Neue Auctions' Online-only Winter Fine Antiques & Art Auction On Feb. 19 Has Over 300 Curated Lots

By Author: Bridget McWilliams
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Neue Auctions’ online-only Winter Fine Antiques & Art auction slated for Saturday, February 19th, at 10 am Eastern time, features over 300 lots of fine antiques and art, carefully curated from local estates and collections, providing bidders with an exceptional auction experience and the chance to acquire some of the finest available pieces in the Midwest.

“Swedish, Finnish, German and Austrian, French, Asian and American furniture items such as chairs, chaise longues, sideboards and cabinets, occasional tables, tables and chests are in abundance and estimated conservatively to sell,” said Cynthia Maciejewski of Neue Auctions. Online bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com and Bidsquare.com.

A bronze coffee table by Philip and Kelvin LaVerne, titled Eternal Forest, is expected to inspire brisk bidding. As a father-son team, Philip (1907-1987) and Kelvin (b. 1937) LaVerne created stunning, functional art pieces (chief among them, coffee tables) in patinated bronze, pewter and silver. Their designs were made using a unique technique that took years to perfect, and their furniture ...
... was created in limited editions of twelve, making them highly collectible items today.

Furniture by Louis Majorelle (French, 1859-1926) will feature a dining table and chairs (estimate: $4,000-$7,000) and a fine mahogany and gilt bronze vitrine possibly by Majorelle (estimate of $4,000-$8,000). Majorelle was a decorator and furniture designer who manufactured his own designs in the French tradition of the ébéniste. He was an outstanding designer of furniture in the Art Nouveau style. The palette he composed resembled that of a painter.

Fans of Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973) will be treated to an aquatint from the artist’s Sable Mouvant (1964), published in 1966, of a painter and model (estimate: $2,000-$4,000). As of 2015, Picasso remained the top-ranked artist (based on sales of his works at auctions) according to the Art Market Trends report. More of his paintings have been stolen than any other artist.

Maxfield Parrish (American, 1870-1966) is also in the auction, with a lithograph titled Stars. Parrish was a painter and illustrator active in the first half of the 20th century, known for his distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery. His career spanned 50 years and was wildly successful. His painting Daybreak is the most popular art print of the 20th century.

Several mythological subject oil paintings by John Hemming Fry (American, 1860-1946) will also be sold, all ex-collection of the Canton (Ohio) Art Institute. Mr. Fry was married to Georgia Timken, of the Timken Roller Bearing Company (Canton, Oh). Her estate, estimated at more than $10 million, was received by Mr. Fry upon her death. The paintings in the auction were donated in 1946 to the Canton Art Institute.

The sale will boast a grouping of Magical Realism works, to include the following:

- A painting by Mark Lancelot Symons (British, 1887-1935), titled Moving Day (estimate: $5,000-$8,000). Symons was an English Symbolist and a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy until his death. His work alternated between religious subjects, fairy paintings and mystical Symbolist/Surrealist subjects, incorporating his children and home life.

- Five paintings by Gretchen Troibner (Ohio), an artist who was active in the 1980s, producing affordable, high-quality Magical Realism works in the $500-$1,000 range.

- A collection of seven ceramic works by Ohio artist Gary Spinosa.

A rare oil painting by the British artist Mark Lancelot Symons (1887-1935), titled Moving Day, circa 1929-1930, will come under the gavel. Symons was a Symbolist painter inspired by the Pre-Raphaelites and religiously devout. He was a regular exhibitor at The Royal Academy. Alongside religious objects, his work often included children as an expression of innocence. Moving Day depicts his daughter in her emptied room. It’s a fine example of Magic Realism.

A monumental poster by Charles Gesmar (French, 1900-1928), titled Rags to Riches (1928), depicting the French actress and singer Mistinguett (1875-1956), 123 inches tall by 44 inches wide, should bring $2,000-$4,000. Gesmar was one of the greatest designers of costumes and posters during the golden age of the Paris music hall in the Jazz Age. He traveled with Mistinguett and created many posters depicting her. He died at a very young age of pneumonia.

Nat Koffman is a somewhat underappreciated artist of the Abingdon Square painters. He’ll be represented in the auction with an expressionist style work titled Sheepshead Bay, Long Island (estimate: $1,000-$2,000). Also, Jim Dine’s Palette IV, from Four Palettes, multiple, numbered (72/75), published in 1969 by Petersburg Press, should earn $1,500-$2,500.

The furniture category will feature ten upholstered dining chairs by Eero Saarinen (1910-1961), the Finnish-American architect and industrial designer noted for his wide array of designs for buildings and monuments. Saarinen designed Washington Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., the TWA Flight Center in New York City and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.

Also offered will be a pair of wood lounge chairs by Folke Ohlsson (Swedish-American, 1919-2003). Ohlsson was famous for his “knock-down” furniture construction that reduced shipping and storage costs and helped make Dux a household name. The concept revolutionized furniture production and transportation and led to the birth of huge international companies like IKEA.

Modern and contemporary sculptures will include bronzes, marbles and a modern kinetic bronze sculpture by Bill Keating (American, b. 1932). Keating is best known for his abstract sculpture-geometric forms. The online-only auction will be clerked live by Neue Auctions team members.

The catalog will be posted soon on the three bidding sites. Phone and absentee bids will be taken. To learn more about Neue Auctions and the Winter Fine Antiques & Art auction that’s planned for Saturday, Feb. 19 at 10 am Eastern, visit www.neueauctions.com.