Stories for August '21

(Issue Story)

Auction Prices Realized, August 2021
by M.A.D. staff

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

(Issue Story)

Mixed Markets
by Hollie Davis and Andrew Richmond

Beneath the Surface The last 15 months (it was just months, right?) have wrought many changes, and a fascinating aspect of living in a historical moment is seeing how many of them become permanent. Maybe we have discovered that working from home does work for a number of people, that present ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

Decorative Arts Trust Awards Research Grants
by M.A.D. staff

The Decorative Arts Trust’s annual research grants will be awarded to 14 recipients in doctoral and master’s programs. Each year the trust awards research grants to graduate students working on a master’s thesis or Ph.D. dissertation in a field related to the decorative arts. The trust encourages projects that advance ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

Arrests Made in Maine Museum Robbery
by M.A.D. staff

On June 19 the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a burglary at the Oakfield Railroad Museum in Oakfield, Maine. Tools, artifacts, lanterns, and other objects had been stolen sometime in the days leading up to the date the burglary was reported. Museum volunteers located some objects hidden nearby, ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

1stDibs Goes Public
by M.A.D. staff

On June 10 shares in 1stdibs.com, Inc., began trading on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol DIBS. The initial public offering (IPO) of its common stock began trading at $21.50 after being priced at $20 per share. 1stDibs (www.1stdibs.com) is an online marketplace for vintage, antique, and contemporary furniture, ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

Letter from London, August 2021
by Ian McKay,

Though there is most definitely a strong Chinese and Russian presence in this month’s “Letter,” it remains exceptionally wide ranging in content. Those Chinese lots include a ceramic dish that made an unexpected and record-breaking sum in a Swedish auction as well as rare and highly prized items of huanghuali furniture ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

Hanging with Jill Waddell
by Julie Schlenger Adell

Coming from a family of do-it-yourselfers has guided Jill Waddell in her career, and the “thoughtful, clever, and resourceful traits” she inherited have been carried over to her work as a vice president and senior specialist in the silver department at Christie’s New York. The Christie’s vice president, a senior ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

Withington Auctions Gets New Partners
by M.A.D. staff

There will soon be increased auction activity in central New Hampshire under a familiar name. Marcia and Larry Leizure, owners of Hillsborough, New Hampshire-based Withington Auctions, are joining their business with new partners who are looking to continue the Withington auction legacy. From left: Kenneth Labnon, Gary Yeaton, and Mike Reopel. New ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

Betting Big on a Recovery
by Clayton Pennington

On July 10 the first lot sold at Casco Bay Auctions in Freeport, Maine, was a Connecticut cherry bonnet-top highboy. Estimated at $8000/12,000, it sold for $51,000 (includes buyer’s premium). Longtime market observers thought it was a good buy. “That would have easily been $100,000 in the old days,” they said. Savvy ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

Exhibitions, August, 2021
by M.A.D. staff

Victoria Hutson Huntley (1900-1971), Babe in Arms, 1937, lithograph, 10" x 8¾". Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia; gift of Stephen Goldfarb. —Through August 15 —Athens, Georgia The Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia presents Rediscovering the Art of Victoria Hutson Huntley. Huntley’s lithographs were well known in ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

MidWeek One Day Antiques Fair Postponed until 2022
by M.A.D. staff

Antiques Week in New Hampshire will have one less show in 2021. Barn Star Productions has postponed its flagship MidWeek One Day Antiques Fair until August 2022. According to Frank Gaglio of Barn Star, the event went “from a two-day show two years ago to a one-day event which saw an ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

Charles Carroll’s Declaration Sells for $4,420,000
by Lita Solis-Cohen

One of Charles Carroll’s two copies of “The unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America,” engraved by William J. Stone in 1823, sold at Freeman’s in Philadelphia on July 1 for $4,420,000 (includes buyer’s premium). It is the second-highest price ever paid for any printing of the Declaration of ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Fresh Silver Collection Leads to Blowout Sale on Long Island
by Lita Solis-Cohen

South Bay Auctions, East Moriches, New York Photos courtesy South Bay Auctions "It was a barnburner, just like the old days,” said Portsmouth, New Hampshire, silver dealer Jonathan Trace. “I got blown out of the water.” As did Trace, New York City silver dealer Tim Martin of S.J. Shrubsole went to the live ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Deep Snow in Savannah
by Kay Manning

Everard Auctions & Appraisals, Savannah, Georgia Photos courtesy Everard Auctions & Appraisals Not surprisingly, a Grandma Moses painting that Everard Auctions & Appraisals co-owner Amanda Everard said was new to the secondary market topped a June 8 and 9 live online sale by bringing $62,500 (includes buyer’s premium). New to the market from ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

Famous Forgery Brings $52,500
by M.A.D. staff

One of the greatest fakes of all time has been sold. “The Oath of a Freeman,” a masterful forgery by convicted murderer Mark Hofmann, sold at Heritage Auctions for $52,500 (including buyer’s premium) on June 9 in Dallas, Texas. The buyers were Kenneth W. Rendell and Shirley McNerney Rendell. They will ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

Stuart Weitzman Sells Three Treasures
by Lita Solis-Cohen

Photos courtesy Sotheby’s Stuart Weitzman, shoe designer and founder of the Stuart Weitzman shoe company, a passionate collector since childhood, owned the rarest used and unused postage stamps in the world and one of the last gold coins struck by the U.S. Mint, the only 1933 $20 gold double eagle coin ... (Read More)

(Show)

Focus on Antique and Vintage Textiles
by Lita Solis-Cohen

Penn Dry Goods Market, Pennsburg, Pennsylvania The eighth annual Penn Dry Goods Market, the antiques show focused on antique and vintage textiles that supports the Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania, was canceled in June 2020 because of COVID-19 and revived this June as a virtual experience June 4-6. Bill ... (Read More)

(Show)

MADA Unmasked!
by Mark Sisco

Maine Antiques Dealers Association Spring Antiques Show, Topsham, Maine OK, folks, the masks are off...finally! As of this writing, it appears that COVID-19 is heading for the rear view mirror, at least as far as the Maine Antiques Dealers Association (MADA) is concerned. On June 5 about 28 association dealers gathered ... (Read More)

(Auction)

A Small Selection of Americana
by Lita Solis-Cohen

Keno Auctions, New York City Photos courtesy Keno Auctions Keno Auctions held a sale on June 2, the Wednesday after the long Memorial Day weekend. It began at 7 o’clock in the evening and ended at five minutes before midnight. There was bidding on three Internet platforms—LiveAuctioneers, Invaluable, and Bidsquare—and on phones ... (Read More)

(Show)

Rhinebeck Revealed Like a “Box of Chocolates”
by Fran Kramer

Antiques at Rhinebeck, Rhinebeck, New York There were no fireworks or explosions at Barn Star Productions’ spring Antiques at Rhinebeck show held May 29 and 30, but there were lots of red tickets. Revealing its popularity once again after a pause of over a year and a half because of the ... (Read More)

(Auction)

The Mebane Top Ten and Then Some
by Pete Prunkl

Mebane Auction Gallery, Mebane, North Carolina Photos courtesy Mebane Auction Gallery In the publicity for his May 29 sale, Jon Lambert of Mebane Antique Auction Gallery emphasized the Renaissance art he had found in a Fayetteville, North Carolina, warehouse. It was a rare treasure for an eastern North Carolina auction house. While ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Brooks Cigar-Store Indian Sells for $61,500
by Lita Solis-Cohen

Pook & Pook, Inc., Downingtown, Pennsylvania Photos courtesy Pook & Pook The Americana and international sale at Pook & Pook on May 21 in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, had a few predictable high prices for works long off the market, some household gear estimated at a few hundred dollars that brought several thousand, and ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Fairfield Porter Tops American Paintings Sale
by Julie Schlenger Adell

Bonhams, New York City Photos courtesy Bonhams Bonhams held its American art sale on Thursday, May 20 at its customary 4 p.m. time slot. Christie’s and Sotheby’s sales were held Tuesday and Wednesday of that week, respectively, and the Just Off Madison gallery walking event and an abbreviated online American Art Fair, ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Nine Pieces of Revere Silver Sold at Heritage Auctions
by Marice Richter

Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas Photos courtesy Heritage Auctions Paul Revere Jr. was best known for his midnight ride on April 18, 1775, to warn the Colonial militia that British troops were coming, ahead of the battles of Lexington and Concord that marked the beginning of the American Revolution. Revere might be most remembered ... (Read More)

(Auction)

American Art at Sotheby’s
by Julie Schlenger Adell

Sotheby’s, New York City Photos courtesy Sotheby’s Sotheby’s midweek sale of American art on May 19 saw a handful of bidders in the salesroom for the category’s first live sale in over a year. The auction house offered 61 lots, several of which came from the Newark Museum of Art, Newark, New ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

A Burma Ruby Brings Hindman Record of $287,500
by Mary Ann Brown

Antique Jewelry & Gemology Photos courtesy Hindman Auctions Hindman’s May 18 spring jewelry auction contained many fine pieces of antique jewelry that brought solid prices. Much of it was from the collection of Carol Spector of Chicago, Illinois. Sally Klarr, Hindman’s director and senior specialist for jewelry and timepieces, said in an email, ... (Read More)

(Show)

Virginia Pickers Antiques & Collectables Show Continues to Grow
by Walter C. Newman

Glen Allen, Virginia The sixth edition of the Virginia Pickers Antiques & Collectables Show was held May 14 and 15 at Gilman’s Farm in Glen Allen, Virginia. In its brief history, the Pickers show has steadily worked to define itself within the antiques and collectibles world of central Virginia and the ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Tiffany Lamp Brings $3.74 Million in Record-Breaking Auction
by Lita Solis-Cohen

Rago Arts and Auction, Lambertville, New Jersey Photos courtesy Rago Arts and Auction In June 2019 when auctioneers Richard Wright of Chicago and David Rago of Lambertville, New Jersey, announced plans to merge, they said they saw it as an opportunity for growth. Two years later growth is evident. Their two-day sale ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

Colescott Record Smashed
by Julie Schlenger Adell

In Sotheby’s contemporary art evening auction on May 12 in New York City, held a week before the American art auction, Robert Colescott’s George Washington Carver Crossing the Delaware River: Page from an American History Textbook sold to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art for $15,315,900 (includes buyer’s premium). The ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Leyendecker Smashes Record at $4.12 Million
by Marice Richter

Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas Photos courtesy Heritage Auctions After a brisk bidding session on May 7 at Heritage Auctions, with multiple bidders jockeying to buy a painting by illustrator Joseph Christian “J.C.” Leyendecker, the piece sold for an astonishing $4.12 million (with buyer’s premium), shattering the previous auction record for a work ... (Read More)

(Show)

Tri-State Antique Market
by Don Johnson

Lawrenceburg, Indiana In its 36th year, the Tri-State Antique Market has become a summer staple for regional buyers and sellers. Held the first Sunday of the month, May through October, the show has 250 spaces scattered throughout the Dearborn County Fairgrounds in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, using one fully enclosed building, several open-sided ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Folk Portraits Fly in Boston
by Frances McQueeney-Jones Mascolo

Grogan & Company, Boston, Massachusetts Photos courtesy Grogan & Company The spring sale at Grogan & Company, held on May 2 in the Boston gallery, was as colorful as a spring sale should be. It began at 11 a.m. and was still going strong at something after 9 p.m., by which time ... (Read More)

(Auction)

A Simpler Thyme Antique Show
by Don Johnson

Muncie, Indiana A Simpler Thyme Antique Show went through several modifications before opening on May 1 in Muncie, Indiana. For about 15 years, the event had been held in Noblesville, Indiana, roughly an hour away. In addition to the new location, there was a change of promoters and, most significantly, there ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Declaration Sells for $930,000 and Solves Old Mystery
by Lita Solis-Cohen

Christie’s, New York City Photos courtesy Christie’s Christie’s printed and manuscript Americana sale, held online April 8-22, was a small one with some big prices. The sale with no printed catalog was offered with “rolling closings” and brought $2,102,500 (including buyers’ premiums) for 46 of the 53 lots offered; that is 87% ... (Read More)
Web Design By Firefly Maine Maine Web Design