Notable sales found in our January 1, 2021 issue include high-value lots from well-known artists. The drawings Charles Schulz made for “The Peanuts Album” finished just south of $300,000 at Heritage Auctions, while a highly sought, life-size KAWS sculpture entitled “Four Foot Companion” garnered a final five-figure bid. Other forms moving across the block included an African Songye Community Power Figure at Material Culture and a cast iron gargoyle at Cordier. Stamps at Nadeau, Stickley at Showplace and a Seth Thomas Regulator at Winter Associates took part in the action. Read on!
Heritage Bidders Set New Record For Peanuts Strip
DALLAS – In 1953, Charles Schulz drew portraits of Lucy, Linus, Snoopy, Schroeder, Patty, Violet, Shermy and Good Ol’ Charlie Brown for a promotional giveaway. These early iterations of the classic characters set a world record December 11 for the highest price paid at auction for original Peanuts artwork. The drawings Schulz made for “The Peanuts Album” sold for $288,000 during the first session of Heritage Auctions’ December 11-13 animation art event. That bests a previous high-water mark set less than a month earlier, when a November 17, 1950, Peanuts daily strip realized $192,000 during Heritage Auctions’ comics and comic art event on November 20. For information, www.ha.com.
Songye Community Power Figure Stands Up At Material Culture
PHILADELPHIA – An African Songye community power figure measuring 39½ inches tall sold for $49,200 in Material Culture’s December 10 international ethnographic arts sale. The figure came from the collection of New York City dealer/collector Allan Stone and had prior provenance to Guy Loudmer. The work featured a carved wood body with applied animal fur, metal sheets, nails, mud and cowrie shells. Mystical elements included a smaller carved figure to its side and magic bundles embedded in lizard skin around the torso. For information, www.materiaulculture.com or 215-849-8030.
Van Cleef Rope Hoop Earrings Tie Up Interest At The Benefit Shop
MOUNT KISCO, N.Y.- A pair of vintage 18K gold rope hoop earrings by Van Cleef & Arpels (shown) sold for $2,768 at the Benefit Shop’s December 9 holiday jewelry auction. The sale also featured designer bling by Cartier, Chanel and Hermès. The earrings weighed to 14.8 dwt and were made circa 1976. The pair came from a Paris consignor. Another standout in the sale was a Raelinda Woad Storyteller Peacock mini book pin, going at $1,280. With a short story inside and in etched brass with peacock and moon figurines on front cover, opal and amethyst glass cabochons, the piece was made in an Art Nouveau style. For information, www.thebenefitshop.com or 914-864-0707.
Airmail: Stamps Soar At Nadeau’s
WINDSOR, CONN. – Two stamp albums rose to the top of Nadeau’s Auction Gallery’s December 12 coin, jewelry and stamp sale. With high estimates of $1,000 and $2,000, the two lots held unsung value within as they rose to $23,180 and $10,980. The higher performing album’s description read “Large stamp album with many quality stamps, airmail and revenue, etc.,” while the other was more focused, including Canadian stamps from 1859 to 1952. For information, 860-246-2444 or www.nadeausauction.com.
Cast Iron Gargoyle Wins Beauty Contest At Cordier
HARRISBURG, PENN. – A cast iron gargoyle standing approximately 41 inches tall and with a wingspan of 40 inches sold for $2,280 at a December 12 sale hosted by Cordier Auctions & Appraisals. Covered in rust, flaking in spots and with a 6-inch crack in a wing, the statue nevertheless found an admirer to take it home. For information, 717-731-8662 or www.cordierauction.com.
Skinner Bidders Splash Out For Wedgwood Gilded Black Basalt Ewers
MARLBOROUGH, MASS. – Leading Skinner Auctions’ European furniture and decorative arts sale on December 9 was a pair of late Nineteenth Century Wedgwood gilded and bronzed black basalt wine and water ewers that brought $36,250 from a private collector on the East Coast of the United States who prevailed against bidders in the United States and abroad. According to Stuart Slavid, senior vice president and director of fine ceramics at Skinner, it was the first pair he had ever had. “The market for black basalt has always been there, but once you add gilding and bronze, the interest level multiplies.” The pair had been part of a large New York estate that had been in storage for about two decades and had been estimated at $2/4,000. For information, www.skinnerinc.com or 508-970-3000.
Ahoy! KAWS’ Quirky ‘Companion’ Takes $73,800 At Clars
OAKLAND, CALIF. – Clars reported the successful sale of KAWS’ “Four Foot Companion” for $73,800 in the firm’s December 13 sale. This piece is one of the artist’s highly sought-after sculptures, displaying the iconic “Companion” figure in life-size form. Alexa Malvino, senior specialist in the fine art department, commented, “The artist’s international success continues to shine in both the gallery and auction world with no signs of slowing down soon.” Clars looks forward to continuing to work with sellers and buyers of these playful and captivating pieces. For information, 510-428-0100 or www.clars.com.
Seth Thomas Regulator Towers At Winter Associates
PLAINVILLE, CONN.- A Seth Thomas Regulator No. 15 sold for $10,240 in Winter Associates’ December 14 auction. The circa 1886 regulator was in a 14 or 15 burled veneer case fitted with a No. 69 or 69A movement, according to the auction house. The movement featured lantern pinions and a Graham deadbeat escapement. It measured a towering 100 inches high. For information, www.auctionappraisers.com or 860-793-0288.
Showplace Bidders Take A Stand For Gustav Stickley Hall Seat
NEW YORK CITY – An oak bench/settee with hinged lifting seat bearing the stenciled red maker’s mark of Gustav Stickley (American, 1858-1952) topped the offerings at Auctions at Showplace’s December 20 New York City Estate Auction, bringing $19,200 from a buyer bidding in the room. The model, number 182, was made circa 1901-03 and is illustrated in Samuel Howe’s “A Visit to the Workshops of the United Crafts at Eastwood, N.Y.,” The Craftsman 3 (October 1902), as well as documented in The Stickley Project Furniture Database. The bench came from a Manhattan, N.Y., collection of a prominent Arts and Crafts collector and had been estimated at $10/20,000. More works from the same collection will be offered in future sales. For information, www.nyshowplace.com or 212-633-6063.
