Italian artist Renato Casaro was inspired by Raphael’s The School of Athens painting when creating his modern parody. Cesaro’s 100 Years of Film, which will be featured in the upcoming Original Film Posters Online auction, places Hollywood and pop culture stars in the same positions as the original philosophers and thinkers. This painting includes Elvis Presley, Jessica Rabbit, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Dean, Batman, E.T., and many other characters, with Federico Fellini sitting in a director’s chair.
Casablanca’s 1947 first French release poster can also be found in this Sotheby’s auction. Fewer than five of these posters are known to have survived. The artist, Pierre Pigeot, captured the smokey atmosphere of Rick’s Bar in shades of red, orange, and yellow. According to the auction house, this poster was only used to advertise the film in the French provinces.
The 1941 Italian promotional poster for Citizen Kane is also available. On the poster is Orson Welles, the writer, director, producer, and star of the film, against a backdrop of newspaper articles. Visit Sotheby’s to view the entire collection and to register to bid.
Born into slavery, Dora Stephens worked for years under Alexander H. Stephens, a Georgia politician who became the vice president of the Confederate States of America. Despite A.H. Stephens’ ardent support for institutional slavery, he maintained warm and friendly relationships with his slaves. Writing in a March 1882 letter to Dora Stephens, the former vice president expressed concern and empathy: “… Am glad to know that Genie & John Taylor are at school… Kind regards to your mother… My secretary sent you a post office order for $5 from Alex Kent on Saturday.” This letter, along with 18 other documents, will be available in Swann Auction Galleries’ upcoming Printed and Manuscript African Americana sale. Photographs of the vice president, personal letters between Dora Stephens and her family members, and several tintype portraits are included in this lot.
Another featured item in the auction is an anti-slavery broadside from 1794. Distributed by early abolitionist Tobias Harte to German-speakers in Pennsylvania, the document includes 12 woodcuts depicting the reality of slavery. This early work follows the tradition of showing disturbing images of slavery in the North, a key facet of the abolitionist movement. The translated text of the broadside details “How Slaves are Obtained, and their Treatment in the West Indies.”
More than 60 years later, opponents to slavery again used graphic images to support their cause. A photograph of former slave Peter Gordon’s scarred and disfigured back ran in an 1863 issue of Harper’s Weekly, becoming a well-recognized image of the anti-slavery cause. Also available in this auction is a selection of metal signs, photography from the civil rights movement, and books. Browse the full catalog and register to bid on the Swann Auction Galleries website.
Raised in Harlem, New York during the 1930s, Jacob Lawrence was an influential Modernist painter active throughout the 20th century. He was nationally-recognized for his paintings capturing the experiences of African-Americans. After completing several paintings of abolitionist John Brown, Lawrence began several paintings of rural African-American life in the South. Cutting Logs #51 was created during this period, one of only six surviving works in the series. This gouache, watercolor, and ink painting will be presented in the upcoming African-American Fine Art sale, offered by Swann Auction Galleries.
This auction of almost 200 items will include work from John Biggers, Elizabeth Catlett, and David Hammons. Women, Ghana, a 1960s oil painting by Biggers, is among the lots of interest. The piece was inspired by Biggers’ travels to Africa, where he observed the power that women held in many of the native cultures. This painting depicts several women laying out baskets on striped blue rugs, looking toward a winding path. A portfolio of 18 silver prints from Harlem Renaissance photographer James VanDerZee is also available. Browse the complete selection of African-American art and register to bid for these items on the Swann Auction Galleries website.
Presented in the upcoming Premier Auction, offered by Brunk Auctions, is an American Chippendale desk and bookcase from the 18th century. The exterior functions as a bookcase, while the interior opens to five drawers and candle slides with scalloped and carved doors. Also included in this auction are several works of fine art, including a piece from American painter Maud Gatewood. She was a winner of several awards during her career, including recognition from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Her 2001 painting, Straw Field Spring, is signed and inscribed “rain coming/staccato painting/Gatewood 01.”
Girandoles in the 18th century were almost exclusively crafted by Lemuel Curtis and Joseph N. Dunning in Massachusetts. These clocks were brass timekeepers with striking mechanisms and were suitable for meeting houses, banks, parlors, and other rooms. An example of Curtis’ girandole clocks will be available in the upcoming auction. This gilt mahogany piece shows a small painting of Perry’s Victory in the war of 1812 on the lower panel.
A Thomas Worthington Whittredge original painting is also presented in the auction. Born in a log cabin near Springfield, Ohio, Whittredge painted many landscapes and portraits as a young man. However, it wasn’t until Whittredge traveled across the Great Plains that he started painting his most notable landscape works. In his words, “I had never seen the plains or anything like them. They impressed me deeply. I cared more for them than for the mountains…” To view more furniture, art, and antiquities from the collection of Lawrence and Helen Alspaugh, visit Bidsquare
The upcoming month-long online auction of timepieces, offered by Heritage Auctions, will include wristwatches, pocket watches, pendant watches, and one clock. Among the available pocket watches is a Howard piece that was one of just 100 produced. The case is crafted from 18-karat gold and is engraved “Frank Ferguson from his father, April 6th, 1864.” The approximate dates of production of this watch were 1861 to 1863.
Also up for bid is a Patek Philippe lady’s platinum and diamond wristwatch, from circa 1960. The total diamond weight of this watch is approximately 2.3 carats. It is running in good condition. Though there is no wrist band, the watch includes a late-added rope band.
Other watch manufacturers featured in the auction include Movado, Rolex, Seiko, Tiffany, and Hamilton. The clock presented in the sale is a Swiss-made Panerai table clock with a natural wood finish and luminous numerals and hands. The clock is signed “Luminor Panerai” and includes a box and papers. View any of these lots and register to bid on Heritage Auctions.
The Art of the American West Signature Auction, offered by Heritage Auctions, includes a variety of Western works with diverse styles and subjects. Among the featured lots are the paintings of Robert Pumelli, including his oil on canvas piece titled Santa Fe Trappers Leaving Bent’s Fort. Bent’s Fort was the heart of the regional fur trade on the Santa Fe Trail between Missouri and Mexico. This painting depicts the trappers and their horses, weighed down with supplies, heading out on the trail.
Though there are many examples of traditional oil paintings up for bid, there are also several more contemporary pieces, including works by John Nieto. Nieto’s Standing Elk III depicts his subject in bright, modern colors and broad brush strokes. There are several Nieto works in this auction, including four of the same subject: Apache I, II, III, and IV. Each painting has a different color background and a slightly different representation of the figure.
Another contemporary work is a landscape titled Mountain View by Oscar Brousse Jacobson. Both the colorwork and flattened depth of this painting indicate a somewhat Surrealistic style, depicting a near-pastel sunset behind a mountain scene.
Beyond paintings, there are also a few sculptures available in the event, including a bust by Gallagher Rule. Though Rule was not a full-time artist (he and his brother owned a cattle insemination service in Oklahoma and Kansas), he devoted much of his attention to sculpting by 1973. Rule’s favorite subject was American actor John Wayne.
Other artworks in the auction include pieces by William Schenck, Eyvind Earle, James Reynolds, Nick Eggehofer, Robert Farrington Elwell, and others. View any of these lots and register to bid on Heritage Auctions.
Historically, the Batak tribe of modern-day Indonesia believed a shaman could harness both white and black magic. Each shaman would craft a staff to channel their abilities. One such staff from the Batak people is highlighted in the upcoming Art of Asia auction, presented by Artemis Gallery. Human and animal effigies line the piece, with pink cabochons indicating each figure’s eyes. Horsehair weaves across the top. Several rituals were believed necessary to activate the staff’s power, including the sacrifice of someone from an enemy village.
Collectors of ethnographic pieces will also find two Burmese figures representing the “Old Man” and the “Sick Man” in the story of Prince Siddhartha’s transformation into the Buddha. Buddhists believe that Siddhartha, having lived a life of royal privilege, encountered four people who helped him understand the nature of suffering. The first was the “Old Man.” This Burmese depiction of the “Old Man” has a sunken chest, veins pushing toward the skin’s surface, and visible ribs. The second person Siddhartha saw was the “Sick Man.” The available figure shows the man leaning on his staff for support. His ribcage and collarbones are visible, and he wears a piece of cloth wrapped around his waist. Both of these pieces are carved from wood and date back to the late 19th or early 20th century.
Those interested in Japanese culture can consider a set of samurai armor from the Edo period. Included are shoulder and waist panels, a helmet, and chest armor, among other pieces. Decorating the chest plate is a red circle with three inward-pointing branches. Register to bid and view each lot on LiveAuctioneers.
The “Kelly bag,” created by Hermès, was redesigned several times before being popularized by American actress and Princess of Monaco Grace Kelly. Named after her, the bag soon became a high-fashion status symbol. A Hermès rouge de coeur mini Kelly picnic bag is among the leading lots of the upcoming Handbags & Accessories Online auction, presented by Sotheby’s. Made of osier wicker and swift leather, the piece is designed with palladium hardware, tonal stitching, and front toggle closure. Another highlighted lot from Hermès is a white Himalaya Birkin bag made with Niloticus crocodile skin. The interior is lined with Gris Perle chevre, with one zippered pocket and two open pockets.
The collection also includes a Hermès cashmere and silk shawl, designed by Ireland-born architect Nigel Peake. The composition of patchwork reveals the figure of a horse against a background of chevron, striped, and checkerboard patterns. To view the complete catalog and register to bid online, visit Sotheby’s.
The Hedgerow Theatre was founded in 1923. Located in Rose Valley, Pennsylvania, the Hedgerow was one of the first professional repertory theater companies in the United States. Offered in the upcoming Design auction, presented by Freeman’s, is a furniture piece known as the “Thunder Table.” Created by Wharton Esherick in 1929, this oak table features a carved signature, date, and the inscription “WE+HEDGEROW MCMXXIX.” This piece was created by Esherick for the Hedgerow Theatre’s production of Thunder on the Left.
Included in this auction is a 1905 Tiffany Studios table lamp with leaded favrile glass and patinated bronze. The company’s founder, Louis Comfort Tiffany, was born in 1848. Since his youth, his main interest was in painting. During the 1870s, Tiffany began experimenting with colored glass, leading to his first public exhibition of lampshades in 1899. The available piece features nasturtium flowers on the shade.
Also available in the auction are ironworks from Samuel Yellin, including a fire screen and a cupboard. A 22-section black leather sofa by Swiss designer Ueli Berger, Italian designer Eleanora Peduzzi-Riva, and German designer Heinz Ulrich is highlighted as well. Visit Freeman’s to register to bid for the above items and to view the complete catalog.
The first session of the Spring Discovery Sale, presented by Whitley’s Auctioneers, will feature two lidded Wedgwood vases from the 1920s. These Art Nouveau pieces come from the company’s Fairyland Lustre series, designed by Daisy Makeig-Jones. Patterned with bold colors and dancing fairies, these pieces have been professionally restored and retain the Wedgwood mark. The Fairyland series was particularly popular in Europe after World War I, according to dealer Nicholas Dawes: “Many Europeans were looking for something to escape from the horrors of war… escapist stuff, real fantastical.”
This auction will include over 850 lots on the first day. Many of these are ceramics and figurines from Royal Doulton, Boehm, and Doulton Lambeth. Among the leading lots is a Royal Doulton figurine created in the late 1920s or early 1930s. The piece depicts a young boy dressed in a judge’s wig and robes. To his left is a basket of dolls— the jury. To his right is a puppy, presumably the defendant. Other figurines depict a female jester, a seated zebra, and pairs of birds. Beyond the ceramics and porcelain, the sale also offers a Reed & Barton tea set and several pieces of ethnographic art. View the full catalog and register to bid for these items on Bidsquare.
