Oh to be 18 years old, and an antiques dealer! Gabe tells what it’s like to be one of the few out there, he has been buying and selling for four years, and has a nice space in an active antique shop. You can email Gabe at: fichtgabe32@yahoo.com
Author: martin
Modernistic Silver in Lincoln Massachusetts
by Martin Willis
If you happen to be one of the 5,000 people to live in a beautiful country town to the west of Boston, Lincoln, Massachusetts then you had the chance recently of owning a local treasure of modernism. During a recent call from my friend Doug Stinson, I learned about a benefit auction he was donating his services at in his home town. He said there was some incredible modernistic silver he was auctioning off the next day, the work of which rivals designs by known silversmith, Georg Jensen. Read more
Record Auction Estimate
by Martin Willis
Coming up next month, Christies takes a daring leap and has the distinction of assigning the highest art at auction estimate ever. Picasso’s Les Femmes d’Alger, created in 1955 is going on the block May 11th at the Rockefella Center in New York City. The $140 Million dollar estimate is the lower end of expectations.
This painting in particular is iconic to say the least, but not considered the most valuable artwork in the world. If you could imagine the most viewed painting in the world, the Mona Lisa (6 million people per year) ever for some reason hit the auction block, not only could it somehow cause a war of some kind, but nations would probably bid for it and guessing the price would be very unlikely.
176. James Tumblin, Gone with the Wind Collection
Guest James Tumblin talks about his Gone with the Wind collection coming up at Heritage Auction on April 18 & 19, how he got started collecting his now 300,000 Gone with the Wind objects of memorabilia as well his experience and friendship with Marilyn Monroe.
Follow up with auction results here. Dress sells for $137,000!
Tech Proves Monet Authentic
by Martin Willis
60 Years of Waiting Proves Worthwhile
A painting purchased in the 1950s by Finland’s Gösta Serlachius Fine Arts Foundation was never proven to be by the artist as it appeared to be unsigned. Thanks to modern technology, Claude Monet’s (1840-1926) signature was recently found under a layer of paint. The piece was painted near his home in Giverny and called “A Haystack in the Evening Sun” (1892).
I had the opportunity to view a Monet exhibition several years ago in Boston, and there is nothing like seeing the work in person. The pieces that struck me the most were, his lily pad paintings and his haystack paintings, both of which can sell for in excess of $10 million.
The Almost Lost Attributions of a Master Craftsman
by Martin Willis
Not often can so many magnificent pieces travel through time unattributed, but such was the case of many Nathaniel Gould’s masterpieces. It all started several years ago when furniture scholar, Kemble Widmer and Joyce King were contacted by fine antique dealers, C.L. Prickett who recently purchased an outstanding mahogany Chippendale bombe secretary/bookcase. Prickett contracted Widmer & King to try to track down the maker of his acquisition, knowing it was most likely a Boston, Massachusetts furniture maker.
Detectives at Work Read more