Schwenke Leap Day Auction Features Audrey Poole Collection Of Modern Art & Furniture

On Saturday, February 29th Schwenke Auctioneers will hold a “Leap Day” Fine Estates Auction which comprises over 350 lots of estate and collector items, featuring over one hundred lots of mid-century modern furniture and modern art from the Westchester County, New York collection of Audrey G. Poole. The remainder of the sale includes fine art and modern sculpture from the Estate of Sol Stein, nationally known prolific novelist and playwright, publisher and visionary editor from Tarrytown, New York; four musical instruments originally owned by Larry Marsala, a Vaudeville musician known as the “king of strings”; fine Asian decorative arts from three Connecticut collections; English and Continental furniture and decorative arts; English & other sterling silver, jewelry, Native American decorative arts, fine art, miscellaneous decorative arts, and estate oriental rugs.

Poole Collection

The Poole collection furniture items include several Edward Wormley for Dunbar pieces, including a dining table, set of eight chairs, credenza, side table, Asian style cabinet, a trapezoidal walnut and iron writing desk, a pair of side tables, and a rare cherrywood “heart” stool.

Many selections of modern art are being offered from the Poole collection, among them a Lichtenstein signed “Paris Review” lithograph; an original lithograph by Mexican artist Alfredo Zalce “Hesmeck”;  and an oil on masonite by Leonardo Nierman (Mexican, b. 1932) “Bird Of Paradise”, signed lower right, titled verso, being sold together with a monograph “The Sound of Color” inscribed by the artist to Audrey Poole, dated 2004.

Jewelry & Sterling Silver

The sale has several jewelry pieces, including a Movado ladies14K yellow gold bracelet watch; an 18K gold and three diamond brooch; two 18K gold collar necklaces; several pieces of Georg Jensen sterling jewelry; a modernist 18K gold designer pin/pendant; a Tiffany & Co. 18K gold mesh necklace; an 18K gold, sapphire and diamond ring; and a 14K white gold, sapphire and diamond tennis bracelet.

In addition to many pieces of Jensen and Tiffany sterling jewelry, several sterling lots are on offer, including two matched .800 silver swirl form bowls; a Tiffany & Co. sterling partial flatware service in the “Fanueil” pattern; an early English sterling and cut glass cruet set, marked “TD”; an 18th century London sterling salver by Richard Rugg; a sterling four piece tea and coffee service; and a Tiffany & Co. 13” diameter sterling tray weighing in at approximately 40 ozt.

Marsala Instruments

Larry Marsala was a Vaudeville musician in the 1930’s, and his descendants have consigned four musical instruments which belonged to him. The most notable of the four is a 1923/1924 Vega custom deluxe tenor banjo with marvelous carving and inlays and in the original case, measuring 33″ long, 12″ wide, 4″ deep. Of special interest is the fact that the pie back resonator is inscribed with personal notations of noted musician friends.

Asian Decorative Arts

The sale has several lots of Asian decorative arts on offer from three separate estates. Notable items include two Qing dynasty carved hardstone seals; two Chinese jade/hardstone water coupes; several Chinese carved jade/hardstone groups; a large Chinese blue and white porcelain brush pot with Kangxi mark; a large Chinese porcelain blue and white dish with Wanli mark; a Chinese porcelain famille verte beaker vase; and a fine Chinese famille rose yellow ground box and cover, Tongzhi mark, with all over decoration of shou, bats, and peaches, measuring 4″ high, 7 3/4″ diameter.

Fine Art

This “leap day” sale has fine art in many forms: sculpture, engravings, lithographs, other works on paper, and oils on canvas, board and masonite. Antique, vintage and modern periods are represented, and there is fine art at all price levels. The Sol Stein estate yielded a group of three Haitian steel cutouts; a framed Josef Cutler poster; two Hyde Solomon watercolors; two framed William Nelson signed lithographs; a framed Matisse linocut print; a modern stone sculpture signed “Stewart S”; four Ralph Prata framed modern abstract cement sculptures; and a framed drawing after Renoir.

From a private collector in Connecticut is a Jacques Bartoli (French, 1920-1997) “Femme Lisant” O/C; an American school landscape/river scene O/C; an unsigned early American school oil on canvas of chicks and hay; an American school winter landscape scene O/C, signed H.A.S.; a pastoral landscape scene O/C, possibly Hudson River School; and a Thomas Albert Drachkovich (Yugoslavian b. 1928) rustic landscape scene with farm buildings, signed lower right, frame size 14 1/2″ high, 19 1/2″ wide.

The Poole collection provides the remainder of the fine art, all contemporary and modernist. In addition to the works noted earlier, other works being sold are a group of four Mexican surrealist works signed “C”; two framed Chagall lithographs; two Francisco Zuniga prints; Paul Lefaux, carved marble nude sculpture; Henrietta Karasin (American, 20th c.) brutalist abstract metal sculpture; Martha Margulis (American, 1928-2003) untitled mixed media composition with sheet metal and pigments on canvas, signed lower right, including a brochure and information from The Reece Galleries, NYC. The large and impressive work measures 50 1/2″ high, 48 1/2″ wide. Other works include Frank Kleinholz (American, 1901-1987) silkscreen “The Robin”; Susan Duetsch, artist’s proof etching “Dunes”; Libbie Mark, abstract mixed media on paper, signed, dated “1958”; Arnaldo Miccoli (Italian, b. 1932), oil on board of resting figure, signed, dated “72”; and an April Greiman (American, b. 1948) MOMA exhibition poster “The Modern Poster”, 1988, inscribed, signed by the artist, frame size 39 1/2″ high, 24 3/4″ wide. April Greiman is widely recognized as one of the first designers to embrace computer technology as a design tool

Oriental Carpets

The sale also includes estate oriental carpets including Persian and Caucasian and Turkoman room and scatter sized rugs, and other regional and modern rugs of varying sizes. Of particular interest is a fine Heriz room size rug measuring 11′ 3″ long, 8′ 5″ wide.

The catalog for the sale is viewable at www.woodburyauction.com. Internet, absentee and phone bidding are available for this auction by registering directly with Schwenke Auctioneers. The sale will be broadcast for pre-sale internet absentee bidding on the firm’s own site Hibid, and for both absentee and live bidding on Live Auctioneers, Invaluable and Bidsquare.

Remaining preview times are Thursday and Friday, February 17th and 28th from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, and Saturday, February 29th from 9:00 to 11:00 am. Preview is also available at other times by appointment. For additional information please call Schwenke Auctioneers at 203-266-0323.