Cord Shows had a record crowd for its 13th annual Antiques in a Church Yard, with more than 3,600 paid attendees. The map responsible for giving America its name sold at Christie's for $1,002,267, a world record price for any single-sheet map at auction. A rare early Nineteenth Century Joseph Lincoln Canada goose in a rich thick, near mint original paint was the auction's top lot. An exhibition on view at the Mint Museum of Art celebrates works of art that have been created for the best children's literature. The San Diego Museum of Art is presenting a fanciful selection of Wedgwood's Fairyland lusterware through September 11. The work of several early photographers is featured through October 3. Irene V. Tighe, formerly of Leonia, N.J., and Pompano Beach, Fla., died July 28. Four decoys eclipsed the $100,000 mark at Guyette and Schmidt's North American Decoys at Auction sale. Customers are now finding the show as a regular feature of their vacationing on the Mid-Coast. The Beatles' "All You Need Is Love' lyrics manuscript smashed the sales record for Beatles' manuscripts at Cooper Owen's Music Legends auction. Christie's sale of antiquities was led by the Schuster "Stargazer," which is one of the finest preserved Anatolian marble female idols of Kiliya type. An assortment of early American gems were auctioned by Paul Gorzocoski of Northfield Auction to a standing-room-only crowd. The Nantucket Historical Association's (NHA) Whaling Museum has reopened with augmented collections and exhibition space. The top lot of the marine auction was an unassuming lot of nine books on Arctic exploration, which sold for $43,700. Alex Katz has played a major role in the emergence of a new realism in American art. A rare blue painted box with yellow and red foliate decoration was the top lot at Cyr Auction Company on August 3, selling for $23,000. The show was a "bright light in sales for most of us," according to one of the show's committee members, Bob Fraser. A remarkable collection of Hudson River School paintings is on view through September 25 at the New Britain Museum of American Art (NBMAA). "We did about $9 million in sales," confirmed auctioneer Ron Bourgeault, still finalizing his tally as Antiques and The Arts Weekly went to press. An extremely rare Nantucket lightship basket brought a believed record price of $115,000 at auction for an individual Nantucket basket. The top lot of the auction was a nice Windsor bench that sold for $10,120. More than 40 paintings are featured in this miniretrospective of contemporary New England artist Bernard Chaet (American, born 1924). "Empire to Exile,'' an exhibit of painter Jacques-Louis David's work traces Napoleon's rise to emperor in the early Nineteenth Century. At Christie's sale of Twentieth Century decorative art and design, a Carl Mollino table sold for $3,824,000 against a presale estimate of $150/200,000. One of the foremost authorities on American and English pewter, Webster Goodwin died on July 2, 2005. Amazingly staged for one-day only with a "tremendous gate," nearly 180 exhibitors gathered in the four main halls at the fairgrounds on July 23. Celebrating Stanton Auctions' 25th year in the business, auctioneer Peter Imler hosted an Americana auction on Tuesday, August 2. The painting, measuring 64 by 39 inches and depicting a young Balinese girl dancing, sold for $105,000. This show is a rare opportunity to see Siamese art, the first public viewing in America in more than 30 years. The Nantucket show was a rounding success and a tribute to the efforts of the Nantucket Historical Association's membership. Several dealers reported a good opening, others said Saturday was good and others reported sales right up until pack out. The recent event, July 22-24, featured, according to JMK Shows' Jesse Kohler, everything from Tang to Tiffany and lots in between. Frank M. Fenton, the longtime president of Fenton Art Glass and son of its founder, died August 9. He was 89. Edward Forbes Smiley III, 49, pleaded not guilty on August 8 in New Haven Superior Court to larceny charges lodged against him. Auctioneer Brent Souder opened the bidding for lot #1, the Brigham Young Last Will and Testament and Codicil, at $50,000 ($60/80,000). Christie's Asian art, watches and jewelry auctions realized a total of $127.31 million. World records in numerous categories were set. The exhibition features 12 paintings and prints by Avery, and 22 paintings, prints and drawings by other artists. Featured are some 85 paintings and eight drawings covering the period when the two artists worked side-by-side. "We tied our record at just over $9 million in total sales," Northeast's chief auctioneer, Ron Bourgeault said after the sale. The auction took place on July 30 and 31, and once again the final tally for the sale, more than $2.5 million, was well above presale estimates. Well-known and revered for the past three-plus decades in the auction business, auctioneer Frederick M. MacPhail died on August 9. The auction included 333 works of art that ranged in price from a low of $350 to a high of more than $330,000. Nearly 700 bidders and onlookers packed the salesroom as all but one of the 275 lots found buyers, for a staggering total of $21,125,440. A rare Constantinople 1509 edition of Maimonides' Mishneh Torah brought the highest price at $148,240 against an estimate of $80/100,000. "The Worlds of Francis Wheatley," August 31-December 31, is the first US exhibition of Wheatley's work and features 59 paintings, prints and rare books. "Silver and Shawls: India, Europe and the Colonial Art Market" will be on display at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum from August 27 to January 29. From September 16 through January 15, the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, will present "Edgar Degas: Six Friends at Dieppe." The previously undocumented Fitz Henry Lane portrait of the bark Eastern Star off Thatcher's Island, Gloucester, a circa 1853 oil on canvas, brought $913,500. Christie's sales of Old Master paintings, drawings, European furniture and sculpture, led by the collection of Antonio Champalimaud, totaled $138.3 million. The new exhibition "The Canton Connection: Art and Commerce of the China Trade 1784-1860," is on view at Historic Deerfield through August 2006. "The gate was about the same as last year, but there was more buying, which is what we are there for," Nan Gurley said following the close of the show. "In terms of numbers of things sold, it was one of my best shows. It was great to see so many people buying," said dealer Peter Eaton, a 33-year veteran of the fair. "We sold over 400 two-show tickets," Frank Gaglio, show manager and owner of Barn Star Productions said. The Granite State Antiques Show got off to a fairly good start on August 11 with about 150 people on line when the show opened at 1 pm. Mid*Week in Manchester got off to a roaring start with droves of dealers and collectors snapping up American country furniture and folk art by the truck load. What everyone wants to hear is "better than last year," and that is just what Linda Turner was saying as her Riverside Antiques Show closed on August 11. "We had our best opening with over 300 in line, more than double last year," John Bruno of Flamingo Promotions said. The dust from Antiques Week in New Hampshire barely had time to settle before 70 dealers headed for Marion. A possibly unique Nantucket basket established a "record smashing" price of $115,000 paid at auction for an individual example. The Elephant's Trunk Flea Market, with its humble beginning some 30 years ago, has grown into a highly respected and ever-expanding show. Eldred's sale attracted a large crowd of dealers, collectors and local vacationers that bid actively on more than 1,200 lots. The Americana auction at Skinner on August 14 proved to be yet another solid sale overall. An exhibition at Winterthur Museum & Country Estate introduces the brightly decorated birth and baptismal certificates, and other items known as fraktur. Eighty-four of Dine's drawings in watercolor, charcoal, enamel, pastel and other media, will be on view from September 18 through January 8. "Villa America: American Moderns, 1900-1950," featuring major paintings by key American Modernists is on view through October 2. The Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) will be the first American venue for the Victoria and Albert Museum's traveling exhibition of International Arts and Crafts. Today, Jefferson's theories have borne fruit once again in the new exhibit "A Jeffersonian Ideal" on view at the University of Virginia Art Museum. |
