The Lionel Manufacturing Company was founded in 1900 by Joshua Lionel Cowen in New York City. Cowen’s first electric train, called the “Electric Express,” appeared in 1901 in a store display. Shortly after, the train gained popularity and Cowen began manufacturing model electric trains along with their accessories. The company became well established as an electric model railroad manufacturer by 1906. The upcoming Toys, Trains, Baby Boomer Toys, Pressed Steel, & More sale, presented by Weiss Auction, will feature several realistic train models from Lionel Manufacturing Company.
Another standout lot of the auction is a jointed Howdy Doody doll that was produced by Puppet Playthings, Inc. Howdy Doody puppets became popular children’s toys during the 1950s. Also available in the sale is a set of Manoil Happy Farm figures and a Paladin cap gun set. View these items and register to bid online on Invaluable.
Shannon Wheeler’s satirical take on humanity has made him a noted cartoonist of the 21st century. His work has appeared around the world in newspapers, comic books, magazines, and books. One of Wheeler’s illustrations will be featured in the upcoming Illustration Art auction, presented by Swann Auction Galleries. Titled How can Greece be doing so badly? Everyone I know is eating their yogurt., the piece was drawn for The New Yorker.
Danny Shanahan’s illustration art is also highlighted in this sale. With a career of more than two decades, Shanahan has created nearly 900 cartoons and nine covers for The New Yorker. His piece titled High Rise will be presented in this event. Pointing out the urgent issue of global warming, it shows a man sitting on top of a palm tree, surrounded by an endless ocean. Also offered is an oil on canvas piece by Howard Pyle. In his distinctive style, Pyle tells the story of an American Federal soldier who narrowly escaped hanging during the Civil War. View these items and register to bid online on the Swann Auction Galleries website.
Chaim Soutine’s Nature Morte aux Poissons is one of the highlighted lots in the upcoming Impressionist and Modern Art auction, presented by Christie’s. The 1921 oil painting depicts dried fish with open mouths piled in a dish. A French-Russian painter, Soutine was known for his still lifes of dead fish and bloody animal carcasses. An Expressionist, Soutine sourced meat and fish from the local butcher shop and fishmonger and then painted them as they rotted. Willem de Kooning, looking at Soutine’s meat pictures, once said, “Flesh is the reason oil paint was invented.”
This event offers 40 Impressionist and Modern fine art pieces. Among them is Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Coco dans Les Roses, a portrait of Claude, the artist’s youngest son. Nicknamed Coco, Claude was born when Renoir was sixty years old and became Renoir’s favorite model. The piece shows Claude with long blonde curls before his first haircut. Those interested in Modern art can consider Joan Miró’s Sans Titre. Executed in 1934, the work shows the calligraphic emphasis that Miró developed the same year. Register to bid for these lots by visiting Christie’s.
Finarte will offer Modern and contemporary art, books, and documents from the 100 years between 1914 and 2014 in the upcoming auction. The sale is intended to capture dialogues between artists, institutions, viewers, and the art itself. An example of such a dialogue is a poster series by well-known performance artist Marina Abramović. She is depicted in four poses from her performance of Rhythm 4 at Milan’s Diagram Gallery in 1974. Six posters are included in this lot, identical except for their background color.
Also available is a series of telegrams, postcards, tickets, and other paper items from Pierpaolo Calzolari, an Italian artist associated with the sculptural and installation work of the Arte Povera movement. Another key lot is Keith Haring’s artist book for children titled Keith Haring’s Fun Book!!, which includes 14 black and white coloring pages (including the front and back cover). It was created for the Artbus Service Educatif (Children’s Drawing Workshop). Published in 1985, only 2,000 copies were ever printed. Other items in the sale include a book of sketches and drawings by Paul Klee, an original signed lithograph by Man Ray, autographed letters by Jan Tschichold, and more. View any of these lots and register to bid on Bidsquare.
With a personal fortune of approximately $1.2 billion, banking and oil heir Richard Mellon Scaife was an American public figure and the publisher of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. His granddaughter, Jennie K. Scaife, shared his interest in philanthropy and collecting antiques. Her collection is on sale this July in the upcoming Rafael Osona Auctions event. Featured lots include a view of the town of Nantucket painted by Illya Kagan, one of Nantucket’s best-known plein air painters. The bold brushstrokes and saturated colors used to re-create nature are his trademarks. According to the artist, the beautiful landscape of his home island inspires him.
Floral life is the subject of another featured lot. Californian artist John Powell’s love for color and gardening comes together in the available painting, titled Dramatic Floral Still Life in Blue Terracotta Planter. He has been honored as the artist of the year by the World Federation of the Unity Nations (WFUNA), and his work is held in the Philatelic Museum at the Palais de Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Other notable lots include Nantucket baskets; jewelry by Tiffany & Co., David Yurman, Glenaan Elliot, and Guy Beard; South Sea pearls; and Gloster furniture. Visit Bidsquare for more information and to place a bid.
The upcoming Peter Keil: My Personal Collection auction, presented by Hill Auction Gallery, offers 100 lots from German painter and sculptor Peter Robert Keil. Born in 1942 in Poland, Keil is a leading contemporary German painter. His artworks are primarily oil-based on canvas and cardboard. Inspired by Expressionism, Keil spent his early career studying and imitating the style of Pablo Picasso. He primarily centers his compositions on the human form. A 1993 painting titled Girl with Boat is among the featured lots. The work shows the abstracted face of a girl in vivid colors.
The sale also features sculptural paintings by the artist. Featured among them is a painting executed on the torso of a mannequin. Painted in red, pink, green, and yellow, it shows a female face with red lips. Also available is an oil painting on a snowboard showing three faces and two shoes. Register to bid and view each of these lots on Invaluable.
Morphy Auctions presents fine and decorative art, jewelry, and furniture pieces in the upcoming two-day auction. One of the featured lots is a life-sized portrait of President Abraham Lincoln by William F. Cogswell. A self-made painter from Pasadena, California, Cogswell was invited to the White House to sketch Lincoln in 1864. As Cogswell finished his work, Congress issued a portrait contest to preserve Lincoln’s legacy. Cogswell submitted his portrait and won the competition. The artist completed three replicas of the piece, two of which are owned by states. The third comes to auction in this sale. The painting shows Lincoln on the White House porch with the United States Capitol dome in the background.
Other highlighted fine art pieces include Peter F. Rothermel’s depiction of the Battle of Gettysburg. A historical painter, Rothermel was commissioned by the State of Pennsylvania for this work. He completed it in three years. He also made several smaller battle paintings, including the available piece, that show a view of the battle from Little Round Top. Completing the featured lots is a Tiffany Studios table lamp. The lamp has a leaded glass shade with red and pink poppies and a band of green leaves. Interested collectors can register to bid on Morphy Auctions.
The upcoming sale, presented by Elite Auctioneers, particularly highlights an oil painting titled The Goldfish Bowl by Samuel F.B. Morse. The painting shows Mrs. Richard Carey Morse and her two children, Elizabeth and Charlotte. The artist, who was also the inventor of the single-wire telegraph and creator of Morse code, started his career as a painter. After his wife’s death, Morse shifted his focus away from art and dedicated himself to invention. According to H. B. Wehle, in 1832, when Morse returned from Europe after completing his work with the telegraph, his brothers Richard and Sidney Morse gave him financial and moral support. Morse likely painted Richard’s wife and daughters out of gratitude. The artist is believed to have painted two versions, one for each niece. The second version is in the National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C.
Also showcased is Cantaloupes II from Andy Warhol’s Space Fruit series. Published in 1979, Space Fruit is based on traditional still-lifes of fruit that have been transformed in a non-representational manner. The work highlights Warhol’s evolving interest in Abstract art, which developed in the late 1970s. View these lots and register to bid on Bidsquare.
The Patek Philippe Nautilus watch was introduced in 1976 and was a creation of designer Gérald Genta. Inspired and named after the submarine from Jules Verne’s novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, the watch has an unusual octagonal bezel that resembles the porthole of a ship. The upcoming auction, offered by Kodner Galleries, presents a new Patek Philippe Nautilus 5980R-001 sports watch. The 18-karat rose gold chronograph date watch has a gradated black dial, leather strap, and automatic self-winding movement. Other models of the Patek Philippe Nautilus are also featured, including the 5712/1A and the 5726A-001.
The auction will showcase An Allegory Of Love, an oil painting by Hans Zatzka. Paintings by Zatzka depicted religious and mythological scenes and were often hung in churches. Zatzka’s small works could fit in compact spaces and therefore became popular in European homes during the early 20th century. Other highlights of the sale include GIA-certified diamond jewelry, a Cartier bracelet, Tiffany & Co. brooches, and Greek Chrissilato earrings. Also offered is a J. Robert Scott L’Hermitage chandelier, sculptures by Larry Mohr, and several pieces of porcelain ware. Interested collectors can explore the full listings and register to bid online on Bidsquare.
A highlight of the upcoming Raindrops on Roses auction, presented by The Antique Enamel Company, is a silver-gilt and enamel bird box, stamped “C Bruguier.” A singing bird box is a rectangular-shaped box that contains a miniature automaton bird, activated using a lever. The Swiss Bruguier family was the last of the master mechanicians to craft these boxes. The bird has banded feathers in lime and dark green, as well as a teal green head. The box has an inset front polished bay border, a lid interior with petit-painted enamel roses, and a silver-gilt case. When operated, the bird moves its beak, turns its head, and bobs its wings, tail feathers, and body to a song.
The auction also features a perfume necessary, designed in the form of a Gothic chest in 18-karat gold and honey-colored agate. Standing on ball feet, the necessaire contains a set of four perfume bottles with chased tops. Another lot of interest is a pair of mermaid and merman figures made of rock crystal and enamel. To view the complete catalog and register to bid online, visit Bidsquare.
