$13,530 was the highest price of the sale, awarded to this hand-painted Absolut vodka bottle by George Rodrigue (American, 1944-2013), 1992, 11¾ inches tall, which featured the artist’s signature blue dog motif in acrylic paint ($2/4,000).
Review by Kiersten Busch
ST PETERSBURG, FLA. — Property from multiple major estate collections, including that of Austrian noble Baroness Liselotte Von Schwarzbek and Harvard University associate professor David Hartman, were the focus of Burchard Galleries’ 559-lot Estate Antiques, Fine Art & Jewelry Auction, conducted April 19.
Top-lot status was awarded to an empty Absolut vodka bottle, hand-painted by George Rodrigue featuring the artist’s signature blue dog motif in acrylic. Signed by Rodrigue and dated “’92” near its bottom, the 11¾-inch-tall bottle achieved $13,530, far surpassing its $2/4,000 estimate. Slightly more than 35 lots of Rodrigue’s work were offered in the sale, with every piece finding a new home. The additional prices for Rodrigue works ranged from $277 for the offset lithograph “Blue Dog At The Revel,” to $7,380 for “Round the Mulberry Bush,” a silkscreen print with offset lithography, numbered “47/90” and sold with a certificate of authenticity from the artist’s estate, dated to 2015.
The second-highest price of the sale — $8,610 — went to a mixed media composition depicting the Monopoly Man surrounded by cash. For this work, artist Alec Monopoly incorporated paint and colored Monopoly board game money on a newspaper ground. The 30-by-40-inch piece was dated “2014” and signed “Alec” to its upper left corner.
This mixed media work on newspaper of the Monopoly Man surrounded by cash by Alec Monopoly (American, b 1986), 2014, 30 by 40 inches unframed, passed go for $8,610 ($10/20,000).
Two abstract works by Jerry Tsukio Okimoto earned top prices, led by an untitled oil on canvas in a painted thin-edge wooden frame, which measured 72 inches square. The work, mostly done in shades of gray, with a burst of the three primary colors just off center, sold just within its $5/8,000 estimate at $5,535. “Relief Construction #16” followed at $4,920. The mixed media on canvas work retained several older labels affixed verso, including one from the Diamond Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, which was dated “11/12/54.”
Silver selections were led by a 69-piece sterling flatware service by International in the Royal Danish pattern. Weighing approximately 88.4 troy ounces, the set came in a presentation case and realized $5,843. A 58-piece Steiff flatware service in the Rose pattern, which came in soft-cover case, sold for $4,613, while a three-piece H. Lewis coin silver tea set poured out for $2,952. The set, which included a teapot, a lidded sugar bowl and a creamer, was made by Harvey Lewis of Philadelphia.
An Italian 14K yellow gold mid-century drop weave necklace centering 21 round, brilliant-cut diamonds was the highest-earning piece of jewelry, selling for $5,535. The diamonds were rated VS in clarity and G-H in color. The necklace was followed by a 14K yellow gold bracelet with a charm of an orchid bloom incorporating four diamonds ($5,228) and an 18K yellow gold two-strand “spaghetti” strand bracelet ($4,613).
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 727-821-1167 or www.burchardgalleries.com.
