Auction Action In St Louis, Mo.

ST LOUIS, MO. – “We’re feeling very good. There were a lot of strong results and we’re very happy overall,” observed Susan Kime, president and owner of Link Auction Galleries, which hosted its March Gallery Auction over two days, March 17-18. During the sale, almost 90 percent of the nearly 700 lots on offer were gaveled down successfully.

The first day of the event began with 153 lots of mostly dolls, teddy bears and toys from a single rural Missouri estate, which was the first doll and toy auction Link has presented. “We weren’t really sure what to expect but we did a lot of direct marketing and were pleasantly surprised,” Kime said. “It brought in a lot of new buyers, including people who came in from out town and ended up buying from Saturday’s auction.”

Leading the doll sale was a Simon and Halbig Black bisque doll from the early 1900s that stood 19 inches tall and retained its original wig. Estimated at $3/5,000, it sold to a buyer from out of town who was bidding in the room – who Kime said bought “about half of the dolls in the sale” – for $4,200. Other top lots in the doll sale included a 19-inch-tall Simon and Halbig doll wearing a kimono ($2,280) and a 26-inch-tall Black doll made circa 1910 by Schutzmeister and Quendt ($1,875).

The sale reached its apex on the second day, with a Tiffany Studios bronze table lamp with season-appropriate Daffodil lamp from the estate of local artist, John Wehmer, a collector whose extensive collection of Tiffany glass and lamps Link has been offering for more than a year. The lamp blossomed to $18,450 and sold to a local private collector that Kime described as “one of our top buyers.”

The house set what Kime believed to be a new world record for a paper collage work by Minnesota artist George Morrison (1919-2000). “Red Rock Rising,” made in 1977 and measuring 15¼ by 19½ inches, soared to $7,800 and a new home with a phone bidder who Kime said was “not local,” who prevailed against online competition.

An estate in Robinson, Ill., was the source of two works by Candido Bido (Dominican Republic, 1936-2011). “Maternidad,” an oil on canvas composition from 1970 that depicted a mother and child, sold for $6,765; from the same year but executed in gouache and ink on paper, his “Portrait – Tears” earned $1,845. Both lots sold to the same buyer, bidding online from the Dominican Republic.

The Robinson, Ill., estate was also the source of “Dove of Peace,” a cold-painted bronze work by Peter Max (German / American, b 1937), which sold to an online buyer for $5,228

One of Kime’s favorite lots was “Bastille Day (A Day at the Beach)” by Frederick McDuff, (American / French, 1931-2011). An online buyer took it past its high estimate and it sold for $5,535.

The same seller of the McDuff – another local estate – also consigned a wintry scene of Federal Hall and Trinity Church by Johann Berthelsen (American / Denmark, 1883-1972). Measuring 18 by 21½ inches and titled “New York, The Sub Treasury,” the painting had provenance to the Veerhoff Galleries, Washington DC, and sold to an online bidder for $4,920. Another painting from the same estate was “Château de Mont l’Évêque” by Constantin Kluge (French / Russian, 1912-2003), which had been acquired from the Wally Findlay Galleries in Beverly Hills, Calif., and sold to a local buyer, bidding online, for $3,383.

Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house.

Link Auction Galleries’ next cataloged sale will take place on April 22. For more information, 314-454-6525 or www.linkauctiongalleries.com.

This Tiffany Studios Daffodil table lamp, marked on both the shade and base, got Link bidders into a spring kind of mood. It was the top lot of the two-day event, blooming to $18,450 and selling to a local private collector ($17,5/22,500).

The first day of the two-day event saw more than 150 lots of dolls and toys cross the block, led at $4,200 by this Black bisque doll by Simon and Halbig, which sold to a private out-of-town collector who was bidding in the room ($3/5,000).

Made from horizontal stripes and hundreds of nuanced hues from a piece of handmade marbled paper takes the form of a sunrise in Red Rock, Minn., which was also the name of this paper collage work by George Morrison. “Red Rock Rising” sold to a phone buyer for $7,800, a price Susan Kime believed was a record for a paper collage from the artist ($800-$1,200).

“That was also really up there among his highest auction results,” said Susan Kime discussing “Maternidad” by Dominican Republican artist Candido Bido. The oil on canvas, and a work on paper by the artist, will be returning home to the same online bidder who paid $6,765 and $1,845 for each, respectively (Each $2/4,000).

“That was probably one of my favorites. I was not surprised it went over the high estimate,” Susan Kime said of “Bastille Day (A Day at the Beach)” by Frederick McDuff. The oil on canvas work had provenance to the Venable Neslage Galleries in Washington DC, and sold for $5,535 to an online buyer ($ ,000).

A local collector who Kime said is downsizing consigned this 35-inch-tall bronze of a young woman seated by Lucien Charles Edouart Alliot (French, 1877-1967). It sold to a buyer in the room for $5,400 ($ ,000).

“Dove of Peace” by Peter Max flew to a new home with an online bidder for $5,228 ($3/5,000).

Johann Berthelsen’s oil on canvas view of New York City’s Federal Hall and Trinity Church, sold for $4,920 to an online buyer ($3/5,000).