locket of hair for: Edward IIII, George II, George III, Queen Charlotte, Ernest King of Hanover, George IIII, William IIII and The Duke of Wellington. The lot is estimated at £1,500-2,500.

Similarly, lot 1414, an exceptional piece of historical significance, makes reference to the madness of King George III. The George III silk pin cushion from the Royal household comes complete with a hand written note stating that it was ‘at a Royal residence and thrown by George III at one of the family during a fit of madness,’ where the King shouted at this family member to “take this and get out of the room!” This fascinating piece is estimated to sell for £200-300.

Thomas Bardwell (1704-1767). Portrait of Mary Suckling, wife of Roger Howman and Aunt of Lord Nelson
An engraved permit to the funeral of the late Vice Admiral Horatio Viscount Nelson (January 1806)

 

Lots 1303 and 1353 hold particular significance for collectors of items relating to Lord Nelson. The first is a stunning portrait of Mary Suckling, the Aunt of Lord Nelson, by Thomas Bardwell, estimated at £2,500-3,500. The second is an engraved permit to the funeral of the late Vice Admiral Horatio Viscount Nelson (January 1806), admitting William Little Esq (handwritten) into the procession from the admiralty to St Paul’s Cathedral, signed by Issac Head (the Garter King at Arms), and numbered 117. Although it is not known if Lord Nelson ever visited the house, he was certainly known well enough to the Little family for them to have been invited to his funeral. The lots is estimated at £800-1,200.

Elsewhere in the sale, are a selection of British and Oriental ceramics, including pieces from China and Japan, an extensive library of  books, a good selection of silverware and a small collection of fishing and shooting-related items.

 

The catalogue for the auction is laid out by category and the auctioneer has provided a remote video viewing showcasing the contents of the house as it is laid out in the auction room to recreate the experience and excitement of a viewing as if you were there in the room!

 

For local history lovers, collectors and enthusiasts alike, this auction has a plethora of items to browse through, bid on and buy. You can view the catalogue online, at goldingyoung.com to leave bids online ahead of the sale, and place bids live in the auction, as it takes place.

 

 

AUCTION

27-28 January | 10am GMT

 

SPECIALIST

Richard Plant | Consultant Auctioneer & Valuer

[email protected] 

 

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON GOLDING YOUNG AUCTIONEERS & VALUERS CLICK HERE.

Prop Store- Obi Wan Kenobi Lightsaber Sells for $201,000

Prop Store- Obi Wan Kenobi Lightsaber Sells for $201,000

Rare & Iconic Film & TV Memorabilia Auctioned On 02 December In The UK

Over 900 Lots Sold For An Incredible £4.3M ($5.8M) At Prop Store’s Auction.

 

 Prop Store – one of the world’s leading film and TV memorabilia companies has today announced the results from the largest annual live auction of film and TV memorabilia in the UK, with items on offer fetching in excess of £4.3m ($5.8m).

 

Prop Store’s unique Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction was held over two days (Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd December 2020) at their UK headquarters in Hertfordshire.

 

Hundreds of bidders from around the world gathered at the Prop Store’s live auction, which achieved outstanding results over 20 hours of exciting and intensive bidding. Over 900 rare and iconic lots were sold during Prop Store’s Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction.

Lot 2: William Tillyer, British b.1938- Untitled, 1980

Notable sales included (sale prices are inclusive of buyer’s premium):

1. Obi-Wan Kenobi’s (Ewan McGregor) Hero Lightsaber from STAR WARS: REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005) sold for £150,000 ($201,000)

2. R. Giger-designed Special Effects Mechanical Alien Head from ALIEN (1979) sold for £62,500 ($83,750)

3. Joker’s (Jack Nicholson) Fedora from BATMAN (1989) sold for £37,500 ($50,250)

4. James Bond’s (Daniel Craig) MI6 Training Suit from JAMES BOND: SKYFALL (2012) sold for £18,750 ($25,125)

5. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell’s (Tom Cruise) Bomber Jacket from TOP GUN (1986) sold for £50,000 ($67,000)

6. Jareth’s (David Bowie) Crystal Ball, Autographed Photos, Tickets and Card from LABYRINTH (1986) sold for £20,000 ($26,800)

7. Buck Russell’s (John Candy) Bowling Ball from UNCLE BUCK (1989) sold for £28,125 ($37,688)

8. Light-Up Remote-control R2-S8 Droid from STAR WARS: SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY (2018) sold for £150,000 ($201,000)

9. Neo’s (Keanu Reeves) Complete Costume from THE MATRIX RELOADED (2003) sold for £62,500 ($83,750)

10. Vivian Ward’s (Julia Roberts) Boots from PRETTY WOMAN (1990) sold for £31,250 ($41,875)

11. Tyler Durden’s (Brad Pitt) Photo-Matched Red Leather Jacket from FIGHT CLUB (1999) sold for £40,625 ($54,437)

12. Captain Jack Sparrow’s (Johnny Depp) Pirate Hat from PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES (2011) sold for £20,000 ($26,800)

13. Captain Miller’s (Tom Hanks) Cast-autographed Hero Helmet from SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998) sold for £20,000 ($26,800)

14. Marty McFly’s (Michael J. Fox) 2015 Jacket from BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II (1989) sold for £23,750 ($31,825)

15. Maximus’ (Russell Crowe) Stunt Arena Shield from GLADIATOR (2000) sold for £8,750 ($11,725)

16. David Dunn’s (Bruce Willis) FSU Security Costume from UNBREAKABLE (2000) sold for £11,875 ($15,913)

17. Joker’s (Heath Ledger) Neck Tie from THE DARK KNIGHT (2008) sold for £16,250 ($21,775)

18. Katniss Everdeen’s (Jennifer Lawrence) Combat Costume and Disguise Cloak from THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 2 (2015) sold for £6,250 ($8,375)

19. Peter Banning’s (Robin Williams) Pan Costume from HOOK (1991) sold for £15,000 ($20,100)

20. Hero Dagger of Megiddo from THE OMEN (1976) sold for £68,750 ($92,125)

21. Eva Perón’s (Madonna) Hat from EVITA (1996) sold for £2,500 ($3,350)

22. Ramirez’s (Sean Connery) Katana from HIGHLANDER (1986) sold for £50,000 ($67,000)

 

Some of the least expensive lots in the auction included a set of Christopher Lee On-set Photographs from James Bond classic,  THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (1974) which sold for £500 ($670), and a Combined Continuity Script from ROCKY (1976) sold for £563 ($754).

 

Stephen Lane, Prop Store CEO commented on the auction: “After what has been an uncertain and unpredictable year, we are absolutely thrilled with the results of our seventh annual London Live Auction. It is clear that the love for the classic films has not diminished and we saw some spectacular results across both days. We are looking forward to seeing what our next event in Los Angeles next Spring will bring.”

 

 

For further information, catalogue images, case studies and interviews please contact:

Felicity Beardshaw at Prop Store at [email protected] or 07901 848 262

 

For more information about Prop Store, CLICK HERE

 

Roseberys- Impressionist, Modern, Post War & Contemporary Art

Roseberys- Impressionist, Modern, Post War & Contemporary Art

 Roseberys are proud to present the Impressionist, Modern, Post War & Contemporary Art auction, which will be the final specialist sale of the year for Roseberys, on Wednesday 9 December, starting at 1pm. 

Tess O’Brien, Head of the department comments ‘Within the highly anticipated sale we have a lot of very interesting contemporary pieces from all around the world, from South Korea including work by Michael Joo to America including work from Brian Calvin. There are also some rare treasurers in the Post War section, including the Paul Jenkins and Claude Venard pieces. I am also pleased, being Australian, to once again have a lovely collection of Australian works of art with interesting provenance. The sale is small comprising of 170 lots in total, however it is full with good quality works of art by important artists. 

Lot 2: William Tillyer, British b.1938- Untitled, 1980

Estimated to make £18,000- £22,000 is Lot 23 by American abstract expressionist painter Paul Jenkins, 1923-2012. Titled Cape of Good Hope created in 1958, the oil on canvas comes with an impressive provenance. This painting is a typical example of Jenkins’s style, achieved through his eschewing of the paintbrush, which left the paint to seep, pool and drip across the canvas. Jenkins’s work, inspired by artists such as Jackson Pollock and his close friend Mark Rothko, can be firmly located in the abstract impressionist movement which shaped subsequent American art. Jenkins’s work is on display in locations throughout the USA and across the world, including in the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Tate in London, and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. Lot 22 in the sale is also an oil on canvas by Jenkins, titled Eye of the Doie, Paris, created a year later in1959. This lot has been estimated to make a lower price of £4,000- £6,000. 

Following shortly after is the other leading highlight in the sale, an oil on canvas (Lot 24) by Irish / British artist Hughie O’Donoghue, b.1953. Titled The Owl Run, created in 2013, it has been entered into the auction at £25,000- £30,000. This work is part of a major series by the British artist Hughie O’Donoghue, ‘Owl Run’, which was exhibited at Marlborough Fine Arts in 2013 where the vendor bought it from. The exhibition and the works within were curated around the concept of place, time, and memory. The interconnectedness of the three has been a central theme of the artist throughout his career. In this series, O’Donoghue uses the painted image to explore the individual’s connection with the past, and the places associated with it. He does this through his depictions of ‘Owl Run’, the place in Ireland where his mother grew up and which O’Donoghue himself visited regularly as a child. It is through the application of broad swathes of bold pigments that O’Donoghue seeks to convey the indelible impressions which familiar places make on an individual, particularly in childhood, and the powerful emotions which these remembered places continue to evoke throughout our lives. 

Lot 12, an oil on canvas by French post-Cubist and still life painter Claude Venard,1913 – 1999 titled Nature Morte au Sacré Coeur, executed in 1991, has been estimated at £18,000- £22,000 at auction. The artwork comes with provenance from The Estate of Madame Venard; Galerie Michel Perrier, Avignon; Alon Zakaim, London, where purchased by the present owner. Venard’s thick impasto, which was achieved through the application of paint directly with a palette knife, is a typical feature of his paintings, and can be seen clearly in this piece. The substantial influence of Cubism on Venard’s work is evident from his bold, abstract depiction of space, a flattening of objects, and a focus on the representation of contrasting and interconnected shapes. In this context, this piece is a classic example of Venard’s style, including its still-life subject matter. Examples of Venard’s work are held around the world in places such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Musee d’Art Moderne in Paris, the Tate in London, and the Tokyo Museum. 

Lot 35 by American artist Brian Calvin, b.1969 is estimated to make £15,000- £20,000. Titled Thing (II), created using acrylic on canvas in 2007; this work came from the Casey Kaplan Gallery, New York, where purchased by the present owner while it was being exhibited in the ‘Good Morning, Midnight’ show 22 June 2007 to 31 July 2007. Since the 1990s, Brian Calvin has developed a body of highly stylised large, colourful, flattened paintings, rendering his figures in light-soaked portraits that retain a lifelike quality. He is well known for his paintings which depict youthful figures, based on the people he observes in his home state of California. These paintings are therefore imbued with a strong sense of Calvin’s own identity, and his strong connection with the Californian landscape and people. Calvin utilises an extreme contrast of bright colours and close-up representation of features to create an element of abstraction in his work. This also creates a sense of flatness and temporal dislocation which makes these paintings particularly impactful, and has seen Calvin likened to artists such as David Hockney and Alex Katz. This painting is a typical example of Calvin’s bold, larger-than-life depiction of a female face, her uncertain gaze engaging us in a consideration of that which we can never know: her thoughts and feelings. 

 

Lots 37 and 38 are by the Korean-American contemporary artist Michael Joo, b.1966. Lot 37 titled Divided/Echoed, is created using four shields, aluminized low-iron glass and estimated to make £5,000- £8,000. Lot 38 is titled Bodata, uses aluminized low-iron glass as the canvas also but with enamel paint applied to the surface. This artwork comes with a lower estimate of £2,000 – £4,000. Both artworks were created in the year of 2012. Joo’s multidisciplinary approach is reflected in the unusual medium of these two artworks, which takes the form of riot shields constructed from glass. Like much of Joo’s output, these works on offer engages with contemporary, social and political concerns. In this instance, Joo’s provocative artworks are dealing with the issue of the strained and fragile relationship between the police and the civilian population in modern states. In considering the relationship between the authorities and the individual, these artworks express themes of identity within a wider cultural context which recur throughout the artist’s work. His works are held globally in institutes such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, and the Samsung Centre for Art and Culture in Seoul. 

Carrying an estimate of £4,000 – £6,000 is lot 17 by Dutch artist Karel Appel, 1921-2006. Titled Single Figure, 11; the mixed media on paper, laid down on canvas, comes with a respectable provenance, hailing from The Redfern Gallery, in London. This piece is a typical work by the Dutch-born artist Karel Appel (1921-2006), distinguished, among other things, by its bright primary colours, used alongside thick lines of black paint. This work resembles much of Appel’s output through its depiction of abstract figurative forms through bold brushstrokes, which imbues the artwork with an arresting sense of energy and dynamism. This work demonstrates the freedom of expression which is a constant feature of Appel’s practice, and which has seen the artist associated with the abstract expressionist group of contemporary New York. Mixed-media artworks, like this piece, form some of Appel’s most recognisable images, and have been the subject of a number of exhibitions. They can be seen in an exhibition of Appel’s works on paper at the Galerie Charles Lienhard in Zurich in 1962, and the Redfern Gallery where this painting came from. 

Lot 31 by contemporary American artist Elliott Hundley b.1975, titled Exit Dionysus is estimated to make £5,000- £8,000, which is an attractive price for this piece. This work on offer comes from a private collection in London and was created in 2010 using a range of mediums including soundboard, ink jet on kitikata, paper, photographs, pins, wire and found paintings, lending the work on offer an element of collage. The use of mix media, collage style painting is synonymous with Hundley’s artistic output. The detailed construction within his works such as lot 31 on offer, show that his artworks continue to grow and change throughout their existence. Hundley’s incongruous combination of materials and images adds an extra element of unreality to the dreamlike fantasy of their subject matter. His work is in collections around the USA, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, and his works have been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Andrea Rosen Gallery in New York and at the UCLA Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, among others. 

Lot 30 and 32 in the sale are both by American painter Julie Hefferman, whose work has been described by the writer Rebecca Solnit as “a new kind of history painting” and by The New Yorker as “ironic rococo surrealism with a social-satirical twist. Her pieces of artwork, like the works on offer at Roseberys have a fantasy like feeling but has a metephorical meaning behind them talking about issues that are happening around the world during her time she is creating the piece of artwork. Lot 30 an oil on canvas on offer is titled Study for Self Portrait as Fabulous Droppings V, 2008; with an estimate of £3,000 – £5,000. Lot 32 is also an oil on canvas, titled Study for Self-Portrait in Need of Perpetual Help and comes with a higher estimate of £4,000 – £6,000. Both artworks were painted in 2008 and were purchased by the current owner from the Pilkington Olsoff Fine Arts, in New York. 

 

There are two pieces in the sale (lot 20 and 21) by Aubrey Williams, a twentieth-century British-Guyanan artist who was a major force in the post-war avant-garde movement in 1950s London. The highlight out of the two being lot 20, an oil on canvas titled Tacuma, painted in 1964 carrying an estimate of £3,000- £5,000. Along with his own paintings there are also a few works within the auction that are originally from his estate (lots 73- 76). This collection of work by Williams’s contemporaries is a fantastic example of the connections and interactions between artists at the forefront of a new movement. The paintings by Hill and Spiess, in particular, demonstrate a mid-twentieth-century approach to art which pushed the limits of abstraction, whilst each piece serves as an exploration of the power and properties of the artist’s materials. These pictures are of great significance, with the work of these artists undoubtedly shaping the approach of Williams himself in turn. 

Elsewhere within the sale we have an exciting collection of Australian artworks. These works all date from Post War Britain when the Australian artists emigrated to London. Included amongst the collection are works from the estate of Sidney Nolan, 1917-1992, lots 41-44. Lot 41 is the highlight, James Bentley, from the Eureka Stockade series, an ink and ripolin on glass created in 1949 which has been estimated to fetch £7,000 – £9,000. James Bentley, the subject of Nolans painting was an convicted forger, and was accused of murder, when the Eureka Hotel he built burnt down and killed a Scottish miner. Nolan often depicted key figures from Australian history, such as the work on offer. This artwork is an example of one of the many artworks which Nolan painted on glass, as part of his Eureka Stockade series, the most significant of these works being the Eureka Stockade mural which was commissioned by the Reserve Bank of Australia in 1962. This series further illustrates Nolan’s preoccupation with Australian history, referring as it does to the Eureka Rebellion of 1854, which many regard as a crucial point in the establishment of democracy in Australia. 

Also on offer by an Australian artist are two pieces by Arthur Boyd (lots 4445 ) from the art historian and publisher Tom Rosenthal, thence by descent. Tom Rosenthal was one of the first critics to shed light on the Australian artists in London at the time. Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd AC OBE was a leading Australian painter of the middle to late 20th century. Boyd’s work ranges from impressionist renderings of Australian landscape to starkly expressionist figuration reflected in the works on offer. Furthermore, there is also a collection of David and Hermia Boyd pottery – lots 4748. The Boyd name is synonymous with Australian art. The pottery of David and Hermia Boyd have made a major contribution to the world of ceramics. David and Hermia Boyd’s works are often quirky and unusual and they were influenced by French provincial pottery and medieval imagery. 

A private collection of Russian pieces within the sale include rare works on paper and small paintings from Sergej Aleksandrovic Luciskin, ranging in estimates starting at £200 up to £600. 

Other outstanding works of art by Russian artists on offer within the sale also include an pencil and oil on canvas board, lot 2 by Leon Gaspard, 1882-1964, titled Village church in early spring, estimated to make £8,000- £12,000. Gaspard was known for his paintings of indigenous cultures and folk traditions. He tended to paint scenes with throngs of people, and his favourite locations were in small towns, demonstrated beautifully in the work on offer. He spent his youth in Russia and later studied in Paris, where he became a well-respected painter. 

Ending the highlights on offer in the sale is an abstract watercolour by Natalie Gontcharova, 1881-1962, estimated at £4,000- £6,000. The abstract composition, created circa 1950 comes with an impressive history of provenance. This work is part of a series which deals with the concept of space and the cosmos, and was influenced by the launch of Sputnik and the development of the Space Race between the USSR and the USA in the 1950s. Gontcharova was interested not only in the mechanics of space exploration, but also in the consideration of the separation between the material and the spiritual which the idea of space was encouraged.

Impressionist, Modern, Post War & Contemporary Art: Live online only auction Wednesday 9 December 1.00 pm 

 

Roseberys is pleased to facilitate condition reports, extra images and video viewing. Please contact Tess Obrien at [email protected]  

 

For more information about Roseberys, CLICK HERE

 

Freeman’s- Rare Tiffany Windows Soars Above $705,000

Freeman’s- Rare Tiffany Windows Soars Above $705,000

Freeman’s is delighted to announce the results of the single-owner sale of Angels Representing Seven Churches: A Rediscovered Set of Windows by Tiffany Studios. The single-lot sale achieved an impressive $705,000: effortlessly doubling its pre-sale high estimate.

 

After competitive online and phone bidding the windows were sold to a philanthropic Philadelphian who plans to place them with a museum. Said Head of Sale, Tim Andreadis:We were elated to see this rare surviving set of windows achieve a world-class price, befitting both their artistic splendor and religious significance. The success of this niche sale is testament to Freeman’s ability to market one-off, unusual and high quality objects and collections.

Freeman's Auction Bronzes of Beethoven Ludwig Van Antoine Bourdelle

 

 

SPECIALIST

Tim Andreadis | Head of Sale

[email protected]

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON FREEMAN’S CLICK HERE.

Freeman’s- Bronzes of Beethoven by Antoine Bourdelle

Freeman’s- Bronzes of Beethoven by Antoine Bourdelle

On October 21st, Freeman’s will celebrate Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday by offering a collection of 12 portrait bronzes of the composer by French sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, one of the most talented pupils of Auguste Rodin. This one-of-a-kind collection traces his evolution as an artist.

 

“What better way to celebrate Beethoven’s legacy than through the sculptures of Antoine Bourdelle,” says Freeman’s chairman Alasdair Nichol, “one of the artists who was the most influenced by the music, and overall persona, of the composer.”

Freeman's Auction Bronzes of Beethoven Ludwig Van Antoine Bourdelle

 

SINGLE-OWNER COLLECTION MAKES ITS DEBUT

Freeman’s is honored to present these bronzes, which have never been on the market before. Collector Robert A. Becker began acquiring them in the early 1970s when he met the artist’s daughter, Rhodia Dufet-Bourdelle, in Paris. She sold Becker and his wife one or two bronzes every year after.

 

This culminated in the impressive collection Freeman’s is now proud to offer at auction for the first time. Among the sale’s highlights is Beethoven à Deux Mains (Lot 9, $80,000-120,000). The piece portrays Beethoven as the image of a true tormented genius. Seven other bronze casts of this work were made, as well as one granite version, which is in the collection of the Musée Bourdelle in Paris.

Freeman's Auction Bronzes of Beethoven Ludwig Van Antoine Bourdelle
Freeman's Auction Bronzes of Beethoven Ludwig Van Antoine Bourdelle

 

BUILDING THE MYTHOS OF BEETHOVEN

Beethoven dit Métropolitain (Lot 7, $20,000-30,000) is another featured bronze. Standing an impressive forty inches high, the sculpture is one of Bourdelle’s most accomplished portraits of Beethoven. This was also the first one ever purchased by the French government (it is now in the Musée D’Orsay).

 

Meanwhile, both Beethoven, La Joue Appuyée sur une Main (Lot 1, $20,000-30,000) and Beethoven aux Grands Cheveux (Lot 5, $20,000-30,000) emphasize Beethoven’s infamously wild hair. They also remind viewers how influential Bourdelle was in constructing the mythos of Beethoven.

 

INSPIRED BY BEETHOVEN’S ORIGINAL LIFE MASK

Several works inspired by Beethoven’s original life mask are featured in the sale  (see Lot 2, $6,000-10,000; Lot 3, $4,000-6,000; Lot 4, $10,000-15,000). Also of note is La Pathétique (Lot 12, $5,000-8,000). Made in 1929, the year of Bourdelle’s death, it is the very last bronze the artist produced of Beethoven.

 

 

AUCTION

October 21 | 10am EDT

 

SPECIALIST

Raphaël Chatroux | Head of Sale

[email protected] | 267.414.1253

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON FREEMAN’S CLICK HERE.

Freeman’s- Jackson Pollock Painting Once Thought To Be Lost

Freeman’s- Jackson Pollock Painting Once Thought To Be Lost

On October 5th, 2020, Freeman’s will hold its single-owner auction of the Collection of Dr. Henry & Mrs. Fannie Levine. This special sale honors the legacy of these prominent Philadelphia collectors. It is also a rare opportunity for discerning buyers seeking blue-chip material offered for the first time in decades.

 

Considered lost for many years, Jackson Pollock’s Pennsylvania Landscape returns to the art market with this event. Collectors will also find a diverse offering of work by Karel Appel and Paul Jenkins, as well as a 1949 still life by Bernard Buffet.

 

A LIFETIME OF CURIOSITY FUELS A COLLECTION

Curiosity and love of learning connected all of the Levines’ endeavors, from their careers in medicine to their passion for travel, music, and art collecting. They frequented museums and galleries, both in Philadelphia and around the world. They brought home carefully-wrapped treasures in their suitcases whenever they returned from holiday. Over the years, this grew into a collection that is both deeply personal and historically significant.

Henry Levine’s voracious appetite for art and its makers led him to collect certain artists in great depth, tracing their development over time. He was particularly interested in how artists explored different techniques and materials and the auction includes work across a variety of media by artists such as Asger Jorn, Karel Appel, and Paul Jenkins, alongside excellent examples by Bernard Buffet, Raoul Dufy, Jackson Pollock and Jean Dubuffet.

PREVIOUS SINGLE-OWNER EVENT SHATTERS ESTIMATES

The Robert J. Morrison Collection auction, another recent single-owner event from Freeman’s, finished with a near-perfect 99% sell-through rate. The final sale total was $1,485,837, outperforming the pre-sale high estimate by over $400,000.

Meanwhile, Freeman’s most recent auction of Modern & Contemporary Art achieved over $1 million, just shy of its pre-sale high estimate. It also attained an impressive 95% sell-through rate. This is the latest in a long string of successes for the department, which has maintained an average sell-through rate of 92% in the last year.

 

JACKSON POLLOCK PAINTING ONCE THOUGHT LOST RETURNS WITH FREEMAN’S

The undoubted highlight of the sale is a 1936 painting by Jackson Pollock, depicting the rolling hills and charming farmhouse of a familiar Pennsylvania country scene. Pollock’s Pennsylvania Landscape is an exciting discovery, both for the art market and the academic community. Freeman’s is delighted to bring this treasure back to the market for the first time in nearly fifty years.

Helen Harrison, Director of the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, recently described it as a “gem,” painted while the artist was employed by the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project. According to Harrison, Pollock kept Pennsylvania Landscape for himself and brought it to Kansas City to show his influential teacher, Thomas Hart Benton.

Beyond the superlative Pollock painting, The Levine Collection has a significant number of works by two artists: Dutch CoBrA artist Karel Appel and American mid-century abstract artist Paul Jenkins.

Karel Appel was a leading figure and founding member of the mid-century CoBrA art movement. In “Big Boy Blue” (estimate: $50,000 – 80,000), a single, central figure is scrawled in lines over stark background planes of yellow, white, and black. Another canvas from 1967, “Untitled (Two Heads)” (estimate: $40,000 – 60,000), depicts two visages composed of myriad strokes of pure reds, blues, oranges, and greens.

Paul Jenkins’ paintings in this collection show the depth and diversity of the American artist’s work. This includes numerous pieces from the artist’s best-known, mature style of works. These “Phenomena” pieces represent the artist’s interest in color field painting. “Phenomena Saracen Shadows” (estimate: $12,000-$18,000) is among the captivating examples.

Though Jenkins is best known for this “Phenomena” style, the Levines also valued his earlier work, which portrayed a somewhat psychedelic abstraction rendered in heavily-applied pigments. “Medusa” ($12,000-$18,000) shows the distinct contrast between these two styles.

CONSIGNMENTS WELCOME

This year’s Modern & Contemporary Art auction, to be held on November 17th, is still open for consignment. If you have a piece that would make an exemplary addition to the event, please contact Dunham E. Townend at [email protected] with more information about your property.

AUCTION

October 5 | 12pm EDT

 

SPECIALIST

Dunham Townend | Head of Sale

[email protected] | +1 267 414 1221

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON FREEMAN’S CLICK HERE.

Roseberys- Stunning Family Portraits lead Old Master Sale

Roseberys- Stunning Family Portraits lead Old Master Sale

 A grand selection of stunning family portraits are primed to whip up some excitement in the sale of Old Master, 18th & 19th Century Pictures at Roseberys London. The collection of astounding portraits that have spent their history being handed down a family tree will be presented to the market for the first time on Wednesday 23 September. The portraits in question are from lots 1 – 12 and are from the same UK private collection. The overall sale compromises of 315 lots in total, ranging in prices, styles, genres and mediums, spanning decades by various old masters from around the globe. 

Marcus Grey, Head of the Pictures Department comments on the upcoming auction ‘With our expanding interest and specialisation in 16th and 17th Century European Portraiture we are very pleased to be offering a collection of 13 portraits from a private collection, all being newly presented to the market, having been passed down from generation to generation since their conception. Following on from our successful sale of 17th – 19th century paintings in our last auction in June we have seen an influx of high-quality portraiture over the last few months which will be presented on the 23rd September. The strong presence of portraiture in this auction also coincides with the sale of the private collection of John Abbott, the nephew of Roger Abbott, who with Eric Holder founded the partnership of Abbott & Holder, now Abbott & Holder Ltd., the well-known London gallery. The works being sold in this collection give every buyer the opportunity to invest in works on paper by renowned 18th and 19th century artists, all with excellent provenance. We are also very excited to be offering a newly discovered landscape by Alexander Nasmyth, previously unidentified, but now confirmed by Lady Poppy Cooksey.’ 

 

Lot 2: William Tillyer, British b.1938- Untitled, 1980

Leading the portraits in the auction coming from the private collection is lot 4 estimated to make £8,000-12,000. Lot 4 includes two oils, one on canvas and one on oak panel, by Dutch artist Jacob Frans van der Merck, c.1610-1664. The sitters of the portraits Ludwig Ziegler (1608-1681) and Elizabetha Margaretha Spina (1626-1702) are believed to have been married, with three sons and four daughters. Born in ‘S-Gravendeel around 1610, the artist Jacob Frans van der Merck was apprenticed in Delft, and subsequently worked in The Hague and Leiden, producing works spread across multiple genres, including portraiture, still life and genre scenes, all completed in the distinctive Dutch manner of the period. The present paintings, although similar in composition and technique, were likely to have been produced at different times during the artist’s career due to one being completed on panel and the other on canvas. According to records van der Merck was a member of the painters’ guild in Dordrecht from 1640 to 1649, so around the time these portraits were painted. These engaging portraits display his highly accomplished and realistic technique much sought after during the period. 

 

Richard Smith CBE, British 1931-2016- Bucklee, 1972

Coming from the same private collection of portraits is Lot 2 . The German School oil on canvas late 16th century portrait of Christoff zum Lamm is estimated to sell for £2000-4000. The zum Lamm family are known to have been a noble family living in Speyer, Germany, during the 15th and 16th centuries. Records state that Christoff zum Lamm born c. 1560 worked for the Reichskammergericht in Speyer (the Imperial Chamber Court); the highest court of the German Empire of the period. Katharina’s grandfather, Markus, and great uncle Dr. Heironymus zum Lamm (depicted in the other German School portrait lot 1 included in this sale) had also worked for the Reichskammergericht in Speyer with their professions being lawyers and counsellors to the court. 

 

Charles Henry Sims RA RWS, British 1873-1928- Pastorale

Estimated to make £3,000-4,000 is lot 133 the ‘Rear view of John Wilson’s new house, Elleray’, oil on canvas by Scottish artist Alexander Nasmyth, RBA. As well as being an artist, Alexander Nasmyth was frequently asked to view his patron’s landscapes, and ask for help to improve them, or to build a new property or extend an existing one. 

Sir Stanley Spencer CBE RA, British 1891-1959- Portrait of a girl

 

 

Another artwork coming from a Scottish artist and peer of Alexander Nasmyth is lot 134 by George Watson PPRSA,1767-1837. Portrait of Janet (Jessie) Ruskin, c. 1805 pictured above is thought to depict the leading English art critic John Ruskin’s aunt, Janet Ruskin (1783-1828). The present portrait is likely to have been executed around a similar time to Watson’s portrait of John James Ruskin; the brother to the sitter and father to John Ruskin, held by The Brantwood Trust, Coniston. Watson was initially based in Edinburgh where he was introduced to fellow Scottish artist Alexander Nasmyth, however at 18 years old he decided to relocate to London where he was received as a pupil of Sir Joshua Reynolds. After two informative years in Reynold’s studio he returned to Edinburgh and established himself as a portrait painter by the end of the 1780s. Watson eventually went on to be one of the founding members of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1826 and its’ first president. The exquisite oil on canvas is estimated to make £4000-6000 at auction. 

 

The pair of oils on canvas (lot 144) depicting wooded landscape with figures, cattle, cottages and distant hills attributed to Flemish artist Jan Baptiste de Jonghe, 1785-1844 are estimated to make between £3,000-5,000. Jan Baptiste de Jonghe was a painter, draughtsman, etcher and lithographer, but was predominantly known for his Romantic landscapes and city views. Following similar formats to Dutch 17th Century landscape painting, de Jonghe’s early compositions were mostly taken up by sky, and were comparable to the works by Jan van Goyen (1596-1656). It is possible that de Jonghe would have completed the landscapes of these two paintings before entrusting Eugène Joseph Verboeckhoven (Flemish 1798-1881) to paint the staffage, a common practice he employed in his artistic career. Verboeckhoven was an accomplished painter of animals and appears to have been one of the last artists of a tradition that begun in the 17th century which linked observation of nature, studied composition, and idealised reproduction of reality. 

 

Therese Oulton, British b.1953- Heresies No.1, Opus316

 

Among the other highlights on sale is this portrait of a women’s head by British artist Henry Holiday, 1839-1927. The soft pencil on paper is estimated to sell for £2000-3000. The present work is part of a much larger private collection owned by John Abbott, which is being offered in the sale. The majority of these works from John Abbott’s collection are on paper and are by largely prominent British artists of the 18th and 19th centuries. This elegantly drawn portrait is one of the highlights of this collection, presenting the opportunity to own a drawing linked to the renowned Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Through his friendship with Albert Moore and Simeon Solomon, Holiday was introduced to the artists Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris. These artists were to be pivotal in his future artistic career, and after spending considerable amounts of time in the studios of Burne-Jones the influence of his work can be seen in Holiday’s drawing and paintings. 

 

The oil on panel pictured above ( lot 143 ) depicting the outskirts of a Dutch town, is by Dutch artist Fredericus Theodorus Renard, c.1800. Fredericus Theodorus Renard was a topographical artist from Amsterdam who painted in the style of Hendrik Keun (1738-1787), Jacob Cats (1741-1799) and Isaac Ouwater (1750-1793). These Dutch landscape painters from the late 18th century painted mainly after prints by Jan de Beyer (1703-c. 1785), Pieter van Liender (1727-1779) and Hermanus Pieter Schouten (1747-1822). This particular work is possibly an early work by the artist displaying a closely cropped scene of a town in a woodland. The artist’s work ranges from romanticised rural landscape to topographical compositions, often set in Amsterdam or its environs. The detailed depiction of the houses in this work indicate the portrayal of a specific location. It is entered into the market at £3000-5000. 

 

 

 

Lot 226, Study of men, by Hungarian artist Mihály Munkácsy, 1844-1909, in pencil is estimated to sell for £800-1200. Munkácsy today is considered to be the main contributor towards the rise of Hungarian art, and a significant member of the development of 19th century European art. He earned international reputation with his genre pictures and large-scale biblical paintings. In 1865, Munkácsy studied at the Academy of Vienna under Karl Rahl, before studying at the Munich Academy in 1866. In 1868 he moved to the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf to study with the popular genre painter Ludwig Knaus. This sketch is typical of the artist’s style. 

 

The Old Master, 18th & 19th Century Pictures Auction will take place on the 23rd of September starting at 11.00 AM BST. To see more about the auction or to register please click here.

 

For further information please contact Peigi Mackillop [email protected] +44 (0) 20 8761 2522 

 

For more information about Roseberys, CLICK HERE

 

Freeman’s- Auction To Feature Leaf From Gutenberg Bible

Freeman’s- Auction To Feature Leaf From Gutenberg Bible

Freeman’s is pleased to announce its inaugural Ritual and Culture auction, to take place in Philadelphia on Wednesday, September 23 at 10:00 AM EDT. Celebrating the richness and diversity of global cultures, this sale includes objects and works of art from Africa, Asia, medieval Europe, and the Americas, with some pieces dating back to antiquity.

 

Works were hand-selected across categories by Freeman’s specialists. Together, they explore the human desire to understand the universe through religious expression and artistic creation. This eclectic event encourages both lifelong and emerging collectors to adopt a more fluid and personal approach to how they add new pieces.

 

With an emphasis on traditions and ceremonies, Freeman’s will present objects, artifacts, texts, and codices relating to deities, hagiography, storytelling, bodily practices, cultural transmission, and our relationship to animals and nature.

 

GOTHIC SCULPTURES, A LEAF FROM THE FIRST BOOK PUBLISHED IN THE WEST, AND A NATIVE AMERICAN WAR RECORD

French and Burgundian Gothic sculptures from a private New York City collection are among the event’s highlights. These pieces were privately evaluated in 2011 by the late Théo-Antoine Hermanès, the noted Swiss medievalist and conservator.

Coming from that collection is a large, 15th century Burgundian carved limestone portal or funerary figure, which likely represents Saint Catherine of Alexandria (Lot 7, $10,000-15,000). This piece was once believed to depict the “Pregnant Virgin,” likely due to the low-slung, protruding belly.

Also notable from the collection is a life-size limestone bust of a kneeling man, possibly Nicodemus or Joseph of Arimathea from the late 15th/early 16th century (Lot 10, $8,000-12,000). It is carved from the iron-veined limestone of the Strasbourg region and crafted in the manner of the master of Strasbourg Cathedral, Hans Hammer.

From the same collector also comes a life-size Egyptian Late Period bronze figure of a seated cat, circa 664-332 B.C.E. (Lot 3, $30,000-50,000). In Ancient Egypt, cats were associated with the goddess of pregnancy and childbirth, Bastet. This piece has not been to market since it was acquired at Sotheby’s New York nearly 40 years ago.

 

 

Fifteen incunabula, or books printed before 1500, will also be featured. This is headed by a leaf from the first printed book in the West, the Gutenberg Bible, circa 1450-55 (Lot 26, $40,000-60,000). This leaf was part of a defective copy from the Munich Royal Library’s collection. In 1832, English diplomat Robert Curzon purchased it, and bookseller Gabriel Wells broke it up to sell as individual leaves in 1920.

Also included in this auction will be a Great Plains pictographic War Record from the Lakota or Kiowa from circa 1880 (Lot 46, $30,000-50,000). This artifact was purportedly collected by First Lieutenant Harry Gibbons Cavenaugh (1843-1919) of the 13th Regiment U.S. Infantry at Fort Robinson, Nebraska in the 1880’s.

 

 

AFRICAN MASKS AND ARTIFACTS FROM THE COLLECTION OF THOMAS MCNEMAR
Freeman’s is especially pleased to offer as part of this sale The Collection of Thomas McNemar, which features nearly fifty lots of African masks and artifacts of ritual significance, as well as a larger group of highly decorative works.

Thomas McNemar was a prominent collector and gallerist, specializing in the arts of West and Central Africa. After building his own collection, he established the McNemar Gallery on East 50th Street in New York, and, later, another in San Francisco. He also acted as a consultant for major sales, including the seminal Helena Rubinstein sale at Sotheby’s Parke-Bernet in 1966.

Highlights from the McNemar Collection include a carved wood and kaolin Mbole Yela mask from the Democratic Republic of Congo (Lot 138, $3,000-5,000) and a large collection of carved wood Guro, Jimini, Senufo, and Baule heddle pulleys from Côte d’Ivoire (Lot 109, $3,000-5,000).

 

FINDING A NEW COMMON GROUND: FREEMAN’S THEMED AUCTIONS
The Ritual and Culture sale is the latest in Freeman’s new themed auctions. These invite collectors to consider how an idea, concept, or passion manifests itself across different art categories. Other upcoming themed auctions include  Age of Exploration: Travel & Discovery on October 14th and ELEMENTS: Earth & Fire on October 21st.

CONSIGNMENTS WELCOME

This year’s Pennsylvania Sale is still open for consignment. If you have a piece that would make an exemplary addition to the event, please contact Tim Andreadis at [email protected] with more information about your property.

 

AUCTION

September 23 | 10 am EDT

HEAD OF SALE

Tessa Laney,

[email protected]

 

 

PRESS INQUIRIES

Madeline Hill | [email protected]

 

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON FREEMAN’S CLICK HERE.

H&H Classics- Iggy Pop’s Rare Chiaro Blue Ferrari

H&H Classics- Iggy Pop’s Rare Chiaro Blue Ferrari

Iggy Pop's Ferrar H & H Classics Auction

The next H&H Classics Live Auction Online on September 16th includes a rare Chiaro Blue 1984 Ferrari 308 GTS QV, the history file for which suggests that it was owned between 1998 and 2002 by Iggy Pop – the famous American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and actor. Estimated at £20,000 to £30,000, the two-seater is believed but not warranted to have covered some 61,800 miles from new.

James Newell Osterberg Jr, better known as Iggy Pop, was designated the “Godfather of Punk”. He was the vocalist and lyricist of influential proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1967 and have disbanded and reunited multiple times since.

 

As an aside, Tim Stanford learnt his craft from Richard Cressman who was not only a founder member of Ferrari’s North American Racing Team (NART) but also responsible for opening Florida’s first Ferrari dealership, Cressman Foreign Cars Inc.

Fitted with a reconditioned steering rack at an indicated 44,217 miles during August 2003, the two-seater was treated to a new air-conditioning blower and cambelts the following year. The interior was refreshed by Peppy’s Auto Trim & Upholstery Inc of Naples, Florida at a cost of $4,770 in January 2010 and the cambelts reportedly changed again the next year at c.50,000 recorded miles. Mr Linardakis sold the Ferrari to Georgia-based lawyer Norman ‘Chip’ Gerry who had it maintained by Sports Car Service of Snellville.

Rare Chiaro Blue Ferrari 308 Gts QV

New oil hoses costing $1,052.84 were installed in November 2011, while work undertaken during 2012 encompassed: new water pump and cambelt tensioner bearings; a new hose between the fuel tanks, new Koni shock absorbers all round, fresh rear anti-roll bar bushings, replacement front ball joints (x4) plus a new Sanden 508 air-conditioning compressor (one of the associated bills totals $6,661.90 and quotes a recorded mileage of 55,638).

Benefiting from a new distributor oil seal and refurbished alternator in 2013, 2014 saw the 308 gain new stainless steel brake lines, fresh brake pads and overhauled brake callipers all round (the corroborating invoice totals $3,479.21 and lists the indicated mileage as 59,995). The last American bill on file is for two new Bridgestone tyres and a four-wheel alignment. Purchased from America by the vendor in 2016, the two-seater was UK road registered as ‘B762 HFE’ the following year. Interestingly, the V5C Registration Document gives the date of first registration as 01/01/1985 (January 1st is often chosen when an imported vehicle’s exact first date of registration is unclear). Regularly MOT tested during the current ownership but sparingly driven, the Ferrari’s odometer now shows some 61,800 miles.

 

Damian Jones of H&H Classics says:

“The car started readily upon inspection and remained untemperamental during our recent photography session. The Ferrari is now overdue a cambelt change and would doubtless respond to further fettling. There are imperfections to the paintwork but the car’s overall appearance is presentable. A decidedly inexpensive entry to Ferrari ownership with a fascinating back story. What’s not to love especially if you have a ‘Lust for Life’?”

 

FOR MORE PRESS INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT THE H&H CLASSICS PRESS OFFICE:

Julian Roup ON +44(0)7970563958

OR email [email protected]

FOR MORE PRESS INFORMATION ABOUT H&H CLASSICS CLICK HERE

 

H&H Classics- German & Japanese Speed Machines Sale

H&H Classics- German & Japanese Speed Machines Sale

German classic speed machine 1983 Audi Quattro 10v

If it’s the speed you are after but you also want a classic to enjoy, H&H Classics have two iconic cars to choose from on August 19th, one from Germany and one from Japan in their next Live Auction Online.

The German entry is this 1983 Audi Quattro 10v. A rare UK-supplied, analogue dashboard model, it is estimated to sell for £35,000 – £40,000.

Supplied new by Massingbred Ltd of Harrogate to Peter Djal Ltd and resident in Northern Ireland for two decades, ‘A58 JYG’ was entrusted to MC Autos of Stockport, near Manchester during August 2018 for a thorough service / recommissioning.

As well as attention to its suspension and brakes, the Coupe was treated to a new ignition amp, second hand ‘dizzy’ unit, reconditioned metering head and five new injectors etc. Returning to MC Autos two months later, the Audi benefited from a new timing belt and auxiliary belts not to mention repairs to its original and notably well-preserved Brown and Green cloth upholstery, new bulbs and fresh Toyo Proxes 225/50R15 tyres. The work cost over £4,200 and was completed a few hundred miles ago. More recently the Quattro’s cosmetic appearance has been enhanced via sundry detail paintwork/graphics, refurbished alloys and new carpets (all of which is estimated to have cost an additional £4,000).

Starting readily upon inspection, the rally-bred icon is accompanied by its original stamped service book, MOTs back to 1987, service invoices back to 1988 and a fresh MOT certificate.

Introduced at the March 1980 Geneva Motor Show, the Audi Quattro Turbo was destined to revolutionise the faces of both international rallying and high-speed motoring. Based around a two-door monocoque bodyshell equipped with all-round independent suspension, four-wheel disc brakes and rack and pinion steering, its permanent all-wheel-drive system was famously derived from that of the VW Iltis utility vehicle. Powered by a turbocharged five-cylinder engine, the model’s speed, poise and agility netted Audi two drivers’ (1982, 1984) and two constructors’ titles (1983, 1984) in the World Rally Championship. Progressively enhanced during an eleven-year production life, the Quattro Turbo merited its own dedicated production line in Hall N2 of Audi’s Ingolstadt plant (each hand-built car undergoing a gruelling multi-point inspection before being signed off). Phased-in during October 1982, the first right-hand drive cars boasted a ‘WR’ code DOHC 2144cc powerplant that developed some 200bhp and 210lbft of torque. Sporting single-lens Cibie headlamps, they were reputedly capable of 0-60mph in 6.5 seconds and 137mph. Rarer and more expensive than subsequent rally champions such as the Lancia Delta Integrale and Subaru Impreza WRX, just 11,452 examples of the original (or ‘Ur’) Quattro Turbo were made.

 

The Japanese classic speed machine is this elegant 1991 Nissan 300 ZX Twin Turbo with just 34,000 miles which are estimated to sell for £26,000 to £30,000.

The best Z32 we have encountered, ‘H354 UKW’ has had just one registered keeper and covered a mere 34,500 miles from new. The accompanying vehicle order form shows that supplying dealer, D.C. Cook of Worksop, took a 1988 Porsche 944 Lux in part exchange against the Nissan’s £26,500 list price. Fitted with a quad tailpipe sports exhaust very early on, the 300 ZX is otherwise thought to be to standard specification throughout. Pleasingly retaining its original titanium ignition key, the 2+2-seater also comes with its factory tools and Targa roof panel stowage covers. 

Japanese classic speed machine is this elegant 1991 Nissan 300 ZX Twin Turbo

As a garage owner, the registered keeper performed most of the maintenance work on ‘H354 UKW’ himself. Though, he did entrust Nissan dealer Dixon Motor Holdings Ltd of Grimsby with changing the cambelt circa 1,500 miles ago. More recent invoices on file from 2011 reveal that the Z32 has also benefited from a fresh clutch and flywheel plus replacement Brembo disc brakes (x4). Kept garaged and babied throughout its life, a handwritten note on a bill from when the 300ZX was a few months’ old is telling: ‘my father scratched left-hand front wing (p.s. I feel sick!)’. According to howmanyleft.co.uk, there are just 109 1991 Nissan 300ZX Turbos currently known to the DVLA. We would be surprised if any were as well preserved as ‘H354 UKW’

Model Background:

Introduced in 1989, the Z32 version of Nissan’s 300 ZX sportscar was among the first production machines to be designed with the assistance of a Cray-2 supercomputer. Altogether faster and more capable than its Z31 predecessor, the newcomer was equipped with all-round independent suspension, power-assisted rack and pinion steering and vented disc brakes. Powered by a 2960cc DOHC V6 engine with variable valve timing in either normally aspirated or turbocharged guises, the Z32 could also be had with a choice of five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. The range-topping twin-turbo model was credited with developing 276bhp and 274lbft of torque. Reputedly capable of 0-60mph in 5.6 seconds and 155mph, it also boasted dual-mode adjustable suspension and four-wheel steering. Praised by the contemporary motoring press for its supercar-baiting performance and handling, the force-fed Nissan appeared in Car and Driver magazine’s ‘Ten Best’ list for seven years straight and was listed by GQ magazine as one of the most stylish cars of the last fifty years in 2010. Although in production for eleven years (1989-2000), the Z32 was only officially imported to Great Britain from 1990-1994. As such, it is now easier to find a Japanese import than the UK supplied example. Long a favourite with the tuning fraternity, the number of unmodified 300ZXs has similarly dwindled in recent years.

 

FOR MORE PRESS INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT THE H&H CLASSICS PRESS OFFICE:

Julian Roup ON +44(0)7970563958

OR email [email protected]

FOR MORE PRESS INFORMATION ABOUT H&H CLASSICS CLICK HERE

 

Roseberys- Successful Modern British Art Auction

Roseberys- Successful Modern British Art Auction

 Bidders were out in force for Roseberys Modern & Contemporary British Art auction on Tuesday 11 August, absorbing 80% of the lots on offer. Containing a wealth of high-quality art by celebrated British artists, the auction that took place on a scorching hot day generated spirited bidding throughout with a number of lots exceeding expectations. 

Vicki Wonfor, Joint Managing Director commented ‘I was delighted to see a strong sold rate of 80% across the board in the sale. We are operating an appointment system for viewings which has been well received by clients as they get to enjoy the view safely and our specialists can ensure they can spend time with the clients assisting them. 95% of bidding took place online with the remainder on the telephone, it is great to see the clients have the confidence in the options that are available to them including video viewing pre-auction as an alternative to attending. The sale had a stronger focus on the third to fourth quarters of the 20th century on this occasion, but it was good to see the popularity of the earlier works was still evident with pieces from Stanley Spencer, Walter Sickert and Sir Jacob Epstein selling well.’ 

Lot 2: William Tillyer, British b.1938- Untitled, 1980

Opening the sale off to an exciting start was lot 2, by British artist William Tillyer. Rarely does his work on mesh come onto the market, especially in such great condition, so this artwork proved to be extremely popular amongst bidders on the day. Entered into the auction at £5,000- £8,000, the work exceeded its estimate to make £13,750. The artwork was purchased from Bernard Jacobson Gallery London in 1980s by the current owner’s father, where it was exhibited at in 1980. Tillyer studied at Middlesbrough College of Art (1956-1959) and the Slade School of Art in London (1960-1962). In 1978, he moved to Wiltshire, where he first began to paint on wire mesh, such as this piece. 

 

Richard Smith CBE, British 1931-2016- Bucklee, 1972
Sir Jacob Epstein, British 1880-1959- Peonies

Following incredible sale results from Richard Smith CBE in the previous sale, Roseberys were delighted to be able to offer multiple works by the artist once again. Lot 7 was the highlight sale from the collection by the renowned artist making £12,500. The artwork named ‘Bucklee’ is a pun on the name Stephen Buckley, a close friend of Richard Smiths who owned works by the fellow Pop artist. The artwork was bought from Christie’s in 2013 and purchased by the present owner from the Roger Hilton Gallery. 

Among the other highlight sales from the auction was work by Sir Jacob Epstein, titled ‘Peonies’. Jacob Epstein made his name as a sculptor of monuments and portraits, as well as working as a painter and illustrator. The watercolour on paper (lot 35) that was estimated to sell for £1,000 – £1,500 eventually made over double its top estimate selling for £4,500. 

Charles Henry Sims RA RWS, British 1873-1928- Pastorale

Entered into the market at £400 – £600, lot 48 by Charles Henry Sims RA RWS, exceeded its top estimate to make £1,625. The oil on board titled ‘Pastorale’, is a beautiful example of the unique style that he adopted later in his career. An expert at portraying sunlit landscapes, Sims specialised in society portraits and neo-classical fantasies, typically idealised scenes of women, children or fairies in outdoor settings. Later in life, his artworks became a lot more modernist in style, termed “Spirituals” like the artwork sold at Roseberys. 

Sir Stanley Spencer CBE RA, British 1891-1959- Portrait of a girl
Claud Lovat Fraser, British 1890-1921- Kitchener's Army
Quentin Blake OBE, British b.1932- Cockatoos

Following shortly after this highlight was an artwork by British artist, Sir Stanley Spencer CBE RA that sold for £5,750, exceeding its top estimate of £3,000. Titled ‘Portrait of a girl’, this particular drawing would have been executed over a year before the artist’s death on 14th December 1959. Spencer was frequently commissioned to complete portrait drawings – referred to as ‘heads’ – until the end of his career. The fine lines and precision of the drawing shows the influence of his time at the Slade under the tutelage of Henry Tonks between 1908 and 1912. 

The Illustrations within the auction did very well, including works by Claud Lovat Fraser, Quentin Blake and Louis Wain. Entered into the auction at £150 – £200, titled Kitchener’s Army’, Claud Lovat Fraser’s work finally realised £2,500. The black ink and wash and watercolour on buff coloured paper are from an album of twenty-two studies entitled ‘The Costumes and Uniforms of the British Army’. The work by the illustrator and costume designer has previously been exhibited at Leicester Galleries, London, Exhibition of Works by C. Lovat Fraser in December 1921, the RWS Galleries in London for their Fifty Years Ago Exhibition in June 1965 and examples from the same series have also been displayed at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. 

Estimated to make £800 – £1,200, the illustration in pen, ink and watercolour by the popular illustrator Quentin Blake OBE, titled Cockatoos’ made £5,750. The provenance of this work comes from Chris Beetles Ltd., in London, where it was also exhibited in 2000. The illustration was created for the cover of his classic book series, about a group of troublesome cockatoos on the run from their owner, first published in 1992. 

Estimated to make £300 – £500, the signed, pen, ink and watercolour illustration by the hugely prolific British artist Louis Wain titled It Rained Very Hard made £3,000. Louis Wain was one of the most popular commercial illustrators in the history of England. Born in 1860, his anthropomorphic portrayals of cats captured the imagination of the Edwardian era and his work helped to raise the profile and popularity of felines to unprecedented heights. Before Wain, cats in England were often thought of with disdain but his work humanised them and helped to show them as something to be liked, admired and eventually loved. 

Therese Oulton, British b.1953- Heresies No.1, Opus316
Therese Oulton, British b.1953- Heresies No.2, May 1986

 

Both coming with fantastic gallery provenance were lots 109 and 110 by former Turner Prize nominee Therese Oulton. The two oils gained great interest from both the UK and the US to achieve results beyond their original estimates. Lot 109, titled ‘Heresies No.1, Opus316’, was entered into the auction at £400 – £600, selling for £2,125. Following swiftly after lot 110 titled ‘Heresies No.2’, also estimated at the same value, sold for £3,250. 

Lot 172, by artist Stephen Cox RA, proved to be the highlight of the auction. The work on offer titled ‘Ecstasy’, made from red verona marble is a very significant work to have come onto the market by this artist. It comes from a private collection and was previously on display at the Tate, so comes with great exhibition history. The result signals a new auction record for the artist. Roseberys has had previous outstanding results for the artist in past Modern & Contemporary British Art auctions. Estimated to sell for £3,000 – £5,000, the bidding was between a phone and internet bidder, finally selling to a UK bidder for £15,000. 

Ending the highlights from the sale is lot 267 by artist duo Boyd & Evans. Roseberys are delighted to have offered work by the artists again following the collection for sale in September 2019, alongside an event featuring a talk by the artists about their work to date. The acrylic on canvas titled Point of View created in 1972 coming from the Flowers Gallery in London was estimated to make between £800 – £1,200, finally realising a price of £4,250. 

 

The next Modern & Contemporary British Art auction will take place on Wednesday 4 November. Now welcoming consignments for this auction. To request a valuation please contact [email protected] 

 

For further information please contact Peigi Mackillop [email protected] +44 (0) 20 8761 2522 

 

For more information about Roseberys, CLICK HERE

 

H&H Classics- Captain Tom Moore Loves Motorcycles

H&H Classics- Captain Tom Moore Loves Motorcycles

Captain Tom Moore and the Royal Enfield Model 200

If one man represents the best of Britain during this global pandemic it is Captain Tom Moore who stole the nation’s heart by walking 100 laps around his garden before his 100th birthday to raise money for the NHS, achieving a total of £32m by the time he had finished.

 

Captain Tom pledged to complete the 2.5km (1.6 miles), the 100-lap garden challenge at his home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire by his 100th birthday on 30 April. He was knighted for his efforts.

 

Now an ITV documentary has been filmed about Sir Tom’s love of motorcycles. It was produced by North One and was broadcast on ITV 1, yesterday August 13th.

Mark Bryan of H&H Classics with Captain Tom

 

For the film shoot, Mark Bryan of H&H Classics provided a 1920’s Royal Enfield Model 200, supplied by Hitchcocks Motorcycles in Solihull. It was one of the first bikes that Sir Tom restored after discovering it as a barn-find, and which he rode around in his garden as a very young man.

 

Mark comments: “It was an absolute honour to be able to help out, even in such a small way. Sir Tom’s infectious enthusiasm and knowledge of motorcycling is quite amazing”

 

Two other motorbikes featured in the documentary, an Excelsior Manxman and a Scott two speed. Both are bikes Sir Tom remembers fondly from his youth.

 

He was described as being: “a beacon of light through the fog of coronavirus”, and for his shining example, Captain Tom Moore was awarded a knighthood.

 

 

Fundraising for ‘NHS Charities Together’, the then 99-year-old said he was doing it “for the sake of the nurses and the NHS”. Born in Keighley, Yorkshire, and a veteran of World War Two, Captain Tom Moore was inspired to help the NHS after receiving treatment for skin cancer and a broken hip after a fall in 2018.

The money he raised by his sponsored walk round his garden is being used to help comfort and care for NHS workers through these turbulent times. After completing his 100 laps, he had a message for the British public in the midst of the pandemic. “To all those people who are finding it difficult at the moment… the sun will shine on you again, and the clouds will go away.”

 

 

FOR MORE PRESS INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT THE H&H CLASSICS PRESS OFFICE:

Julian Roup ON +44(0)7970563958

OR email [email protected]

FOR MORE PRESS INFORMATION ABOUT H&H CLASSICS CLICK HERE

 

Freeman’s- The Pennsylvania Sale Returns with Esherick

Freeman’s- The Pennsylvania Sale Returns with Esherick

On Wednesday, October 28th, Freeman’s will hold its renowned Pennsylvania Sale. This returning event showcases the development of craftsmanship in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Wharton Esherick furniture from the Hedgerow Theatre Collection will highlight the sale, along with works by George Nakashima and a collection of folk portraits by Joseph Maentel.

THE PENNSYLVANIA SALE: A CELEBRATION OF THE REGION

Launched in 2005 to coincide with Freeman’s bicentennial, the sale is a tribute to Pennsylvania’s long-standing legacy as a major and influential artistic region. From the portraits of Thomas Sully to the woodwork of George Nakashima, this year’s sale is once again poised to represent the state’s prolific artists across generations.

 

Building on Freeman’s long-term success selling items from its native state, The Pennsylvania Sale is a tribute to the entire region—its history, people, and the art and objects they made, used, and cherished.

 

Connecting works with collectors in Europe and Asia, in addition to the robust American market, Freeman’s has helped build the global art market’s appreciation of Post-War craft and design from Pennsylvania.

 

THE PENNSYLVANIA SALE’S HISTORY OF SUCCESS

The previous Pennsylvania Sale and the American Furniture, Folk, & Decorative Arts auction held the following day brought in a combined $1.7 million in sales. Bidders around the world competed for some of Pennsylvania’s finest 20th-century design, fine silver, furniture, folk art, and early American portraiture.

 

“We were thrilled with the results for the 20th Century Design section of The Pennsylvania Sale and equally delighted with the results achieved by exceptional examples of Americana,” said Vice President of Freeman’s, Lynda Cain, at the time.

 

HIGHLIGHTS: WORKS BY THE “DEAN OF AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN,” WHARTON ESHERICK

As part of this year’s Pennsylvania Sale, Freeman’s is proud to present Wharton Esherick furniture made for the Hedgerow Theatre in Rose Valley, Pennsylvania. It is one of the most historically significant collections of the artist’s work.

 

In 1923, Esherick began designing for the Hedgerow Theatre in exchange for his daughter’s acting lessons. He built sets, woodblock posters, furniture, and other pieces for the theatre’s use. Eventually, its Green Room even became an unofficial gallery for Esherick’s work.

 

FROM PENNSYLVANIA PORTRAITURE TO FEDERAL FURNITURE

The sale will feature a rich selection of works by George Nakashima. Vintage pieces from the 1950s through the 1980s by the famed New Hope, Pennsylvania woodworker will be made available. Joining Nakashima is work by 20th-century designers Phillip Lloyd Powell, Paul Evans, and Samuel Yellin, including pieces from the latter’s estate.

 

Pennsylvania portraiture ranges from the formal work of Thomas Sully (1763-1872) to five folk portraits by Jacob Maentel (1778-1863). Consignments from three East Coast private collections include a selection of fraktur, redware, Chester County needlework, and an extremely fine polychrome carving of a fantail rooster.

 

Queen Anne, Chippendale, Federal, and Classical furniture and timepieces from Philadelphia and several counties will also be available. Of special note is a group of Federal furnishings: chairs, pier table, pair of chests, and a secretary bookcase attributed to the workshop of Ephraim Haines (1775-1837) and Henry Connelly (active 1793-1824).

CONSIGNMENTS WELCOME

This year’s Pennsylvania Sale is still open for consignment. If you have a piece that would make an exemplary addition to the event, please contact Tim Andreadis at [email protected] with more information about your property.

AUCTION

October 28 | 10 am EST

HEAD OF SALE

Tim Andreadis, [email protected]

 

PRESS INQUIRIES

Madeline Hill | [email protected]

 

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON FREEMAN’S CLICK HERE.

H&H Classics- 1915 Hupmobile for Bid in Online Auction

H&H Classics- 1915 Hupmobile for Bid in Online Auction

1915 Hupmobile Owned by Irish Family for 105 years 

Not many cars can claim to have been owned by just one family for 105 years like this stunning 1915 Hupmobile Model HA Tourer for sale with H&H Classics on August 19th in an Auction Online sale.

Currently located in Londonderry it has been owned from new by the MacFlynn family from Magherafelt, Northern Ireland.

The car comes with its original sales invoice and is offered with all its early history.

Damian Jones, Head of Sales for H&H Classics says of the car: “This is a rare opportunity.”

 

This remarkable 1915 Hupmobile Model HA was first registered with on the 20th of April 1915. After seeing a listing in a June edition of the Irish Times in 1914 “The Hup” was later ordered by Mr MacFlynn a Spirit Merchant from Magherafelt, Northern Ireland. It was ordered in early 1915 through The Dublin Motor Company via McStay and Colgan, an Automobile Engineering Company in Belfast, with an optional Westinghouse Electric Starter, Westinghouse Dynamo, Five Electric Lamps and 815×105 Dunlop Tyres (Including Spare).

The Hupmobile itself was imported from the USA to London and was then shipped to Dublin in May 1915 where it was then duly delivered to Mr MacFlynn who would become the second owner of a Motorcar in Magherafelt.

 

This Hupmobile was in regular and daily use by him and his family from delivery until approximately 1936 when it was eventually decommissioned and was placed in one of sheds only to be seen occasionally by family members as they explored the shed. In 1966 the Hupmobile was passed on to William’s Son Charles, who in the late 1970s, pulled it out of the shed and began a partial/light restoration. After this, Charles used the Hupmobile regularly to attend local Vintage Rallies and Car Shows between 1980 and 2000.

In 2000 the Hupmobile was eventually passed onto its current Owner, Mr L MacFlynn who is the late Charles MacFlynn’s Nephew and the late William James MacFlynn’s Grandson.

 

Now a third-generation custodian of OI 3389, the Hupmobile was used locally until 2009/2010 when it was then put back into storage – then in 2016 they set about beginning the full restoration of the Hupmobile which consisted of a full overhaul of the complete car to bring it back to its former glory as it was in 1915 which took roughly two years and was completed in 2018 to an extremely high standard. The coachwork and overall condition of this Hupmobile is in excellent order and the car still retains its matching numbers as it was when it was new – it is also accompanied by a folder full of paperwork showcasing its history.

Unfortunately, post restoration – the car has not received the use that it deserves, and it is with a heavy heart that the MacFlynn family have decided collectively that it is time for this 105-year old 3rd generation family owned Model HA to be passed onto a new custodian who can give “The Hup” the spotlight it really deserves.

Henry Ford paid the ‘Hupp’ 20 the ultimate compliment. “I recall looking at Bobby Hupp’s roadster at the first show where it was exhibited and wondering whether we could ever build as good a small car for as little money.”

Hupmobiles were built from 1909 through 1939 by the Hupp Motor Car Company. The prototype was developed in 1908 and had its first successful run on November 8 with investors aboard for champagne at the Tuller Hotel a few blocks away. The company was incorporated in November of that year. The first Hupmobile model, the Hupp 20, was introduced at the 1909 Detroit Automobile Show. It was an instant success.

 

1951 LAGONDA 2.6 LITRE SALOON SINGLE FAMILY OWNED BARNFIND

Found in Lincolnshire, this 1951 Lagonda 2.6 Litre Saloon sleeping beauty, is going to make someone a fantastic restoration project.  H&H Classics estimate that it will sell for £8,000 – £10,000.

The Lagonda is described by Damian Jones of H&H Classics as “A seemingly complete, original and unmolested barn find that has been in the present family ownership since the 1950s. It was laid up in 1961 due to a carburettor fault and has been unused since.”

“The chassis is reportedly “sound”. Sadly the logbook has been mislaid but may be found by the time of the auction. This is an exciting restoration project or special builder’s dream!”

 

FOR MORE PRESS INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT THE H&H CLASSICS PRESS OFFICE:

Julian Roup ON +44(0)7970563958

OR email [email protected]

FOR MORE PRESS INFORMATION ABOUT H&H CLASSICS CLICK HERE

 

H&H Classics-1965 Alvis Drophead sold for £51,750

H&H Classics-1965 Alvis Drophead sold for £51,750

This charming 1937 Fiat 500 Topolino or ‘Little Mouse’ consigned by David Mitchell, a 92-year-old classic car enthusiast from Lewes, East Sussex sold for £19,550, three times its estimate, at the latest H&H Classics sale on July 22.

The little car is just like the one which featured strongly in that superb 1953 film ‘Roman Holiday’ with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. It was estimated to sell for £5,000 to £7,000 but after some fierce bidding made £19,550.

“The sight of a six foot plus Gregory Peck endeavouring to get into the back of a Topolino was a great sequence,” says John Markey of H&H Classics.

In the film, Audrey Hepburn is a bored and sheltered princess who escapes her guardians and falls in love with an American newsman, Gregory Peck in Rome. The little Fiat adds greatly to the charm of this story.

The Topolino was one of the smallest cars in the world at the time of its production. Launched in 1936, three models were produced until 1955. It was equipped with a 569cc four-cylinder, side-valve, water-cooled engine mounted in front of the front axle, later an overhead valve motor.

Owners frequently squeezed four or five people into the nominal two-seater car, and in later models, the chassis was extended at the rear to allow for more robust semi-elliptic springs. With horsepower of about 13 bhp, its top speed was around 53 mph (85 km/h), and it could achieve about 47.1 mpg. Nearly 520,000 were sold.​

 

1965 Alvis TE21 Drophead Coupe sold for £51,750.

This superb car is one of only 18 automatic examples known to have survived worldwide. It sold for £51,750.

It was illustrated in Kenneth Day’s definitive work ‘Alvis, The Story of the Red Triangle’ and in ‘The Complete Encyclopaedia of Sports Cars Classic Era’ by Rob de la Rive Box.

It had had new sills, rear springs, leather upholstery, hood bag fitted by the previous owner who also had the car rolling road tuned and given halogen headlights.

 

It came from a collection of four cars owned by Louis Gendebien In Belgium, a cousin of Olivier Gendebien who drove for Ferrari in the late fifties early sixties and was brilliant in Sports Ferrari’s.

Former British race driver, John Markey of H&H Classics, who sourced the four car consignment from Belgium said: “By happy coincidence when Olivier won Le Mans in 1958 I was standing over his pit at La Sarthe.”

“His cousin, Louis whose collection this was has written a book about his illustrious cousin. His decision to sell through H&H Classics is once more an indication of the international appeal of H&H Classics.”

 

1991 Peugeot 205 GTi 1.6 sold for £24,150

This Peugeot 205 GTi 1.6 is the most original and best-preserved 1.6 GTi H&H Classics have encountered. It sold for £24,150.

Supplied new by Dixon Motor Holdings Ltd of Morecambe to Mr Waterhouse on 2nd January 1991, this exceptionally original 205 1.6 GTi has covered just 49,800 miles. Self-evidently cherished over the past twenty-nine years, with paperwork on file to substantiate the mileage, it comes with an assortment of MOT certificates (dating back to 1994 at 14,569 miles) and stamps in its original service book up to 48,587 miles. Entrusted to Colehill Garage of Wimborne in more recent years, accompanying bills from them describe ‘H142 XEC’ as ‘probably the best 205 GTi 1.6 in Dorset’ and encompass one issued on 2nd July 2015 for £2,359.72.

 

Model Background:

Introduced in 1984, the Peugeot 205 1.6 GTi has long enjoyed a reputation as one of the best ‘hot hatches’ ever made. Despite impressive performance figures (0-60mph in 8.6 seconds and 121mph), it was the model’s handling that won over the contemporary motoring press. Weighing in at just 880kg, the 205 1.6 GTi possessed a nimbleness and delicacy of feel sadly lacking from its modern equivalents and indeed is considered by many to offer a purer driving experience than its heavier albeit faster 1.9 sibling.

 

1954 Sunbeam Alpine MKI£18,400

Found in a Staffordshire barn, this wonderful discovery is going to make a fabulous restoration project for the bidder lucky enough to have secured it at the H&H Classics auction

One just like this Sunbeam Alpine found fame at the hands of Works drivers Stirling Moss and Sheila Van Damm and also starred in the 1955 film ‘To Catch A Thief’, featuring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly.

This rare car is one of just 200 known survivors and was offered as a ‘barn find’. It has been dry stored since retiring from historic rallying. Its engine is in running order and it appears to be substantially complete. Its history file includes the original buff logbook and FIA HVIF papers.

 

FOR MORE PRESS INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT THE H&H CLASSICS PRESS OFFICE:

Julian Roup ON +44(0)7970563958

OR email [email protected]

 

Roseberys- Highly Successful Asian Art Sale Realises £1.14m

Roseberys- Highly Successful Asian Art Sale Realises £1.14m

Results: Chinese, Japanese & South East Asian Art 

Highly successful Asian sale realises £1.14m 

“Undoubtedly, we were vindicated in our decision to postpone May’s sale until July, as it allowed prospective buyers to attend our viewing days by appointment, and handle objects in the flesh. This enabled us to offer some of the very finest and rarest objects from China and Southeast Asia and achieve the best possible results.”

“It was a tremendous privilege to sell this pair of porcelain wall pockets made in the imperial kilns during the reign of Emperor Qianlong. Emperor Qianlong was arguably one of the greatest collectors of art and these vases, likely to have been commissioned by him, reflect this through their complex potting, impeccably painted decoration in enamels, and the inscription of an ancient poem.”

Bill Forrest, Head of the Chinese, Japanese & South East Asian Art Department

 

LONDON: An exquisite pair of Chinese imperially inscribed wall vases realised a staggering £324,500 at Roseberys £1.14m sale of art and antiques from China, Japan and South-East Asia. 

Chased by nine determined bidders including one who added £80,000 in a single bid, the pair soared above the pre-sale estimate of £20,000-30,000 in the auction held on July 28. They eventually sold to a Chinese agent in the room on behalf of a Chinese collector after 15 minutes of bidding. 

“The couple who consigned the vases were, of course, delighted when they heard the result. They were so pleased that we spotted the vases among the contents of their house as they were in the process of downsizing and disposing of most of their possessions and had never looked at them closely enough to appreciate their true worth. I was told that they had been furnishing a mantelpiece for many years and may or may not have made the cut to be moved to their new house. Like many inherited objects, one attaches a certain degree of sentimental value but may not appreciate their true value. We have been truly privileged to be custodians of these wonderful objects, and thanks to a hugely successful sale, we have found them a new home.” 

Bill Forrest, Head of Chinese, Japanese & South East Asian Art auction 

The imperially inscribed Qianlong mark and period porcelain wall vases were inherited in c.1950 and came from a private West London address. The Imperial poem inscribed on each was composed by the Emperor Qianlong apparently to express his delight in seeing a wall vase filled with a flower hanging inside of his sedan chair on the way to a hunting trip. Of the 300 or so Qianlong wall vases recorded in the collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing, only half are inscribed with poems by the emperor. 

Wall vases, also known as wall pockets or sedan chair vases, became one of the Qianlong Emperor’s favourite types and developed significantly during his reign. Pairs are seldom offered on the market. 

Enhancing their rarity further was the yangcai decoration, introduced by European Jesuit craftsmen to the Qing court around 1685. Developed in the Jingdezhen imperial workshops under the patronage of the Qianlong Emperor, it is representative of the superb quality of porcelain production achieved during the Qianlong reign. (Lot 87)

Other prized rarities in the 630-lot sale included lot 45, a Chinese porcelain monochrome blue-glazed teapot with a period Yongzheng mark, which raced away to £52,500 and lot 86, a fine Chinese imperial porcelain doucai marriage bowl, spotted in a kitchen cabinet five minutes from Roseberys, making £37,500. The latter was delicately detailed with mandarin ducks swimming amidst large lotus blooms and was notable for its period Jiaqing mark (most examples bear a later Daoguang mark).

 A multi-estimate bid of £26,250 secured a mid-20th century Chinese porcelain garlic-head vase with a label for Peter Wain, the respected Shropshire dealer in oriental ceramics. It was finely painted to the bulbous body with a father and son repairing a railroad in a winter landscape and bore a Jingdezhen factory seal mark to the base. 

A rare 17th/18th century Chinese carved chenxiangmu (aloeswood) brush pot, finely carved with bamboo and pine trees, soared above estimate to sell for £27,500. The cup came from a private West Country collection and had been inherited from the grandparents of the vendor in the 1960s.

A Chinese porcelain powder blue ground Kangxi period bottle vase, noted for its large size and rare underglaze of blue and copper red, smashed its estimate of £5,000-7,000 to sell for £23,700. The 41cm high piece, featuring a dragon to the slender neck and two mythical beasts to the body, came from a private collection in Germany and was acquired by the vendor’s family prior to 1920.

[Lot 90] [Lot 296] [Lot 37] 

Bidders also clamoured to own a pair of early Chinese black lacquer and inlaid cabinets dating to the late Qing dynasty. Each door was set with semi-precious stones and decorated with figures in landscapes. Estimated at £300-500, it went on to sell for £22,500. [Lot 353] 

 

A bid of £12,500 secured a Chinese painted enamel ‘dragon and bats’ dish similar to an example found in the British Museum. From the Qianlong period, it was decorated to the central reserve with a forward-facing dragon amidst clouds and flames. [Lot 343] 

Further highlights include a rare Chinese porcelain ‘three friends of winter’ wine cup from the collection of the late Jonas G Gadelius and his wife Gabita, which took £15,000. It had a period Jiajing mark and was painted in underglaze blue and yellow enamel with pine, prunus, and bamboo to the exterior. An 18th century Sino-Tibetan gilt-bronze figure of Tara that had been acquired in 1970 in Kathmandu improved upon presale hopes to sell for £8,125. [Lot 84] [Lot 490] 

 

The next Chinese, Japanese & South East Asian auction will take place on Wednesday 11 November, and the department is now welcoming consignments.

For further information please contact Peigi Mackillop [email protected] +44 (0) 20 8761 2522 

 

For more information about Roseberys, CLICK HERE

 

Roseberys- International Buyers Dominate Post-War Sale

Roseberys- International Buyers Dominate Post-War Sale

Roseberys London: International buyers were out in force for Roseberys sale of Impressionist, Modern, Post War & Contemporary Art, securing over 80% of the lots sold and competing fiercely for the best works on offer. Despite the obstacles of the current ongoing pandemic and the auction that took place on Wednesday 15 July 2020 ended with an array of outstanding results, with strong results being seen throughout the 125 lot sale. 

Tess O’Brien, Head of Sale commented: The sale which was once again on a smaller scale, was a carefully curated selection of works spanning from Impressionism to contemporary, suiting a diverse collecting audience. With the current situation, we were concerned about the interest for the pieces, however it proved not to be an issue. The sale ended with an 80% selling rate, with most pieces selling above their high estimate, so we were delighted. It seems bidders are more ready to use the internet during this period, and have time to search for artworks. As a result, we had registrations worldwide, 90% of the buyers were overseas, and more people were actively bidding online, rather than leaving absentee bids. Once again, the école de Paris was the strongest section in the sale, we saw many of the post-impressionist paintings selling for well above their high estimate. Also, the post war pieces were of interest, in particular the collection of Claude Venards, which were fresh to the market. Being Australian, I was delighted to see the Sidney Nolan, Ned Kelly piece sell for £12,500, particularly when some similar pieces had gone unsold in Australia at similar prices. 

Of early interest was lot 2, an early gouache by the renowned Russian artist, Boris Grigoriev, titled ‘At the Tent’. This painting originally came from the pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg collection of Alexander Evgenievich Burtsev and remained with him until 1917. Burtsev was a Russian bibliophile, bibliographer, publisher, art collector, author of ethnographic works, and merchant of the first guild. As an honorary citizen of St. Petersburg, he gathered a large library of rare books and acquired a significant collection of autographs. On top of curating the library, he also arranged exhibitions of his collections and had ambitions to create a museum dedicated to new and innovative Russian art. Burtsev published journals on his collection including; ‘My Journal for the Few’, and it was for volume 9, issue 12 that this particular artwork was executed by Grigoriev. The consigner of this lot previously purchased the gouache many years previously within a mixed group lot at another auction house. Unbeknown of its real value or knowledge of the artist behind the work, the consigner was pleasantly surprised when Roseberys specialist Tess O’Brien revealed it to be a rare work by Russian artist Boris Grigoriev after a valuation request. ‘At the Tent’ sold for a final price of £45,000. 

Attracting special attention was a selection of bronzes by the Czechoslovakian artist Otto Gutfreund. The lots from 13 to 16 went very well, altogether making a total of £19,250. Lot 14 in particular realised an outstanding result of £8,750, a significant mark up from its top estimate of £3,000. The collection originated from the estate of Abe Gottlieb (died 1976), who was President of Liberty Fabrics of New York-based at 105 Madison Avenue, New York. 

Following this highlight, came an outstanding result for a work of art by Mela Muter – the pseudonym of Maria Melania Mutermilch, who was one of the most significant Polish/Jewish female painters in Paris in the early 20th century. She studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and the Académie Colarossi under Etienne Tournés. In Paris, Muter swiftly built a reputation as a portrait painter and exhibited her work regularly, first at the Paris Salon in 1902, and subsequently at the Salon des Indépendants, the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, the Salon des Tuileries as well as the Salon des Femmes Artistes Modernes. During the Second World War, Muter went into hiding in the South of France, from this point on she created Fauvist landscapes of the area, such as Lot 23 presented in this auction. ‘Landschaft’ which was entered at a price of £5,000-7,000, ended up making £25,000. Tess O’Brien, commented ‘I was really pleased with the result of this painting as there were restoration issues but the oil is an exquisite work from her early period’. 

Estimated to make £7,000 – £9,000, lot 29 by French artist Claude Venard realised £15,000. The 1955 oil on canvas titled ‘Nature Morte à la Cruche’ alongside lots by Vernard 24 – 30 were acquired directly from Arthur Tooths & Sons Ltd., London, and have remained in the same collection since this sale. Venard has become a highly celebrated artist having featured in exhibitions globally since 1935. He held numerous successful one-man shows around the world in establishments such as Romanet-Vercel, Bernheim-Jeune, Romanet Gallery, Kleeman Gallery, The Fine Arts Association, the Knoedler Gallery, the Lefevre Gallery and at Arthur Tooth & Sons, from where this collection of works originates. 

Lot 94 was a personal highlight for the Head of Sale, who like the artist hails from Australia. The work by Sir Sidney Nolan OM AC RA, titled ‘Ned Kelly’ created in 1952; with a mixed technique on paper was gifted from Sidney Nolan’s wife to the consigner. Estimated at £3,000 – £5,000, this artwork ended up making over double its top estimate for £12,500. The artwork depicting the iconic bushranger Ned Kelly was sold to a private collector in Australia. Sidney Nolan’s paintings on the theme of the 19th-century bushranger Ned Kelly are one of the greatest series of Australian paintings of the 20th century. Highlighting these works makes the point that Australian art is part of the world, with its own stories to tell. This dual emphasis on connectedness and distinctiveness in relation to culture and place is integral to Nolan’s work depicting Ned Kelly. 

Lot 97, A stunning abstract work of art by Guyanan, British artist Aubrey Sendall Williams, titled ‘Nuno’ made £6,250. Estimated to sell at £2,000 -£3,000 the mixed technique on board created in 1976 came from a private collection. Roseberys had previous success within December 2019 with another abstract from the same artist selling for £4,000. The artist’s prices have been on the rise over the last couple of years with works coming up at salerooms across the country, lot 97 achieving a record-breaking price of £6,250, making it the most successful recorded sale at auction to date. 

Impressionism and Post-Impressionism works of art were a strong focus throughout the auction. In particular, the French Post-Impressionist paintings sold very well on the sale day. A highlight within the genre came from Henri Le Fauconnier. His artwork titled Paysage avec un pont (landscape with a bridge), circa 1915; estimated at £150-250, sold for £4,750. Furthermore, an oil by Henri Hayden, titled Hameau dans la vallée, sold for £5,500. Making £2,500 more than its top estimate. 

 

For more information about the sale please contact Marketing & PR Project Manager Peigi Mackilop : [email protected] +44 (0) 20 8761 2522 

We are now welcoming consignments for the inclusion of the Impressionist, Modern, Post War & Contemporary auction on Thursday 3 December 2020. 

To request a free valuation please contact our pictures department [email protected] 

Roseberys- Modern & Contemporary Prints Results

Roseberys- Modern & Contemporary Prints Results

Roseberys London: The Modern & Contemporary Prints & Multiples auction that took place on 7 July proved to be another stellar sale of outstanding results. 

Shane Xu, Head of Department commented: We are very pleased that the sale achieved an overall great result. Once again, the Prints department carried on the tradition of breaking the record of our previous sale total. It is very nice to know that the market demand is still there during this uncertain time. The Modern British section was strong as usual, as most works are collected by private buyers for their own enjoyment. We had two special sections by Stanley Hayter and Taskashi Murakami, with all the work by both artists selling out. Outstanding highlights came from works by wide-ranging artists such as Frank Auerbach and Yoshitomo Nara, which again proves our ability to present works which can be either academic or commercially popular amongst our clients. We are pleased to continue to offer a great selection of prints by prestigious artists for the general public and help everyone to start their collection.  

To begin the highlights within the start of the sale was the artworks created in 1977, by British artist and architect Victor Pasmore CH CBE, titled, The Image In Search of Itself, (lot 81). The complete portfolio of eleven screenprints were estimated to sell for £3,500 – £5,000. The work by the artist who pioneered the development of abstract art in Britain in the 40s and 50s, ended up achieving a price higher than its estimate, selling for £8,125. 

Estimated to sell for £6,000 – £10,000, (lot 180) the Portrait of Jacqueline by Pablo Picasso sold for £15,000. The offset lithograph in colours on wove made in 1956 depicts Picasso’s muse and second wife Jacqueline. Their marriage lasted 11 years until his death, during which time he created over 400 portraits of her, more than any of Picasso’s other loves. The original of this print can be found in the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia. 

The highest value lot of the auction was sold within the middle of the sale. Estimated to sell for £8,000 – £12,000, (lot 295) Frank Auerbach’s, complete set of six etchings on Arches wove titled, Six Etchings of Heads, sold for £18,750. Title’s and subjects within the etchings comprise of fellow famous artists and friends including Joe Tilson, R.B. Kitaj, Leon Kossoff, Lucian Freud and Gerda Boehm, who are regular sitters for Auerbach. 

Work by British/American artist Susan Hiller was estimated to sell for £6,000 – 8,000, eventually realising the price of £12,500. The work titled The Storm (Addenda 3 to “Dedicated to the Unknown Artists”) was created in 1978. The collection involves three original sea charts, typed and typeset and eighteen vintage postcards mounted on seven boards. Beginning her artistic practice in the early 1970s, Hiller was influenced by the visual language of Minimalism and Conceptual art[ and later cited Minimalism, Fluxus, Surrealism and her study of anthropology as major influences on her work. Her art practice included installation, video, photography, performance and writing. 

Within the Japanese contemporary works of art section of the sale, lot 428 by artist Yoshitomo Nara realised the highest price of £15,000. The work titled Cosmic Girl: Eyes Open/ Eyes Closed was estimated to make £5,000 – £7,000, finally achieving a price over double its top estimate. Nara is a contemporary of Takashi Murakami, whose artworks would follow swiftly after in the sale. Similar to Murakami her work has been influenced by pop culture in both the East and West. 

At the end of the sale, a collection of twenty lots of artwork by Takashi Murakami had a 100% sell-through rate. One of the most acclaimed artists to emerge from post-war Asia, Takashi Murakami—“the Warhol of Japan”—is known for his contemporary Pop synthesis of fine art and pop culture, particularly his use of a boldly graphic and colourful anime and manga cartoon style, which the lots within the sale demonstrated perfectly. Overall, the works by the Japanese artist sold for £41,190, with the highlight from the collection being five offset lithographs in colours on wove (lot 441), titled Flowers Blooming in This World and the Land of Nirvana, 2013; selling for £6,000. 

 

The next Modern & Contemporary Prints & Multiples auction will take place on Tuesday 6 October. 

Now welcoming consignments for this auction. To request a valuation please contact [email protected] 

​For any press related enquires please contact Marketing & PR Project Manager, Peigi Mackillop: [email protected] 

Roseberys- June Jewellery & Watches Auction Results

Roseberys- June Jewellery & Watches Auction Results

The third sale to take place since lockdown restrictions relaxed last month was the Jewellery & Watches auction on Tuesday 23 June. Similar to the other two auctions that took place before it, the sale was a great success. Despite the postponement and not allowing bidding within the room, the sale produced some outstanding results, with a selling rate of 84%. 

Mark Bowis, Head of the Jewellery & Watches department commented on the sale:

“Having been postponed from March there was a lot of tense anticipation for this live sale and given the difficult times at present, efforts were made to allow potential buyers to view the sale, acquire information, register bids and bid live online and on the phone as easily and comfortably as possible. On a hot day, the sale was extremely busy with a pattern of very prompt and enthusiastic bidding. The fact that there were only seven lots remaining unsold in the first 100 lots was very encouraging. At the end of the session, the sale showed an 84% sold rate. Lots with heavy gold emphasis including pocket watches benefited somewhat by the buoyant uplift in the current bullion price. However antique and esoteric items also sold strongly, this included a group of early rings. Lot 38 with an attractively placed estimate of £500-700 realised £5,250 an Edwardian coral and diamond bangle in original fitted case realised £1,250 and an early 20th-century gold-mounted butterfly wing brooch in original fitted case realised £1,750. A small group of Indian jewels also attracted swift bidding, showing that Indian pieces with age are always popular. Results for diamonds were also solid. High-value diamond lots included lot 324 a 2.30 carat round brilliant-cut diamond of good colour sold at £6,250. While lot 54 an attractive flexible, diamond bracelet realised £3,500. The icing on the cake was lot 133 a very speculated large rose-cut diamond ring with rose-cut diamond shoulders estimate £4000-6000 realised an impressive £40,000. Designer jewels such as pieces by Grima and Elisabeth gage generated traditional interest including an early garnet and diamond ring by Grima, featured on the back cover of the catalogue realised £2,750. We were pleased that the more traditional jewellery from the eminent jewel houses such as Cartier, Boucheron, Bulgari, Tiffany & Van Cleef & Arpels, often the main backbone of a jewellery sale is still consistently achieving strong results. The selection of high-end wristwatches with examples by Patek Philippe, Rolex, Cartier and Vacheron & Constatine did extremely well, with only three unsold lots out of the twenty-nine offered. A small selection of modestly priced pens by Mont Blanc did exceptionally well also. “

The highest value lot of the sale was Lot 133, a rose-cut diamond three stone ring in a gypsy style setting. The central rose-cut diamond was a large stone measuring 12.8mm in diameter. Rose diamonds of this size are quite rare and could have originated from the alluvial areas of India making it ‘an old stone’. These factors and the reasonable colour obviously attracted a lot of interest; speculative stones are always exciting. The low estimate was £4,000-6000 and this sale closed at £40,000. 

Another highlight within the sale was Lot 311, a diamond, ruby, and sapphire bracelet. This was designed in the style of the Art Deco jewellery produced by the great names of Cartier, Boucheron and Van Cleef & Arpels. Although this bracelet is a more recent copy, the quality is outstanding with attractive Indian carved rubies and vibrant diamonds. Estimated £8000-10,000, this bracelet realised £10,625. 

(Lot 201) Estimated at £3000-4000, this nice clean and typical high-quality platinum-set ring by Cartier, set with a classic top colour 1.00-carat diamond, realised the price of £5,250. Retailed by Cartier London and produced in the 1970s, this gave the ring an added vintage charm and was fiercely fought for on the sale day. 

Continuing with highlights from the Cartier section in the sale was a very fine and attractive emerald and diamond ring. Set in 18ct gold, the strong coloured emerald was flanked by two top colour diamonds typical of Cartier’s timeless three stone designs. The ring was in great condition complete with makers case. Estimated to sell for £2000-3000, this ring (Lot 198) realised a price of £3,750.

(Lot 196) Another small but charming item by Cartier was a 9ct gold circular pillbox of recognizable 40s design. Vintage items by Cartier appear less often on the market now. With an estimate of £400-600, this item realised over double its top estimate, selling for £1,625, proving the popularity of these collectable pieces.

Lot 159 This early 20th-century diamond and sapphire brooch was closely followed, with many eager bidders registering ahead of the sale to secure this lot. Although not desperately sought after as a brooch, old pieces such as this are often set with old un-heated gemstones from sought after regions such as Burma. This brooch was set with an attractively saturated sapphire and probably had no heat treatment to improve its colour. Estimate £1000-1500, this stunning brooch sold for £4,250 to the lucky bidder. 

Lot 269, an 18ct. gold citrine, hematite, and cultured pearl ‘kiss pin’ by Elizabeth Gage realised £2,000. Pieces of ‘Art Jewellery’ by this designer and goldsmith are highly collectable and measuring 6.1cm wide this piece is quite a statement and complete with maker’s case, making it highly attainable. 

With an estimated price of £800-1200, Lot 268, a pair of diamond brooches by Vedura realised £3,500. Typical of Vedura’s high standard in the manufacture and charming design of pine cones, these were a very appealing purchase. 

Estimated to sell for £1500 – 2000, Lot 274 an early 18ct gold, garnet, and diamond ring by Anglo-Italian designer Andrew Grima realised £2,200. Early rings by Grima are scarce and although the design seemed quite simple, the abstract decoration to the mount and gallery showed the early signs of Grima’s flare for the unusual. Coming from his father in laws workshop with the mark HJCO, it was signed by Grima. 

To view all the results from the Jewellery & Watches auction click here. The next Jewellery & Watches auction will take place on Tuesday 22 September.

For any further enquiries in regards to the Jewellery & Watches department please contact the Head of Department, Mark Bowis: [email protected]

 

For any press related enquires please contact Marketing & PR Project Manager, Peigi Mackillop: [email protected] 

Roseberys- Islamic & Indian Art Online Auction Results

Roseberys- Islamic & Indian Art Online Auction Results

International buyers embraced remote bidding at rescheduled auctions of Islamic and Indian Art at Roseberys London.

Portrait of ‘The Messalina of the Punjab’ who fought British rule was among the top-selling lots.

 

A posthumous portrait of Maharani Jind Kaur – the fearless Sikh queen of Lahore who became a serious obstacle to British rule in India – was a star lot in Roseberys rescheduled Indian and Islamic art sales. 

The oil on canvas came from a private collection in Copenhagen and was painted in c.1905 by the Danish artist Hugo Vilfred Pedersen (1870-1959), a leading painter in the British Indian colonies during the early 20th century. Estimated at £3,000-5,000 in the Arts of India auction on June 17, it attracted fierce competition and eventually sold for £23,750. 

Jind Kaur, popularly known as Rani Jindan, was the youngest wife of Ranjit Singh, the Maharaja of Punjab. Her revolt began when her husband died of a stroke in 1839 and the British tried to wrest the kingdom from Duleep Singh, her infant son, and heir. 

Renowned for her beauty, energy, and strength of purpose, Jindan is chiefly remembered for the fear she engendered in the British in India. In a smear campaign, she was derisively labeled the ‘Messalina of the Punjab’, a salacious seductress too rebellious to be controlled. During her rule as regent, she waged two disastrous wars against the British that led to the annexation of Punjab. Her life was the subject of the 2009 film Rebel Queen. (Lot 79)

With social-distancing restrictions in place, Roseberys rescheduled sales of Islamic and Indian art saw a huge increase in international bidding across online platforms and on the phones. The June sales, originally planned for April and containing a wide range of artefacts from the Islamic and Indian Worlds, was particularly strong on Islamic manuscripts. 

A manuscript of the Qasida al-Burda (Poem of the Mantle) – a celebrated ode to the Prophet Muhammad – sold for £23,750 in the Islamic Art & Manuscripts sale on June 16. The Arabic manuscript was copied and signed by Sadiq bin Yusuf of Sian, China, in 1010AH (1601-02) and contained interlinear translation and copious notes throughout. Online and commission bidders competed before it was eventually won by an international online bidder on thesaleroom.com. (Lot 66)

A £18,750 bid secured a fine and rare Timurid copy of Rumi’s Mathnawi Ma’nawi made in Iran in c.1480 and sourced from a private collection in London. The polychrome frontispiece was particularly admired, with its rigorous and complex pattern of interlacing split-palmettes, flowering vines and stellar motifs. (Lot 134)

Eagerly contested elsewhere was an attractive and colourful Persian manuscript bound in concertina-form and containing ten calligraphic panels set against intricate patterns of weaving gold flowers on coloured paper. This Qajar muraqqa, signed by Ali Raza Abbasi and dated 1007AH (1598), drew fierce bidding across the online platforms Roseberys Live, Invaluable and thesaleroom.com before it was knocked down at £17,500. (Lot 100)

Two large Qajar pottery tiles from a distinguished Italian collection were much admired in the sale. The first was a c.1890 example finely painted with two princely figures on horseback hunting wild boar and was bid to £8,750. The second, a c.1880 piece, depicted the founder of the great Safavid dynasty, Shah Ismail, herding wild animals with his courtiers against a vivid cobalt background. Bidding took place between the telephone and online, eventually going to an online bidder for £5,500. (Lot 248) (Lot 249) 

Further highlights included a dozen ancient black Etruscan bucchero vessels from a private collection in New Mexico that sold together at £5,750 and a large Indo-Persian brass celestial globe signed by Amal Nasir al-Din Tusi in 1305AH (1887-88AD) and extensively engraved with markings, figures, astrological symbols and pictorial representations of the constellations. This was secured by a bidder on Roseberys Live for £3,750. (Lot 14) (Lot 262) 

Bids also emerged for Indian miniatures with distinguished provenance. The scene of a princess lamenting her lover’s departure painted on a miniature from Kangra in North India sold to a telephone bidder for £7,500. The early 19th-century work came from the collection of Dr. WB Manley, a great collector of Indian paintings who had served in the Indian Police in the Bombay Presidency from 1905-24. He exhibited works from his collection on a number of occasions, including in the Royal Academy Exhibition The Art of India and Pakistan (1947-48). (Lot 166)

Also from Kangra was an illustration of Vipralabdha – the so-called ‘disappointed mistress’ and one of the eight ‘nayikas’ who is deceived into waiting all night for a lover who never comes. Another miniature with excellent provenance, it was acquired by Robert Henry Wallace Dunlop (1823-1887) and thence by descent. 

Dunlop was born in Madras and held the position of district officer of the Meerut District during the Indian Mutiny of 1857. He penned the books Service and Adventure with the Khakee Ressalah (1858) and Hunting in the Himalaya (1860). The lot went to a telephone bidder for £3,000. (Lot 162)

The trend for strong sales continued in the jewellery section where a 19th-century emerald inscribed with Quranic verses and set in a European gold mount sold to a commission bidder for £4,750. (Lot 92)

A 19th-century sword with an undulating blade, gold overlaid hilt and an inscription to the inside of the knuckle guard was won by a telephone bidder who paid a multi-estimate £3,250 among a select offering of arms and armour. (Lot 76)

 

 

For further information please contact:

Peigi Mackillop

[email protected]

+44 (0) 20 8761 2522 

 

Freeman’s- Ongoing Success of Online Art + Design Auctions

Freeman’s- Ongoing Success of Online Art + Design Auctions

Following its highly successful online Design and Modern & Contemporary Art auctions this Spring, Freeman’s is pleased to announce another stellar result. Its inaugural June 26 Art + Design auction achieved a 95% sell-through rate and totaled just shy of $500,000, comfortably surpassing its pre-sale high estimate.

 

With works offered at more accessible price points by world-class artists and designers such as George Nakashima, Samuel Yellin, Josef Albers, Robert Motherwell, and Pablo Picasso, the 94-lot auction welcomed a host of new online bidders. Accounting for 40% of successful buyers, the influx of new bidders confirms Freeman’s continued success in attracting new online buyers.

“Not only am I thrilled by the competitive bidding and strong prices achieved throughout our Art + Design sale, but I’m also highly encouraged by the robust presence of new collectors attracted to the sale by its diversity of material and approachable price points,” remarked Head of Sale Shannon Jeffers, “As the art market continues to shift towards a predominantly virtual format, Freeman’s continues to create new and exciting opportunities for first-time, online buyers to join our community of art lovers. We are harnessing the momentum generated by this first Art + Design auction by offering similar sales this fall, including another Art + Design auction as well as a dedicated, online Prints and Multiples auction.”

Last Friday’s auction was led by a Rare Four-door “Chan” Cabinet, New York, circa 1970s by Philip and Kelvin LaVerne (Lot 15), which surpassed its pre-sale high estimate to sell for $43,750.

 

 

Other Design works that exceeded expectations include a Special “Triple Cabinet with Sliding Doors”, 1971 by George Nakashima (Lot 70), which sold for $27,500 and a Two-door Gate for the Miles F. Goodman Residence, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 1924 by Samuel Yellin (Lot 77), which realized $27,500.

A light-switch cover made by Yellin for the same residence (Lot 78) sparked a lengthy bidding war that saw the piece soar past its pre-sale estimate of $400-600, bringing $16,250.

Prints, multiples, and sculptures by well-known artists from around the world elicited spirited competition, resulting in numerous strong prices. A particular highlight was New York, N.Y. 10008 by Chilean artist Nemesio Antunez (Lot 40), which realized $19,500, far exceeding its pre-sale estimate of $800-1,200.

The Untitled sculpture by Mexican artist Pedro Friedeberg (Lot 12) also performed well, nearly doubling its pre-sale high estimate, realizing $5,938.

Works on paper by blue-chip artists such as Adolph Gottlieb (Lot 36); Patrick Heron (Lot 35); Josef Albers (Lot 31); and Paul Jenkins (Lot 94) also achieved prices above their estimates.

 

The Art + Design auction is the first of its kind at Freeman’s. It presents art and objects from the Modern & Contemporary and Design departments in compelling ways, appealing to a new generation of buyers who collect across categories. A number of similar auctions are planned for Freeman’s Fall/Winter 2020 auction season.

HEAD OF SALE

Shannon Jeffers | [email protected]

 

PRESS INQUIRIES

Madeline Hill | [email protected]

Roseberys- Portraits Proving Popular at Old Master Auction

Roseberys- Portraits Proving Popular at Old Master Auction

Roseberys London: The highly anticipated Old Master, 18th & 19th Century Pictures auction, on Thursday 4 June was the first sale to take place since the lockdown began. Despite the postponement and obstacles due to Covid-19, the auction was a great success, producing fantastic results throughout. With highlights including a Hunting scene, painted by French artist René Princeteau and a portrait of a lady in the manner of Italian artist Pierfrancesco Cittadini, both selling both for £30,000 each. 

On the overall sale, Marcus Grey, Head of Department, commented: Last Thursday’s auction showed some fantastic results for Roseberys with early portraiture dominating the highlights. A beautiful mid-17th century portrait attributed to the circle of Pierfrancesco Cittadini made a result of £30,000, whilst a unique portrait by Lavinia Fontana made £7,500. Also, our private collection of Portrait miniatures proved to be very popular, with Lot 4 selling for £6,875 and lot 20, a Portrait miniature of a high-ranking Napoleonic officer by Louis-Marie Sicardi- selling for £5,500. The results of the René Princeteau’s also showed that the market for this artist continues to be strong with many selling for the above estimate. 

Before the sale began, the internet clerks were briefed and ready to expect a busy day of sales. Expectations were set high due to the number of pre-registered bidders which exceeded 800, poised, and ready to compete for their lots throughout the day. 

The beginning of the sale saw a collection of 67 miniatures realise excellent results, with many achieving prices higher than their estimates. One being lot 4, circle of English artist Isaac Oliver. The portrait miniature of a lady in a glazed oval silver frame, sold for £6,875, over double its expected estimated value. 

 

Estimated to sell for £6,000 – £8,000, lot 72 was fiercely bid up to a successful sale price of £30,000. The Portrait of a lady, wearing a red Italo-Hispanic dress, holding a rose is circle of Italian artist Pierfrancesco Cittadini, 1616–1681. Born in Milan, Cittadini initially became a pupil of Daniele Crespi before heading to Bologna in the 1630s to establish himself as an artist in the workshop of Guido Reni, later rivaling his former master for altarpiece commissions within the city. The Portrait of a lady is typical of the artist’s style. Known for his attention to detail in the portraits of female sitters, the present oil on canvas characteristically displays the attention to the elaborate costume of the sitter and the rose she holds in her hand. 

 

Another work that sailed high above its estimate to £23,750 was lot 75. The oil on canvas depicting choppy waters with a whale and a sea-monster, is circle of Dutch artist Hendrick Cornelisz Vroom, 1562-1640. Hendrik Cornelisz Vroom was a Dutch Golden Age painter credited with being the founder of Dutch marine art or seascape painting. His work can be seen in the Rijksmuseum, Frans Hals Museum, and Westfriesmuseum. 

 

Previously sold at Sotheby’s London in 1993, lot 103, was successfully bid up to a final selling price of £8,125, from its original estimate of £2,000 – £3,000. The oil on canvas, titled Esther Before Ahasuerus, hails from the Genoese School, 17th century. 

 

Realising a price of £7,500, lot 96 is a beautiful self-portrait, with strong provenance by Italian artist Lavinia Fontana, 1552-1614. The, signed, inscribed, and dated oil on canvas self-portrait of the artist as St. Catherine of Alexandria, was painted in 1595. St. Catherine is portrayed with her traditional attributes gazing up to the heavens in Fontana’s typically Mannerist style. The detail and colour is employed vibrantly, reminiscent of the work of Sofonisba Anguissola, another female northern Italian Renaissance painter.

 

Titled Il Guercino, lot 109, study of a woman half-length with arm outstretched in red chalk on laid paper sold for £6,875. The Italian picture that was likely to be created around the period of 1591-1666, is from the workshop of Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, proving that there is still some market demand for good quality works on paper, a market that has suffered greatly over the last ten years. 

 

A collection of star lots within the auction came toward the end of the sale, with multiple bidders competing from Belgium, France, and the US. All the works by French artist René Charles Pierre Princeteau, 1843-1919, came from a private collection. A master in the depiction of equestrian subject matter, René Princeteau is considered to be one of the most highly sought-after academic French artists of the late 19th century. Lot 364, Early morning, bringing out hounds with huntsmen in attendance; oil on canvas, was the hotly contested work that soared up to £30,000. The work is considered to be a fine example of the artist’s carefully conceived hunting scenes. This painting will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné on René Princeteau compiled by Louis Cuvreau and Hubert de Watrigant. 

 

 

Other sale highlights coming from the private collection of Princeteau’s works, were lot 358, Veneur pendant un débuché, selling for £13,750, lot 359, La Chasses Basque selling for £12,500 and lot 360, Piqueur Foulant selling for £11,500. In total, the collection of seven works by Princeteau sold for, £90,125. 

 

For further information please contact

Head of Department Marcus Grey [email protected] 

Please note all the prices quoted include Buyer’s Premium of 25% 

Freeman’s – Impressive Chinese Imperial Porcelains

Freeman’s – Impressive Chinese Imperial Porcelains

PHILADELPHIA, PA— On Friday, June 19, Freeman’s will offer over 200 carefully selected lots in its Asian Arts auction.  Spanning centuries and countries, the sale is a compelling offering of furniture, porcelains, jades, textiles, sculpture and fine art from across the Far East, including a group of ancient Chinese bronzes from a private Main Line collection and a selection of mark and period Chinese porcelains of the Qing dynasty.

CHINESE IMPERIAL PORCELAINS

The sale includes a fine selection of elegant imperial Chinese porcelains from the 18th and 19th centuries.  The highlight is a rare and refined blue and white-decorated porcelain lobed bowl, Qianlong mark, and period (Lot 58, $30,000-50,000).  When acquired by the present owner in 2011, only one other known example, with a yellow enamel ground, was noted.

 

BUDDHAS AND BODHISATTVAS FROM JAPAN TO THE HIMALAYAS

A strong section of the sale is composed of Buddhist figural arts, including examples rarely encountered on the market.  For sheer elegance of execution, the 15th century Nepalese or Tibetan gilt copper alloy figure of a bodhisattva (Lot 31, $20,000-30,000) is unequaled among the sculptures.  With finely cast and finished details and a rich gilded surface suitably-worn by centuries of adoration, the bodhisattva is an example of the fine workmanship, likely Newari, which so influenced the exquisite gilt bronzes of the early Ming dynasty.

Of particular note is a small, gold repoussé Southeast Asian figure of a seated Buddha from the 12th-14th century (Lot 26, $10,000-15,000).  Acquired by the husband of the present owner from noted New York dealer Doris Wiener, the Buddha is a rare survivor in precious metal, with a lively expression and large presence belying its 2 ¼ inch height.  It is joined in the sale by a number of additional Chinese, Japanese, and Burmese figures of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, which differ in size and are made of varying elements including wood, sandstone, copper, and bronze.

This piece is joined by a small group of monochrome red bowls and dishes (Lots 59-62) given to the present owner’s mother by her longtime friend, Joseph Paul Gardner — an architect and dancer who served as one of the Monuments Men in World War II and as first Director (1933-1953) of what is now the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, MO.

Lot 31: A Nepalese or Tibetan gilt copper alloy figure of a bodhisattva

15th century

Estimate $20,000-30,000

Lot 194: Waterfall, Tani Buncho (1763-1840)

H: 130 1/2, W: 55 3/4 in.

Estimate $6,000 – 8,000

Lot 189: A rare and impressive Japanese patinated bronze censer and cover with original wood stand, Miyao.

Meiji period, late 19th century.

Estimate $25,000 – $35,000

 

JAPANESE PAINTING AND CALLIGRAPHY FROM THE COLLECTION OF BETTY BORMAN, LOS ANGELES

California collector Betty Borman assembled a fine group of Japanese ink paintings and calligraphy, including works by some of the most noted artists of their time.  Of particular note is the grandly-scaled “Waterfall” by Tani Buncho (1763-1840) (Lot 194, $6,000-8,000), which may be the artist’s largest extant work, and a six-panel folding screen, “Dragon Vanishing into Clouds,” by famed lacquer artist Shibata Zeshin (1807-1891) (Lot 195, $10,000-15,000).

 

AUCTION

June 19 | 10am

 

HEAD OF SALE

Ben Farina, [email protected]

PRESS INQUIRIES

Madeline Hill, [email protected]

 

Freeman’s – Modern Art Auction Achieves Over $1M

Freeman’s – Modern Art Auction Achieves Over $1M

PHILADELPHIA, PAFreeman’s is delighted to announce the results of its highly successful Modern & Contemporary Art Auction—their first online fine art sale of 2020. With an impressive sell-through rate of 95%, the 58-lot sale achieved over $1 million, just shy of its pre-sale high estimate. Strong prices were achieved for Latin American, English, and iconic American Pop artists. With many consignments from private New York collectors, the auction included notable works by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Diego Rivera, and Andy Warhol.

“We were delighted to see that the market remains competitive for top works by blue-chip artists, and to achieve an enviable sell-through rate in our first online fine art sale,” said Dunham Townend, Head of Freeman’s Modern & Contemporary Art Department. With this most recent success, Freeman’s raises its average sell-through rate for its 2020 fine auctions to 93.5%.

 

SECOND HIGHEST PRICE ACHIEVED AT AUCTION FOR “CHANEL” BY ANDY WARHOL

The sale was led by Chanel, an iconic print from Andy Warhol’s, Ads series, which sold for $175,000—nearly the high end of its pre-sale estimate. This price is the second-highest ever fetched at auction for this important screenprint.  Robust pre-sale interest and spirited bidding from the East and West Coasts, as well as from Europe, culminated in one of the highest auction prices ever achieved for this iconic Pop image.

 

ROBUST PRICES ACHIEVED FOR BRITISH MODERNISTS

Skoob Assemblage by British Modernist John Latham was a runaway success.  Bidders from the United Kingdom, Europe, and America competed vigorously for this fresh-to-market assemblage by one of England’s most celebrated Conceptual artists. The work more than quintupled its pre-sale low estimate, realizing $27,500.

Similar-spirited bidding drove Lynn Chadwick’s Pair of Cloaked Figures to sell for $43,750. This quintessential example by the revered British sculptor had been in a private New York collection since 1978.

These robust results continue Freeman’s long-established history of success with Modern British artists including William Scott, Henry Moore, and John Hoyland.

Lot 44: Skoob AssemblageJohn Latham (British, 1921-2006)

Sold for: $27,500 (buyer’s premium included)

 

Lot 30: Yellow RoadAlex Katz (American, born 1927)

Sold for: $46,875 (buyer’s premium included)

 

Lot 2: Soldat Marocain et Hamido, Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1954)

Sold for: $18,750 (buyer’s premium included)

 

WORKS BY PICASSO, RIVERA, KATZ, RODRIGUE & MATISSE EXCEED EXPECTATIONS

Strong prices were also achieved for works by many other internationally renowned and sought after artists. Other notable results include $46,875 for Pablo Picasso’s Face with Black Nose and Alex Katz’s Yellow Road; $32,500 for Diego Rivera’s Seated Woman; $25,000 for George Rodrigue’s Blue Over You; and $18,750 for Henri Matisse’s Soldat Marocain et Hamido.

 

 

HEAD OF SALE

Dunham Townend  [email protected]

 

PRESS INQUIRIES

Madeline Hill, [email protected]

Freeman’s – Significant Art By Redfield & Garber

Freeman’s – Significant Art By Redfield & Garber

PHILADELPHIA, PA—On Sunday, June 7, Freeman’s will hold its much anticipated, bi-annual auction of American Art & Pennsylvania Impressionists. The sale will include a number of works by marquee names in the field, such as Robert Henri(1865-1929), William Macgregor Paxton (1869-1941), Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975) and Jessie Willcox Smith (1863-1935). This season, a particularly heavy focus will be made on the New Hope School through high-level pieces coming from the private Collection of Heidi Bingham Stott, granddaughter of the illustrious Hiram Bingham who notably rediscovered the archeological site of Machu Pichu in 1911.

 

THE STRONGEST COLLECTION OF PENNSYLVANIA IMPRESSIONISTS TO COME TO AUCTION IN YEARS

Spring at Point Pleasant on the Delaware River by Edward Redfield (1869-1965) is one of the anticipated highlights of the Stott Collection (Lot 40, estimate: $300,000-500,000). Executed en plein-air on May Day of 1926, the painting depicts, in thick and short brushstrokes, a plunging view of the Delaware River from the artist’s studio in Point Pleasant. The subject was one of Redfield’s favorites, and he continuously returned to the location to paint similar vistas, as exemplified by The Peaceful Valley (Lot 57, estimate: $200,000-300,000) another view of the celebrated locale from a different private collection, which Redfield executed in a more modern fashion almost a decade later.

Among the other highlights of the Stott Collection are three oils by Daniel Garber (1880-1958), including Rodger’s Meadow (Lot 44, estimate: $200,000-300,000),  an important canvas that illustrates a shift in the artist’s career. Executed in 1922, the work faithfully records the local geography and the daily life of Bucks County, where Garber and his family moved at the turn of the century.

The Stott Collection also includes two quintessential nocturne scenes by George Sotter (1883-1951) (Lots 41& 42), as well as a rare Italian canvas by Fern Coppedge (1883-1951), which the artist completed after her return from Florence in 1926 (Lot 43).

NOTABLE PENNSYLVANIA PIECES

Philadelphia and other Pennsylvania artists will be well-represented in the June sale, starting with The Converted Barn, an early painting by N.C. Wyeth (1853-1890), which depicts the studio where the artist would paint Treasure Island several years later (Lot 26, estimate: $50,000-80,000). Executed in 1908 (the year N.C. and his wife Carolyn moved from Delaware to Chadds Ford), the work shows Wyeth’s affinity for landscape painting and more specifically, his appreciation of the lush Brandywine River Valley.

 

Lot 57: The Peaceful Valley, Edward Redfield (1869-1965)

Estimate $200,000-300,000

 

Lot 44: Rodger’s Meadow, Daniel Garber (1880-1958)

Estimate $200,000-300,000

 

Lot 41: 1 of 2 quintessential nocturne scenes, George Sotter (1883-1951)

Estimate: $50,000-80,000

 

Lot 42: 1 of 2 quintessential nocturne scenes, George Sotter (1883-1951)

Estimate: $40,000-60,000

 

Lot 43: A rare Italian canvas by Fern Coppedge (1883-1951) in 1926.

Estimate: $25,000-40,000

 

Lot 26: The Converted Barn, N.C. Wyeth (1853-1890)

Estimate $50,000-80,000

 

Four pieces by Philadelphia native Arthur B. Carles (1882-1952) will also be included in the sale, starting with a 1908 portrait of his then-fiancée Mercedes de Cordoba (Lot 29, estimate: $15,000-25,000). Shown seated in front of a window pane in which one can spot the reflection of the artist himself, Mlle de C. owes a great debt to the art of Henri Matisse, whom Carles revered and met in Paris. In contrast, Abstract Still Life with Drape (Lot 32, estimate: $15,000-25,000) shows the strong influence that Cubism and Georges Braque had on Carles in the 1930s, a moment when the artist tried to synthesize his exploration of shapes with his love of color.

 

OTHER AUCTION HIGHLIGHTS

Among the several 19th century pieces on offer are two oils by Theodore Robinson (1852-1896), both kept in the family of the artist since his death in 1896. Respectively executed in Giverny and at his return to the United States, Moyen-Age (Lot 10, estimate: $7,000-10,000) and Vermont Hillside (Lot 9, estimate: $20,000-30,000) illustrate the influence of French painting, and of Impressionist Master Claude Monet, on the artist. The rest of the sale includes the recently rediscovered Signing of the Compact in the Cabin of the Mayflower by Edwin White (1842-1946), which is considered one of the greatest pieces the artist ever made (Lot 4, estimate: $10,000-15,000); three French canvases by Theodore Earl Butler (1861-1936) with stellar provenance (Lots 17-19, estimates: range from $15,000 to 40,000); as well as two watercolors by Stephen Scott Young (born 1957), including one directly bought from the artist (Lot 37, estimate: $10,000-15,000 & Lot 38, estimate: $12,000-18,000)

 

AUCTION

June 7 | 2pm

HEAD OF SALE

Alasdair Nichol, [email protected]

PRESS INQUIRIES

Madeline Hill, [email protected]

Julien’s – ‘Sports Legends’ With Iconic Kobe Bryant Pieces

Julien’s – ‘Sports Legends’ With Iconic Kobe Bryant Pieces

Los Angeles, California -Julien’s Auctions announced the new date for SPORTS LEGENDS will be May 21 2020, live online at juliensauctions.com with over 300 historic sports artifacts atop the auction podium in a winners’ circle of uniforms, medals, shoes, memorabilia, sports equipment and more from the worlds of basketball, soccer, baseball, and beyond.

Among the highlights announced is a collection of items from Kobe Bryant, the basketball legend and 18-time All-Star who won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Items include: Bryant’s full Los Angeles Lakers number “8” home uniform, game-worn during the 1999-2000 NBA Finals and embroidered with an official NBA logo under a black armband worn in remembrance of Wilt Chamberlain (estimate: $10,000-$20,000); Bryant’s 2011 handprints in cement from Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood where the NBA legend became the first athlete to cast prints at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre (estimate: $4,000-$6,000) and Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers home number “24” jersey game worn during the 2006-2007 season (estimate: $4,000-$6,000); a pair of black and white Adidas brand basketball shoes game-worn and signed by Bryant and inscribed with his jersey number “8” (estimate: $2,000-$4,000).

 

The highlights also include a Spalding NBA All-Conference basketball signed by the members of the 2009-2010 Los Angeles Lakers including, Bryant, Ron Artest, Shannon Brown, Andrew Bynum, Jordan Farmar, Derek Fisher, Pau Gasol, Didier Ilunga-Mbenga, Adam Morrison, Lamar Odom, Josh Powell, Sasha Vujacic, and Luke Walton (estimate:$2,000-$4,000).

Born on August 23, 1978, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Kobe Bean Bryant was the son of Joe Bryant, a professional basketball player in Italy where Bryant and his family lived for eight years and where Bryant learned to speak Italian fluently. In 1996 after graduating from high school at the age of 18, Bryant became the youngest player at the time in NBA history when he joined the Los Angeles Lakers, the team he would play for throughout his entire professional career. In his spectacular 20-year basketball career, Bryant would elevate the sport to new heights and achieved other unprecedented feats and honors including 18 NBA All-Star titles, five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, two NBA Finals Most Valuable Player awards, four NBA All-Star Game MVP awards, two Olympic gold medals for men’s basketball and ranking as the fourth-highest scorer in NBA history.

On April 13, 2016 in his final NBA game before retiring, Bryant scored an astounding 60 points for the Lakers who defeated the Utah Jazz 101-96. In 2017, the Lakers retired Bryant’s jersey numbers No. 8 and No. 24. Bryant also won a Sports Emmy and Academy Award for the 2018 Best Animated Short Film, Dear Basketball.

On January 26, 2020, Bryant’s tragic death, at the age of 41 in a helicopter crash with eight other people including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, sent shock waves across the globe. Before his death, Bryant was named one of the eight finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this year.

“As one of the millions of fans mourning around the world, we were deeply saddened and shocked to learn of Kobe Bryant’s passing while we were preparing for our annual Sports Legends auction a few weeks ago”, said Darren Julien, President/Chief Executive Officer of Julien’s Auctions. “We are honored to include this collection of his items and pay tribute to this giant who was an inspiration not only to basketball fans but to the entire world.

Other Sports highlights include: a Jules Rimet replica trophy presented to Marco Antônio Feliciano during the 1970 World Cup with the Brazilian National Soccer Team when Brazil defeated Uruguay 3-1 in the semifinals and crushed Italy 4-1 in the tournament final at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City (estimate: $30,000-$50,000); a Los Angeles 1984 Summer Olympics silver medal (estimate: $6,000-$8,000); a 2002 FIFA World Cup gold winner’s medal awarded to a player from the champion Brazil national football team from the first World Cup to be held in Asia and the first and only World Cup to be jointly hosted by more than one nation, in South Korea and Japan (estimate: $20,000-$40,000); a 1994 FIFA World Cup gold winner’s medal awarded to a member of the champion Brazil national football team during which Brazil defeated Italy 3-2 in a penalty shootout after the game ended 0-0 in extra time, the first World Cup final to be decided on penalties (estimate: $20,000-$40,000); a yellow and green satin sash presented by the Brazilian Football Confederation to commemorate Brazil’s fourth FIFA World Cup victory (estimate: $2,000-$4,000); a gold tone medal awarded to a player from the champion Brazil national football team, winner of the 2005 Confederations Cup during which Brazil won the tournament, defeating Argentina 4-1 in the final at Waldstadion in Frankfurt (estimate: $3,000-$5,000); a 2009 medal awarded to a player from the champion Brazil national football team, the winner of the 2009 South Africa Confederations Cup by defeating the United States 3-2 in the final to retain the Cup trophy the team won in 2005 (estimate: $3,000-$5,000) and more.

JULIEN’S AUCTIONS LIVE ONLINE AUCTION

SPORTS LEGENDS

Thursday, May 21st, 2020

Session I: 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time

For inquiries, please email [email protected] or call 310-836-1818.

 

 

Bryant’s full Los Angeles Lakers number “8” home uniform, game-worn during the 1999-2000 NBA Finals and embroidered with an official NBA logo under a black armband worn in remembrance of Wilt Chamberlain

Estimate: $10,000-$20,000

Freeman’s – Results of P.G. Wodehouse Books & Ephemera

Freeman’s – Results of P.G. Wodehouse Books & Ephemera

PHILADELPHIA, PA— Continuing its success with private collections and single-owner sales, Freeman’s achieved a 96% sell-through rate for its May 7 auction of The P.G. Wodehouse Collection of William Toplis. The house is pleased to add this strong sell-through rate for a single-owner collection to its list of recent single-owner sale successes.

THE P.G. WODEHOUSE COLLECTION OF WILLIAM TOPLIS

Comprising nearly 200 lots that included first editions, manuscripts, original art, sheet music, libretti, scripts, and much more, the comprehensive, albeit niche, collection elicited interest from Wodehouse aficionados worldwide.

 

DIGITAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN ATTRACTS NEW BIDDERS

As a result of a robust digital marketing campaign combined with direct outreach to Wodehouse societies and collectors around the globe, 40% of buyers in this auction were new to Freeman’s–a statistic that is consistent with the company’s average for online auctions in 2020.  Aggressive and lengthy bidding wars erupted for many of the collection’s most covetable lots, driving selling prices far past their pre-sale estimates.

TOP LOTS: POCKET WATCH AND TYPESCRIPT

Most notably, Lot 177: P.G. Wodehouse’s Pocket Watch, which was elaborately engraved with the author’s monogram, sold for over ten times its high estimate to achieve $4,375. The sale was led by Lot 24: A corrected typescript of Do Butlers Burgle Banks, which featured extensive autographs revisions and annotations in pencil and red and blue ink by Wodehouse himself; the lot exceeded expectations to sell for $8,750.

SINGLE OWNER SALES: FREEMAN’S FOCUS

Selling works from private & corporate collections –whether as stand-alone single-owner sales or featured works within departmental auctions–is considered to be one of Freeman’s strongest areas of achievement.  Recent successes include The Collection of Robert J. Morrison; The Collection of Richard E. Oldenburg; The Collection of Victor Niederhoffer; The Jeff Hunter Collection; and The Collection of Dorrance “Dodo” H. Hamilton.

 

H&H Classics- 1934 Alvis Speed 20 Sb Vanden Plas Saloon

H&H Classics- 1934 Alvis Speed 20 Sb Vanden Plas Saloon

H&H Classics are proud to offer this magnificent Alvis for sale at their next Live Auction Online on May 27th. 

Charles Follett was a mercurial character who became renowned within the London motor trade for sourcing the very best pre-owned exotica. He would travel anywhere in the UK for the right car, building-up an enviable client base in the process. A member of the Brooklands set, his ‘black book’ comprised society’s elite from racing drivers to celebrities via members of the aristocracy. Given sufficient funding to buy showrooms in the heart of Mayfair, he became the Alvis concessionaire for London and the Home Counties during 1931. 

 

Seriously impressed by the Coventry firm’s engineering integrity but dismayed at the staidness of its offerings, Follett set about turning the marque into a Lagonda, Sunbeam, Invicta and (later) Bentley rival. Decades before Jaguar came up with its famous ‘Grace . . . Space . . . Pace’ slogan, he was adamant that all three were intrinsic to making a car appeal to wealthy buyers.

Introduced in late 1931, the Alvis Speed 20 SA was the first model which Follett could really sink his teeth into. Based around a low-slung, double-dropped chassis frame, powered by a lusty 2511cc OHV straight-six engine and boasting 90mph performance, it proved an ideal canvas for the coachbuilder’s art. Conscious that Vanden Plas’ order book had thinned considerably due to Rolls-Royce’s acquisition of Bentley and the subsequent hiatus in the latter’s production, he approached the London company with a bold proposal. Follett would order a minimum of 100 bodies from them if they would (a) cut the average cost from £600 to £195 per chassis and (b) devise a range of suitably rakish designs over which he would have sign off. Vanden Plas capitulated and came up with a notably stylish Saloon, Tourer and Drophead Coupe which The Autocar hailed as ‘very attractive special bodies’.

Often at loggerheads with Alvis’ supremo T.G. John and his chief engineer G.T. Smith-Clarke over the ‘unnecessary’ expense of a la mode coachwork, Follett once denied the pair access to their own boardroom while he laid out the £895 required to buy a Speed 20 in one pound and ten shilling notes just so they would better appreciate that looks and amenities were as important as driving dynamics when such sums were involved.

Introduced in late 1931, the Alvis Speed 20 SA was the first model which Follett could really sink his teeth into. Based around a low-slung, double-dropped chassis frame, powered by a lusty 2511cc OHV straight-six engine and boasting 90mph performance, it proved an ideal canvas for the coachbuilder’s art. Conscious that Vanden Plas’ order book had thinned considerably due to Rolls-Royce’s acquisition of Bentley and the subsequent hiatus in the latter’s production, he approached the London company with a bold proposal. Follett would order a minimum of 100 bodies from them if they would (a) cut the average cost from £600 to £195 per chassis and (b) devise a range of suitably rakish designs over which he would have sign off. Vanden Plas capitulated and came up with a notably stylish Saloon, Tourer and Drophead Coupe which The Autocar hailed as ‘very attractive special bodies’.

Often at loggerheads with Alvis’ supremo T.G. John and his chief engineer G.T. Smith-Clarke over the ‘unnecessary’ expense of a la mode coachwork, Follett once denied the pair access to their own boardroom while he laid out the £895 required to buy a Speed 20 in one pound and ten shilling notes just so they would better appreciate that looks and amenities were as important as driving dynamics when such sums were involved.

Embracing the ‘Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday’ ethos, Follett campaigned a series of Alvis cars at Brooklands. Evolving from SA to SB guise in September 1933, the Speed 20 gained a four-speed all-synchromesh gearbox, independent front suspension and adjustable rear dampers. While, stylistically the model was enhanced via a forward sweeping scuttle / bonnet join line, 19-inch wire wheels and larger Lucas P100 headlights. Again tasked by Follett with clothing the Speed 20SB to best effect, Vanden Plas produced a variety of open and enclosed bodies the best looking of which was undoubtedly a two-door saloon cum fixed head coupe known as the ‘Flatback’.

 

A close-coupled, Four Light design with notably slim A-, B- and C-Pillars, the ‘Flatback’ also sported a distinctive swage line that accentuated its airy glasshouse and ‘letter box’ rear window. A spectacular exemplar of the ‘airline’ styling trend which captivated the automotive industry on both sides of the Atlantic during the mid-1930s, the Speed 20 SB ‘Flatback’ is arguably the best-looking enclosed Alvis ever made. Indeed, for many its desirability is second only to that of the (again) Vanden Plas-bodied 4.3 Litre Short Chassis Tourers. Often finished in two-tone liveries, the four-seater sported extravagantly peaked, full flowing wings as well as a louvred scuttle and external fuel filler neck. Long prized by collectors for being among the most elegant pre-WW2 Saloons, only eight of the thirty-six Speed 20 SB ‘Flatbacks’ made are known to have survived to the present day. Interestingly, the last one to go under the hammer fetched $198,000.

First registered in London on 24th January 1934 (or so its expired ‘AXH 434’ number plate would imply), chassis 11154 had migrated to West Sussex and the care of Frederick James Scott some twenty-one years later. Mr Scott kept the Alvis until Christopher Charles Storrar took possession during July 1970. Acquired by the famous W.O. Bentley dealer Stanley Mann the following November, the Speed 20 SB was sold to New Zealander David Curry shortly thereafter. Treated to an engine overhaul before passing to fellow Antipodean Joe Marsden in 1973, the ‘Flatback’ Saloon was subsequently treated to an extensive restoration that spanned two decades and was not completed until 1990.

Having refurbished the Alvis as a retirement project, Mr Marsden finally relinquished it to the then President of the Alvis Car Club of New Zealand, John St. Julian during 2008. Loaned to a member of the British Bentley Drivers’ Club the next year for a rally, the Speed 20 SB was forced to retire with a broken crankshaft. A new billet replacement was made by a firm in Melbourne and the camshaft reground to the original profile with new bearings being fitted throughout etc. However, with all Mr St Julian’s other commitments and cars, the ‘Flatback’ Saloon was in need of some recommissioning when it entered the current ownership in 2017. A committed Alvis enthusiast, the vendor has gone through the Speed 20 SB and got it running to his liking. As well as refurbishing the cooling system (radiator clean and repair), he has had the magneto rejuvenated and new brake linings installed throughout.

The seller informs us that: “There is a thermostatically- controlled electric fan fitted with a manual override (the model was not specified with a mechanical fan when new). In our hottest summer temperatures ever recorded (37.5 Celsius) the car performed perfectly during the annual Art Deco parade through the town of Napier (Art Deco Capital of The World), driving in 1st gear for 40 minutes without the fan coming on once. I have also converted the accelerator to the right of the brake pedal, as I have been driving for over fifty years and was prompted to do so after a very close call with a fence! The pedal layout can be returned to original configuration in five minutes if you are concerned with absolute authenticity. The trafficators ‘flash’ and there are indicators at all four corners for safety. These are integrated rather than being external additions. All original fittings are present on the car. These include: the built-in jacks front and rear, the Luvax adjustable rear shockers and the one-shot lubrication system. The extensive history file documents the restoration carried out by Joe Marsden as well as the additional work done by John and myself. It further includes the old-style UK buff logbook and registration plates, which are still on the car. The Alvis starts and runs very well and I have no hesitation in driving it anywhere”.

 

FOR MORE PRESS INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT THE H&H CLASSICS PRESS OFFICE:

Julian Roup ON +44 (0) 7970 563958

OR email [email protected]

 

Freeman’s – American Furniture & Arts Results

Freeman’s – American Furniture & Arts Results

PHILADELPHIA, PA—Freeman’s is pleased to announce the results of its April 28 & April 29 online auctions of American Furniture, Folk & Decorative Arts. Together, the back-to-back sales totaled just shy of $975,000. Both sales elicited the participation of a sizable number of new bidders and ultimately exceeded expectations, nearly reaching their pre-sale high estimates.

On April 28, 75 phone bidders competed against nearly 5,000 registered internet bidders resulting in lengthy bidding wars and an 87% sell-through rate. The 160 lot auction realized $886,645, with strong prices achieved for furniture, art, textiles and decorative objects alike.

 

STRONG PRICES REALIZED FOR FINE EXAMPLES OF PERIOD FURNITURE

The sale was led by a Chippendale carved walnut tall case clock with works by Pennsylvania clockmaker Daniel Rose (Lot 23), which realized $62,5000—one of the highest prices achieved for the maker at auction. Fine examples of period furniture performed well throughout the day and oftentimes exceeded their high estimates, discrediting the pessimistic, but popular, opinion that there is little desirability in today’s market for traditional  “brown wood.” Other notable results for furniture included: $25,000 for a Chippendale figured walnut secretary desk made for Jeremiah Wood, by Joseph Kimsey, Deptford, Gloucester County, NJ, 1791 (Lot 19, estimate: $10,000-15,000); $25,000 for an aesthetic rosewood multi-tiered table inlaid with a fly, and spider with web by A. & H. Lejambre (Lot 103, estimate: $8,000-12,000); and $17,500 for a Philadelphia Chippendale carved mahogany dressing table (Lot 41, estimate: $8,000-12,000).

RARE OBJECTS WITH IMPRESSIVE PROVENANCE ELICIT BIDDING WARS
Bidders competed aggressively for fresh-to-market objects that had compelling histories or had descended through prominent American families. A rare historic record of a specific North American time and place: of Western Plains life, exploration, the life and arts of Native peoples, and the transformation of the West, the single-owner Clement Hungerford Pollen Collection (Lot 155) generated considerable interest and ultimately achieved its high estimate of $50,000. A Baltimore painted and stenciled Grecian caned couch (Lot 68) came with an affixed note that said it descended in the Patterson Family of Baltimore, including Elizabeth (Betsy) Patterson Bonaparte (1785-1879), helping it to soar past its $500-800 pre-sale estimate to sell for $16,250. Similarly, a gilt-washed sterling askos claret jug by Gorham Mfg. Co. (Lot 111) that had descended in the Macalester Family and had been owned by Eliza Lytle ‘Lily’ Macalester (1832-1891) and her husband Alfred D. Berghmans (1832-1872), more than tripled its pre-sale high estimate to sell for $18,750. A striking group of ten Masonic charts by artist, miner and engineer George M. Silsbee (1840-1900) of Leadville, CO, sold for fifteen times its low estimate to realize $15,000.

MARITIME ART & OBJECTS FARE ESPECIALLY WELL, SAILING PAST PRE-SALE ESTIMATES

The auction featured a strong selection of maritime art & decorative objects, with many works coming from the Collection of Heidi Bingham Stott. Comprising a number of sailor’s valentines and woolies, the Collection was highlighted by two woolwork pictures: the first, depicting the “Capture of Canton by the Allies, December 28, 1857” (Lot 63), quadrupled its pre-sale low estimate to sell for $13,750; the second, depicting five ships by a coastline in white water (Lot 133), sold for over six times its low estimate, realizing $12,500. Beyond the collection, other nautical items, including ship paintings and Chinese Export porcelain, achieved strong prices: a collection of Chinese Export ‘Tobacco Leaf’ porcelain (Lots 29-39) totaled $57,151; and an American School 19th century painting of White Diamond Line Packet leaving Boston Harbor (Lot 87, estimate: $2,000-3,000) sold for $13,750.

Following suit, the April 29 auction was led by a painting by Alexander Charles Stuart (1831-1898) of an American Naval Engagement (Lot 105), which sold for over seventeen times its high estimate to realize $13,750.

ADDITIONAL SALE HIGHLIGHTS

Other highlights in the April 28 sale included an 18th century Boston canvas work picture (Lot 5, $35,000);  a Portrait of Henry Clay (1777-1852) by School of Matthew Harris Jouett (1788-1827) (Lot 69, $32,500); A Mexican War presentation sword to Brevet Major John Frederick Roland, 2nd Regiment U.S. Artillery by Ames Mfg. Co. (Lot 89, $23,750); and a rare and possibly unique painted tinware and zinc Liberty cap with Civil War association to the Pratt Street Riot (Lot 95, $18,750).

 

Lot 23: Chippendale carved walnut tall case clock with works by Pennsylvania clockmaker Daniel Rose

Sold for: $62,5000

Lot 19: Chippendale figured walnut secretary desk made for Jeremiah Wood, by Joseph Kimsey, Deptford, Gloucester County, NJ, 1791

Sold for: $25,000

Lot 103: Aesthetic rosewood multi-tiered table inlaid with a fly, and spider with web by A. & H. Lejambre

Sold For: $25,000 

Lot 31: Philadelphia Chippendale carved mahogany dressing table

Sold For: $17,500

Lot 155: A rare historic record of a specific North American time and place: of Western Plains life, exploration, the life and arts of Native peoples, and the transformation of the West, the single-owner Clement Hungerford Pollen Collection

Sold for: $50,000

Lot 68: A Baltimore painted and stenciled Grecian caned couch descended in the Patterson Family of Baltimore, including Elizabeth (Betsy) Patterson Bonaparte (1785-1879)

Sold for: $16,250

H&H Classics- Online Only Auction Achieves £600,000

H&H Classics- Online Only Auction Achieves £600,000

The 70% selling rate and £600,000 total achieved at the latest H&H Classics sale on Wednesday 29th April 2020 further embeds the success of the company’s Live Auction Online platform with four successful sales held during the Covid 19 pandemic.

Top Lot in the sale was a very fast Ford – a 1967 Ford Mustang 390 GT Fastback which made £63,250.

Damian Jones, Head of Sales for H&H Classics, comments: “If you are a fan of the model of Mustang immortalised by Steve McQueen’s Lieutenant Frank Bullitt and one of the most memorable car chases in cinema history, then you’ll probably be blown away by ‘YTA 488E’, which is without question the best 390 GT we have ever seen”.

 

The sale attracted some 387 online bidders with log-ins from as far afield as California and New Zealand. With mouse clickers vying against telephone and commission bidders, plenty of lots sold over top estimate but perhaps more impressively 48 percent of those participating in yesterday’s auction were new to H&H.

Nine cars exceeded their top estimate including an older restored, ex-USA 1970 Jaguar E-Type 4.2 Roadster which had been in the same family for the past 19 years, that sold for £50,600.

 

A 1996 Ferrari 456GT made £35,650 despite having over 99,000 miles on the clock. One of just 141 RHD manual cars supplied to the UK, it had been first owned by English entrepreneur, Sir Peter de Savary.

By way of complete contrast was a ‘restoration project’ from Derbyshire, a 1933 Invicta 12/45 Saloon which sold for £11,500. This car had stood out in all weathers for 35 years.

A 1999 Jaguar XK8 Convertible with 102,000 miles on the clock surprised by making £7,475. Its rare Metallic Aubergine livery obviously taking the fancy of two determined bidders.

 

 

FOR MORE PRESS INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT THE H&H CLASSICS PRESS OFFICE:

Julian Roup ON +44 (0) 7970 563958

OR email [email protected]

 

Freeman’s – Art Auction led by Warhol, Picasso & Katz

Freeman’s – Art Auction led by Warhol, Picasso & Katz

PHILADELPHIA, PA—On Thursday, May 14, Freeman’s will hold its online auction of Modern & Contemporary Art. The 58-lot sale spans myriad artistic periods and features fresh-to-market works by important international artists such as Sam Gilliam, Wolf Kahn, Harry Bertoia, Henri Matisse, and Lynn Chadwick, amongst others.

Says Dunham Townend, Head of Sale: “We are delighted to present this well-curated sale, which offers a wide array of works that will appeal to a broad cross-section of collectors.  With pieces by early Modern masters, Post-War luminaries, and dynamic blue-chip artists still working today, this sale offers something for the new as well as the established collector.”

 

WARHOL, PECHSTEIN, BRASILIER, KATZ AND PICASSO

Leading the auction is Chanel from Ads (Lot 48, $120,000-180,000) by American Pop Art icon Andy Warhol. Chanel is one of ten prints from Andy Warhol’s Ads series, each of which features images that were appropriated from ubiquitous ads or logos of the 1950s-1980s.  Like his famous depictions of celebrities, Warhol’s Ads both reveal and revel in our devotion to the iconography of fame and luxury. Chanel is an excellent example of the themes and techniques that Warhol explored throughout his long and celebrated career.

Other notable international top lots in the sale include: Äpfel (Lot 4; $60,000-100,000) by German Expressionist Max Pechstein and Cavaliers sur la Neige (Lot 32, $60,000-100,000) by French artist André Brasilier.  Äpfel depicts a still life of apples in a compressed and flattened space that seem to fall forward toward the viewer. Painted in 1928, this work reveals the influences of Matisse and Cézanne in Pechstein’s early work.  Brasilier’s Cavaliers sur la Neige is an excellent example of the artist’s lyrical and elegant depictions of horses in the landscape. Both paintings are fresh-to-the market, having been held in private collections for decades.

Notable contemporary works in the auction include Yellow Road (Lot 30, $25,000-40,000) and Forsythia (Lot 31, $20,000-$30,000) by Alex Katz; Behind Sam’s (Putney, VT) (Lot 29, $10,000-15,000) by Wolf Kahn; and Run (Lot 50, $15,000-$20,000)by Sam Gilliam.  Executed in 2011, Run is an exciting recent example by Gilliam, whose market has seen robust growth in recent years.

The sale also includes a grouping of ceramics by Pablo Picasso (Lots 8-11).  Leading them is Face with Black Nose  (Lot 11, $25,000-$40,000), an excellent example of the artist’s exploration of portraiture in his ceramic forms.  Additionally, there is a collection of sculptures by Kiki Smith, Lynda Benglis, David Salle and Richard Tuttle from the noted innovative Art Foundry Editions, Santa Fe, New Mexico (Lots 51-54).

 

LATIN-AMERICAN SECTION FEATURING DIEGO RIVERA AND OTHERS

A considerable number of works in the sale are by artists hailing from or working in Central and South America. This sizable representation of Latin American artists contributes to a sale that features blue-chip artists from around the world.

Highlights of this section include The Merchant (Lot 20, $25,000-40,000) and Seated Woman (Lot 21, $25,000-40,000)—two paintings by Mexican painter and muralist Diego Rivera.  Both works have descended in the family of the woman to whom the artist dedicated the works, and come to the market for the first time in decades.

An untitled, mixed media textile (Lot 17, $25,000-40,000) by Brazilian artist Roberto Burle-Marx is included in the sale, as well as four paintings (Lots 13-16) by Venezuelan painter and muralist Oswaldo Vigas, and two works by Mexican artist Francisco Zúñiga (1912-1998), including Madre e Hija Sentadas (Lot 19, $25,000-40,000), a figural onyx sculpture depicting a mother and daughter working in Zuniga’s trademark voluminous style.

 

ENHANCING ONLINE EXPERIENCE FOR BUYERS – INTERACTIVE E-CATALOGUE

With the house’s recent launch of an online only sales format, Freeman’s is increasing its accessibility and ensuring that the buying experience for their international bidders remains as seamless as possible. To that effect, the house launched a new eco-friendly and technology-driven catalogue, encouraging exploration and immersion through the use of different media. The digital format aims to simplify the online buying process while its multi-sensory delivery enhances and enriches the viewing experience. Explore the interactive e-catalogue on Freeman’s website.

 

AUCTION: May 14 | 12pm

 

HEAD OF SALE

Dunham Townend, [email protected]

PRESS INQUIRIES

Madeline Hill, [email protected]

 

 

Lot 4: Max Pechstein (German, 1881-1955) Äpfel

Estimate: $60,000 – $100,000

Signed and erroneously dated 1947 bottom right, signed again and titled verso, also inscribed with the artist’s address, oil on canvas. Executed circa 1928. 19 3/8 x 19 7/16 in. (49.2 x 49.4cm)

 

Lot 32: André Brasilier (French, born 1929). Cavaliers sur la Neige

Estimate: $60,000 – $100,000

Signed and dated 1969 bottom center, oil on canvas.
76 1/4 x 50 9/16 in. (193.7 x 128.4cm)

 

Lot 30: Alex Katz (American, born 1927). Yellow Road

Estimate: $25,000 – $40,000

Signed and dated 98 bottom right, oil on board.
14 5/8 x 11 9/16 in. (37.1 x 29.4cm)

Lot 31: Alex Katz (American, born 1927). Forsythia #2

Estimate: $20,000 – $30,000

Signed and dated 97 top right, oil on board.
11 3/4 x 9 in. (29.8 x 22.9cm)

 

Lot 29: Wolf Kahn (American/German, 1927-2020). Behind Sam’s (Putney, VT)

Estimate: $10,000 – $15,000

Signed bottom left, inscribed #53-1976 and titled verso, oil on canvas. Executed in 1976.
14 x 28 in. (35.6 x 71.1cm)

Lot 50: Sam Gilliam (American, born 1933). Run

Estimate: $15,000 – $20,000

Signed and titled bottom right, mixed media.
Executed in 2011.
sight: 30 x 29 x 1 1/2 in. (76.2 x 73.7 x 3.8cm)

Freeman’s – Single Owner Collection of P.G. Wodehouse

Freeman’s – Single Owner Collection of P.G. Wodehouse

PHILADELPHIA, PA—On May 7, Freeman’s will proudly present an online auction of The P.G. Wodehouse Collection of William Toplis (1924-2019). The present collection encompasses an array of material that spans Wodehouse’s entire career, from his earliest forays into publishing in the 1890s, to the 1970s when he published his last works. William Toplis was a Philadelphia native, veteran of the US Navy, dedicated teacher, and—in true Bertie Wooster fashion—a fervent collector of bespoke suits. His high standards and love for the author’s work allowed him to build a collection without peer. Diligently researched and covering both his literary work as well as his work for the stage, the collection encompasses first editions, manuscripts, original art, sheet music, libretti, scripts, and much more. In its breadth, it charts the author’s trajectory from aspiring writer to world-renowned author.

NOTABLE AUCTION HIGHLIGHTS

Featured in this sale are many rare and unusual items, including a unique set of P.G. Wodehouse’s personal scrapbooks (Lot 176, Est. $3,000-5,000). Wodehouse compiled these four scrapbooks over an almost 50-year period from 1911 to 1960. They contain hundreds of newspaper clippings, programs, telegrams and other ephemera related to Wodehouse’s career, both on the page and on the stage, and offer a rare glimpse into Wodehouse’s own chronicles of his professional life. Also on offer is a first issue of Wodehouse’s 1910 novel “The Intrusion of Jimmy,” charmingly inscribed to Wodehouse’s mother and signed by the author with his nickname, “Plum” (Lot 60, Est. $1,000-$1,500). Published six months later in England with a new title, “A Gentleman of Leisure,” this work represents an important period of Wodehouse’s writing career, when it began to take off in both the United States and England. This, along with numerous other important books – like a first English issue of “Big Money” in its exceedingly scarce first issue dust jacket (Lot 7, Est. $3,000-5,000) – brings together a robust and expansive collection spanning the illustrious career of P.G. Wodehouse

ABOUT THE COLLECTION

An English humorist, Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse (1881-1975) is perhaps best known as the creator of comedic duo Bertie Wooster and his sharp-witted valet, Jeeves, who appeared together in 11 novels and 35 short stories. His humor prodded at the eccentricities of the gentlemanly upper-class, and his poetic writing style captured the attention of audiences around the world. Wodehouse, a prolific writer if there ever was one, published more than 90 novels and 200 short stories in his lifetime, solidifying his place in the English literary canon and in the hearts of his readers.

 

AUCTION: May 7 | 10am

 

HEAD OF SALE

Darren Winston, [email protected]

 

PRESS INQUIRIES

Madeline Hill, [email protected]

“The Intrusion of Jimmy” inscription.

Estimated: $600-$900

Lot 60: New York: W.J. Watt & Company, (1910). First edition, first issue. 8vo. (vi), 314 pp. Inscribed by Wodehouse on front free endpaper: “To Mr. Mathis/with the author’s compliments/P.G. Wodehouse.”

P.G. Wodehouse’s Personal Scrapbooks,, 1911-1960

Estimate $3,000-5,000

Lot 176: In four volumes. P.G. Wodehouse’s personal scrapbooks. Compiled over an almost 50-year period.

P.G. Wodehouse’s Personal Scrapbooks,, 1911-1960

Estimate $3,000-5,000

Lot 176: In four volumes. P.G. Wodehouse’s personal scrapbooks. Compiled over an almost 50-year period.

P.G. Wodehouse Collection of Willia Toplis

Thu, May 7 2020

“The Intrusion of Jimmy”

Estimated: $600-$900

Lot 60: New York: W.J. Watt & Company, (1910). First edition, first issue. 8vo. (vi), 314 pp. Inscribed by Wodehouse on front free endpaper: “To Mr. Mathis/with the author’s compliments/P.G. Wodehouse.”

P.G. Wodehouse Collection of Willia Toplis

Thu, May 7 2020

H&H Classics- Race & Rally Cars Head The Grid

H&H Classics- Race & Rally Cars Head The Grid

The next Auction Online at H&H features a number of race and rally cars including this 1972 Chevron B20, the only Formula 3 version of its B20 design built by Chevron. It is estimated to sell for £38,000 to £42,000 at the March 4th sale.

The Chevron was a works car for Chris Skeeping in 1972. It has been the winner of Formula 4, Monoposto and HSCC Classic and the F3 Championships. It has had just four owners from new and is ready to compete.

The car comes with a fully documented history, has been professionally maintained and features a low mileage Twin Cam engine.

Car number one of only eleven B20’s built by Chevron; this is the only Formula 3 version ever produced and was the works car for Chris Skeaping who raced it in F3 events in England and Europe. Chris’s best result was 3rd at Silverstone, 14 May 1972.

The car passed briefly into the hands of Chevron’s Italian agent, Eris Tondelli, then in 1975 it was sold by Chevron Cars to Alex Lowe and went on to win the Formula 4 & Monoposto championships in 1977 and 1980 respectively. Alex then sold the car back to Chevron.

In 1994 it was totally restored by Roger Andreason at Chevron Cars for Nick Crossley. Nick spared no expense at all and he used it in HSCC F3 races, winning the Classic F3 Championship in 1995.

When the present owner bought it the car had been standing for quite a number of years so it was subjected to a light restoration and returned to its original livery from when Chris Skeaping ran it for Chevron.

Whist in his ownership it has been maintained by Martin Stretton Racing so has wanted for little although it will need new tyres and seatbelts and the extinguisher will need recertification as it hasn’t been raced since Oulton Park in August 2014.

The Twin Cam engine was overhauled by Colin Holt in April 2013 and since then it’s done five races, a total of 584 miles, verified by Martin Stretton’s record. So, apart from the tyres, seatbelts and extinguisher and the obvious change of fluids, it is pretty much ready to race. It also comes with a set of (old) wets, a spare nose section, rear wing, 2 rear uprights, 4 front wishbones and various other suspension items.

The car was raced at Monaco in 2010 so would certainly be eligible should they run a suitable class in the future. Could run in Classic F3 but also Classic Racing Cars. 

This Triumph Vitesse MK2 rally car, which has been owned for almost 10 years by the vendor is affectionately known as ‘The Snotter’.

It has provided huge enjoyment as a Historic Rally car and has covered around 20,000 miles during that time either competing in rallies or getting to and from them and has proven to be 100% reliable.

All its events have been in Switzerland or France and include multiple Alpine Challenge rallies, Rallye du Dauphine, Rallye du Chablais, Rallye Glace et Neige, Rallye Mont Blanc, Ollons Villars Hillclimb and many more. The owner’s co-driver being Swiss allowed the car to be garaged in Geneva between rallies only returning to the UK periodically for maintenance and minor repairs. The last competition event undertaken was in 2018 and the car was driven back to the UK in December 2018 after which it has hardly been used and this is the main reason for the sale.

Mechanically, it has been kept very standard for reliability. It has a 4 speed non-overdrive gearbox, upgraded high ratio differential, 14in Minilite wheels, conversion to telescopic rear shock absorbers. Internally, there is an FIA spec full Rollcage, Competition Seats, Full Harnesses, Tripmaster. Structurally, it is very sound but with some cosmetic details – faded paint on boot lid and roof and very minor bubbling around base of doors – it is after all a rally car. The original front and rear seats are included if someone wants to revert to non-competition use.

It also has an MSA Historic Rally Car Passport, large history file showing that it is a matching numbers and Devon registered car from new, original service book and has had 5 recorded keepers in 50 years. Mot and tax exempt.

It would make an ideal vehicle for someone to start historic regularity rallying.

  • Previously winning car at Prescot B in 2014
  • Built for Mike Henney
  • Complete with V5C
  • All original running gear including straight cut gearbox
  • Complete with 4.5, 4.8 & 4.3 ratio diffs
  • Supplied with standard 1275 cc engine requiring rebuild
  • FIA Rear roll cage
  • Lightweight hardtop
  • Racing fuel tank and facet fuel pump
  • Comes with some spares

FOR MORE PRESS INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT THE H&H CLASSICS PRESS OFFICE:

Julian Roup

+44 (0) 7970 563958

email: [email protected]

H&H Classics- Prince Bernhard’s 1938 Lagonda

H&H Classics- Prince Bernhard’s 1938 Lagonda

Originally the property of Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands and known by subsequent keepers as ‘Penelope’ this stunning car featured extensively in the authoritative book ‘Lagonda’ by Bernd Holthusen.

It comes to auction with H&H Classics at Duxford Imperial War Museum on March 18 with an estimate of £200,000 to £250,000.

The drophead coupe was beautifully restored by the late Peter Whenman of Vintage Coachworks during 1992-1993 and is still highly presentable. The LG6 was invited to the 2016 Dutch Paleis Het Loo Concours d’Elegance where it won its class. The four-seater was also an award winner with the Lagonda Club in both 1959 and 2003!

“A very special Post Vintage Thoroughbred” says Damian Jones of H&H Classics.

The Lagonda was used by the vendor to learn how to drive whilst it belonged to his father from 1958-1962 and has been in the current ownership since 2002.

Prince Bernhard was the German-born consort to Holland’s Queen Juliana. His life embraced triumph and scandal. Bernhard Leopold Frederik Everhard Julius Coert Karel Godfried Pieter, Prince of the Netherlands lived to be 93 from 1911 to 2004.

His life was full of drama, twists and turns. Having bought the LG6 new in 1938, he moved to England when Holland fell to the Nazis two years later. Volunteering his services to Allied Intelligence, he was vetted by Ian Fleming of James Bond fame and later flew various missions over Continental Europe under the assumed name of ‘Wing Commander Gibbs’. In 1944 he held the rank of commander-in-chief of the Dutch armed forces. Later it emerged that he had had early links to the Nazi party and in 1976 he was exposed for taking bribes in the global Lockheed scandal.

Juliana chose Bernhard as her future husband after meeting him at the winter Olympics in Bavaria in 1936 and they married the following year.

For 30 years, he travelled the world promoting the economic and cultural interests of the Netherlands, as well as his pet causes, setting up the Bilderberg Circle, a private forum for frank discussion of world issues by the west’s great and good. He was also president of the World Wildlife Foundation and the International Equestrian Federation.

The Lagonda was used by Prince Bernhard while based in Britain during the war. A very keen car enthusiast he owned more than 60 cars in his lifetime, one of his favourites was a uniquely green 1965 Ferrari 500 Superfast Speziale.

Prince Bernard arrived in the UK with the Dutch Royal Family in June 1940, right after the Germans invaded Holland in May 1940.

In 1940 he founded ‘The Spifire Fund’, a fund that acquired war equipment, that formed the basis of the now well-known Prince Bernhard Culture Fund, supporting cultural projects.

1940: Liaison officer between the Dutch and British armed forces.

1941: Honorary Air Commodore at the RAF

1943: Founder of 322 Dutch Squadron RAF, mainly escort flights, V1 interception and combat and ground attacks.

 

 

Estimate: £200,000 – £250,000

Registration No: GPH 299

Chassis No: 12318

MOT: Exempt

  • Featured extensively in the authoritative book ‘Lagonda’ by Bernd Holthusen

  • Beautifully restored by the late Peter Whenman of Vintage Coachworks during 1992-1993 and still highly presentable

  • Formerly the property of Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands

  • Used by the vendor to learn how to drive whilst it belonged to his father from 1958-1962 and current ownership since 2002

  • Invited to the 2016 Palais Het Loo Concours d’Elegance where it won its class

  • Known as ‘Penelope’

  • An award winner with the Lagonda Club in both 1959 and 2003!

  • A very special Post Vintage Thoroughbred

FOR MORE PRESS INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT THE H&H CLASSICS PRESS OFFICE:

Julian Roup

+44 (0) 7970 563958

email: [email protected]

H&H Classics- 1934 Delage D6-11 Saoutchik Cabriolet for Sale

H&H Classics- 1934 Delage D6-11 Saoutchik Cabriolet for Sale

Among the most elegant 1930s French cars H&H Classics have offered is this imposing 1934 Delage, which not surprisingly was awarded first prize at the 1993 Paris Deauville Concours d’Elegance and 1994 Rallye de Lisieux. It is estimated to sell for £40,000 to £50,000 with H&H Classics at Duxford, Imperial War Museum on March 18.

It was rebodied in the style of Saoutchik by coachbuilder Daniel Nantou of Bazemont during 1989. Resident in France for most of its life, the Delage spent seven years on Guernsey before entering the current UK ownership during 2013.

It is believed to be one of just 18 survivors of this model from the magnificent French marque.

 

Known to the Delage Register and Les Amis de Delage, the svelte Cabriolet boasts ‘matching’ chassis and engine numbers. Equipped with a more modern fuel pump and alternator, it has been used by the vendor for frequent 40-mile round trips.

Damian Jones, Head of Sales at H&H Classics says emphatically that it is: “Among the most elegant 1930s French cars we have offered.”

 

For more information about the Auction, please visit H&H Classics.

 

Press Inquiries: Julian Roup ON +44 (0) 7970 563958 OR email [email protected]

 

 

Estimate: £40,000 – £50,000

Registration No: 644 YUX

Chassis No: 37988

MOT: August 2020

– Rebodied in the style of Saoutchik by coachbuilder Daniel Nantou of Bazemont during 1989 and subsequently awarded first prize at the 1993 Paris Deauville Concours d’Elegance and 1994 Rallye de Lisieux

– Resident in France for most of its life, the Delage spent seven years on Guernsey before entering the current UK ownership during 2013

– Known to the Delage Register and Les Amis de Delage, ‘matching’ chassis and engine numbers

– Used by the vendor for frequent 40-mile round trips and equipped with a more modern fuel pump and alternator

Salon du Dessin- Ode to Nature- In Gardens & The Wild

Salon du Dessin- Ode to Nature- In Gardens & The Wild

Theme of ‘Ode to Nature – In Gardens & The Wild’ attracting British gardeners & Art lovers to 29th Salon du Dessin – the World’s Premier art drawing fair in Paris.

Greener than ever, the Salon du Dessin will devote this year’s International Symposium to the art of gardens and botany. The 2020 fair guest, the Musées de Marseille, will present a selection of their best works based on nature and several galleries will present drawings related to the theme.

The work of Walter Leistikow, an avant-garde Berlin artist active at the end of the 19th century, can be found in the museums of Berlin, Munich and Leipzig. His contacts with Edvard Munch, his travels in northern countries and a stay in Paris in 1893 influenced the naturalist, symbolic lyricism seen in this watercolor and gouache on paper presented by Martin Moeller & Cie.

 

Ode to nature: atmosphere

Gustave Doré, a seasoned hiker, painted the Alps, the hills of Scotland, the Brittany coastline and other natural areas. The artist made marvelous use of watercolors in his landscapes, as can be seen in this picture of the setting sun in the mountains, to be presented at the fair by Galerie Terrades.

The New York gallery W.M. Brady and Co. will present a beautiful pencil drawing by Georges Seurat, Rain, which belonged to the collection of the American John Quinn (1870-1924). Seurat, who loved to draw, takes this black-and-white study to the limit, using a soft Conté crayon on coarse-grained Ingres paper to represent the gradations of light and shade.

Gérard de Palézieux (1919-2012) was a little-known Swiss artist whose work was revealed to the public through a wonderful exhibition at the Fondation Custodia in Paris in 2019. An outstanding illustrator, Palézieux excelled at still lifes and was also a great landscape artist. The Swiss gallery Ditesheim & Maffei will feature a group of delicate works by the artist, a follower of Corot.

The virgin forest flourishes in Sam Szafran’s work. A good example is this watercolor, to be shown by Galerie Berès. Szafran became enamored of nature in the 1970s, when he discovered a plant genus that was new to him, the philodendron, in the Paris studio of a friend, the painter Zao Wou-Ki. “That was when my obsession with plants found the best way to express itself”, he said.

 

 

 

In 1901, Henri le Sidaner moved to Gerberoy, in the Oise department of France, where he created three monochrome gardens: an all-white garden, a rose garden (site of his summer studio) and a yellow and blue garden. In this beautiful work on paper presented by Talabardon & Gautier, the painter evocatively depicts the softness and clarity of the moonlight on the plants.

The London gallery Stephen Ongpin Fine Art will present two watercolors and gouaches on paper by Jacques le Moyne de Morgues, a famous cartographer and illustrator who accompanied Jean Ribault’s second expedition to the New World in 1562. He is known for his artistic depiction of the landscape and flora and fauna, and for his descriptions of the inhabitants.

From his youth in the Jura until his death on the shores of the Mediterranean, Le Corbusier was always interacting with nature: he collected stones, bones and shells, experimented with a wealth of materials and sought to bring green spaces to the city. He was also fascinated by women’s bodies, as seen in a work presented by Galerie Brame & Lorenceau.

A watercolor and gouache by Hans Reichel to be shown by Martin Moeller & Cie, demonstrates the artist’s kinship with Klee: witness the bird, the blade of grass and the star. Reichel and Klee worked together in Munich during the war, then at the Bauhaus in Weimar in the 1920s, an adventure they experienced together, both of them somewhat on the sidelines. Reichel moved to Paris in 1928 and died there 30 years later.

 

 

Three centuries of drawings from the Musées de Marseille – Nature in all its states

The presence of the Salon du dessin’s guest this year, the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Marseille, offers an opportunity to show a selection of drawings from its graphic arts department as well as from two other Marseille museums with Old Master drawing collections, the Musée Grobet-Labadié and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, de la Faïence et de la Mode. In line with the theme of this year’s fair, the art of gardens and botany, works depicting nature in one form or another were selected from the three museums’ collections. Forty drawings dating from the 15th to the 19th century – including works by Pierre Puget, Jean-Baptiste Huet, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Hubert Robert, Jean-Antoine Constantin and Camille Corot – will offer a sampling of the treasures to be found in Marseille’s museums.

 

 

 

 

Salon du Dessin: Open noon-8 p.m., until 10 p.m. on Thursday, March 26

Admission: €15 – Free catalogue

Palais Brongniart, Paris March 25–30, 2020

Press Opening: Tuesday, March 24, 2020, 2 p.m.

 

For more information about the fair, please contact:

Sylvie Robaglia, [email protected]

Samantha Bergognon, [email protected]

Charlotte Corre, [email protected]

 

Press Inquiries:

Julian Roup on [email protected]

 

Aspire x Piasa- Contemporary African Art to Remember

Aspire x Piasa- Contemporary African Art to Remember

First French-South African auction partnership promises new world records on contemporary African art this Valentine’s day, February 14th

 

Pan African vision spanning 10,000 miles from Paris to Cape town set to shake up Africa’s art market

 

French flair and passion from Piasa combined with South African energy and local knowledge from Aspire promises to deliver an auction sale of Modern & Contemporary African Art to remember on February 14th at 3pm in Cape Town.

This collaboration is unprecedented and represents the first time an African and European auction house have partnered to present a sale of African art, in Africa, for a global audience.

The landmark auction: Modern and Contemporary African Art takes place on Friday, 14 February at OroAfrica House in Cape Town. The curated collection comprises 198 lots, featuring 139 artists representing 27 countries from Africa and the diaspora. While presenting a broader pan-African offering, it spotlights key collecting segments from 20th Century modernism to contemporary production and photography.

Christophe Person, of French auction house Piasa, says: “The South African market is one of the most dynamic on the continent. But until now collectors have been mostly focussed on local artists and less on art from other African countries. What is special about this new partnership between Aspire and Piasa is that it offers a pan-African vision of contemporary creation.” Ruarc Peffers of Aspire, adds: ”We are delighted to be working with Piasa who have made significant inroads into the Contemporary African Art Market in Europe. Creating both depth and breadth geographically is one of the real excitements of this joint initiative.”

Ever-increasing global interest in art from Africa is changing the art market. To meet the growing demand, Aspire has partnered with Paris-based house Piasa, to introduce an Africa-focused auction that presents some of the best examples of modern and contemporary art produced on this continent.

Headlining the collection, and the top lot by value, is J.H. Pierneef’s Baobabs with Soutpansberg in the distance, 1920 (R6–9million). Pierneef’s baobab paintings are extremely rare. Painted a century ago and never before seen on the market, this large, splendid painting, with impeccable provenance, will enhance any serious art collection.

Adorning the catalogue cover is a superb, early painting by internationally acclaimed Marlene Dumas, never before seen on the market. Oktober 1973 is only the third Dumas painting ever offered at auction in South Africa. Estimated at £160,000 – £260,000 (R3–5million), the work is set to attract significant interest.

An impressive variety of drawings and sculpture by William Kentridge leads the contemporary selection. Topped in value, Kentridge’s mixed media work Whilst Reaching Down (Slowly), 2013, £160,000 – £260,000 (R3–5million) is a series of drawings on dictionary paper which highlights the artist’s command of drawing, text and animation.

The auction introduces some of the most in-demand African artists on the market. A remarkable painting by Chéri Samba (Congo) titled Retour au Bercail, 1995, (R225,000 – 300,000), is the first work to be offered at auction in South Africa by this seminal painter.

Rarely exhibited in South Africa and making its inaugural local auction appearance, is an early 1980s photograph Every Mother’s Son / Children of Suffering (R70,000–90,000) by the late Nigerian/British photographer Rotimi Fani-Kayode. Legendary photographer David Goldblatt is represented with seminal images from his famous photobooks Some Afrikaners Photographed and TJ/Johannesburg Photographs, including the highly sought-after work; A railway shunter who dreamed of a garden without concrete or bricks, watered by this dam, Koksoord, Randfontein. 1962 (R250,000– 400,000). Aspire currently holds the world auction record for Goldblatt’s work and continues to dominate this market globally.

            PRESS INQUIRIES:

Julian Roup at [email protected]

Tel 07970563958 or Marelize van Zyl | +27 83 283 7427 | [email protected]t

VENUE

OroAfrica House, 170 Buitengracht Street, Cape Town

PUBLIC OPENING | VERNISSAGE

Tuesday, 11 February at 6 – 8:30 pm

PREVIEW DAYS

Wednesday 12 February
12 to 5 pm

Thursday 13 February
10 am to 5 pm

Friday 14 February
10 am to 3 pm

SALE ENQUIRIES:

Cape Town | +27 21 418 0765 | [email protected]

Johannesburg | +27 11 243 5243 | [email protected]

William Kentridge (South Africa, b.1955)

Whilst Reaching Down (Slowly), 2013

charcoal, pastel, red conté and screenprint on found Shorter Oxford English Dictionary pages

signed in red conté bottom right

120 x 160 cm

 

 

Estimate: R 3,000,000 – R 5,000,000

Abdoulaye Diarrassouba (Aboudia) (Cote D’Ivoire, b.1983)

Untitled, 2013

acrylic, pastel and collage on canvas

 

100 x 139 cm

 

 

Estimate: R 130,000 – R 160,000

 

 

Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef (South Africa, 1886-1957)

Baobabs with Soutpansberg in the distance, 1920

 

oil on board

signed and dated bottom left

70 x 98 cm

 

 

Estimate: R 6,000,000 – R 9,000,000

Marlene Dumas (South African, b.1953)

Oktober 1973, 1973

oil and water-based paint on canvas

inscribed with the title top right

183 x 121 cm

 

 

Estimate: R 3,000,000 – R 5,000,000

Freeman’s – Morisot, Van Gogh and Degas

Freeman’s – Morisot, Van Gogh and Degas

On February 18th, Freeman’s will hold its inaugural auction of European Art and Old Masters at its brand new 2400 Market Street location. The tightly-curated 50-lot sale will showcase Continental and British works spanning from the 16thto the early 20thcentury. A variety of mediums will be featured, including early prints and works on paper, paintings, and sculpture – some being important rediscoveries by celebrated artists such asNiccolò Codazzi (1642-1693), women artists Giovanna Garzoni(1600-1670) and Emilie Preyer (1849-1930), Max Liebermann(1847-1935), Armand Guillaumin(French, 1841-1927) and Montague Dawson(British, 1890-1973).

THREE IMPRESSIONIST HIGHLIGHTS

One of the highlights of the sale will beBerthe Morisot’sApollon Révélant sa Divinité à la Bergère Issé(after François Boucher)(Lot 37; $150,000-250,000) – a striking late work completed in the fall of 1892. The painting is one of two paintings that Morisot copied after François Boucher, an 18thcentury artist she particularly revered and studied. So distinctly Rococo in theme and technique, the present work made an impression on Claude Monet, who insisted on including it in the artist’s retrospective show in 1896. It later inspired his famous Nymphéasseries. This painting remained in the Morisot family’s collection until it was purchased by the present owner from the artist’s grandson, giving it impeccable provenance.

Also on offer will beBald-Headed Orphan Man, Facing RightbyVincent van Gogh(Lot 32; $120,000-180,000). Completed in The Hague in January 1883, the charcoal drawing follows the artist’s move from his hometown in Etten – an important moment in the artist’s creative development.  It depicts Adrianus Jacobus Zuyderland, a 72 year-old pensioner of an almshouse who would become van Gogh’s most frequently used model. Here, Vincent captures a certain sense of pride in the downtrodden old man, perhaps revealing a sense of his own calm defiance. Other, less posed, versions of the orphan man can be found in the collection of prestigious museums, including the van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

A fresh-to-market bronze by Edgar Degasentitled Grand Arabesque, Deuxième Temps(Lot 48; $120,000-180,000) will also be featured in the sale. Purchased from Alex Maguy Gallery in 1966 by the grandparents of the present owner, the sculpture has never been seen at auction before, remaining in the same family’s collection until the present date. The work presents a carefully modeled dancer in arabesque, one of ballet’s most challenging poses. As Degas preferred to work in clay and all his bronze castings are posthumous, the present work is an interesting piece showcasing the artist’s ability to capture all the strength and delicacy of the ballerina’s pose in a three-dimensional work.The sculpture will be exhibited in London alongside the Berthe Morisot oil and the van Gogh drawing between January 27 and 30, 2020.

IMPORTANT INTERNATIONAL LANDSCAPES

The sale will also showcase numerous attractive 19th century landscapes, including an unusually-large Venetian vista by Rubens Santoro(Italian, 1859-1942), which depicts Saint Mark’s Basilica in the distance (Lot 35; $50,000-80,000) as well as two Dutch scenes by Willem Koekkoek(Dutch, 1839-1895) (Lot 26; $50,000-80,000 and Lot 27 $25,000-40,000). Other landscape paintings of international repute will include an impressive landscape by Danish artist Peder Mørk Mønsted(1859–1941) (Lot 38; $20,000-30,000) and a newly unearthed painting of a chapel in Valdai County by Russian Symbolist painter Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich(1874-1947) (Lot 39; $30,000-50,000).

A STRONG SECTION OF OLD MASTERS

Along with 19th century works, Old Master paintings will be well-represented through  a rare and iconic woodcut of The Rhinoceros(Lot 1; $12,000-18,000) by Albrecht Dürer(German, 1471-1528) , a striking copy of a lost devotional piece by an artist in the circle of Quentin Massys the Elder(Dutch, 1466-1530) (Lot 4; $40,000-60,000) and a bountiful still life by David de Coninck(Flemish, 1644-1701) featuring jewel-toned fruits, animals, and architectural elements in an extensive landscape (Lot 8; $20,000-30,000).

2400 MARKET STREET

This month, Freeman’s opened its new flagship location in Center City’s prestigious 2400 Market Street. Featuring a purpose-built gallery and auction room with corporate offices above, Freeman’s is excited to be a part of the 600,000 square-foot development that has been recently hailed as one of the biggest and most visible mixed-use projects in Philadelphia. This move to new, custom-designed headquarters is a key component in the company’s contemporary business model and will further establish it as a leading and dynamic 21st century auction house. In their new location, Freeman’s is ideally positioned to meet the growing demand for global service, while continuing to be ingrained within the heart of the city that we have called home since 1805.

 

SPECIALIST

David Weiss | Senior Vice President | Head of Department

[email protected]| 267-414-1214

Press Inquiries:

Madeline Hill, [email protected], +1 267.414.1201

H&H Classics – Founder Sells His Personal Collection

H&H Classics – Founder Sells His Personal Collection

One of Britain’s best-known and most respected classic car auctioneers, Simon Hope, chairman and founder of H&H Classics has sold his Matchbox 1-75 model collection of nearly 3,000 cars and trucks for a premium inclusive total in excess of £300,000.

Simon says it was something of a wrench to sell, even at that price, as it was a collection he put together with love and passion over some 60 years, starting when he was a young boy. His grandma would not let him play with them on her lovely mahogany dining table, so he simply played with them by taking them out of the box and then putting them back – practically untouched. The collection, rightly noted as one of the finest in the world and comprising some extremely rare examples, was in mint condition, including their original boxes, attracted bidders from all over the world.

Simon, 68, based in Warrington Cheshire, where H&H Classics is headquartered, kept his cars in pristine condition and in their original mint Matchbox packaging. It truly was one of the best collections of its kind in the world. The collection was so big it had to be spread out over three different sales with specialist toy auctioneers Vectis of Thornaby, North Yorkshire.

Simon says thathis hobby began as a young child when his parents and grandparents started to buy him bought him a Matchbox model car for birthdays and Christmases. His passion for Matchbox models continued into adulthood and as he got older, he continued to buy more and more models. “It was only I got older that I realised there was actually a collecting scene out there and information on rarer versions and colours. I never took part in that scene preferring to simply track down the ones I wanted in perfect (or as near as possible) condition. It just grew and generally they were bought with amounts of money not missed at the time.”

Julian Royse, a specialist at Vectis, said: ‘There is a big market out there for items like this, particularly the models from the 1970s as these things do tend to be generational. “Models from the 1950s which have previously been very valuable are now less so and later examples are extremely desirable. We find the demand far outstrips the supply and as such people will be very keen to get their hands on pieces which may not come up again in their lifetimes. These toys used to be exported to eastern Europe and there is surprisingly now a really big market in the Czech Republic.

‘This collection was astounding and and probably had the biggest range of any I’ve seen.”

Press Enquiries:

Julian Roup, [email protected], 07970 563958

 

Matchbox Superfast 68a Porsche 910

 

H&H Classics – 1939 Lagonda V12 Drophead Coupe

This stunning pre-war 1939 Lagonda V12 Drophead Coupe will be sold for an estimate of £300,000 to £400,000 at the next H&H Classics sale at Duxford on March 18th2020.

Quite possibly the finest example on the market today and a real jewel for any collectionit was unearthed after forty years’ barn storage and subsequently treated to an exhaustive ‘chassis up’ restoration with input from the likes of LMB Racing, Bishop Gray and Mel Cranmer.

This Lagonda was the most technologically advanced motor car to come out of Britain pre-WW2. A Lagonda press release from August 1937, states:’Of the half-dozen patrician motor cars still remaining on the world market, none ever inherited such a rich patrimony of design as the 12-cylinder Lagonda. The new car is no mere recapitulation of a good – but tired – design in terms of 1937. It is a new-born car, unrelated to any yet on the road – here or on the Continent. New ideals of performance were set up and these have been exceeded in the sheer versatility of the new car. Such is the 12-cylinder Lagonda – a car destined to rank from now on, among the greater names in motoring history’.

‘In making an evaluation of the better British cars, the Lagonda V12 certainly must be considered an excellent design and one that contributed to raising the state of the art – not forgetting, of course, that it probably should be considered W O Bentley’s masterpiece’. (Road & Track, October 1978).

The most technologically advanced and ambitious motorcar to come out of Britain pre-WW2, the Lagonda V12 had few international peers. Bugatti’s Type 57 may have boasted a similarly exotic overhead camshaft powerplant but its chassis layout was positively archaic by comparison. Mercedes-Benz’s 540K could match the British car’s power output but only when its refinement-compromising supercharger was engaged, while Hispano-Suiza’s J12 needed over twice the cubic capacity to develop an extra forty horsepower! A landmark design, the Lagonda will forever be notable as the world’s first production car to feature an overhead camshaft V12 engine.

Debuting in prototype guise at the October 1936 Olympia Motor Show (but not officially launched for another year), the Lagonda V12 was engineered by a crack team of ex-Rolls-Royce employees including W.O. Bentley, Stuart Tresillian and Charles Sewell. A ‘clean sheet’ design that aimed to marry limousine refinement to sportscar performance, it was based around a substantial cruciform-braced box-section chassis. Boasting sophisticated unequal-length wishbone independent front suspension actuated via unusually long torsion bars and special shackle pins that helped obviate side thrust on its semi-elliptic rear leaf-springs, the newcomer also incorporated a Marles steering box, Salisbury hypoid rear axle and twin master cylinder Lockheed hydraulic drum brakes. Singularly advanced, the model’s aero-engine inspired 60? V12 featured overhead camshafts (one per bank), twin SU carburettors, a combined duplex-chain / gear-driven timing system and Lanchester-type vibration damper. Displacing 4480cc (bore 75mm x stroke 84.5 mm) the unit was quoted as developing 180hp @ 5,500rpm. Available in 10’4″, 11’0″ and 11’6″ wheelbase lengths, the Lagonda flagship was among the fastest cars of its generation. Though, the provision of a centre-change four-speed manual gearbox (with synchromesh on the top three ratios) and conventional pedal layout made it surprisingly easy to drive.

Beguiled by in-house stylist Frank Feeley’s marvellous creations which seemed to capture the very spirit of the age, most customers opted for factory coachwork (though, outside commissions were still welcome). Not content with the publicity garnered by Earl Howe’s record breaking Brooklands run aboard a Standard Short Saloon on October 10th 1938 which saw the titled racer lapping at up to 108.27mph and average 101.5 miles for the hour (despite an unscheduled pitstop), Lagonda proprietor A.P. Good commissioned W.O. Bentley to mastermind a V12 assault upon the 1939 Le Mans 24-hour race. Given less than six months in which to complete the project, Bentley was relentless in his pursuit of more horsepower, lower weight and better aerodynamics. Still retaining a 10’4″ wheelbase, the resultant racer was theoretically capable of 140mph. Governed by a strict protocol that prized finishing above all else, the two V12s entered for the June 17th-18th race duly crossed the line in third and fourth place overall. Interestingly, their average speeds of 83.61mph and 83.35mph respectively would have been sufficient for outright victory in either the 1938 or 1949 events. Of the 190 Lagonda V12s produced between 1938 and 1940, a mere 100 are thought to have survived to the present day.

According to information kindly supplied by the Hon. Registrar of The Lagonda Club Mr Arnold Davey, chassis number 14092 was first registered on June 12th 1939 to a Mr A.C.W. Norman of Montague St, London W1. A factory-bodied Drophead Coupe built on the short (10ft 4in) wheelbase, its guarantee was issued three days later. Fitted like many of its siblings with a replacement Sanction 2 engine under warranty (V12 151 being swapped for V12 59), ‘MG 6768’ was purchased by its second keeper, a Mr Withair of Cheyne Place, London SW3 in November 1945. Looked after by Davies Motors of Staines until 1952 (the same year that Mr Davies – a former Lagonda service manager – curtailed his role as the factory’s semi-official maintenance depot for prewar cars), the V12 subsequently migrated to Bognor Regis (Mr Dewhurst) and Middleton-on-Sea (Mr Sanderson) before being bought by the Hollinshead family who barn stored it for forty years.

Still covered in protective wax when purchased by Alfred Hill MBE via our July 2006 Buxton auction, the Lagonda soon found itself being disassembled for the first time since leaving the Staines factory. Thoroughly overhauled with new parts sourced from Farndon Engineering (crankshaft / con-rods), Arias (forged pistons) and LMB Racing (camshafts), the engine was also treated to an unleaded fuel conversion, replacement timing chains and fresh bearings etc not to mention a refurbished starter motor and dynamo. Photos on file show that the suspension, brakes, fuel system and wiring were all rejuvenated, while attention was paid to the ash frame, alloy bodywork, G10 four-speed manual gearbox and steering joints too. Gaining a new crown wheel and pinion and differential bearings courtesy of LMB Racing, the Lagonda had its radiator and hubs reconditioned by CPA Services and Richard Bros respectively.

Retrimmed in Dark Blue leather with a matching mohair hood by J. Krych, the interior also gained a European walnut dashboard and door cappings. Following a bare metal respray, the Drophead Coupe had its brightwork refinished by S&T Electro-Plate. Sadly, Mr Hill died before ‘MG 6768’ had been properly run-in or debugged. Thankfully, the vendor whose garage has hosted various important WO Bentleys, Bugattis and front-engined Grand Prix cars proved an ideal new owner. Discovering that a huge amount of man hours and money had gone into the project, he set about fine tuning the result. Thus, the ingenious mechanism which secures the door in two planes is fully functional, the ‘disappearing’ rear luggage rack works as it should and literally every ‘nut and bolt’ underneath has been checked / tightened. A seasoned racer, the vendor is a firm believer in preparation and even a cursory examination shows that the Lagonda has been suitably gone through and set-up.

Starting readily upon inspection, idling happily and accelerating in a decidedly post-WW2 fashion, the V12 remains every bit as impressive as it must have done eighty odd years ago. Collectors have traditionally been wary of W.O. Bentley’s masterpiece but we believe ‘MG 6768’ to be among the very best examples available. Drawing on the expertise of BishopGray, LMB Racing and Mel Cranmer, the Drophead Coupe is a singularly imposing and impressive machine. Decidedly undervalued when compared to its Bugatti and Mercedes-Benz counterparts, the Lagonda is offered for sale with a DVD chronicling different stages of the restoration, continuation buff logbook, three files of invoices and numerous photographs. A jewel for any collection.

For more information about the auction please contact visit H&H Classics.

Press Enquiries:

Julian Roup, [email protected], 07970 563958

 

 

 

Registration No: MG 6768

Chassis No: 14092

MOT: Exempt

 

– Quite possibly the finest example on the market today and a real jewel for any collection

– Unearthed after forty years’ barn storage and subsequently treated to an exhaustive ‘chassis up’ restoration with input from the likes of LMB Racing, BishopGray and Mel Cranmer

– The most technologically advanced motor car to come out of Britain pre-WW2

‘Of the half-dozen patrician motor cars still remaining on the world market, none ever inherited such a rich patrimony of design as the 12-cylinder Lagonda . . . It is a new-born car, unrelated to any yet on the road – here or on the Continent . . . Such is the 12-cylinder Lagonda – a car destined to rank from now on, among the greater names in motoring history’. (Lagonda Press Release, August 1937)

‘In making an evaluation of the better British cars, the Lagonda V12 certainly must be considered an excellent design and one that contributed to raising the state of the art – not forgetting, of course, that it probably should be considered W O Bentley’s masterpiece’. (Road & Track, October 1978).

 

Estimate: GBP£300,000 – 400,000

H&H Classics – Three Real Exotics Go Under The Hammer

H&H Classics – Three Real Exotics Go Under The Hammer

If you want a car that is really special and different there is just one man to go to the in the UK, Andy Saunders, who produced this extraordinary vehicle based on a Citroen chassis, now for sale with H&H Classics at their next Auction Online on December 4th.

Built in 1984 by Andy Saunders. This car was constructed entirely in steel and hand rolled. Welded to a steel frame and when first completed was finished in white pearl with base white graphics winning Best in show at the Devillbiss Show that year

It appeared at Goodwood Festival of Speed Concours in 2004 and was the subject of magazine feature after magazine feature and became a hit at motorshows all around Europe and Scandinavia. The base vehicle was a 1976 Citroen CX Pallas which received space age styling from inspiration taken from the wild prototype & custom vehicles of the late 70s and early 80s.

Indecision was given a ‘more modern’ twist when relaunched at Goodwood. It was painted satin silver and silver flake with detailing by Melliard. The interior stayed the same, Ox Blood with the white piped swivel seats and the heart shaped double bed in the rear.

Saunders’ work is universally appreciated and appeals to a broad audience. He has been invited to exhibit at Louis Vuitton Concours de Elegance, at The Hurlingham Club Chelsea, on more than one occasion. The Goodwood Style et Luxe Concours de Elegance, The New York Concours de Elegance in Central Park Manhattan and the Scwechzingham European Concours de Elegance. As well as fronting major motor shows across Europe, Korea and Australia and going on to having one of only 10 cars ever chosen to be displayed at the massive Hells Angels ‘Bulldog Bash’ motorcycle event.

Indecision was sold at the Earls Court Motorshow of 1987 and found a new home in the private collection of Noel Rosko who owned her up until Andy received an invite for the Style et Lux concourse at Goodwood Festival of Speed  in 2004.

After it was displayed at Goodwood it was bought by a private collector in London where it has been on private display for 16 years until last year when it was invited to a three month exhibition of Andy’s work entitled The Art of Kustom in the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu.

Andy Saunders grew up in Poole, on the South Coast of England, developing an early relationship with the building and customisation of cars. His journey to become one of the leading and most recognisable ‘Car Artists’ today has been achieved with commissions from the film industry, private collectors to leading vehicle manufacturers and recognition with 76 nominations for the Turner Prize.

Saunders is truly a major player on the scene today. Now the industry’s ‘go-to-guy’ for outlandish custom car projects, Saunders creations have included a car that was just 21 inches tall, a two-seater Mini and a Citroen 2CV inspired by Picasso.

The only Pontiac Fiero Finale ever produced now with updated specifications and 58,000 miles on the clock is estimated to sell for £12,000 to £14,000.

The car was first shown at the Geneva Motor Show as a prototype but never went into production. It is a RHD five-speed manual and has had extensive work done including a revised body styling, daytime running lights, a new carbon dash, new seats, kick plates, a new set of tyres and a complete respray.

It has a special registration plate and an MOT until September 2020.

Antony Clayton, the designer of this unique cars, says: “When I designed the FIERO FINALE for Candy Apple Cars, it was very well received at the Geneva Motor Show and body kits were available soon afterwards. In  2002 I bought a completed Fiero Finale, and in the last year have considerably up dated the design, as can be seen from the enclosed photographs.”

For more information about the auction please contact visit H&H Classics.

 

 

 

 

 

1976 Citroen Indecision

Registration No:6642 EL

Chassis No:05MC6017

Location:London

– Built in 1984 by Andy Saunders. This car was constructed entirely in steel and hand rolled. Welded to a steel frame and when first completed was finished in white pearl with base white graphics winning Best in show at the Devillbiss Show that year

– Appeared at Goodwood Festival of Speed Concours in 2004 and was the subject of magazine feature after magazine feature and became a hit at motorshows all around Europe and Scandanavia

– The base vehicle was a 1976 Citroen CX Pallas which received space age styling from inspiration taken from the wild prototype & custom vehicles of the late 70’s and early 80’s

– Current ownership since 2006 with documented history

Estimate: GBP£16,000 – GBP£20,000

 

Bonhams – Host Launch Of New Photographic Collection

Bonhams – Host Launch Of New Photographic Collection

“The Work By Adriaan Van Heerden Illuminates Our Contemporary Wasteland With Cold & Understated Ferocity” Says Oxford Don & Eminent Irish Poet Bernard O’donoghue

 

The Irish poet Bernard O’Donoghue, lecturer in medieval literature and modern poetry at Oxford University and biographer of Seamus Heaney, says that Adriaan van Heerden’s new photographic collection Unreal Cityilluminates our contemporary wasteland with cold and understated ferocity through the prism of T.S. Eliot’s great masterpiece, The Waste Land.

Eliot wrote The Waste Landin the immediate aftermath of the Great War, with civilization apparently in ruins. As we are approaching the centenary of the first publication of this monumental literary achievement, van Heerden suggests that one does not have to look far for evidence of our current wasteland. A decade of austerity has resulted in 130,000 unnecessary deaths and 320,000 homeless people living on our streets, as wealth inequality keeps growing and property becomes more and more unaffordable, especially in London. Property development has brought uneven benefits, with tens of thousands of poorer families displaced and struggling to cope as a result of welfare cuts.

 

 

 

Van Heerden’s interpretation of The Waste Landin bleak but beautiful photographs shows how wealth inequality, homelessness, the waste of young lives due to crime, spiritual vacuity, political and moral failure in our contemporary society are prefigured in Eliot’s great poem. Brexit has lifted the lid on these horrors and van Heerden’s Unreal Cityforces us to face up to them and challenges us to do something radical to solve them, by setting up a conversation between photographic imagery and poetic text in a way that has never been done before.

In Eliot’s poem London is the Unreal City, the background against which many of the characters have their entrances and exits. Van Heerden takes us into the heart of darkness of contemporary London, forcing us to experience the harsh everyday realities of its most vulnerable inhabitants.

O’Donoghue, who wrote an essay for Unreal City, says: “When Bertrand Russell read these lines in the final section of the poem –

 

Falling towers

Jerusalem Athens Alexandria

Vienna London

Unreal

 

he remembered that he once told Eliot of a nightmare in which he had a vision of London as an unreal city, its inhabitants like hallucinations, its bridges collapsing, its buildings passing into a mist. In some senses of course, as Adriaan van Heerden’s photographs richly illustrate, London is all too real, in its inequalities, materialism and the failure of its inhabitants to make meaningful contact with each other. Elsewhere Eliot said “Human kind / cannot bear very much reality”; van Heerden insists that we must acknowledge the intolerable discomforts and harshness of city reality which are not hallucinatory.”

According to O’Donoghue, van Heerden shows that we now live in the future of Eliot’s Waste Land, and that much of what is traumatic in our world is anticipated or described with great urgency in this prophetic document of nearly a century ago. Van Heerden’s pictures show how it is literally true, but more importantly they show the ways in which it is spiritually and figuratively true. For example, it would be easy to illustrate from the modern nightmare city literal representations of some of the most familiar lines of Eliot’s poem, such as the Dantesque passage from which he takes his title:

 

Unreal City,

Under the brown fog of a winter dawn,

A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many,

I had not thought death had undone so many. (lines 60-63)

 

This might well have been illustrated by trudging, despondent lines of people, like in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis. But van Heerden’s chosen picture is much more imaginative: a street of seedy shopfronts with a single dark figure walking past.

Similarly, for line 17, “In the mountains, there you feel free” there is a picture of a tapering high-rise block of flats, an ironic image of unfree, prosaic aspiration: a subject which is returned to for line 343 of the poem: “There is not even solitude in the mountains.”

Many of these pictures illustrate the familiar modern paradox, noted by Elias Canetti and others: being lonely amid crowds.

This kind of creative mismatching is the hallmark of van Heerden’s style; the illustrations of other familiar lines from the poem manifest the same adjustments from the physically real to the abstract and vice versa. “A heap of broken images” (line 22) might invite an image of detritus; but van Heerden’s is a beautiful reflection of towers and clouds in the glass panes of the Gherkin.

His picture for “I will show you fear in a handful of dust” (line 30) shows furniture discarded in a leaf-strewn walkway: an unlikely but evocative symbol of transience. We are reminded of Dr Johnson’s critical statement, admired by Eliot, about the seventeenth-century Metaphysical poets: that by them “heterogeneous ideas are yoked by violence together.” Johnson did not like the habit; but it describes very well Eliot’s own practice and van Heerden’s response to it.

Van Heerden follows Eliot into the city’s real, named places, often its historic churches: Saint Mary Woolnoth, Magnus Martyr, All Hallows-by-the-Tower, St Pancras Old Church. The churches are in keeping with one of his recurrent themes: the failure of religion to fulfil a spiritual or socially healing role – in Eliot’s terms, “the dead tree gives no shelter.” There are other real places too: King William Street, the Lloyds Building, Carnaby Street, Madame Tussaud’s, Canary Wharf, the Blavatnik Building – linking to another primary theme in the book: the inequalities and brutalities of a materialist, mercenary society. Most urgently real are the bus-stop where Stephen Lawrence was mortally wounded, and the burnt Grenfell Tower.

Van Heerden describes his work with Eliot’s poem as “a conversation”; but progressively as you work through the pictures, you see that it is close to the contradictory essence of Eliot’s great poem. His project is a decidedly political one, motivated by outrage at injustice and inequality. Generally, Eliot is seen as apolitical – Old Possum who keeps out of sight – or even reactionary. But it is remarkable how well the salient lines of The Waste Landlend themselves to radical perspectives.

Great art, it has often been said, must not be depressing; we must not despair in the face of the futility and anarchy of our world. It has also been said that good art is always political; that is certainly true of van Heerden’s response to The Waste Land. The injustice, violence and materialism of the unreal city are squarely faced; but the city represented here is also recognisably real. Coleridge said of Charles Lamb that to him no sound was “dissonant that tells of life.” Eliot’s view of the world has sometimes been said to be disdainful or supercilious. Van Heerden shows that it also has within it a humanity to which these pictures give vivid, if harsh, reality.

Unreal Citywill be launched at Bonhams in London (the international fine art auction house) on Monday 2 December, 6-8 pm. The event will include a small exhibition of pictures from the collection, a drinks reception and a short speech by Bernard O’Donoghue. The event is sponsored by Denbies Wine Estate and supported by London South Bank University.

To attend this exciting event, please RSVP to Matthew Haley: +44 (0) 20 7393 3817 or email [email protected]. Places are strictly limited so early reservation is advised.

Press Enquiries:

Julian Roup, [email protected], 07970 563958

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Falling towers”

 

 

 

 

 

“In rats’ alley where the dead men lost their bones”

Freeman’s – Modern & Contemporary Sales Total $2.8m+

Freeman’s – Modern & Contemporary Sales Total $2.8m+

PHILADELPHIA, PA-Freeman’s Modern and Contemporary Art sale held on 29 October 2019, and The Collection of Robert J. Morrison sale held on 30 October 2019, were resounding successes. Sale totals combined reached over $2.8million.

The auctions featured many lots that spanned multiple media across several collecting genres including paintings, sculpture, works on paper, and prints and multiples.

 

MODERN & CONTEMPORARY ART

Among the significant highlights from the Modern and Contemporary Art auction were several works from the distinguished collection of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Oldenburg.  Distinguished collector and art world power broker, Richard Oldenburg’s interest in the arts helped him and his wife to build an impressive personal collection of international scope. The entire collection sold for $304,687, which more than doubled the presale low estimate total. Most notable was a pencil drawing by American artist Ellsworth Kelly entitled Lemon Branch [4](Lot 68), which achieved an auction record for a pencil work by the artist and sold for $181,250 tripling its presale low estimate of $60,000.

More noteworthy works sold in the Modern and Contemporary Art sale included an important work on paper by American artist Helen Frankenthaler, Red Hot,(Lot 52)which garnered $137,500; and another work on paper by Chinese/French artist Zao Wou Kifrom his Oracle Bones series, Untitled, (Lot 27)which brought an impressive $93,750.

Dunham Townend, Head of the Modern and Contemporary Art department states: “We were delighted to achieve strong results for important works on paper by blue chip artists and to set a record for a significant Ellsworth Kelly drawing from a notable collection.”

 

 

THE COLLECTION OF ROBERT J. MORRISON

Thesingle owner auction enjoyed a standing room only crowd and a 100% sell through rate, nearly doubling its presale estimate totals and affirming Freeman’s strong expertise in selling collections of this kind. A celebrated advertising executive as well as a passionate collector and philanthropist, Morrison amassed hundreds of cherished graphic works, ranging from vintage postcards and gallery announcements to rare prints and multiples.

The sale featured a number of highlights, including two works by American Pop Art icon Roy Lichtenstein,Sweet Dreams Baby!(Lot 26), which sold for $143,750on an estimate of $60,000-100,000; andCrying Girl, (Lot 6) which achieved $62,500against a presale estimate of $30,000-50,000. Another noteworthy work by Pop Art legend Andy Warhol was his color screenprint Flowers,(Lot 65), which sold for an impressive $65,625against its original estimate of $25,000-35,000. Other highlights included Robert Longo’s Rick(Lot 76), a screenprint which brought $35,000, over tripling its presale low estimate; and Rodeo by Ed Rucha (Lot 83), which achieved $21,250against a presale estimate of $6,000-10,000.

“Freeman’s was honored to present for sale Pop prints, multiples, graphics and books from the estate of Philadelphia collector and philanthropist, Robert J. Morrison today. The packed saleroom and high prices were a testament to Bob’s keen eye and generous spirit as both local bidders and those from great distances vied for works from his important and eclectic collection.” –Anne Henry, Vice President, Head of Sale.

 

Press Inquiries:

Madeline Hill, [email protected], +1 267.414.1201

Acteon – Painting by Cimabue Sold at Auction for €24m

Acteon – Painting by Cimabue Sold at Auction for €24m

Under the hammer of Dominique le Coënt, Acteon, a French consortium of auction houses in Senlis, Chantilly, Compiègne, Lille and Paris,The Mocking of Christ, a rare painting by Cimabue, has sold at auction for € 24,180,000 -$ 26,792,500.

Found hanging in a local family’s home near Compiègne by Acteon, the tiny painting (24,6X19,6cm – 9,6X7,7 inches) was authenticated by Cabinet Turquin. Initially estimated between 4 and 6 million euros, the painting becomes the most expensive pre-1500 old Master to have been sold at auction. Globally, the Senlis Cimabue is the 8th most expensive old Master to have been auction after Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi (2017), Rubens’s Massacre of the Innocents (2012), Rubens’s Lot and His Daughters (2016), Rembrandt’s Portrait of a Woman (2000), Raphaël’sPortrait of Lorenzo de Medicis (2007), and Canaletto’s Veduta del Canal Grande (2005). The beneficiary will be the old lady who sold the house and asked Acteon to clear it. They had a week to do it.

In front of an audience of more than 500 people, 8 competitors aggressively bid for this rare painting by Cimabue, the 13th century Florentine painter renowned as one of the greatest pre- renaissance artists, whose body of work is limited to ten works, of which none is signed and all in public collections. the buyer is a private individual.

Investigations of Cabinet Turquin had determined the painting belongs to a devotional panel of two elements painted with eight scenes from the Passion of Christ. The panel, titled The Mocking of Christ, joins the two other elements known to us today: the Flagellation which has been in the Frick Collection in New York since 1950 and Virgin and Child Enthroned surrounded by two angels, which was bought by the national gallery in London in 2000.

 

“This is a historic sale for the Actéon group. With a remarkable price of € 24 180 000, this auction joins the ranks of the 8th most important Old Masters auctions worldwide. This record shows that today, a work of art can be sold anywhere in the world thanks especially to powerful platforms such as Interencheres.” says Dominique le Coënt, director of Actéon group.

“We received interest from all the most prominent museums worldwide. Contemporary art collectors whom we did not know also showed a keen interest, which for us as experts in Old Masters, was a completely new phenomenon.” Eric Turquin, expert who authenticated the Cimabue painting.

This exceptional discovery of The Mocking of Christ allows us to pursue the reconstitution of the unique devotional work known to us today as being by the hand of Cimabue. Traces of the original framing, the small round dots made with the same sort of stamp, the style, the gold ornamentation, the corresponding of the backs of each of the panels and their similar condition confirm that these panels made up the left side of the same diptych.

 

An exceedingly rare artist and one of the first examples of Western painting

The majority of works by Cimabue were done for churches in Pisa, Florence, Bologne, Arezzo. A Virgin and Child Enthroned painted circa 1280 for the church of San Francesco in Pisa is today in the louvre. devotional panels, of which our panel is one, were small in scale and easy to transport and were intended for private contemplation by religious congregations or individuals in their chapels or private oratories.

Cimabue a Florentine painter active in the second half of the 13th century, ensured the renewal of Byzantine painting by breaking with its formalism and its images that were codified by dogma. he is the artist who opened the door to a greater naturalism in art that precedes that of the renaissance; he gives a soul to each of his figures and brings depth to his composition by conceiving the first notions of perspective.

In this rediscovered panel, the multitude of faces, be they grimacing or jeering, very expressive, all serve to reinforce this idea of Christ being surrounded. Christ himself is shown as a flesh and blood human being in an attitude of surrender and not as an almost abstract divinity. Giotto and Duccio, for whom Cimabue is considered the spiritual father, will follow this stylistic evolution.

This panel is thus one of the first examples of Western art that opens the way to Humanism in paintings.

For more information about the sale please contact:

Press Inquiries:

Sylvie Robaglia, Art & Communication

[email protected], +33 06 72 59 57 34

Hindman – Clothing Archive Of Geoffrey Beene (1927- 2004)

Hindman – Clothing Archive Of Geoffrey Beene (1927- 2004)

Hindman will sell Property From The Geoffrey Beene Archive: Clothes That Care, featuring significant designs from iconic fashion designer Geoffrey Beene’s personal collection that have been carefully preserved for the past 15 years.

The auction in Chicago on November 20th includes lots dating from the 1960’s to the early 2000’s. All net proceeds from the sale of the Geoffrey Beene Archive will benefit the Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Center at Memorial Sloan Kettering.

Tom Ford and Marc Jacobs asked separately who they felt was the greatest designer produced by the United States in the 20th century, a figure who could be placed alongside couturiers of the calibre of Chanel and Balenciaga, both replied without hesitation, “Geoffrey Beene,” according to fashion writer Colin McDowell who interviewed them for The Business of Fashion.

Beene did not care to be a big brand. In his gentlemanly Southern drawl he said: “I’m not a driven businessman, but a driven artist, I never think about money – beautiful things make money”.

“At Hindman, we love any opportunity to celebrate exemplary designs, and this sale is replete with highlights of modern American fashion design,” said Timothy Long, Hindman’s director and senior specialist of luxury accessories and couture. “We are proud that the proceeds of the Property From The Geoffrey Beene Archive: Clothes That Care© sale will benefit cancer research.”

Geoffrey Beene was one of the greatest American fashion designers of the 20th century and a prominent figure in the emergence of the American fashion industry after World War II. Beene was a pioneering force in creating an American style that was independent from the dictates of European Haute Couture. From the launch of his own line in 1963 to his death in 2004, Geoffrey Beene was an independent force in American fashion, and was awarded the prestigious Coty Fashion Award no less than eight times­—the highest number awarded to any designer to date.

Beene started his career during the era when Parisian designers still dominated the fashion world and Americans were expected to look to them for inspiration. However, though Beene was trained in the traditional manner, educated in New York and Paris, he broke out of the mould after his training and apprenticeship working for other designers. His first collection made the cover of Vogue, and he has been regarded as a Dean of American design ever since. His high-profile clients have included several Presidential First Ladies, and he designed the wedding dress of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s daughter, Lynda Bird Johnson, in 1967.

The Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Centre at Memorial Sloan Kettering was created in 2006 to support and fund new research approaches in preventing, diagnosing and treating all cancers. Together, the Geoffrey Beene Foundation and Geoffrey Beene, LLC have awarded a total of over $175 million to the Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Center, funding approximately 130 separate new revolutionary research projects that have resulted in major breakthroughs in multiple cancers.

 

 

About The Geoffrey Beene Foundation

The Geoffrey Beene Foundation was founded in 2006 by G. Thompson (“Tom”) Hutton, Esq., under his discretionary authority as Executor of the Estate of Geoffrey Beene, who died in 2004. The mission of the Foundation is to support critical philanthropic causes, the most important being the establishment in 2006 of the Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Center at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Tom Hutton initiated and orchestrated the creation of the Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Center with Harold Varmus, M.D. (Nobel Laureate and former CEO of MSK), because Hutton wanted to fund new revolutionary research initiatives that would lead to new treatments for cancer patients. Together the Geoffrey Beene Foundation and Geoffrey Beene, LLC (until 2018 when its business was sold) have been the sole funding sources and have funded approximately 130 separate new revolutionary research initiatives across all cancers to develop new treatments and diagnostics for cancer patients. The new research has resulted in major breakthroughs in multiple cancers, saving and improving thousands of lives.

 

About the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is the world’s oldest and largest private cancer center and has devoted more than 130 years to exceptional patient care, innovative research, and outstanding educational programs. Today, they are one of 50 National Cancer Institute–designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, with state-of-the-art science flourishing side by side with clinical studies and treatment.

The close collaboration between physicians and scientists is one of Memorial Sloan Kettering’s unique strengths, enabling them to provide patients with the best care available, as they work to discover more effective strategies to prevent, control, and ultimately cure cancer in the future. Their education programs train future physicians and scientists, and the knowledge and experience they gain at Memorial Sloan Kettering has an impact on cancer treatment and biomedical research around the world.

For more information about the auction please contact visit Hindman.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lot 172

Three Geoffrey Beene Dresses, Spring 1992

 

Estimate: US$2,000 – US$3,000

Strauss & Co – South African Art’s Love Affair With Paris

Strauss & Co – South African Art’s Love Affair With Paris

Forthcoming Johannesburg sale, to be held at Strauss & Co’s Houghton offices on Monday, 11 November will focus collectors’ attention on the strong influence Paris has exerted on South African art throughout the twentieth century.

“Paris was a beacon for countless South African artists,” says Susie Goodman, executive director at Strauss & Co. “The first South African artist to study in Paris was Robert Gwelo Goodman, in 1895. The list of local artists who followed in his footsteps is as remarkable as it is long. The top three lots in our upcoming sale are by Alexis Preller, William Kentridge, and Penny Siopis, highly acclaimed artists who each spent time in Paris early in their careers.”

Alexis Preller:

The top lot is Preller’s Icon Barbare (Adam), an oil painting quoting his powerful 1969 intaglio Adam (sold by Strauss & Co in 2016 for R6.8 million). Shown on the artist’s 1972 Pretoria Art Museum retrospective, Icon Barbare (estimate R8.5 – 10 million) depicts the biblical first man with Prelleresque flourishes.

“The Christ-like beard and hair are ambiguously transformed with green and leaf-like tendrils thus assuming a pagan quality,” notes artist and Preller expert Karel Nel. “The transmuted presence feels more like an icon of Pan, the Greek god of nature, of fertility, the mountains and wilds.”Assuredly loose in style, this oil on canvas reveals Preller’s admiration for French Fauvist painter Raoul Dufy, a lifelong friend of painter Othon Friesz.

Preller met Friesz, a teacher at Académie de la Grande Chaumière, in 1937 during his first trip to Paris. Lacking funds to study at his art school, Preller

invested his energies in the “tireless examination of the works of modern artists on view in galleries,” according his biographer Esmé Berman. During these expeditions Preller recognised in Gauguin “a guide to the direction he himself might follow”. This influence is evident in Mapogga Wedding (R2 – 3 million), a 1952 oil depicting a bride and groom set slightly askew with Gauguinesque figures in the background.

William Kentridge:

The influence of Paris is also evident in the work of contemporary masters such as William Kentridge and Penny Siopis. In 1981 Kentridge studied mime and theatre at a Paris acting school founded by Jacques Lecoq. A decade later, having decisively returned to making art, he produced the collage Iris, a highly unusual colour work portraying a single flower in Van Gogh’s Provencal tones of blue and purple (estimate R3 – 5 million).

Penny Siopis:

Five years later, Siopis undertook a seven-month residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts after winning the Volkskas Atelier Award with her well-known painting Melancholia. The forthcoming sale includes a companion work, Act I Scene II (estimate R2.8 – 3.5 million), which was interrupted by Siopis’s stay in Paris and completed upon her return to Johannesburg à la Melancholia. This lot includes various pictorial elements (tortoise shell, porcupine quills, classical statuettes, red arum lilies) appearing in Melancholia.

The upcoming sale is an opportunity for collectors and art lovers to explore South African art’s indebtedness to Paris. Artists from various periods are represented in the catalogue, including Ruth Everard Haden, Clément Sénèque and Maud Sumner, who all studied in Paris during the interwar years. Sumner’s Woman Seated at a Mirror (estimate R350 000 – 500 000) is an intimate domestic scene in the style of Bonnard and Vuillard.

Postwar painters also feature prominently. They include Erik Laubscher, who studied at the Académie Montmartre under Fernand Léger, Bettie Cilliers-Barnard, Sydney Goldblatt and Anna Vorster, who all studied at the Paris art school founded by cubist painter André Lhote. Standout lots include Laubscher’s School of Paris work from 1956, Abstract Landscape (R250 000 – 300 000) and Cilliers-Barnard’s international style Abstract Composition (estimate R80 000 – 120 000) painted a year later.

Paris was more than simply a workshop for painterly innovation; it provided shelter for dissidents and exiles. Following in the footsteps of pioneering abstract painter Ernest Mancoba, who settled in Paris in 1938. Gerard Sekoto choose to leave apartheid South Africa for the City of Lights a decade later. A highly collectible artist, Sekoto is represented in a wine-coloured composition from 1968, Three Figures (estimate R350 000 – 500 000).

Highlights from the contemporary selection include Diane Victor’s There’s Fire in the Thatch (estimate R300 000 – 500 000), a large charcoal and chalk pastel drawing portraying six figures locked in an embrace hovering over a burning landscape. Victor won the 1988 Absa l’Atelier Art Competition and – like Siopis – stayed at the Cité Internationale des Arts. During her ten-month residency she produced drawings combining classical references with contemporary social comment and autobiographical detail.

All these works will go under the hammer on Monday, 11 November at Strauss & Co’s new sales and exhibition space at 89 Central Street, Houghton, in Johannesburg. The Paris-themed sale will also include a collection of Edoardo Villa bronze sculptures from the estate of Aldo Carrara, a lifelong friend of the artist, as well as a number of noteworthy landscape scenes by JH Pierneef.

For more information about the sale please contact:

Press Inquiries:

Julian Roup, Bendigo Communications [email protected], +44 7970 563 958

 

 

 

 

‘Iris’ by William Kentridge

A single flower in Van Gogh’s Provencal tones of blue and purple

Estimate: GBP£160,000 – GBP£265,000  (R3m to R5m)

Freeman’s – Collection Of Art Collector Robert J. Morrison

Freeman’s – Collection Of Art Collector Robert J. Morrison

On October 30, Freeman’s will proudly present the Collection of Philadelphia Pop Art Collector and Philanthropist, Robert J. Morrison, whose extensive collected works include prints and multiples by Pop Art icons such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, Frank Stella, and Jim Dine.

 

“Robert Morrison was a generous, witty man and an intellectually curious collector.  His collection was built around iconic Pop works but also included invitations, posters and ephemera that together tell the story of a lifelong collector and ad-man who loved a witty turn of phrase and a colorful, effective image. Bob was drawn to the democratic nature of Pop art, and loved nothing more than to share his collection with others.”—HEAD OF SALE, ANNE HENRY

 

 

SALE HIGHLIGHTS

The core of Morrison’s collection is comprised of graphic works by two of the most important and influential artists of the Pop Art movement — Andy Warholand Roy Lichtenstein. Top works by Roy Lichtenstein include Sweet Dreams Baby!(1965) at an estimate of $60,000-100,000 (Lot 26); Crying Girl(1963) at an estimate of $30,000-50,000 (Lot 6); and Shipboard Girl (1965) at an estimate of $30,000-50,000 (Lot 32).

 

Top works by Andy Warhol include Liz(1964) at an estimate of $20,000-30,000 (Lot 48); Flowers(1970) at an estimate of $25,000 – 35,000 (Lot 65); and three variations from his Mao series, two estimated at $30,000-50,000 and one at $20,000-30,000 (Lots 51-53). Other highlights offered include Ed Ruscha’s Rodeo(1969) at an estimate of $6,000 – 10,000 (Lot 83); Wayne Thiebaud’s BlackSuckers1971 at an estimate of $15,000-25,000 (Lot 45); and Robert Longo’s Rick1994 at an estimate of $10,000-15,000 (Lot 76).

 

ROBERT MORRISON: A HISTORY OF THE COLLECTOR

Morrison began collecting at the age of 12, fueled by an early passion for graphic works of art and design. After graduating business school in the early 1960’s, Bob moved to New York City to pursue a career in advertising. There, he attended gallery shows and met some ofthe artists whose works he began to collect, including Warhol and Lichtenstein. He later moved to Philadelphia and became a nationally celebrated advertising executive, compiling more than 200 national creative awards over the span of his career.

 

“There’s no doubt that collecting contemporary art can be a wonderful passion. Maybe even an obsession. For me, it has always been both, and I have never regretted the journey.” –ROBERT J. MORRISON

 

Bob was also a dedicated philanthropist in Philadelphia, serving as a Board member and Chair of the Delaware Valley Legacy Fund. He also gave time and support to OutGivers,  amfAR, and helped launch the WillPower Project. In 2007, in partnership with the Rockefeller Group, Bob created “The Fine Art of Tangible Assets,” a monograph and conversation discussing the transformation of collections into philanthropic capital, and more recently, helped launch an emerging art collectors’ group, Philly Stewards.

 

For more information about the sale please contact:

Head of Sale:

Anne Henry, [email protected], +1 267.414.1220

Press Inquiries:

Madeline Hill, [email protected], +1 267.414.1201

Freeman’s – Historic American Flags to Embark on Highlights Tour

Freeman’s – Historic American Flags to Embark on Highlights Tour

On November 24, Freeman’s will proudly present the first auction held at their new gallery at 2400 Market in Center City, Philadelphia. The single owner sale, A Grand Old Flag: The Stars and Stripes Collection of Dr. Peter J. Keim, is one of the largest collection of historic American Flags ever offered at auction.

PHILADELPHIA- Recognized asone of the most comprehensive collections of historic American Flags, The Stars and Stripes Collection of Dr. Peter J. Keimranges from 13-star Flags to 50-star Flags, with most in-between iterations. Built over 40 years with passion, perseverance and a steadfast commitment to rarity and historical significance, the collection includes an impressive array of over 400 Flags, as well as related books, patriotic memorabilia and artifacts from 19thand 20thcentury popular culture. 

Significance of the Collection

Lynda Cain, Freeman’s Vice President and Head of the American Furniture, Folk & Decorative Arts Department, says “The Flags of the Keim Collection are important markers of time and place in American history. With every additional star of statehood, these Flags illuminate the complex geographical negotiations, political and economical machinations, and military actions behind the history of growth of the United States of America. Collected with an astute eye for rarity and graphic impact, Dr. Keim has amassed stunning examples of our National Emblem.”

Over the years, Flags from Dr. Keim’s collection have been featured in numerous publications, programs and museum exhibitions across the country. They were also prominently displayed twice in the famed windows at Bergdorf Goodman on 5th Ave. in New York City.

“This important and renowned collection is a true celebration of this great nation and its storied past,” remarks Freeman’s Chairman Alasdair Nichol. “It’s a well-known fact that Freeman’s own history is closely intertwined with that of Philadelphia and the United States, so we felt very strongly that Dr. Keim’s collection was perfect for the opening of our new gallery: an impressive and fitting tribute to the past as well as a toast to the future.”

Touring Dates

Highlights from the collection will be touring to various historically significant cities along the Eastern seaboard prior to their exhibition and sale. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be served; please RSVP by September 20.

Richmond, VA– September 24, 6-8pm | Commonwealth Club, 401 W. Franklin Street

Washington, D.C.– September 25, 6-8pm | Kimpton George Hotel, 15 E Street NW

Boston, MA– October 10, 6-8pm | Loews Hotel, 154 Berkeley Street

 

Hindman – Surreal Pop Art By Jim Nutt & Gladyss Nilsson

Hindman – Surreal Pop Art By Jim Nutt & Gladyss Nilsson

Hindman’s Post War and Contemporary Art Auction on September 26th at 10am will feature an extraordinary selection of rare and outstanding paintings by the Hairy Who? and the Chicago Imagists.  Included in this premier presentation are superb examples by Art Green, Gladys Nilsson, Jim Nutt, Ed Paschke and Karl Wirsum.  

Their work was known for grotesquerie, surrealism and complete separation from the art scene in New York art or world trends.

Jim Nutt’s Plume from 1989 is estimated at $200,000-400,000 and offers a unique opportunity for collectors to acquire an early work from his period of portraits that emerged as his preferred painting product in the 90s and has held a continued place in his practice. These stylized and detailed, fantastically imagined women were influenced by the formal constructs of Renaissance portraiture, balancing between the beautiful and grotesque and exemplifying an artist who has mastered his craft.

“I have spent my life surrounded by Chicago art and artists and have had the good fortune of bringing numerous stellar examples of Chicago Imagist material to market over the last decade here at Hindman.” says Zack Wirsum, Senior Specialist in Post War and Contemporary Art. “I can say with full confidence that this selection of paintings is among the best batches of Hairy Who? and Imagist work to come up at auction in one setting that I have ever seen. I anticipate the excitement over these works from the collecting world to be absolutely frenzied.”

One such highlight is the uncharacteristically large-scale diptych by Gladys Nilsson, Dipdick…Adam and Eve after Cranach, 1971, estimated at $20,000-30,000. This work playfully riffs on Lucas Cranach the Elder’s similarly titled Northern Renaissance masterpiece. Engaging the same energy as her more intimate watercolors but on a grander scale the work employs high key colors, dynamic patterns and whimsical interwoven bodies to reinterpret and reinvigorate a classic.

Two paintings from Karl Wirsum’s seminal Doggerel series of vibrantly electric colored and graphically edged anthropomorphic dogs will be reunited for the first time since the late 60s. With presale estimates of $40,000-60,000 and $50,000-70,000 each, Doggerel, 1966 and Doggerel III, 1967 interestingly come to market from two different collections. Originally purchased from a group exhibition at Dell Gallery in 1966 and the second Hairy Who? exhibition at the Hyde Park Art Center in 1967 respectively, the works have remained with the original buyers since. This pair of paintings illustrate Wirsum’s evolution from more open spaced akimbo psychedelic abstraction to a full frontal frenetic symmetrical figuration that became his signature approach through the rest of the 60s and beyond. Other Chicago artists of note featured prominently in the auction are Leon Golub, Richard Hunt, George Cohen and Gertrude Abercrombie.

The artist Jim Nutt was born in 1938 and studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the early sixties just as Abstract Expressionism was ceding the spotlight to Pop Art.  Together with other students he and his wife, the painter Gladys Nilsson, formed a group that came to be known as the Hairy Who.  Allied to the Chicago Imagists, their style was a kind of surrealising Pop, with a cartoonish, eschatological gonzo character that earned them a swathe of group shows across the US and beyond from 1966 through to the early 70s.

Since the mid-90s Nutt has focused exclusively on painting female heads; the works in this current exhibition date from 2010 to 2016. They are not portraits, although the artist does admit to being a close observer of people in the street.  Writing in the New Yorker, David Nolan referred to them as a kind of ‘geek classicism’.  The works are of uniform size, and draw one in with a power to match a Lucas Cranach Adam and Eve.  Nutt uses thinned acrylic paints.  This is significant because the colour used this way has a translucency that means he has to build up many layers of paint to achieve the desired effect.  He is interested not in brush strokes, the paintings are entirely without gesture, but in the impasto brought about by this layering which in turn lends the heads an extraordinary three-dimensionality

For more information about the auction please contact visit Hindman

 

Jim Nutt (American, b. 1938)

Plume, 1989

acrylic on canvas in acrylic on wood frame

signed Jim Nutt, titled, dated and annotated (verso)

25 1/2 x 21 1/2 inches.

Property from a Corporate Art Collection

 

Estimate: US$200,000 – US$400,000

Hindman – Dame Olivia De Havilland Haute Couture & Designs

Hindman – Dame Olivia De Havilland Haute Couture & Designs

A stunning array of dresses worn by Dame Olivia de Havilland, the 103-year-old British-American-French actress whose career from 1935 spanned the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema to the late 1980s, will be sold by auction house Hindman in Chicago on September 17th.

De Havilland is one of the top actresses of all time, with a career that includes 49 feature films. One of her most remembered roles was Melanie Hamilton in Gone With the Wind (1939), in which she plays Scarlett O’Hara’s sister-in-law.

The September 17, 2019 Haute Couture & Luxury Fall Fashion Auction at Hindman includes an impressive collection of 400 lots of vintage clothing gathered from around the United States and Europe. This compelling group of designs features wearable early 20th century dresses, numerous examples from post-WWII American fashion designers such as Norman Norell, Adele Simpson and James Galanos, and unique haute couture creations from Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent and Emanuel Ungaro, among others.

Headlining this auction is an exciting collection of Parisian haute couture and Hollywood designs worn by Dame Olivia de Havilland from 1954 to 1989. A majority of the items (27) are haute couture creations by Christian Dior, including ensembles made under the creative direction of Christian Dior himself, Yves Saint Laurent and Marc Bohan.

 “Dame Olivia de Havilland is a timeless fashion icon and this couture is nothing short of historical,” said Timothy Long, Hindman’s director and senior specialist of luxury accessories and couture. “Olivia’s collection, along with the auction’s other offerings, must not be missed by fashion experts and enthusiasts alike.”

Three of the Dior ensembles were worn by de Havilland in her movies, such as Light in the Piazza (1962) and the iconic Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964).

A Dior coat was worn for her role in the Broadway production of A Gift of Time (1961), while other Dior designs were worn by de Havilland to the premieres of her movies, such as Proud Rebel (1958), Lady in a Cage (1964) and the 1961 special showing of Gone with the Wind (1939) in honour of the Centennial of the Commencement of the Civil War.

There are also eight evening gowns worn by de Havilland to formal events between 1977 and 1989. These events include the 1977 American Film Institute tribute to Bette Davis, for which de Havilland wore a gown designed by Hollywood costume designer Edith Head. Another dress was made by Hollywood costume designer Paul Zastupnevitch and worn in 1989 by de Havilland when she accepted the People’s Choice Award for Gone with the Wind as the favourite film of all time.

In addition to Christian Dior clothing and accessories, this collection includes six paper programmes, printed by

the House of Christian Dior, detailing the garments included in Dior’s fashion shows in Paris, which were attended by Olivia de Havilland. Each programme features hand-written notes by de Havilland, including her thoughts on each collection and scheduling details.

With these programmes are two photographic prints, provided with the clothing, of Olivia de Havilland with Christian Dior. One image is of de Havilland wearing a wedding dress, designed by Dior, for her role in The Ambassador’s Daughter (1956). The second image is of Dior seated at a table with de Havilland in a white hat.

For more information about the auction please contact visit Hindman

 

 

Christian Dior by Marc Bohan Haute Couture Dress, Inner Bodice and Shoes, Spring-Summer 1964

Worn by Dame Olivia de Havilland in the 1964 movie ‘Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte’.

 

 

Estimate: US$1,200 – US$1,800

 
 

 

 
 
Julien’s – Top Memorabilia From Hall Of Fame Players

Julien’s – Top Memorabilia From Hall Of Fame Players

Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb, And Hank Aaron Memorabilia Offered In Julien’s Auctions November 14th Event

Los Angeles, California – (August 23, 2019)– History and investment opportunities intersect for baseball fans attending Julien’s Auctions “A Southern Gentleman’s Collection” event in Beverly Hills on November 14th. With the Sports category leading the sale, high value baseballs and game worn jerseys each carry with them stories about some of the greatest moments and players of the sport.

Brett Hughes, Managing Director Global Sports at Julien’s Auctions, says: “Once in a while a collection comes our way that you can feel the history, opportunity, and excitement all at once. This collection – compiled over the course of 30 years by Goodman Basil Espy­ III, M.D., is just that – exciting. It includes the kinds of items that makes the heart of any baseball fan and collector beat faster. Much faster. An indication of the strength of this market can be seen in the price rises we are seeing. A Babe Ruth uniform similar to one sold in 2008 for $300,000, we expect to sell for $400,000 or higher today. The market goes from strength to strength.”

David Seideman, an authority on sports collectables for 30 years (who writes for such publications as Forbes, Time and Sport Illustrated) claimed the following earlier this year: “[The] supply of signed Babe Ruth baseballs cannot meet the demand…  No matter how many thousands upon thousands of times he scribbled his name, an autographed Babe Ruth baseball is still the centerpiece of any worthwhile baseball memorabilia collection. The price of Ruth balls has at least doubled over the past decade. Expect to pay at least $20,000 for a sharp one, a clean ball. Official American League baseballs are the most desirable, commanding a premium.”

The market for celebrity sports memorabilia continues its relentless upward trend as an alternative investment sector. Many wealthy collectors who have art, wine, classic cars, and jewelry in their portfolios now also include items linked to some of the greatest professional athletes in the world. The sports market, in some instances, is outpacing some of the more conventional investment categories.

Because of the international interest in this collection, it is being taken to England on board Cunard’s luxurious Queen Mary 2, in a voyage departing New York on September 15thand arriving in Southampton, England on September 22nd, crossing the Atlantic Ocean with an exhibition of sports highlights from the Julien’s Auctions sale event later in the year.

For more information please visit Julien’s Auctions.

 

A Joe Dimaggio and Marilyn Monroe signed baseball.  A Reach Official American League Baseball (William Harridge) era 1947-1953, signed by Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe in blue ink. This signed baseball commemorates the brief union of one of sports brightest stars with Hollywood’s most glamorous actress. It is well known that after Marilyn’s passing Joe refused to sign any Monroe related material whether it be photographic images or pages already bearing her autograph. Any signed objects by both legendary figures only derives from the short period the couple spent together, factually only a nine-month marriage was full of unhappiness, tears, and general strife.

 

Estimate: US$150,000 – US$250,000