Archive for October, 2011

Swann Galleries – ART, PRESS & ILLUSTRATED BOOKS / 19TH & 20TH CENTURY LITERATURE

October 24th, 2011 by

The Art, Press & Illustrated Books portion of this sale contains works on architecture, art journals, curiosa, and design, as well as decorative arts & livres d’artiste. The 19th & 20th Century Literature portion of the sale contains first editions, signed & inscribed copies, books on food and drink, fore-edge paintings, and poetry.

Highlights Include:

25 Cats Name Sam and One Blue Pussy, New York, 1954, by Andy Warhol. Signed and inscribed by Warhol, this is one of 190 copies. Detail shown, top left.

A section of Curiosa (Erotica) features, 15 erotic plates & an illustrated title-page by Franz von Bayros entitled Erzahlungen am Toilettentische von Choisy Le Conin, number 137 of 510 copies, circa 1908. Detail shown, left.

An inscribed first edition of Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. October 10 marked the 50th anniversary of the publication of Heller’s greatest literary and commercial success. Other Catch-22 highlights include a signed British first edition; a signed, uncorrected proof of Heller’s dramatization of his most famous novel; and a wonderful association copy and advance proof that once belonged to W.H. Auden.

A complete set in fine bindings of the first editions of Charles Dickens’s Christmas Books. Five volumes, uniformly bound, London, 1843-1848. Detail shown, left.

A first edition of the first Jewish cookbook published in the United States, The Jewish Cookery Book, Philadelphia, 1871.

Sotheby’s New York – Prints & Important Contemporary Prints from an American Collection Exhibition Reminder

October 24th, 2011 by

We are very pleased to present our first-ever evening sale of prints, Important Contemporary Prints from an American Collection, to be held on October 27th at 6 PM. The 37 lots include six complete Warhol portfolios purchased directly from the artist’s studio, including Campbell’s Soup I, Mao and Myths.  Other highlights comprise iconic images by Jasper Johns, such as False Start and the Seasons set, four examples from Roy Lichtenstein’s Reflections series and all five of Robert Rauschenberg’s Bellini prints from the late 1980s.

Phillips de Pury – Important Nordic Design: London Highlights

October 24th, 2011 by

London – Phillips de Pury & Company is pleased to announce Important Nordic Design, an academic exploration into 20th century and contemporary Nordic design and culture curated by acclaimed architect Lee F. Mindel, Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and whose firm Shelton, Mindel & Associates is the winner of the 2011 Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Interior Design.

Shelton, Mindel & Associates, New York, have had a lifelong passion and understanding of the contributions of architecture and design in Scandinavia. At Phillips de Pury & Company, Mr. Mindel will curate the auction catalogue and exhibition and will draw together rare and exceptional works from Sweden, Denmark and Finland where he has travelled extensively. In addition, photographs taken by Mr. Mindel, documenting those Nordic journeys, will be available for sale during the exhibition proceeds of which will be donated to various architectural and design institutions.

The auction is estimated to generate £2,000,000 – £2,800,000 and includes approximately 120 lots.

Sotheby’s New York – Property from the Collections of Lily & Edmond J. Safra

October 24th, 2011 by

Six years after the landmark auction of Property from the Collections of Lily & Edmond J. Safra, Sotheby’s is honored to hold a second series of sales dedicated to the remarkable collections of Lily & Edmond J. Safra. The four-day auction is comprised of six sale volumes whose contents represent the pinnacle of their respective collecting categories, from magnificent European furniture and works of art to Russian porcelain, Cosway bindings and 19th century paintings and interior watercolors.

Phillips de Pury – Contemporary Art

October 24th, 2011 by

Phillips de Pury & Company together with the Guggenheim Museum are proud to announce a special auction to benefit the Museum this fall. The Guggenheim auction will be the first of its kind to be held outside of the Museum and will be an evening sale taking place on November 7 at 6:30pm at Phillips de Pury at 450 Park Avenue.

Sotheby’s – Travel, Atlases, Maps & Natural History

October 24th, 2011 by

This sale includes a fine set of Braun and Hogenberg’s Civitates orbis terrarium, the first systematic city atlas, with wonderful bird’s-eye-views of towns from London to Constantinople. There are also atlases by Ptolemy, Ortelius and Mercator, a spectacular world map by Giovanni Cimerlino using a heart-shaped projection, Le Rouge’s atlas of the American Revolution, 1778, and a collection of 18th- and 19th-century fans decorated with cartographical designs.

There is a wealth of early topographical photographs in the sale, most notably a collection of over 220 newly-discovered photographs by pioneering British photographer Linnaeus Tripe of India and Burma. These important photographs taken in 1854 and 1855 are among the earliest views of Rangoon and Mysore and were presented to the 1st Marquess of Dalhousie, the Governor-General of India, who sent Tripe as part of the Mission to Ava in 1855 as an “Artist in Photography,” and have come by descent to the present owner. The photographs include 42 unique prints and 5 previously unknown images by Tripe.

The Near and Middle East is well represented in books and prints and there is a fine copy of Young’s Portraits of the Emperors of Turkey. Closer to home, there is wonderful material on the British Isles, including Kip’s Theatre of Great Britain, Speed’s county atlas and a handsome set of works by Ackermann. Gould’s always-popular Birds of Great Britain is the centrepiece of the natural history section, along with a rare example of nature printing from the 18th century.

Rago Arts and Auction Center – 19th/20th C. American & European Art, Post-War & Contemporary Art

October 24th, 2011 by

Current Auction

Sat., Nov. 12 @ 11am:
19/20th C. American/European Art

Sun., Nov. 12 @ 1pm:
Post-War and Contemporary Art

Swann Galleries – AMERICAN ART / CONTEMPORARY ART

October 24th, 2011 by

Title: AMERICAN ART / CONTEMPORARY ART
Date: November 17, 2011
Time: 10:30 AM & 1:30 PM
Exhibition: Sat., Nov. 12, 10-4
Mon., Nov. 14, 10-6
Tues., Nov. 15, 10-6
Wed., Nov. 16, 10-6
Contact Person: Todd Weyman

Don Presley to auction Beverly Hills private collection of exquisite antique clocks, porcelain, silver and art, Nov. 5-6

October 24th, 2011 by

Featured additional highlight: John Wayne’s silver-trimmed leather saddle

Bronze and Sevres porcelain clock and garniture set, one of many from a Beverly Hills private collection. Don Presley Auction image.

ORANGE, Calif. – The 90210 zip code has become a familiar destination for Southern California auctioneer Don Presley, and on Nov. 5-6, Presley will again present a premier private collection sourced directly from a Beverly Hills estate. This time the contents consist of superb clocks, silver, porcelains and other fine and decorative art from a collector whom Presley describes as having “an eye for the exquisite.” A fine jewelry wholesaler by profession, the consignor has always selected pieces of the highest quality for their collection, never settling for anything less.

 

The Beverly Hills collection comprises 400 of the 1,000 lots to be auctioned, and features 200 absolutely fresh to the market antique European and American clocks.

 

“This is such a great clock collection that visitors to our gallery have been asking if a high-end antique store went out of business – but that’s not the case. This is a collection built over many years by an individual who happens to love beautiful clocks and porcelains, and knows how to pick the very best,” Presley said.

 

“When I first went to visit the collection, my jaw dropped,” Presley continued. “I could not believe what I saw on the walls and shelves – gorgeous champleve clocks, Tiffany, Sevres, old silver. These are the kinds of things that make an auctioneer love his business.”

 

The spectacular array of fancy French clocks features 18th- and 19th-century designs, including gilt bronze figural,

Circa-1710 French boulle clock, signed “JB Baillon Paris,” one of the earliest of its type and one of three antique boulle clocks in the auction. From a Beverly Hills private collection. Don Presley Auction image.

tortoiseshell, dore bronze, inlaid marquetry, bronze and porcelain; and elegant champleve designs, as well as many 3-piece clock and garniture sets. There are no fewer than 10 jewel-face miniature French clocks and a fine collection of carriage clocks, including Tiffany & Co.

 

Among the innumerable highlights are six French boulle clocks – one of them dating to around 1710 and signed “JB Baillon Paris.” At least two of the clocks are among the earliest of their type to have been manufactured. A magnificent gilt bronze horse-drawn chariot clock, with figures of two riders and a lion, also dates to the 18th century.

 

Taking pride of place in the collection are no fewer than six clocks from Tiffany & Co., including a rare bronze bell-shape clock supported by two pillars and a crossbar. Japy Freres produced the mechanism for at least one of the Tiffany clocks to be auctioned.

 

A sumptuous 200-piece selection of fine porcelain features many designs by Sevres, including lavishly gilded pairs of lidded urns, clock sets and an ornately decorated tray. An Old Paris hand-painted vase exhibits the unmistakable aesthetic favored by many porcelain artists in the City of Paris during the mid to latter 18th century. Other manufactories represented in the collection include: Meissen, Limoges, Dresden, and Villeroy & Boch. These exalted names of golden-era porcelain are also seen in the vast array of cups and saucers to be sold.

 

Pair of marked 18th-century Jean Baptiste Francois candelabra having a total weight of 250 ozt. From a Beverly Hills private collection. Don Presley Auction image.

The Presley gallery is laden with heavy sterling silver, including a complete International Silver La Paglia-designed tea service with tray, an S. Kirk & Son double-handle repousse urn with lid, and a pair of 18th-century Jean Baptiste Francois candelabra having a total weight of 250 ozt. One of the candelabra has a Francois mark designated for Paris, while the other bears a 1784 stamp for Semur. Additional candelabra lots are Sevres style and of gilt bronze and marble.

 

A 31-piece Moser cranberry stemware set is among the top lots in the glassware and art glass section, which also includes designs by Galle, Lalique, Tiffany, Loetz and Steuben. Extravagantly gilded, a set of green glass goblets might be of Russian origin.

 

Antique Asian ivory continues to draw the bidders to Presley’s sales. The Nov. 5-6 event includes a pair of 3-ft.-tall elephant tusks, figures of Immortals and elephants, a “jeweled” Guan Yin figure on pedestal, and a lady’s fan with gilded frame, among many other ivory objects.

 

Paintings and bronzes – many by listed artists – will be auctioned. Russian icons and a pair of signed and framed Napoleon and Josephine portraits, hand-painted on ivory, are among the select offerings.

 

A featured lot that combines Hollywood legend with the lore of California’s Old West is a leather saddle made by the

John Wayne’s personal silver-trimmed saddle, initials ‘JW,’ with matching bridle and breast collar, extensive provenance. Don Presley Auction image.

Visalia Stock Saddle Co. of San Francisco for American screen icon John Wayne. Heavily tooled overall and trimmed with sterling silver conchos, stirrups and other adornments, the saddle also bears a silver diamond-shape cartouche engraved with the initials “JW.” The saddle comes with a matching bridle and breast collar, and is accompanied by extensive provenance and a letter of authenticity. “This saddle dates to the early days of John Wayne’s career, and with the interest currently so strong in items having a personal connection to John Wayne, this saddle should prove very appealing to collectors,” Presley said.

 

An additional 600 items from several California estates, collectors and other consignors add variety to the Nov. 5-6 auction inventory. The sale summary reveals many pieces of Chinese jade, hand-painted scrolls, musical instruments, a 40-piece majolica collection, a 1933 Rock-ola 5¢ Horse Race Sweepstakes trade stimulator, and novelty furniture designed as a 1956 Chevy sofa and Harley-Davidson chairs with saddlebags.

 

For the adventurous, Don Presley suggests the remote control twin-engine F-15 Navy jet. “It’s 7 feet long and can reach a top speed of 200 miles per hours. But before anyone decides to fire it up, they should be aware that it requires a special license. It’s a big plane,” Presley said.

 

Both the Saturday and Sunday sessions will commence at 12 noon Pacific Time. Preview daily 9-5. The gallery is located at 1319 W. Katella Ave., Orange, CA 92867. All forms of bidding will be available, including at the gallery, by phone, absentee or live via the Internet through LiveAuctioneers and Proxibid. For additional information, call Don Presley at 714-633-2437 or e-mail info@donpresleyauction.com. Visit the company’s website at www.donpresleyauction.com.

Swann Galleries – Old Master Through Modern Prints

October 21st, 2011 by
In addition to stunning Old Master prints by Rembrandt van Rijn, there are important 19th and 20th century works by James A.M. Whistler, Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall and Pablo Picasso. The cover lot is Rembrandt’s The Windmill (detail), etching and drypoint, 1641.