Skinner’s upcoming Important Jewelry auction will present over 225 lots of luxury and antique jewelry. Bidders will find items from Harry Winston, Cartier, Tiffany & Co., and Van Cleef & Arpels. One leading lot is a Harry Winston emerald and diamond ring. A cushion-cut Columbian emerald centers the arrangement, and pear-shaped diamonds surround the stone in a flower pattern. The ring comes with an SSEF Gemstone Report from 2018 certifying the authenticity of the emerald.
Several antique jewelry pieces from Tiffany & Co. will come to the auction block. One key piece is a moonstone and enamel necklace designed around 1910 by Louis Comfort Tiffany. The designer spent years distancing himself from his father’s jewelry brand, instead creating paintings and Favrile glass home goods. Tiffany took over as Tiffany & Co.’s art director after his father’s death in 1902. The younger Tiffany often paired precious stones with enamel to create Art Deco motifs. The available moonstone necklace features Louis Comfort Tiffany’s signature style. A moonstone pendant falls at the center of alternating filigree links and oval cabochon moonstones. Also notable is a Tiffany & Co. gold and enamel chatelaine watch. It was possibly created for the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893.
Independent jewelry designers are also represented in the auction catalog. A yellow gold long necklace by Noma Copley is among the leading lots. Gold braids spiral to form the necklace’s oval pendant. Formerly married to artist and collector William Copley, Noma Copley studied goldsmithing after her divorce and enjoyed a long jewelry career. Skinner’s lot description notes Copley’s perspective on jewelry-making, in her own words: “I, for a long time, tried to transform the everyday, the common objects, that are taken for granted into poetry to wear.”
Jewelry pieces from Marie Zimmerman, Herbert Rosenthal, Elizabeth Gage, Angela Cummings, and Paul Flato round out the sale’s offerings. View the complete catalog and register to bid on Skinner’s website.
David Drake, also known as Dave the Potter, was born in South Carolina in the early 1800s. While enslaved, he worked under several pottery kiln masters, including Lewis Miles. Drake learned pottery very early in his life. He went on to create gigantic stoneware pots between 1830 and 1864. During that time, literacy was outlawed among enslaved people in the United States. However, Drake eventually learned to read and write. He signed many of his pots and, in some cases, included poems, Bible quotes, or other short phrases. Rago’s upcoming design sale will offer a jar by David Drake. The bulbous food storage jar has an open neck, handles on each side, and a brown alkaline glaze.
The auction catalog features examples of early 20th-century American and European design, from Tiffany Studios to Josef Hoffmann. A Tiffany Studios Dandelion lamp is among the leading lots. Created in 1900 for the World’s Fair, the lamp includes a copper base with multicolored patinations and dandelion patterns. A Favrile glass globe tops the piece. Visit Bidsquare for more information and to place a bid.
Spanish painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso executed a series of groundbreaking paintings in 1932. These were mostly vibrant depictions of his clandestine lover, Marie-Thérèse Walter. One of these masterpieces, titled Femme assise près d’une fenêtre, is among the highlights of Christie’s upcoming evening auction. The oil on canvas demonstrates the influence Picasso’s muse had on his work during this period. The stylized painting depicts the seated figure of Marie-Thérèse, which contrasts Picasso’s previous nudes. Combining the artist’s painting and sculpture skills, this portrait shows Marie-Thérèse sitting upright with a keen gaze.
Claude Monet’s Waterloo Bridge, effet de brouillard also leads the sale. The oil on canvas is part of the artist’s monumental Vues du Londres series, which illustrates London’s famed foggy cityscapes. Another noteworthy lot is Paysage et personnages (La jupe rose) by Georges Seurat. The painting explores the intricacies of the landscape and the interplay of sunlight and shadows. It focuses on a woman dressed in a pink skirt and jacket. To view the complete catalog and register to bid online, visit Christie’s.
In the early 1970s, British sculptor Henry Moore started to consider his legacy. His later works combined the abstract and figurative styles that struggled for dominance throughout his career. Around this time, Moore executed Girl: Bust, a geometric work carved from Roman travertine marble. Christie’s upcoming Impressionist & Modern Art Day Sale will feature this rounded sculpture. It comes to the market for the first time since 1998. Girl: Bust is intentionally abstract with just enough figurative elements to give the viewer a hint. “Abstract qualities of design are essential… but to me of equal importance is [the] psychological human element,” Moore said, as quoted in Christie’s lot description.
The upcoming auction includes works by other key Modernist sculptors, including Jean Arp and Henri Laurens. Ossip Zadkine’s Le Couple is notable as well. The Belarus-born artist lived all over Europe before settling in the Parisian avant-garde scene. Le Couple, completed in 1969, measures over seven feet tall and pays tribute to Zadkine’s Cubist influences.
Marc Chagall’s Les trois bouquets ou Le bouquet renversé is another leading lot. Chagall painted this work in the mid-1930s while struggling to obtain French citizenship. This painting reflects the artist’s feelings toward his new country. A large bouquet rests on the back of a red-orange ox. A line of houses, a white picket fence, and small human faces appear in the background. View this or any other lot on Christie’s website.
Years before Yayoi Kusama could escape to Kyoto and later New York City, her only respite from her overbearing family was visiting a river that flowed behind her house. Two early Kusama works available in an upcoming Bonhams auction, Hudson River and Mississippi River, reflect these moments of tranquility. Kusama created the river paintings in 1960, two years after moving to America, combining her childhood memories with the iconic rivers of her new home. These paintings are early examples of Kusama’s Infinity Net technique in red, the black dots mirroring the numerous pebbles Kusama saw along the riverbed as a child.
With tensions still high after World War II, the late 1950s were not an ideal time to emigrate from Japan to the United States. When Yayoi Kusama moved to New York City, fewer than 5,000 Japanese people lived in all of New York State. Kusama came to NYC with a suitcase full of artwork, including TREES, to help pay for expenses. Created in 1953, the seemingly errant dots of TREES are an early precursor to Kusama’s Infinity Net technique. Long, violent brushstrokes to the left, right, and towards the bottom eventually transform into a square pattern, finding order amid the chaos. Register to bid and view each of the lots on Bonhams’ website. Those interested in learning more about this event can read Auction Daily’s extended coverage.
The upcoming Showplace auction will offer a collection of art and antiques acquired and preserved by Arnold Neustadter, an engineer and businessman who co-invented the Rolodex. 20th-century art, European furniture, and fine decorative art will be on offer. One of the highlights is a sculpture by Stepan Dmitrievich Erzia Nefyodov. The piece is a large carved hardwood bust of a woman, and it rests on a black marble base. The back of the sculpture reveals an exposed pattern of wood that contrasts the polished front.
The event will also feature fine jewelry, silver, and designer pieces, including a vintage Burle Marx hinge bracelet. The 18-karat yellow gold bangle bracelet comes in a Florentine finish with the maker’s mark. A piece by French artist Paul Augustin Aizpiri is also available. The 1965 painting, titled La Palabre, depicts two men in conversation. To view the full catalog or place a bid, visit Bidsquare.
The Couse Foundation and the Taos Society of Artists in Taos, New Mexico, are currently constructing a 5,000-square-foot research center to house historic documents, photographic prints and negatives, sketchbooks, original works of art, a library, and scholarly papers. To help fund the center, Session I of Hindman’s upcoming Western Paintings and Sculpture auction will feature 24 works benefiting its construction. Upon completion, the facility will be known as the Lunder Research Center. Other benefit items in the sale will assist the University of Denver’s collections fund, the Allan House Foundation, and the Grand Teton National Park Foundation.
Some of the featured works in the sale include one by E.I. Couse, which showcases his interest and focus on Native subjects. In the painting, a group watches trout rising between the ripples of a stream. Other notable lots in the sale include a portrait by Fritz Scholder, a red rock landscape by Ed Mell, a flag-bearing sculpture by Harry Jackson, textile works by Ramona Sakiestewa, and more. Beyond fine art, there are also works of jewelry and decorative art. View any of these lots and register to bid on Bidsquare.
“I never know what I’m going to put on the canvas. The canvas paints itself. I’m just the middleman,” Peter Max once said. Max was a prolific artist best known for his vibrant paintings and his contributions to the Neo-Expressionism movement. In the 1960s, the artist started a small art studio with his friend. It was then that he developed his distinctive style by combining antique photographic images with bold colors and collages. The upcoming Discovery Sale event, hosted by Akiba Antiques, presents an acrylic on canvas piece from Peter Max. Titled Delta, the work shows the Statue of Liberty in vibrant tones.
Pieces of diamond jewelry will also be available. One highlight is a Cartier 18-karat gold necklace and earring set. The pendant necklace features white pavé-set diamonds and two round-cut emeralds. The necklace and both earrings resemble the head of a panther, saluting Cartier’s signature motif. Interested collectors can explore the entire listings and register to bid online on LiveAuctioneers.
Laurence Graff founded his famous international jewelry brand in 1960. The company is known for its diamond and gemstone jewelry produced with the Kimberley Process, meaning the company does not buy or sell rough diamonds. The upcoming Bonhams auction presents diamond jewelry by Graff and other renowned jewelry brands. One highlight is a pair of 18-karat white gold and diamond pendant earrings by Graff. The available circular earrings feature pavé-set round-cut diamonds weighing 16.25 carats. The diamonds in the earrings are cut and polished by Graff’s Johannesburg division and carry a laser engraved tracking number.
The auction also features jewelry by “Heirlooms” designer and manufacturer Jack Kelege, who is known for his individually tailored ensembles. This auction highlights an 18-karat gold and diamond cuff bracelet by Jack Kelege. It has a gold finish, a round-cut diamond setting, and white gold accents. Showcased among the Tiffany & Co. pieces are two lacquered wood bangles by designer Elsa Peretti. Peretti is famous for her nature-inspired designs that are sensual and organic. The available Japanese hardwood bangles by Peretti feature high polish and curvy contours.
Also offered is an 18-karat gold and diamond Diabolo watch by Cartier. Cartier launched the Diabolo wristwatch collection during the 1990s. The line gets its name from the crown, which resembles part of a diabolo. The available watch has a domed bezel, 0.40-carat diamond set lugs, and a leather strap. Collectors can also find items by Cassetti, Carrera y Carrera, Judith Ripka, and Zorab. Interested collectors can explore the entire listings and register to bid online on Bonhams.
Knute Heldner was fascinated by the paintings that he observed throughout Europe while in the Swedish Navy. This inspired him to become a painter. After the navy, Heldner started his artistic training at Karlskrona Technical School and the National Royal Academy of Stockholm. He later became an internationally recognized artist of the 20th century. The first session of the upcoming Important Spring Estates Auction, offered by Crescent City Auction, will present work from Knute Heldner. The available painting shows a group of men singing in the middle of an open-air market with the St. Louis Cathedral in the background.
Another lot of interest is William Hemmerling’s New Orleans. Hemmerling was a self-taught American painter active between 2002 and 2009. “Although I don’t understand it, many people tell me that my art makes them happy and touches them in a spiritual way,” the artist said. “As I get older, I realized that ‘the something’ I was searching for is a closer walk with God through my art.” The available Hemmerling work from 2004 depicts two men playing clarinets. To find more information on these items, visit Bidsquare.
