Grogan & Company
20 Charles Street, Boston, Massachusetts 2114
617-720-2020
About Auction House
Grogan & Company was established in 1987 by Michael B. Grogan and has held over 160 auctions featuring fine art, jewelry, silver, decorative arts, and Oriental rugs. Our individualized approach is tailored to meet the needs of each client and collector with whom we work, whether they are buying or selling.Auction Previews & News
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Auction PreviewRobinson Crusoe Umbrella Drawing and 10-Carat Intense Yellow Diamond Ring Lead Grogan & Co Auction
Robinson Crusoe is the eponymous castaway in Daniel Defoe’s famous 1719 novel. In the story, Crusoe washes up on an island far from the rest of the world. He creates an umbrella out of things he finds on that island to remember his former civilization. Inspired by an illustration of that umbrella, Claes Oldenburg created Crusoe Umbrella in 1977. It is a watercolor and crayon on paper piece that will be available in the upcoming Fall Auction, presented by Grogan & Co. The husband-and-wife team of Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen have also created monumental sculptures inspired by everyday objects. The Fall Auction features over 200 pieces of fine art and jewelry. Auction highlights include works by Ellen Gallagher, Wolf Kahn, Elaine de Kooning, Grandma Moses, Ogden Pleissner, and William Merritt Chase. The auction also features jewelry from Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, Buccellati, and Tiffany & Co. One notable lot is an 18-karat gold and platinum ring. It centers two radiant-cut white diamonds and a 10.04-carat intense yellow diamond. The accompanying GIA report states that the diamond is natural with VS2 clarity. To view the complete auction catalog and register to bid online, visit Bidsquare.
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Auction PreviewHandmade Persian Rugs in Grogan & Company Event
Weavers from the plains of Iran are responsible for creations like the “Famous Leaders of the World” rug. This handmade Persian rug, along with 172 other lots, will come to auction with Grogan & Company in the upcoming Fine Rugs and Carpets Auction. The “Famous Leaders” rug was created in the workshop of Muhammed Bin Ja'Far in the last quarter of the 19th century. A rare Persian Khamseh rug with yellow ground bird motifs is another highlight of the sale. The Khamseh is a tribal group in Iran that produces rugs with intricate geometric patterns. The available rug belonged to James Opie, a collector who, according to Michael B. Grogan, was successful in his career due to his relentless search for the best. In James Opie’s own words, “What I had—perhaps what had me—was a passionate attraction, to the weavings, to Islamic buildings, and to the wordless force they emanated.” View the entire catalog of rugs and bid online exclusively on Bidsquare.
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Auction ResultGrogan & Company’s Record Breaking Spring Auction
BOSTON, MA: The Spring Auction was held at Grogan & Company’s Beacon Hill gallery on Sunday, June 14, 2020 with all bidding participation executed remotely via online, absentee, or telephones. The 468 lot live auction featured a well-vetted selection of fine art, jewelry, silver, and decorative arts. The sale saw active bidding from all platforms and totaled over $2,945,000, including buyer’s premium. Record levels of participation resulted in a 95% sell through rate with over 40% of the lots exceeding their high estimate. Marcus & Co. Kashmir Sapphire and Diamond Ring sold for $237,500.Grogan & Co. The top lot of the day was a 4.81 carat Kashmir sapphire ring by New York’s late 19th/early 20th century jeweler, Marcus & Company. The fine Art Deco ring featured baguette and full-cut diamonds centering a cushion-cut sapphire of exceptional quality exemplifying the clean, bright, cornflower blue of sapphires from the Kashmir mines. The sapphire was accompanied by laboratory certifications from both the American Gemological Laboratory and the Gemological Institute of America. From the estate of a Baltimore, Maryland lady, Nannette Eleanor Hoover Campanella Dietrich (1930-2019), the ring quickly surpassed its estimate of $80,000-120,000, selling to a private UK-based buyer bidding over the internet for $237,500. A French ca. 1860s bracelet that descended within the family of Tiffany & Company’s founder, Charles Louis Tiffany, captured interest by dealers, collectors, and institutions alike. The silver-topped-gold bracelet featured a fine woven-link design with applied floral-form vine decorations of diamond and pearls. While the bracelet did not bear any markings by Tiffany & Company, it was accompanied by its original box from Tiffany & Company’s Paris location at 56 Avenue de L’Opera. The conservative $3,000-5,000 estimate saw a final price of $37,500, selling to an institution. John Godward William's 20 x 16 in. oil on canvas of a classical beauty sold for $109,375.Grogan & Co. The fine art offerings in the sale also attracted competitive bidders from around the globe. A portrait by John William Godward (English, 1861-1922) featured a striking young woman against Godward’s distinctive marble backdrop. Titled Untitled - Classical Beauty (C) and dated 1909, the 20 x…
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Auction PreviewThe Spring Auction
A platinum ring with a Kashmir blue sapphire weighing 4.81 carats is featured in the upcoming Spring Auction, presented by Grogan & Company. Kashmir sapphires have gained popularity for their signature velvet-like hue. This Marcus & Co. ring belonged to Nannette Eleanor Hoover Campanella, the first female head cheerleader of the Ohio State University team. Dr. Lawrence B. Dietrich Jr., a missionary priest, used this ring to propose to her in the 1970s. A second marriage for Campanella, the ring marked the beginning of a long and happy life together. Another key lot featured in the auction is a gouache painting by Jane Peterson, a 19th-century American Impressionist painter. When many of her fellow women artists were painting domestic spaces, she was capturing scenes from around the world seen during her travels. The subject of this piece is Campo Santa Margherita, a Venetian landmark. Mother and Child, a portrait by Henry Francois Farny, is also among the featured lots. It shows a Native American mother carrying a toddler on her back. The background and emotive faces of the subjects show the artist’s skill in painting details and landscapes. Farny developed an interest in Native American life after growing up near a Seneca Indian reservation in Western Pennsylvania. Theodore Roosevelt once remarked, “[Farny is] preserving for future generations phases of American history that are rapidly passing away.” To view more works from the mentioned artists, as well as jewelry, furniture, Asian art, watches, and collectibles, visit Bidsquare.
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Auction IndustryA Picasso, a Hockney, and a Kashmir Sapphire Highlight Grogan & Company’s Spring Auction
Grogan & Company’s annual Spring Auction will take place this year on Sunday, June 14 at the company’s Boston headquarters. The auction, which features a curated selection of over 450 lots of fine art, jewelry, silver, and decorative arts from private collections and estates, will be brought to life for all taking part remotely thanks to several exciting new features. “We are pleased to announce these long-planned yet well-timed innovations that not only improve the bidder experience, but also make the sale more accessible for those participating from home,” remarks Fine Art Director Georgina C. Winthrop. Lot 51. David Hockney, Water, 1989, gouache, 9 x 18 in., $15,000-20,000Grogan & Company Lot 37. Pablo Picasso, Para Esther, 1958, crayon, 8 x 11 in., $20,000-40,000Grogan & Company Clients can step into Grogan & Company’s Beacon Hill auction gallery and experience The Spring Auction exhibition without leaving their house thanks to a 3D walkthrough of the gallery now available at groganco.com. In addition to leaving absentee and telephone bids through Grogan & Company’s website, clients may now bid live online during the auction. On sale day, the auction will be live-streamed on the firm’s website so that bidders can see and hear the auctioneer in real time as they bid live from their computers. Finally, a new mobile app allows clients to make inquiries, track lots, leave bids, and participate live on sale day wherever they may be. The Spring Auction leads off with 213 works of fine art, a highlight of which is Para Esther, a charming Picasso crayon drawing depicting a bouquet of flowers. The work, which is inside a copy of David Douglas Duncan’s book “The Private World of Pablo Picasso,” was sent to Duncan’s aunt Esther as a get well present and has remained in her family ever since. Another top fine art lot is Water, a 9 x 18 in. gouache by David Hockney estimated at $15,000-20,000. The letters "WATER" float on the surface of a light aqua pool, their shadows cast on the bottom, inviting the viewer to jump right in! John William Godward’s Classical Beauty (est. $30,000-50,000) was newly rediscovered…
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Auction PreviewThe Fall Auction
When Wolf Kahn, a German-American artist, finished serving in the US Navy, he became a pupil at Hans Hofmann’s school for Abstract Expressionism. As Kahn’s career developed, he increasingly leaned upon this background to draw out the intensity of his colors. This focus would yield such pieces as Fog Bank, an abstract oil painting available in the Fall Auction presented by Grogan & Company. This sale will highlight Kahn’s work alongside artists such as Jacques Lipchitz, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Arthur Grover Rider. Balancing the fine art pieces in this auction are various lots of luxury jewelry. An Asscher-cut diamond and platinum ring is particularly featured. The unusual shape of this center gem is similar to an emerald-cut but is structured to maximize its reflective surfaces and offer a clear view into the heart of the diamond. A gold, diamond, and sapphire bracelet from Van Cleef & Arpels will also be available. Rounding out this auction are various works of silver and a selection of tall case clocks. View the full catalog and register for bidding on Bidsquare.
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Auction IndustryTwo Important Estates Headline the Jewelry in Grogan’s October Auction
A selection of jewelry from The October Auction including a Van Cleef & Arpels covered wristwatch, a Boucheron carved ruby cuff bracelet, and a Raymond Yard compact.Grogan & Company BOSTON, MA – Grogan & Company’s October 23rd auction will feature the auction house’s distinctive selection of high quality items across all collection genres, including paintings, works on paper, sculpture, jewelry, silver, decorative arts, Asian export, and Oriental carpets. The jewelry portion of the sale is headlined by two important estates: Marian Taylor Young of New York, New York and Mrs. F.C. “Pit” Dumaine, Jr. of Weston, Massachusetts. Marian Young Taylor (1908-1973) was best known as radio personality, Martha Dean, on New York’s WOR. Known as the “First Lady of Radio,” Taylor interviewed some of the most important political and cultural figures of the day including Muhammed Ali, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Dwight Eisenhower, Robert Kennedy, and Marilyn Monroe. Highlights from her collection include an old European-cut diamond solitaire ring weighing 2.75 cts. and estimated at $7,000-9,000, a Retro Raymond Yard yellow gold compact with a diamond and ruby clasp estimated at $2,500-3,500, and a pair of Tiffany & Company yellow gold, diamond, and sapphire earclips estimated at $1,000-1,500. 4.37 cts., D color, Internally Flawless emerald-cut diamond to be offered with an estimate of $40,000-60,000Grogan & Company Mrs. F.C. Dumaine, Jr., known to family and friends as “Pit”, was wife of American railroad executive “Buck” Dumaine, Jr. The selection of her fine jewelry is being sold to benefit The Jonathan Edward Brooking Memorial Fund for Mental Health Research at McLean Hospital in Belmont, MA. The fund was founded in 1985 by Mrs. Dumaine in memory of her grandson, Jonathan Edward Brooking. Since 2010, the fund has supported an annual research fellowship toward advancements in the mental health field. Highlights from her collection include a custom Retro Raymond Yard gold, diamond, and sapphire brooch estimated at $3,000-5,000, an Art Deco Tiffany & Company platinum and diamond bar brooch estimated at $5,000-7,000, and a pair of Oscar Heyman gold, diamond, and sapphire earclips estimated at $4,000-6,000. Other highlights from the jewelry portion of the sale include a 4.37 carat D, Internally Flawless emerald-cut diamond that…
