Schwenke – February Auction
Tuesday Feb 13th at 10am
Property from The Estates of Thomas N. Armstrong III & Whitney Brewster Armstrong
www.woodburyauction.com
50 Main Street North Woodbury, CT 066798
203-266-0323 consign@woodburyauction.com

WOODBURY, CONN. – On Tuesday, February 13, Schwenke Auctioneers will present a “single-owner” auction of property from the estates of Thomas N. Armstrong III and Whitney “Bunty” Armstrong of New York City. The sale will begin at 10 am and will be broadcast “live online” through LiveAuctioneers and Invaluable. Absentee and phone bidding is available by registering directly with Schwenke Auctioneers.

Thomas N. Armstrong III was an American museum curator and collector who was director emeritus of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Andy Warhol Museum. He was also a board member of the New York School of Interior Design. He and his wife “Bunty” were long time supporters of the Garden Conservancy of which Tom Armstrong became chairman in 2007. Bunty Armstrong was active as a member of the River Club and the Cosmopolitan Club, a long-time sustaining member of the New York Junior League, a long-time board member of the Women’s Prison Association and head of the Ladies Committee of the National Horse Show.

The Armstrongs were more than just collectors of American fine art and antiques. They were closely involved and had unique personal relationships with dozens of noted American artists and for many years enjoyed their intimate connection to the nucleus of all those artists’ creative genius. They floated seamlessly in and out of the professional and personal lives of those artists for many years. While their collector friends spent time with the dealers from whom they purchased, Tom and Bunty spent time with the artists themselves. The four Armstrong children, now adults, recount endless stories of the parties, balls, museum openings and other events, when as children they shared their parents’ frequent interactions with Louise Nevelson, Andy Warhol, Alexander Calder, Jean Miro, Jasper Johns, playwright Arthur Miller, Marcel Breuer, Frank Gehry and a host of others.

Tom Armstrong was a character indeed, recognized everywhere and always in his flashy and signature bow tie, singularly identifiable for his relentless and unabashed pursuits to accomplish whatever objectives he found worthy for the institutions that he led. Among other achievements, he succeeded in purchasing the Calder Circus for installation at the Whitney Museum of American Art. To generate the needed funding, he prevailed upon Ringling Brothers to bring their circus to the neighborhood complete with elephants and acrobats to mount a fundraiser.

Testament to the depth and integrity of his art world connections, for example, is the fact that he moderated the Alexander Calder memorial service conducted November 6, 1976, at the Whitney.

The collection, which until recently was installed and maintained at their four-bedroom apartment in New York City, includes fine art comprising paintings, works on paper, ceramic arts by Betty Woodman and Andrew Lord, Outsider art by Justin McCarth, and a group of fine bronzes by various artists; ceramics and porcelains; English and American furniture; contemporary and custom furniture, decorations and lighting; and antique Oriental carpets.

The ceramic arts by Betty Woodman, with whom Tom and Bunty enjoyed a close personal friendship, include a five-piece wall collage from her “Balustrade” series initiated in the early 1990s. Titled “Balustrade Relief Vase #39,” the collage comprises a flat-fronted ceramic vase placed on a ceramic shelf and surrounded by an arrangement of four separate ceramic “fragments.” The collage is sold with the original mounting plans.

Two other Woodman ceramic works are being sold, a three-piece glazed ceramic vessel triptych ensemble titled “Mewar Memories” and a fanciful glazed pottery large vessel titled “Pillow Pitcher.”

The collection also features numerous works on paper, lithographs, prints and oils on canvas. Most notable are a group of six large-format chromolithograph plates from John Fisk Allen (English, 1785-1865) “Victoria Regia, or The Great Waterlily of America,” drawn and painted by William Sharp (English,1803-1875), printed and published by Dutton & Wentworth, Boston, 1854. These bold, lavish plates are widely held to be the first chromolithographs produced in America and are among the finest floral examples ever produced. The group, a complete set of the six original works, have been lotted and are being sold individually.

Two works by Jan Matulka (Czech-American, 1890-1972) are selling, first an ink on paper titled “Broadway” with provenance Robert Carus Gallery, NYC. The second is an impressive and colorful oil on canvas, “Still Life With Gramophone” signed “Matulka” lower right,

Tom Armstrong’s relationship with Alexander (“Sandy”) Calder was well known. Calder surprised Tom Armstrong with a gift of a whimsical wire sculptural neckpiece of an elephant and a bow tie. Very little imagination is required to understand and appreciate that the symbolism in the gifted sculpture’s form reflects the elephants that Armstrong brought to the Whitney to fund the Calder Circus installation and the bow tie mimics the signature sartorial “marker” for which Armstrong was universally known. The whimsey sculpture is being offered for sale in this auction and, according to Tom Schwenke, founder and chief executive officer of Schwenke Auctioneers, offers bidders “…a unique opportunity to acquire a single object of art that uniquely reflects and embodies the creativity, vision and playful humor of two great American characters who in their own separate but commonly grounded ways left indelible footprints in the sands of the American art scene during the decades they were able to share.”

Live previews are being conducted on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, February 8-10, from 11 am to 5 pm.

Schwenke Auctioneers is at 50 Main Street North. For more information, 203-266-0323 or www.woodburyauction.com.

On February 12th we are honored to be ottering property from the estates ot Thomas N. Armstrong III and Whitney “Bunty” Armstrong, removed from 860 United Nations Plaza NYC. The estate property includes paintings; works on paper; ceramic arts by Betty Woodman and Andrew Lord; outsider art by Justin McCarthy; a group ot tine bronzes by various artists; ceramics and porcelains; tine English and American furniture; contemporary and custom furniture, decorations and lighting; and both contemporary and antique oriental carpets.
Thomas N. Armstrong III was an American museum curator and collector who was director emeritus ot the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, the Pennsylvania Academy ot the Fine Arts, the Whitney Museum ot American Art, and the Andy Warhol Museum. He was also a board member ot the New York School ot Interior Design. He and his wife “Bunty” were long time supporters ot The Garden Conservancy ot which Mr. Armstrong became chairman in 2007. Mrs. Armstrong was active as a member ot The River Club and The Cosmopolitan Club, a long-time sustaining member ot the New York Junior League, a long-time board member ot the Women’s Prison Association, and head ot the Ladies Committee ot the National Horse Show.
The auction will be broadcast “live online” through Live Auctioneers and Invaluable, with in-house absentee and phone bidding available by registering directly with Schwenke Auctioneers. Live preview at our gallery will be held Thursday, Friday and Saturday, February 8th, 9th and 10th from 11am to 5pm and also by appointment. Please visit our website www.woodburyauction.com for further preview and bidding information.
Alexander Calder Elephant & Bow Tie Wire Sculpture
Jan Matulka, O/C Abstract Composition
William Sharp, Lithograph, The Great Waterlily of America
Pair Painted Neoclassical Style Faux Marble Console Tables
George II Carved Mahogany Double Chair Back Settee
George III Mahogany Architect’s Desk/Chest
Korbel, Patinated Bronze Sculpture
Chinese Polychrome Porcelain Vase
Pair Chinese Famille Verte Lidded Jars
Mabel Dwight, Lithograph, Stick ‘Em Up 1928
Betty Woodman, Mewar Memories Earthenware Triptyque
Cartier Sterling Coffee Pot
Bartlett, Bronze Goat Inkwell
Ray Parker, O/C Untitled Abstract Work 1969
Georgian Serpentine Inlaid Mahogany Chest
Louis XVI Carved Walnut Fauteuil
Signed American Folk Tramp Art Box
Biederman,O/L, Faint Clue 2001
French Empire Style Eagle Carved Gueridon Table
Wanda Gag, Wood Engraving, Spinning Wheel 1928
Pair George III Style Kettle Stands
Andrew Lord, Ceramic Pitcher Sculpture 1983
Betty Woodman, Glazed Earthenware Pillow Pitcher
Justin McCarthy, O/P Justine Johnstone
Gary Weisman, Bronze Nude Torso of Man
Harris Rubin Pair Pyramid Modern Oak & Steel
Andrew Masullo, O/C Abstract Work 3974
Occasional Tables
info@woodburyauction.com • www.woodburyauction.com (203) 266-0323
Telephone and Absentee bid forms may be downloaded from our website and emailed or faxed prior to 5pm on Monday, February 12th.