There was a lot of interest prior to auction time for this Louis Vuitton monogram Malle Courrier Lozine trunk. It started at an internet bid of $8,000 and it climbed all the way up to lead the two-day sale at $24,960. It ended up selling to an in-house bidder.
Review by W.A. Demers
SARASOTA, FLA. — Day one of Sarasota Estate Auction’s Modern and contemporary fine art and design sale featured a Louis Vuitton Monogram Malle Courrier Lozine trunk that blew the lid off its $18,000 high estimate to finish at $24,960. With the iconic monogram canvas, the luggage exhibited the noble traditions of Louis Vuitton craftsmanship, resulting in a rich and sophisticated trunk with a great interior. It featured golden brass locks and finishings and measured 36 by 19¾ by 19½ inches. “We were very happy with the results,” said the firm’s Mia McDermott. “There was a lot of interest prior to auction time. We started at an internet bid of $8,000 and it climbed all the way up! It ended up selling to an in-house bidder.” Like the trunk’s legendary capacity, there was a lot packed into this sale, including a Philip and Kelvin Laverne “Creation of Man” etched brass coffee table and art glass and artwork from Dale Chihuly.
The sale overall came in with a total gross of $500,000 with an 80 percent sell-through rate. There were approximately 4,000 registered bidders on LiveAuctioneers and the same number on Invaluable. About 30-40 patrons were in-house and there were many absentee and phone bidders.
Day two’s focus was on Asian art, fine art, antiques and silver. A Japanese color wood cut by Chiura Obata (1885-1975) doubled its high estimate, finishing at $19,840. Titled “Passing Rain, High Sierra,” the woodcut, with signature and seal bottom right, was from the 1930 “World Landscape Series” based on Obata’s visit to Yosemite National Park. It came from a private California collection held by three generations since its original purchase. Obata was born in the Okayama prefecture of Japan and was adopted by his uncle, who was an artist. Trained in ink painting as a child, at 14 he became apprenticed to the painter Murata Tanryo in Tokyo. In 1903, Obata moved to San Francisco to work as an illustrator for The New World and The Japanese American. Much of his time in the 1920s was spent painting California landscapes, including Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Chiura Obata’s color woodcut realized $19,840.
Dramatic landscapes in another medium were represented by a photograph by Ansel Adams (American, 1902-1984). Selling for $13,440 was a large gelatin silver print that was signed and titled “Half Dome, Yosemite Valley.” There were newspaper articles and provenance details on the back; an accompanying envelope carried a 1995 appraisal. Overall the print measured 25½ by 31 inches.
Pink orchids filled the composition of a watercolor by Paul deLongpre (American/French, 1855-1911), dated 1898 and selling for $8,000. As one of America’s most important painters of flowers, DeLongpre is known for his delicate touch, feeling for color and horticultural understanding of flowers, all of which combined to result in the creation of exquisite watercolors. From a private California collection, the painting measured 22 by 31 inches.
James Swinnerton’s (American, 1875-1974) humorous oil on canvas Bohemian Club illustration titled “You Can’t Beat Your Past” was bid to $7,360. It’s a cartoon of Harry Leon Wilson in the 1919 Grove Play “Life” for the Bohemian Club. Swinnerton, an artist, illustrator, cartoonist and master storyteller was a member — and later president — of the Bohemian Club, an exclusive men’s club in 1929. Since 1902 to the present day, a Grove Play is performed each year on the last weekend of the club’s summer encampment, featuring a musical theatrical production written and composed by club members.
A José Chávez Morado oil on canvas left the gallery at $6,400.
José Chávez Morado (Mexican, 1909-2002) painted an oil on canvas titled “Dahzantes,” which depicted three women in the midst of dancing and playing instruments. It was exhibited in 1951 at the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico. Signed and dated lower right, the 23-by-27-inch painting changed hands at $6,400. Morado’s work is recognizable by his inclusion of geometric and lyrical elements. He gained the reputation for depicting women, especially indigenous women, vigorously moving instead of static portraiture.
Sculpture highlights included Francisco Zuniga’s (Mexican, 1912-1998) bronze “Yucateca,” depicting a crouching nude woman, which was bid to $9,000. Signed on the foot, it measured 8½ by 8½ by 8½ inches. This came with a book showing various Zuniga artworks.
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) was represented in the sale with a Madoura ceramic pitcher. Labeled on the underside, the white earthenware pitcher with cobalt decoration made $7,040.
Midcentury enthusiasts chased a Philip and Kelvin Laverne coffee table, the first lot across the block on the first day of the sale. The bronze coffee table, circa 1960s, bore an etched image of Michaelangelo’s “Creation of Man,” and was signed by the Lavernes. It sold for $6,400. Philip and Kelvin LaVerne were father and son artist-furniture makers, who made unique and limited edition pieces that combined functionality and display. The catalog noted that for advertisements that appeared in the 1960s, Philip penned the tagline: “It’s not just functional and not just art, it’s an investment.”
The first lot to sell on the first day was this Philip and Kelvin LaVerne coffee table, which settled at $6,400.
Two silver lots of note in the sale included a rare early 1800s gilt silver Irish Dublin Kings pattern flatware service and a Frank Meisler (Israeli, 1929-2018) silver “Jerusalem” sphere. The Kings pattern service bore the royal coat of arms and a possibly Thomas Farnell makers mark “TF.” Emblazoned with a royal crown on the reverse of the stem and a royal crest of a griffin above a lined bar, the 255-piece gold wash sterling flatware set in fitted mahogany canteen took $10,240, while the mixed metal silver and gold overlay, large electrified Judaica sculpture as lantern, an artist proof, brought $4,480, greatly surpassing its estimate of $800-$1,200. The spherical sculpture, labeled “Jerusalem,” exhibited many levels and, with an internal light bulb ,evoked the 4,000-year-old city. Its upper and lower halves open and there are multiple small doors that can be opened along bottom half of sphere, some with hinged doors to reveal diminutive architectural elements. It was won by a bidder on LiveAuctioneers.
Prices given include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house. The next sale, featuring jewelry and fine art, is August 24-25. For information, www.sarasotaestateauction.com or 941-359-8700.
