Around the Block

• Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ Modern and Contemporary Art Auction Realizes $2.85 Million



Chicago, Illinois –May 14, 2013
Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ Modern and Contemporary Art auction was a success with international competition from hundreds of bidders in the salesroom, on the telephones and via the internet. The auction, which featured important modern photographs, original contemporary works and a strong session of prints and multiples, grossed $2.85 million.

The highlight of the sale was a Picasso titled Buste de Femme d’apres Cranach le Jeune, which realized $572,500, making it the most expensive unsigned Picasso linoleum cut ever sold at auction.

Some of the other highlights from the sale included an untitled Alexander Calder painting, which sold for $146,500, a Deborah Butterfield sculpture titled Doney, which brought $110,500, an untitled Barnett Newman etching, which sold for $107,500 and an untitled painting by Sam Francis, which brought $92,500.

Two photographs by Robert Frank also realized strong prices. One of his photographs titled Trolley, New Orleans brought $134,500, and another titled Hoboken realized $104,500.

The sale was preceded by a successful American and European Art auction, which grossed $2.02 million. Highlights of the sale included John William Godward’s Dolce far Niente, which realized $290,500 and William Tylee Ranney’s Haying Time, which brought $182,500.

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ next Modern and Contemporary auction will be held September 24, 2013; the American and European Art auction which will be held September 23, 2013. Consignments are welcome through the end of July.

For over three decades, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers has been an industry leader combining recognition as one of the nation’s preeminent fine art auctioneers with a global reach of buyers. Founded in Chicago in 1982, sold to Sotheby’s in 1997 and reopened in 2003, Leslie Hindman has remained a constant force behind a company that benefits from an impeccable reputation and a team of professionals who have the ability to effectively market and conduct high profile auctions. From contemporary paintings and fine jewelry to continental furniture and rare books, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers continues a practice of achieving the highest prices while maintaining a high standard of integrity and quality customer service.


• Grant Wood’s Personal Sketchbook at Auction at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers



Chicago, Illinois – April 29, 2013
Grant Wood’s artworks have always held a special place in the hearts of Midwesterners - they capture the land and the people Wood knew best, hard-working men and women of 20th century rural America. We see his visions as a memorial to the American working class and generations of collectors have established a strong market for his iconic views of rolling hills and hearty farmhands.

The Veterans Memorial Building in Grant Wood’s hometown, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, boasts a towering landmark to his artistic achievement, a 24-foot tall stained glass window - the largest in the United States in 1929 at the time of its inception. The window features a central figure of a Lady in Mourning, modeled after the artist’s sister and sitter for the iconic painting, American Gothic, Nan Wood. The figure is flanked by life-size soldiers from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish American War and the First World War. It is the only known stained-glass window designed by Wood.

On May 12, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers will offer Grant Wood’s personal 48-page sketchbook embellished with over 70 preparatory drawings and studies for the Memorial Window. Wood has signed the cover of the small journal and an inscription from the artist’s sister, signed and dated May 1, 1946, confirms: “This book was the property of Grant Wood. It contains sketches and ideas for the stained glass memorial window he designed for the memorial building in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The sketches were made in 1929.” There are no known sketchbooks attributed to Wood in institutional or private collections, and the auction house is confident it will exceed its $40,000-60,000 presale estimate.

The sketchbook outlines Wood’s progression of ideas for the central female figure, the four soldiers, and the layout as a whole. One discarded idea shows a Madonna-like figure in the form of a pieta, holding a dead soldier and filling the entire window like an altar piece. Another shows the figure of Justice holding scales, and another Victory with her winged cap. Other drawings echo Papal tombs and Greek architecture. “The sketchbook is unprecedented,” says Director of Books of Manuscripts, Mary Kohnke, “It shows the artist struggling with issues of perspective, draping, the female and male forms, and even the use of Roman numerals, which he rearranged to fit in the allotted space. We are very excited to have the opportunity to present this exciting item to the public.”

The auction will take place on location at 1338 West Lake Street in Chicago on May 12. The item will be available for public viewing Wednesday, May 8, 10am-5pm, Thursday, May 9, 10am-5pm, Friday, May 10, 10am-5pm and Saturday, May 11, 10am-3pm. For additional information, please contact Mary Kohnke at 312.334.4236.

For over three decades, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers has been an industry leader combining recognition as one of the nation’s preeminent fine art auctioneers with a global reach of buyers. Founded in Chicago in 1982, sold to Sotheby’s in 1997 and reopened in 2003, Leslie Hindman has remained a constant force behind a company that benefits from an impeccable reputation and a team of professionals who have the ability to effectively market and conduct high profile auctions. From contemporary paintings and fine jewelry to continental furniture and rare books, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers continues a practice of achieving the highest prices while maintaining a high standard of integrity and quality customer service.


• Fine Jewelry and Timepieces Auctions Realize $4.89 Million



Chicago, Illinois – April 9, 2013
Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ Spring auctions of Fine Jewelry and Timepieces achieved a record total of $4.89 million. Hundreds of bidders in the salesroom, on the telephones, and via the Internet participated in the auctions held on Sunday and Monday.

Several exceptional fancy colored diamonds and colored stones elicited spirited interest from private collectors and dealers worldwide. A highlight of the Fine Jewelry sale was an impressive 7.85 carat diamond ring of Fancy Vivid Yellow color. The rare combination of the color saturation and the antique cushion cut enabled the lot to surpass the pre-auction estimate of $150,000/$200,000 to ultimately realize $542,500. Another highlight from the sale included a 10.99 carat Fancy Yellow oval brilliant cut diamond ring, which held a pre-sale estimate of $100,000/$150,000 and realized $170,500.

The Fine Jewelry auction clearly indicated that the market for pink diamonds is strong. The demand from investors from around the globe continues to rise as pink diamonds become increasingly scarce. Highlights included an 18 karat rose gold and fancy purple-pink diamond ring which sold for $302,500 and a fancy deep pink diamond which realized $266,500.

Our highly-anticipated Fine Timepieces sale, held Monday evening, also generated strong interest and prices realized. Contemporary wristwatches by important makers such as Patek Philippe and Rolex, as well as collectible antique timepieces in fine condition with desirable complications, proved to be highlights of sale.

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ next Fine Jewelry and Timepieces auction will be held September 8-9, 2013. Consignments are welcome though July 12.


• Leslie Hindman Auctioneers to offer Steinway & Sons Louis XV Style Giltwood Grand Piano



Chicago, Illinois – April 4, 2013

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers is pleased to offer a Steinway & Sons Louis XV style giltwood grand piano in their upcoming Fine Furniture and Decorative Arts auction on April 28-29.

The 1904 Model B piano was designed in commemoration of the renowned piano company’s 50th anniversary. Joseph Burr Tiffany, a relative of Tiffany & Company’s founder and lead artist for Steinway’s Art Case Department, commissioned top talent from his team to design several giltwood grand pianos. This particular example, serial number 108815, was designed by Tiffany himself, carved by Juan Ayuso from solid mahogany and clad in 24 Karat gold. The piano has had several prominent owners including William Stafford, a New York banker who kept the piano in his Plaza Hotel residence; Benjamin Sawtelle Hanchett and his family, who kept the piano for nearly 65 years; George Michalski; and most recently Mark Fritz. The piano was a part of Mr. Fritz’s collection from 2004 until his death in 2012.

Following the recommendation of Steinway Chairman, John H. Steinway, the piano was restored in 1985 by distinguished piano conservationist, Lloyd Meyer of Camilleri Pianoworks. Celebrated concert artists and leading institutions like The Juilliard School of Music and The Peabody Conservatory have also relied on Camilleri to restore their cherished instruments.

In addition to the giltwood grand piano, we are pleased to offer a Steinway & Sons marquetry decorated baby grand piano. Both Steinway pianos are from the Estate of Mr. Mark Fritz of West Bloomfield, Michigan. Leslie Hindman Auctioneers recently sold other items from Mr. Fritz’s collection, including over 500 opera glasses, monoculars, and other ophthalmic antiques, in their February 12-14 Fine Furniture and Decorative Arts auction.

The pianos will be available for preview during our Fine Furniture and Decorative Arts exhibition April 23-27.

For over three decades, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers has been an industry leader combining recognition as one of the nation’s preeminent fine art auctioneers with a global reach of buyers. Founded in Chicago in 1982, sold to Sotheby’s in 1997 and reopened in 2003, Leslie Hindman has remained a constant force behind a company that benefits from an impeccable reputation and a team of professionals who have the ability to effectively market and conduct high profile auctions. From contemporary paintings and fine jewelry to continental furniture and rare books, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers continues a practice of achieving the highest prices while maintaining a high standard of integrity and quality customer service.




• Asian Works of Art Auction Brings Over $2.99 Million



Chicago, Illinois – April 2, 2013

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ Asian Works of Art auction brought spirited energy and a packed sale room to its Chicago gallery last week. The sale grossed over $2.99 million, offering Chinese, South Asian and Japanese paintings and works of art to buyers around the world.

“The Chinese session of the sale was well-rounded and caught the attention of a myriad of buyers, both old and new, achieving strong prices in every medium. Jade performed especially well; however, we were also pleased with prices realized in paintings, bronze, furniture, textiles, porcelain and other mediums of art,” said Phyllis Kao, Director of Asian Works of Art at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers.

The highly-anticipated painting by Chinese artist Zhao Shao’ang, brought $86,500. The consignor, David D. Buck, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Wisconsin, originally purchased the painting at the artist’s studio in 1967.

Other highlights of the sale included the cover lot, a pair of carved white jade quail boxes bearing imperial Qianlong seals. The pair sold for $92,500 to an overseas bidder on the telephone. A jade and wood hat stand carved with scrolling clouds surprised the audience early in the sale when it brought $116,500. The hat stand was from the Estate of Mr. Frank Buttram of Oklahoma City and was one of several Chinese works from the Estate that sparked interest in the sale.

Perhaps the most exciting lot sold during the three day auction, was a carved jade lotus-form bowl, which generated strong bidding activity on the phone, the internet and in the room, ultimately selling to a bidder in the room for $230,500.

The Japanese session ended the three-day auction with noteworthy activity and demonstrated that the Japanese art market continues to strengthen. A shibayama and silver decorated koro brought $10,625 and a Meiji period cloisonné covered vase by Kawade Shibataro brought $23,750.

The next Asian Works of Art auction is scheduled for September 16-17. Consignments for this auction are welcomed through July 22.




• American History Headlines Leslie Hindman’s April 10th Fine Books Auction



Chicago, Illinois – March 25, 2013

On April 10, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers will showcase a fine selection of rare and historical Americana, including books, autographs, and maps, as part of their Fine Books and Manuscripts sale.

Leading the sale is an early four-page letter from George Washington, as Commander of the Continental Army, to the Governor of New York, George Clinton, July 30, 1782. Letters from this period in Washington’s military campaign are exceedingly rare, especially with historically significant content. Here, Washington expresses his concern to Clinton for General Marinus Willett’s command of the Mohawk Valley, a strategic and vulnerable point on the Revolutionary War battle lines that had been plagued with numerous skirmishes between Loyalists and Allies. Washington planned to send Willett on a secret mission to recapture the British-held Fort Ontario at Oswego, but expresses doubts: “I wish to be informed … of the force of Willet’s [sic] corps now assembled on the Mohawk, also the strength of the enemy at Oswego, of which I have as yet had only vague and unsatisfactory accounts.” He warns them to be cautious; not to act too quickly. The mission, sent February 1783, would fail, when Willett’s forces were unable to surprise the garrison. It continued to be held by the British until 1796, thirteen years after the Peace of Paris.

Other autographed letters of note include Thomas Jefferson, Justice John Marshall, John James Audubon, Buffalo Bill Cody and John F. Kennedy. Abraham Lincoln is represented in a rare plaster life mask, from the original by Clark Mills, which was the only life mask taken during his Presidency.

The sale will also highlight major historical works on the mapping and exploration of the United States, including first edition histories of the Lewis and Clark expedition to the sources of the Missouri and Zebulon Pike’s exceedingly rare expedition to the Southwest. The highlight of the cartography session is a first edition of Henry Tanner’s landmark map of the United States. Measuring 49 ½ x 63 inches on 60 sections backed onto linen, this huge map incorporates the discoveries of Lewis and Clark, Pike and their contemporaries, giving an unprecedented survey of the Rocky Mountain region and Oregon Territory, as well as fourteen inset maps of major cities.

“We are excited to be providing collectors, scholars and American history enthusiasts with such high quality books and manuscripts, many of which are very rare to the auction market,” says Mary Kohnke, Director of Fine Books and Manuscripts at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers. The sale will also feature Continental Rare Books, including Claude Lorrain’s Liber Veritatis, Livres d’artistes, literary first editions, and an impressive selection of cartography, including Hartman Schedel’s fifteenth-century world map from the Nuremburg Chronicle.

Previews are scheduled for Saturday, April 6 through Tuesday, April 9.

The auction will take place Wednesday, April 10, on location at 1338 West Lake Street, Chicago, Illinois, at 12pm. The auction catalogue and live bidding are also available online at http://www.lesliehindman.com..

For three decades, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers has been an industry leader combining recognition as one of the Nation’s leading fine art auctioneers with a global reach of buyers. Founded in 1982, sold to Sotheby’s in 1997 and reopened in 2003, Leslie Hindman has remained a constant force behind high profile auctions of everything from contemporary paintings and fine jewelry to French furniture and rare books and manuscripts and always maintains a practice of achieving the highest prices while maintaining the highest levels of integrity and customer service.




• A Piece of the Game



Leslie Hindman Auctioneers on "A Piece of the Game" premiers on WGN TV Saturday, March 16, at 2:30pm

http://www.apieceofthegame.tv/


• Property from the Ebony Fashion Fair Collection to be sold by Leslie Hindman Auctioneers



While spring high-fashion season in New York and Paris may be over, it’s just beginning in Chicago. On Tuesday, March 19, Johnson Publishing Company, the curator of the African-American lifestyle – past, present and future, will showcase exclusive garments from the iconic EBONY Fashion Fair Show in a spring auction. Conducted by Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, this public auction will feature 749 garments from revered designers including pieces by Yves Saint Laurent, Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, Missoni, Emanuel Ungaro, Emilio Pucci, Chloé and countless others.

The highly coveted designer selections from the auction include a red chiffon Bill Blass evening gown with black lace and beading; a purple Christian Dior organza evening gown with a stole; a Givenchy evening gown made with black velvet lace and feathers; and a Paco Rabanne evening ensemble made with black feathers and lace.

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ auctions are free and open to the public. Previews are scheduled on the following dates:

Saturday, March 16 10am-3pm
Sunday,   March 17 12pm-4pm
Monday,  March 18 10am-5pm

The auction catalogue and live biddings is also avaliable online at www.lesliehindman.com.

ABOUT Johnson Publishing
Johnson Publishing Company, LLC, founded by John H. and Eunice W. Johnson in 1942, is the leading African-American media publisher. Headquartered in Chicago, with New York and London offices, the Company publishes EBONY and JET, ranked No. 1 and No. 3, respectively, among Black American magazines, and owns Fashion Fair Cosmetics, a global prestige cosmetics brand for Black Women launched in 1973. Johnson Publishing operated the Ebony Fashion Fair, the world’s largest touring fashion show, until 2009; it raised more than $55 million for scholarships and various charitable causes. Additional information about Johnson Publishing Company, LLC is available at www.johnsonpublishing.com.

View Online Catalogue


• Milwaukee Native and Experienced Development Professional Joins Leslie Hindman Auctioneers



Milwaukee, Wisconsin – February 14, 2013 Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, one of the nation’s leading fine art auction firms, is pleased to announce that Judy Rauh has joined the firm to lead business development efforts in Milwaukee and Wisconsin.

Judy brings with her 20 years of development experience in the greater Milwaukee area. Through her leadership positions at the United Way and the United Performing Arts Fund, she has developed a strong knowledge of the market. In the last few years, Judy has been a resource development consultant for organizations in Milwaukee and Chicago.

Judy came to know Leslie Hindman as both a fine arts colleague and a client of her firm. “I have followed the success of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers for years and am delighted to be part of the team. I have both consigned and purchased through with the firm and found both experiences to be exemplary. The firm’s outstanding reputation, knowledgeable and professional staff and consummate customer service truly set it apart.”

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers is a full service auction house and industry leader with over thirty years of experience. Leslie founded her firm in Chicago, Illinois and has expanded in recent years with offices in Naples, Palm Beach, Denver and Milwaukee.

The firm opened their Milwaukee branch in 2011 and now has four auctions per year on site, in addition to the full calendar of specialized auctions that take place in Chicago, which include Fine Furniture and Decorative Arts; Asian Works of Art; Fine Art; Fine Books and Manuscripts; Fine Jewelry and Timepieces; Fine Silver and Objets de Vertu; and Vintage Couture and Accessories.

“We are delighted that Judy has agreed to join our firm in Milwaukee. Together with the team we have in place, Judy’s experience, professionalism and knowledge of the market promise to bring us to new heights,” said Leslie Hindman, President and CEO.

Plans are underway for an expansion this spring. The firm will be opening a second Milwaukee location in the Historic Third Ward that will accommodate property storage and provide space for preview exhibitions and auctions.


About Leslie Hindman Auctioneers
For three decades, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers has been an industry leader combining recognition as one of the nation's preeminent fine art auctioneers with a global reach of buyers. Founded in Chicago in 1982, sold to Sotheby’s in 1997 and reopened in 2003, Leslie Hindman has remained a constant force behind a company that benefits from an impeccable reputation and a team of professionals who have the ability to effectively market and conduct high profile auctions. From contemporary paintings and fine jewelry to continental furniture and rare books, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers continues a practice of achieving the highest prices while maintaining a high standard of integrity and quality customer service.


Media Contact
Jim Sharp
Director, Regional Offices
Phone: 312-334-4203
Email:


• February Fine furniture and Decorative Arts Auction Brings Over $1.74 million



Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ February Fine Furniture and Decorative Arts auction achieved over $1.74 million, with spirited interest in every category and 92% of all lots sold.

A large percentage of the property offered came from two prominent collections. Mark Fritz, an avid and educated collector from West Bloomfield, Michigan, had assembled arguably the world’s largest collection of operas glasses, monoculars, and other ophthalmic antiques. His collection attracted attention from the Ophthalmic Antiques International Collectors’ Club (OAICC), with many members bidding from the UK, Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and the United States. Every lot in his collection of over 500 pairs of opera glasses sold, many tripling their auction estimates. His eclectic collection also included canes, card cases, seals, ink wells, and other vertu objects. Other highlights included a French articulated artist’s mannequin that sold for $15,000 and a collection of prosthetic glass eyes that brought $5,000.

Additional highlights came from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. William E. Benjamin II, owners and preservers of Casa Alva, an estate and one time social club in Manalapan, Florida. Strong results included an English side cabinet made by Gillows of Lancaster that sold for $32,500 and a Lavar Kirman carpet that achieved $13,750.

Other works from prominent collections were an Italian marble sculpture carved by Donato Barcaglia that sold for $86,500 and a French bronze figure of a Turkish warrior that brought $25,000, both from the Estate of Diane Allegretti, Ingleside, Illinois. An 18th/19th century wool tapestry brought $23,750 and a Revolutionary War era carved powder horn realized $22,500.

The next Fine Furniture and Decorative Arts auction is scheduled for April 28-29. Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ auction dedicated exclusively to 20th Century Furniture and Decorative Arts will be held on April 30. Consignments for both auctions are welcomed through March 1.


• Property from an Important Collection of Western Art



PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT PRIVATE COLLECTION OF WESTERN ART TO BE SOLD BY LESLIE HINDMAN AUCTIONEERS

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers is pleased to announce a single-owner auction of property from an Important Private Collection of Western Art at our Denver gallery on Monday, March 18th. The auction will feature nearly 200 lots of American Western paintings, bronzes, Pueblo pottery, Navajo weavings, antler mounted mirrors, furniture and lighting, rustic and contemporary Western and Adirondack style furniture and decorative arts. The collection will attract attention from collectors of Western art as well as from the design community. This unique auction is ideal for bidders in search of fine Western style furnishings perfectly suited for a mountain retreat or lakeside cabin.

Featured among the American paintings are works by Craig Tennant, Bill Anton, David Wright, William Woodhouse, John DeMott, Jim Norton, John Moyers, Paul Calle, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Gary Lawrence Niblett, Wayne Cooper, Gerald Farm, Robert Winter, Edward Sheriff Curtis and others. Highlights include Craig Tennant’s, Lost Again, John Moyer’s, Sunset on Taos Mountains and Jim Norton’s,Winter’s Grip.

The furniture and other decorative objects being offered include a group of Navajo weavings and Pueblo pottery such as a Hopi Tewa pottery jar from the Nampeyo family, two Zia pottery jars by Lee Brotherton, a Navajo Hubbell weaving, circa 1915 and a Navajo Ganado weaving, circa 1890. The auction includes an exceptional offering of lodge style furniture and decorations such as bronzes, rustic occasional tables, mirrors, a Jacobean revival dining room suite, leather upholstered club chairs, a mahogany gate leg hunt table, an Adirondack style armoire and bookcase, antler mounted lighting, mirrors and furniture, a rustic 19-foot white birch canoe and much more.

The exhibition for this sale will be open to the public beginning on March 1, 2013 at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, 960 Cherokee Street, Denver, Colorado. For further information regarding the exhibition dates and times or to order a catalogue, please contact our Denver office at 303.825.1855.


• Inaugural Leslie Hindman Real Estate Auction Launches in Vail, CO



Leslie Hindman Auctioneers is delighted to announce the formation of Leslie Hindman Real Estate Auctions. Our inaugural auction is an exciting development opportunity within the Four-Diamond Vail Cascade Resort & Spa.

Situated between the Vail Cascade Hotel and the Aria Spa and Club, the 22,000-square-foot Cascade Village Building has been home to many tenants since its construction in 1981-1983, including Colorado Mountain College and The Cascade Village Theatre.

The Town of Vail approved the Cascade Village Building in 2005 for the development of luxury condominiums and retail space. The decision was made not to proceed with the project in 2008 due to declining economic conditions. However, after a change in ownership, it is now privately owned and retains the entitlements for the development of 14 luxury condominiums totaling 31,000 square feet, with direct ski-in, ski-out access and full resort hotel amenities. The approvals also allow for approximately 5,000 square feet of retail/office/commercial space.

These approvals, which are in place through June 2015, potentially grant long-term benefits from adjacent development opportunities and future events in the Vail community. Current plans for the nearby proposed LEED certified 12-acre site of the Ever Vail Development Community include a new gondola, hotels, restaurants, residential and retail opportunities. In 2015, Vail will also see the return of the World Alpine Ski Championship, a celebrated bi-annual international event that was last held in Vail in 1999.

The Cascade Village Building will be auctioned via submission of sealed-bids with a deadline of January 3, 2013. The property will be available for viewing December 25th – January 3rd.

To launch Leslie Hindman Real Estate Auctions Susan Bird has joined our firm as Managing Broker. Ms. Bird has 25 years experience as a real estate professional, including 10 years in luxury real estate auction business.

If you would like any information regarding the Cascade Village Building or Leslie Hindman Real Estate Auctions, please contact Scott Thompson at 312.334.4205; Susan Bird at 970.376.3233; or visit www.lhrealestateauctions.com.


• Auction of David Stickelber Estate Exceeds High Estimate



Property from the Estate of prominent Kansas City arts patron David A. Stickelber exceeded its high estimate at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers on Thursday, November 8. Mr. Stickelber is remembered as a stylish host and engaging philanthropist who took advantage of his social connections to bring many cultural events to the Midwest.

The sale lasted six and a half hours and saw spirited participation throughout from a crowded saleroom and from buyers bidding from around the world. The auction’s top lot, an Egyptian carved limestone fragment from the Ptolemaic period, third century B.C., sold for $57,500 to an international buyer after several minutes of competition from eight telephone bidders. Mr. Stickelber purchased the object from Jean-Loup Despras in Paris.

An eighteenth century lacquered commode from the workshop of Andre-Antoine Lardin and Claude-Charles Saunier sold for $56,250 to a Luxembourg buyer. Demand for other French furniture from the 18th through 20th centuries was also exceptional. A Louis XVI style parlor suite upholstered in faux tiger velvet estimated at $2,000/4,000 soared past its estimate, bringing $22,500 to a Canadian private collector. A set of twelve painted dining chairs with leather upholstery, estimated at $1,500/2,500 sold for $18,750.

A yellow gold Cartier tank wristwatch owned by Andy Warhol, which Mr. Stickelber purchased from the 1988 Sotheby’s auction of Warhol’s collection, sold for $10,625. Stickelber paid $4,950 for the watch in 1988.

“It was such a pleasure to work with this lovely property,” said Leslie Hindman. “People from all over the country called to tell us how fondly they remembered David. Kansas City is full of great old families and we look forward to expanding our presence there.”


• Leslie Hindman Auctioneers to sell Andy Warhol’s Cartier Wristwatch



“I don’t wear a Tank watch to tell the time. In fact, I never wind it. I wear a Tank watch because it’s the watch to wear.” -Andy Warhol, 1973

On November 8, 2012, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers will sell Andy Warhol’s personal timepiece, an 18 karat yellow gold Cartier Tank Solo with a black crocodile strap. The watch, estimated at $1,500/2,500, is part of the house’s auction of Property from the Estate of David Stickelber of Kansas City, Missouri.

Mr. Stickelber acquired the timepiece at the 1988 Sotheby’s auction of The Andy Warhol Collection. Warhol’s six-story Manhattan townhouse confirmed what many of his close friends already knew: he was a legendary hoarder. The ten-day auction of the contents of the home included everything from Jean Emile Puiforcat silver and Pierre Legrain console tables to bags of costume jewelry and cookie jars, many of which had never been unpacked after Warhol’s move to the house in 1974.

Mr. Stickelber displayed the watch in an illuminated shadow box frame with a copy of the catalogue for the Jewelry and Watches auction of The Andy Warhol Collection. The frame also includes its original lot sticker and tag from the auction preview. Preview exhibition of property from the Estate of David Stickelber will be held November 3 through November 7 at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, 1338 West Lake Street, Chicago, Illinois.

For three decades, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers has been an industry leader combining recognition as one of the Nation’s leading fine art auctioneers with a global reach of buyers. Founded in 1982, sold to Sotheby’s in 1997 and reopened in 2003, Leslie Hindman has remained a constant force behind high profile auctions of everything from contemporary paintings and fine jewelry to French furniture and rare books and manuscripts. Leslie Hindman Auctioneers always maintains a practice of achieving the highest prices while maintaining exemplary levels of integrity and customer service.


• Rare Books from Beloved Highland Park Bookstore at Auction



Rare Books from Beloved Highland Park Bookstore at Auction
Property from Florence Shay’s Titles, Inc. at Auction

(Chicago) October 30, 2012 - “There is something about a bookstore that makes everybody comfortable,” said veteran bookseller Florence Shay in an interview with the ABAA. “[Customers] unburden themselves and tell me their problems and I tell them exactly what to do – Come back!” And that is just what they did for 40 years; people came to Florence’s beloved rare bookstore, Titles, Inc., situated in downtown Highland Park, and enjoyed her constant presence and cheerful conversation. The space has a very intimate feel, with custom shelves lining the walls, leather bounds and high spots elevated in the back, and displays of Americana and Children’s literature and nick-knacks on tables down the center. It was here that Florence made her customers feel at home, relaxed, and among friends.

On August 22, 2012, Florence Shay passed away at 90, leaving behind her husband, renowned Chicago photographer, Art Shay, four children, six grandchildren, one great grandchild and Titles, Inc., which is one of the oldest retail establishments in downtown Highland Park. Loved and respected by all who were lucky to know her, Florence grew her bookstore from the ground up and stocked it according to her own interests, including miniature books, children’s books, art books, Chicago/Americana and modern first editions; she maintained a strong presence in both national and international booksellers organizations, including ILAB and the ABAA, and evolved with the times by placing her inventory online, while still keeping an open shop.

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers will offer over 200 lots of rare books from Titles, Inc. at auction November 7 at 1338 West Lake Street, Chicago, Illinois. A public preview of the items will be held Saturday through Tuesday at the auction house and a fully illustrated catalogue is available online at www.lesliehindman.com. The remaining inventory will be sold on-site at Titles, Inc. in Highland Park, December 6-9. Please contact Mary Kohnke for more details at 312.334.4236 or .

CHICAGO | 312.280.1212 | www.lesliehindman.com

For three decades, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers has been an industry leader combining recognition as one of the Nation’s leading fine art auctioneers with a global reach of buyers. Founded in 1982, sold to Sotheby’s in 1997 and reopened in 2003, Leslie Hindman has remained a constant force behind high profile auctions of everything from contemporary paintings and fine jewelry to French furniture and rare books and manuscripts and always maintains a practice of achieving the highest prices while maintaining the highest levels of integrity and customer service.


• Howard Hughes’ Around-the-World Flight Archive on the Block at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers



An important collection of Howard Hughes artifacts will be sold at auction November 7 at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, documenting Hughes’ record-setting Around-the-World flight. The collection was compiled by Hughes’ flight operations manager, Al Lodwick, who was responsible for mapping the route, making contact with government officials and airport managers to ensure that Hughes would be allowed to land, and arranging for refueling and repairs as necessary. Following a renewed interest in the early aviation exploits of the notoriously eccentric millionaire, the unprecedented archive is expected to achieve well over $15,000 at auction.

Stops were made in Paris, Moscow, Takutsk (Siberia) and Fairbanks, before the return to an homecoming parade in New York. A number of important official documents are included in the collection that were carried by Hughes in-flight, including US Department of Commerce authorizations for foreign flight, permits from the Irish Free State to carry weapons, certificates of insurance, customs clearances, and two letters signed by Howard Hughes, written in Russian, to be presented as letters of credit to Russian officials.

The flight coupled as an extensive marketing campaign for the New York World’s Fair and the progress of aviation science in the US, and Al Lodwick documented all of the spirited receptions in numerous black and white photographs. Among these is a photograph of Hughes and his flight crew bearing the signatures of all. Also included are a number of unaddressed covers, including four signed by Howard Hughes and one signed by Hughes and his whole crew. Lodwick was also presented with a sparkplug from the flight, which will also be offered for sale and, being one of the only artifacts from the plane itself, is expected to greatly exceed its $1-2,000 presale estimate.

The most important item in the collection was labeled by the media as Hughes’ “Little Black Book,” a bible of factual data and speech materials carried by the aviator throughout his flight. The small binder, compiled for Hughes’ personal use, includes everything one might need on an Around-the-World flight: a series of questions and statements in English and Russian, should the plane be forced to land, including “Please give us food,” “Where can we find an air pump,” or “I am Howard Hughes, an American, and these are members of my crew”; numerous facts about the American aviation industry and the technology behind Hughes’ Lockheed, to impress his colleagues abroad; detailed facts about France, Germany, Poland, USSR and the other countries they would be visiting or flying over; preparations made for landing in Paris, Winnepeg, Edmonton and Fairbanks; numerous pages of airplane radio communication instructions; and prepared welcome speeches for each of his stops. In keeping with the marketing purpose of the expedition, each speech included an invitation on behalf of Grover A. Whalen, to the upcoming New York World’s Fair of 1939.

The items will be available for public viewing Saturday, November 3, to Tuesday, November 6, with the sale taking place on-site at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers Wednesday, November 7 at 10am CST. Please view the fully illustrated catalogue online at www.lesliehindman.com.

For three decades, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers has been an industry leader combining recognition as one of the Nation’s leading fine art auctioneers with a global reach of buyers. Founded in 1982, sold to Sotheby’s in 1997 and reopened in 2003, Leslie Hindman has remained a constant force behind high profile auctions of everything from contemporary paintings and fine jewelry to French furniture and rare books and manuscripts and always maintains a practice of achieving the highest prices while maintaining the highest levels of integrity and customer service.












• Prominent Kansas City Patron of the Arts’ Estate to be Sold by Leslie Hindman Auctioneers



PROMINENT KANSAS CITY PATRON OF THE ARTS’ ESTATE TO BE SOLD BY LESLIE HINDMAN AUCTIONEERS
Property from the Estate of David A. Stickelber to be auctioned on November 8, 2012

Chicago, Illinois – October 9, 2012
Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, one of the nation’s leading auction houses, is pleased to announce a single-owner auction of property from the Estate of David A. Stickelber. The auction imparts all the style of one of Kansas City’s leading performing and visual arts advocates, as well as of an accomplished businessman and a gracious host. Mr. Stickelber is perhaps remembered best by the enthusiasm with which he entertained, whether informally or in grand fashion at his Southmoreland, Kansas City home.

David Stickelber was born in 1928 in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Merlin A. and Marion Cronin Stickelber. After attending Georgetown University, Mr. Stickelber took over his father’s business, M.A. Stickelber and Sons, which manufactured equipment used by the baking industry. Throughout his life he assembled this graceful collection of 18th and 19th century French and English furniture, fine silver, objets de vertu, South and Southeast Asian antiquities, paintings, prints, and sculpture.

“David Stickelber had exceptional taste,” says Leslie Hindman, President and CEO. “He was incredibly well-known in Kansas City and made an enormous impact on the local arts community. As we learned more about his life through publicizing this auction, we were delighted to hear from many people who knew and respected him. Kansas City is emerging as an important market for us and it is our pleasure to offer his collection in a single-owner auction that is truly reflective of his style.”

Mr. Stickelber was trained as a pianist and versed in classical music as well as opera. Inspired by a former Georgetown classmate who was administrator of the Chicago Lyric Opera and later the Dallas Opera, Stickelber rallied other enthusiastic Kansas Citians to launch the Performing Arts Foundation. The organization’s goal was to bring one high-profile musical production or opera each year to Kansas City, and it can be credited with drawing such luminaries as Kitty Carlisle and Maria Callas to the Midwest. These shows were highlights of Kansas City’s arts scene for more than two decades. During those same years, Mr. Stickelber became a leading supporter of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. He was eventually appointed a Mary Atkins Trustee of the museum, and co-founded the Atkins Series which took advantage of his many friendships and connections in New York.

Mr. Stickelber’s collection embodies his appreciation for the arts as well as his love of hosting friends. We are honored to have the opportunity to work with the prominent members of the Kansas City community who knew him, and to handle the property from his estate.

Public preview for the sale will be held Saturday, November 3, 10:00a.m.-3:00p.m.; Sunday, November 4, 12:00p.m.-4:00p.m.; and Monday-Wednesday, November 5-7, 10:00a.m.- 5:00p.m. For more information about the auction, preview days or to schedule an appointment for a complimentary auction appraisal, please contact Leslie Hindman at 312-280-1212.


• Americana leads Hindman’s August 8th Fine Books and Manuscripts Auction



Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ August 8th Fine Books and Manuscripts auction was a great success, thanks to competitive bidding online, on the telephones and in the full house. The majority of the many highlights hailed from private Midwest collections.

John James Audubon led the auction, with a rare studio proof of The Great Blue Heron, Plate CCXI, selling for $85,400, and a small watercolor chipmunk, likely an early study attributed to Audubon, exceeding its conservative $4,000-6,000 presale estimate and selling for a surprising $10,370.

Records were set in Americana, including a three-volume set of original photographs of the Columbian Exposition by C.D. Arnold, which brought $5,612 against a pre-sale estimate of $1,000-2,000, and Nicolay and Hay’s Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln, bound by the Monastery Hill Bindery and embellished with 142 autographed letters and documents, which sold for an unprecedented $54,900.

Other featured books and manuscripts in the sale included a fine copy of Isaac Newton’s Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica, the Third edition, 1726, a presentation copy from Bern Dibner of the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology at the Smithsonian Institute, $18,300; Derriere le miroir, Numbers 66-67-68, 1954, complete with 11 lithographs by Marc Chagall, $10,370; Continental Army discharge papers signed by George Washington, June 6, 1783, $9,760; and the first folio bible printed in the United States, by Isaiah Thomas, brought $6,100 against a presale estimate of $800-1,200.

Rounding out the sale highlights were a pair of Indian miniatures in the Mughal style depicting royal subjects and enclosed in ornate gilt borders, which brought an impressive $15,860 against a presale estimate of $1,000-2,000 thanks to active overseas bidding by telephone.

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers is currently accepting consignments through September 19th for the upcoming November 7th auction. CHICAGO | 312.280.1212 | www.lesliehindman.com

For three decades, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers has been an industry leader combining recognition as one of the nation’s foremost fine art auctioneers with a global base of buyers. Founded in 1982, sold to Sotheby’s in 1997 and reopened in 2003, Leslie Hindman has remained a constant force behind high profile auctions of everything from contemporary paintings and fine jewelry to French furniture and rare books and manuscripts, and always achieves the highest prices while maintaining the highest levels of integrity and customer service.


• Trader Vic’s Tikis to be Sold in Leslie Hindman Auctioneers Marketplace Auction |  August 22-23



Chicago, Illinois – August 3, 2012

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers is pleased to announce items from Trader Vic’s Chicago location. The Polynesian themed restaurant known for combining tropical drinks and elaborate South Pacific décor was a Chicago staple at the Palmer House Hilton from 1957-2005, later reopening in 2008-2011 at the Newberry Plaza.

Highlights of the sale are a variety of carved wood Tiki totems including an Easter Island style Tiki head that stood at the entrance of Trader Vic’s at the Palmer House Hilton ($1,000/2,000), a tortoise shell ($300/500) and three Pacific giant clam shells ($800/1,200).

The auction preview will be open on Sunday, August 19 from 12pm to 4pm, Monday, August 20 through Thursday, August 23 from 10am to 5pm. The auction will take place at 10am on Wednesday and Thursday, August 22-23.

PH 312.280.1212     WWW.LESLIEHINDMAN.COM

For over three decades, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers has been an industry leader combining recognition as one of the nation’s foremost fine art auctioneers with a global base of buyers. Founded in 1982, sold to Sotheby’s in 1997 and reopened in 2003, Leslie Hindman has remained a constant force behind high profile auctions of everything from contemporary paintings and fine jewelry to French furniture and rare books and manuscripts, and always achieves the highest prices while maintaining the highest levels of integrity and customer service.



A Carved Wood Easter Island Style Tiki Head, $1,000-2,000



Three Pacific Giant Clam Shells, $800-1,200



A Tortoise Shell, $300-500



A Carved Wood Tiki Totem, $200-400



A Burlwood Low Table, $800-1,200




• Lincoln, Newton and Charlie Brown on the Block August 8th at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers



For natural history print collectors, the auction includes a unique proof copy of Audubon’s Great Blue Heron, from The Birds of America ($80,000-$120,000). Other Audubon prints from The Birds of America include The Large Billed Puffin, Wilson’s Phalarope, and Sooty Tern, and from the Quadrupeds of North America, a rare study of Townsend’s Ground Squirrel, attributed to Audubon, that is expected to exceed its preliminary estimate of $4,000-6,000. The highlight of the History of Science session is an exceptional copy of Isaac Newton’s Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica that was gifted to the present owners by Bern Dibner of the Dibner Library of Science and Technology, and is expected to sell for over $15,000.

High spots of Americana include a reverse glass painted and mother-of-pearl inlaid train sign made for the Rock Island System Railroad. The sign, one of 50 created in the late nineteenth-century, is estimated at $20,000-$30,000. Presidential autograph collectors will be enticed by Continental Army discharge papers signed by George Washington ($6,000-$8,000), a ship’s passport signed by Andrew Jackson ($1,000-2,000), and the Complete Works of Lincoln which includes 142 presidential and political autographed documents, estimated at $25,000-$30,000.

Other highlights include illuminated manuscripts from the collection of David H. Gee; illustration and animation art, featuring an original Charles Schulz Peanuts comic strip ($10,000-$15,000); a first edition of Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea ($2,000-$4,000); and a significant collection of rare bibles and theological works from the library of Herman Blum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Public previews for the auction will be held on Sunday, August 5, 12pm – 4pm, Monday, August 6, 10am – 5pm, and Tuesday, August 7, 10pm – 5pm. A fully illustrated catalogue is available at www.lesliehindman.com. For questions regarding the upcoming auction, please contact Mary Kohnke at 312.334.4236 or .

CHICAGO | 312.280.1212 | www.lesliehindman.com

For three decades, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers has been an industry leader combining recognition as one of the nation’s foremost fine art auctioneers with a global base of buyers. Founded in 1982, sold to Sotheby’s in 1997 and reopened in 2003, Leslie Hindman has remained a constant force behind high profile auctions of everything from contemporary paintings and fine jewelry to French furniture and rare books and manuscripts, and always achieves the highest prices while maintaining the highest levels of integrity and customer service.


• Fine Jewelry and Timepieces Summer Auction Realizes Over $2.6 Million



CHICAGO — Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ auction on June 10-11, 2012 saw international competition from hundreds of bidders in the salesroom, on the telephones, and via the internet. The auction showcased many signed pieces by some of the world’s most important makers, including Cartier, David Webb, Harry Winston, Patek Philippe, Tiffany & Co. and Van Cleef & Arpels.

Strong international competition resulted in a successful auction total of over $2.6 million against a pre-sale estimate of $1.4 - 2.2 million.

Interest in natural pearls is strong, with international collectors fiercely competing for quality pieces. An Art Deco Platinum, Onyx and Natural Pearl Necklace sold for well above its estimate at $388,000.

Fine gemstones drew the attention of several bidders; one in particular was a Sapphire and Diamond Floral Brooch by Tiffany & Co. This beautiful statement piece claimed an impressive $128,100, when it had pre-sale estimate of $15,000-20,000.

Diamond rings were among the top lots in the auction after capturing bidders’ attention. The leading was an oval 7.06 carat brilliant cut diamond ring, with two triangular cut diamonds selling for $146,400. The following was an important Art Deco 5.65 carat Old European cut diamond ring that brought $73,200.

“It seems that the more volatile the economy gets, the stronger the jewelry market becomes,” says Leslie Hindman, President /CEO. “We were delighted with the results of this sale.”

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ next Fine Jewelry and Timepieces auction will be held on September 9-10, 2012. Consignments are invited for upcoming auctions. Contact Jamie Henderson at 312.334.4226 for more information.



Art Deco Platinum, Onyx and Natural Pearl Necklace sold for $388,000



A Sapphire and Diamond Floral Brooch by Tiffany & Co. sold for $128,100



A Sapphire and Diamond Floral Brooch by Tiffany & Co. sold for $128,100



An Important Art Deco 5.65 Carat Old European Cut Diamond Ring sold for $73,200



• Announcing Two-Day Auction of Inventory from Eron Johnson Antiques June 23-24



Denver, Colorado - May 24, 2012 - Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, one of the nation’s leading fine art auction firms, is delighted to conduct an auction and tag sale of inventory from Eron Johnson Antiques, Ltd. This unprecedented auction and tag sale, being held in Denver on June 23rd and 24th, will include over 1000 lots of antique furniture and decorative art belonging to one of the preeminent dealers in the West. The inventory features 17th, 18th,19th and 20th Century English, Continental and American furniture and decorative arts, European and American paintings and prints, Asian works of art, architectural antiques including American and European garden statuary and fountains, marble, limestone and carved wood fireplace surrounds, wrought iron, interior and exterior lighting, doors and much more.

Eron Johnson Antiques is known amongst the collector and design community worldwide. The esteemed antiques purveyor opened his 20,000 square foot showroom in 1995. In 2008, the firm opened a second 30,000 square foot warehouse to house the extensive selection of architectural salvage purchased by Johnson from all over the globe. After over 30 years in the antiques business, Eron Johnson has decided to refocus and streamline his inventory. “I have enjoyed buying and selling fine furnishings and decorative arts for most of my life and I have watched many trends in design and collecting come and go. Over the next few months, we will be recreating the Eron Johnson name, incorporating ‘Centuries of Design’. We will continue to deal in antiques and decorative arts spanning the 17th to 19th centuries, while expanding and diversifying our inventory to include everything from fantastic relics of antiquity to high-end, iconic mid-century modern furnishings and contemporary art. I am looking forward to working with Leslie Hindman Auctioneers and beginning this transformation towards a more design-focused look,” says Eron Johnson, owner of Eron Johnson Antiques, Ltd. “We are honored Eron Johnson contacted our firm with this exciting sale opportunity,” says Leslie Hindman, president and CEO of the auction house.

Auction
Highlights among the over 1000 lots in the auction include a Biedermeier style inlaid birch settee, circa 1820; an Italian Empire style marble top inlaid fruitwood commode, circa 1790; a Dutch marquetry mahogany center table, circa 1850; an Adams style giltwood oval mirror, circa 1890 and a Swedish Mora style painted tallcase clock, circa 1840. Also being featured is a Contemporary gilt mounted rock crystal horn on stand; a19th century French sterling silver figural pepper mill, depicting cherubs; a Tiffany & Co. sterling silver jersey cream jug, circa 1920; a George III sterling silver sugar tongs, Hester Bateman, circa 1790; a Chinese Qing Jiangxi province baluster vase, circa 1880; a Sévres style porcelain five-light chandelier, circa 1900; a monumental marble sculpture by Henri Crenier, a Baccarat Napoleon III crystal 24 light chandelier, circa 1876 and a 19th century Meissen porcelain desk set. Among the architectural highlights in the auction is a French Rouge Royale marble fireplace surround, circa 1870 and an American carved marble figure of Eve by Thomas Ball dated 1867.


• Bouguereau Paintings Sell For $1.2 Million in Leslie Hindman Auctioneers 19th Century Paintings Sale



Chicago, Illinois – May 4, 2012

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers held their Spring auction of Contemporary, Modern, American and European art on Wednesday, May 2nd. With a filled auction room of private collectors, dealers and very active telephone and online bidders, the sale was a resounding success.

The European and Old Master paintings session realized a total of $2.87 million. Much of the auction’s success can be attributed to the collection from the Lucie Sable Sandler Trust, which included two paintings by William Adolphe Bouguereau that brought a combined $1.2 million with premium. Each of the Bouguereau paintings went to successful international bidders from the United Kingdom. Also from the Sandler Trust, Konstantin Egorovich Makovsky’s Woman in a White Hat, sold to an East Coast buyer for $292,000.

In addition to realizing strong prices, the sale set auction records. Salvatore Marchesi’s Altar Boys achieved the highest price at auction for the artist. The painting sold for $36,600 against an estimate of $15-25,000. A record was set for the third highest price for an Antoine Blanchard painting, when a street scene realized $31,720. Additionally, sixteen international bidders from eight countries competed for works by Hermann David Salomon Corrodi, one of which brought $219,600, a price among the artist’s top ten records at auction.

The American Art session opened to a crowded auction room, bringing $902,353 against a presale estimate of $542,500-840,700. Competitive bidding on Asher Brown Durand’s Guard House, Catskill Mountains, which had remained in private hands for the last sixty years, drove the sale price to $146,400, the artist’s third highest auction price. Eight bidders competed for Leroy Neiman’s 1961 Vegas, which blew past the previous auction record and sold for $173,600 to a private collector in Minnesota. In addition, a rare Chicago scene by Guy Wiggins sold for $46,360.




• Totals at Regional Auction Houses Show Strength



It is easy to look at Christie's February report that it had a company record $5.7 billion in sales in 2011 and Sotheby's report of $5.8 billion in sales and think that all the action is taking place at just a few auction houses and in a few locations. In fact, the party is also going on at a number of regional auctioneers around the country and may indicate the growing strength of the art market, matching and in some cases exceeding the go-go period up to 2007.

Los Angeles Modern Auctions, for instance, earned "$8.5 million in sales in 2011, nearly doubling the previous record of $4.5 million set in 2008," according to Elizabeth Portanova, a spokeswoman for the 20-year-old auction house. She claimed that years of marketing its specialized niche in 20th-century art and design have led to more buyers and sellers who know and trust its brand. "People are consigning to us more and more valuable and rare pieces," she noted, adding that fine art auctions have come to dominate its business in terms of the proportion and value of its sales.

Auction sales last year at LAMA generated record prices for a work in Robert Rauschenberg's mounted color lithograph series "Sling Shots Lit," which brought $68,750 (est. $30,000/ 50,000), and for artist Reg Butler for his 1952-53 maquette The Unknown Political Prisoner, which sold for $125,000 (est. $20,000/ 30,000).

At Shannon's Fine Art Auctioneers in Milford, Connecticut, now in its 15th year, 2011 was also its best year, earning $7.6 million, ahead of 2010's $7 million and 2007's $7.2 million, according to owner Gene Shannon. He credited the strong year to the April 2011 American and European art auction, which contained a number of Pop Art pieces consigned from a nonprofit organization that "brought in a lot of people who were unknown to us, and we were unknown to them." These new buyers helped the sale earn $5.1 million.

Among the notable sales in that April auction were a 1965 color screenprint by Roy Lich-tenstein that sold for $120,000 (est. $40,000/60,000), and Marisol Escobar's Zoot, an undated painted wood sculpture that sold for $92,200 (est. $40,000/60,000).

The still uncertain economy has actually helped matters, Shannon stated, since "people have money and need to park it somewhere" until bank interest rates improve and the stock market provides steadier rates of return. "I've had a few buyers tell me that their financial advisors are telling them to put ten percent of their assets in art."

Dallas-based Heritage Auctions also has seen "a big desire to invest wealth into tangible assets," according to a spokesman, who noted that 2011 was the auction house's best ever year, earning just over $806 million, a 19% increase over 2010's $677 million and 10% higher than Heritage's previous best, $727 million in 2009. Increases in earnings were "spread evenly across the categories," he said, including jewelry ($17.4 million, more than double 2010's record year); international coins ($39.45 million, a 60% jump over 2010's record year); decorative arts and silver ($7.43 million, doubling its previous best); weekly U.S. coin Internet-only auctions ($22 million, a record total and an 80% increase over 2010); and showroom U.S. coin auctions ($5,340,889, a record total and a 70% increase over 2010).

The good times were evident at Skinner in Boston and at Doyle New York. Skinner's 2011 was its "strongest year ever," according to a spokeswoman, with a 7% increase over 2010 and a 4% net increase over 2007, the company's previous best year.

Among the year's sales highlights was a 1786 painting of 14-year-old Abigail Rose that sold for $1,271,000 (est. $150,000/ 250,000) in November 2011, setting a new record for American folk art portraiture at an American furniture and decorative arts sale. A June 2011 sale of Asian works of art that earned $6.1 million (with 94% of the 1748 lots finding buyers) was Skinner's second-highest-grossing sale in its 40-year history. Every department had a strong showing, but leading the pack was jewelry, attributed in part to the price increases in the metals market.

At Doyle New York, sales increased 27% in 2011 over 2010, which had been the auction house's best year to date, according to senior vice-president Louis Webre, who stated that the auction house does not publicly release its corporate revenues. Just as at Skinner, jewelry was the auction house's leading category. "It was unbelievably strong; I'd call it recession-proof." But another reason for the stronger earnings was the increase in buying by Chinese collectors for Asian and other higher-end works of art. "It is a challenge for collectors from other parts of the world to compete with the sheer number and deep pockets of Chinese collectors," Webre said.

Like Skinner and Doyle New York, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers in Chicago doesn't release its yearly totals, although company president Leslie Hindman said that the auction house earned "in excess of $40 million," which was a 72.4% increase over 2010, making 2011 its best year. She also credited the "huge increase" in Asian buyers as leading to more bidding and higher prices. Hindman has reached new buyers and consignors in the U.S. as a result of the auction house's establishing sales offices within the past few years in Florida (Naples and Palm Beach), Denver, and Milwaukee. "We're getting better and better property, and our gross totals are reflecting that."

At Grogan & Company, Dedham, Massachusetts, auction house president Michael Grogan reported a strong 2011 ($6.2 million, well ahead of 2010's $4 million—"I can't remember the 1990's, but 2011 was certainly our best year in a long time, if not ever"). He claimed that was attributable not as much to investors needing a place to park their money or to an influx of Asian collectors as to "the fact that Christie's and Sotheby's keep raising the bar. People tell us that the message they get from Christie's and Sotheby's is they don't want items under ten thousand dollars. Our wheelhouse, our average price per lot, is two thousand dollars." As a result, Grogan & Company sold more lots (2800 in 2011 compared to 2600 in 2010) and more expensive lots that the largest auction houses didn't want to handle.

Grogan noted that Christie's and Sotheby's have helped him and other regional auctioneers in another way. "They've done a very good job of promoting themselves at the top end, for being transparent and an easy way to sell and getting good prices, and that has helped us at our end too. More product is coming through us that might have gone to art and antiques galleries."

Not every auction house had uniformly stronger sales in 2011, and some continued to struggle. Daile Kaplan, director of photographs and photo books at Swann Galleries in New York City, noted that photography has become "a crowded marketplace" and that what she described as the "middle market" is "in flux." She noted, however, that sales have been "more robust" in the past year, which "corresponds to the economy or the perception of the economy, and also the art market's relationship to the equity markets."

In the photography market, Kaplan claimed, "The past few sales realized more world-auction records than during any prior season." The sale of Andrew J. Russell's 107-photograph album of Civil War images in December 2011 brought $156,000 (est. $50,000/ 75,000), making it the photography department's top lot of the year. In October 2011, a 1982 retrospective portfolio of 50 black-and-white prints by Berenice Abbott earned $90,000 (est. $90,000/120,000), which set a world record for this portfolio, and a record price of $66,000 (est. $14,000/18,000) was paid for Edward Curtis's 1906 orotone Canyon del Muerto. Still, in that October sale, only 38% of the 327 lots found buyers, and the auction earned just over $1.2 million, which was below the presale estimate.



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• Bookman’s Alley Autographs at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers



There is no doubt about it – Chicago is going to miss Bookman’s Alley. When the owner of the beloved Evanston rare bookstore, Roger Carlson, announced he would be quietly closing shop this Spring, it made the national news. Bookman’s Alley is one of the few rare bookstores in the country that has managed to remain open without the aid of internet sales, making it, also, one of the only rare bookstores where one can still get lost in the stacks and find a hidden treasure! Carlson’s devoted regulars would spend hours settled into one of the comfy couches surrounded by his nick-knacks (which include a taxidermy cat with a football helmet) listening to jazz or perhaps a live performance on the upright piano.

Donning the walls of Bookman’s Alley for the last three decades were numerous autographed quotations, letters and postcards from some of history’s most celebrated authors, musicians, and historical figures. On April 4th, the public will have the opportunity to bid on the autographs, which will be offered at auction by Leslie Hindman Auctioneers as the first 25 lots of the Spring Fine Books and Manuscripts auction.

Hand-picked by Carlson, for their content, rarity and wittiness, the collection boasts a number of impressive items, such as a rare postcard sent from F. Scott Fitzgerald while in “The Sahara,” stating: “ ‘The Sahara’ will reach me – or ‘Sheik Fitzgerald – Africa’,” with an original photograph of Scott and Zelda atop camels; a rare photograph of Joseph Conrad taken by Malcolm Arbuthnot signed by both photographer and author; a pension document signed by Napoleon granting the wife of a former general 200 francs; a hand-written letter from Nathaniel Hawthorne to a magazine stating he wishes to repay his $3 debt to them prior to leaving the country; and a hand-written note from John Philip Sousa to a young musician, giving advice as to which instrument he should pursue and, regardless of the choice, “stick to it.”

Together with the autographs are two high spots of literature, specifically the first Latin edition Systema cosmicum, Galileo’s advancement of the Copernican system that was notoriously placed on the Vatican’s list of outlawed books, and a fine first edition, first issue, of Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

An exhibition will be open to the public on Saturday, March 31, 10am – 3pm, Sunday, April 1, 12pm – 5pm, Monday, April 2, 10am – 5pm, and Tuesday, April 3, 10am – 5pm. For further information regarding the sale, please contact Mary Williams Kohnke at 312.334.4236 or visit our website at www.lesliehindman.com.


• The Anne S. and Robert E. Clay Collection of Native American Art Up for Auction at Denver Saleroom



The Anne S. and Robert E. Clay Collection of Native American Art Up For Auction At Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ New Denver Saleroom

Denver, Colorado – February 29, 2012 – Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, is pleased to announce The Anne S. and Robert E. Clay Collection of Native American Art is scheduled to be up for auction in the company’s Denver saleroom on March 11, 2012 beginning at 12 pm MDT. The auction house is located in Denver’s Golden Triangle, 960 Cherokee Street, situated just blocks away from the Denver Art Museum and the new Clyfford Still Museum. The Collection includes over 300 lots of Pueblo pottery, Navajo weavings and Southwestern jewelry. Mr. and Mrs. Clay were active members of the Douglas Society at the Denver Art Museum. Over the years the Clays made donations from their collection to the Denver Art Museum and The Wheelwright Museum in Santa Fe and loans to other institutions in the area.

Mr. and Mrs. Clay began collecting on a trip to New Mexico where they gained a lifelong appreciation of Native American Art. They emerged as enthusiastic collectors with a devotion to the modern masters of Pueblo pottery, Navajo weavings and Southwestern jewelry. As their collection became more sophisticated, they developed strong relationships with respected curators, dealers, and artists in the Southwest. The couple faithfully attended and volunteered at the Indian Market in Santa Fe for 30 years. Several of the items in the collection are works commissioned directly from artists they met personally and have never been seen by the public.

The Clay Collection includes pottery by acknowledged 20th century master potters such as Tony Da, Margaret Tafoya, Helen Cordera, Helen Shupla, Grace Medicine Flower, Helen Naha and Nathan Youngblood to name a few. Among the highlights of the pottery grouping is a San Ildefonso Pueblo Plate, buff ground having heart line deer in sgraffito with three turquoise inlay cabochon stones, by Tony Da, 10” diameter ($12/15,000) and a Santa Clara, undecorated Olla storage jar, signed Margaret Tafoya ($8/10,000). Also included in this single-owner sale is a nice selection of works by artists such as Rose Mike, Julia Jumbo, Clara Sherman, Ruby Manuelito, Daisy Taugleche and Elsie Jim. Examples of available weavings are a Two Grey Hills, in geometric design with butterflies on brown ground, two shades of grey, black, white and tan, by Clara Sherman, measuring 35” x 62”inches ($2/2,500) and a Sandpainting, depicting Whirling Log design with four sacred plants and Yei figure, in natural and analine dyes, by Ruby Manuelito measuring 42”x 41” ($4/6,000). Featured among the over 100 lots of fine Southwestern jewelry being offered are works by Charles Loloma, Harvey Begay, Mark Chee, Julian Lavato, Marie Lovato, Jimmy King Jr. and many more. Highlighting the jewelry are several works by famed Hopi spiritual leader, jeweler and artist, Charles Loloma (1921-1991). Among these important offerings are a Hopi, sterling silver bolo tie, inlaid with gold accents, coral, ivory, turquoise, wood and lapis, signed Loloma ($6/8,000), a Hopi sterling silver bolo tie, in a Kachina Mask design, inlaid with wood, turquoise, coral, lapis, ivory and silver accents with silver tips signed Loloma ($5/7,000), a Hopi, sterling silver belt buckle, inlaid with ironwood, turquoise, coral, lapis and ivory, signed Loloma ($6/8,000), and a Hopi, 18K gold ladies’ Sand Cast ring, with large turquoise stone in a prong setting, signed Loloma. Also of note is a Navajo, 14K gold Tufa Cast bracelet, with undulating edges, set with oval shaped cabochon turquoise, signed HB for Harvey Begay ($5/7,000).

The exhibition will open be to the public on Wednesday, March 7, 12 pm - 4 pm, Thursday, March 8, 10 am - 5 pm, Friday, March 9, 10 am - 5 pm and Saturday, March 10, 10 am – 3 pm. For further information regarding this sale, please call 303.825.1855 or visit our website at http://www.lesliehindman.com.

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For three decades, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers has been an industry leader combining recognition as one of the nation’s leading fine art auctioneers with a global base of buyers. Founded in 1982, sold to Sotheby’s in 1997 and reopened in 2003, Leslie Hindman has remained a constant force behind high profile auctions of everything from contemporary paintings and fine jewelry to French furniture and rare books and manuscripts, and always achieves the highest prices while maintaining the highest levels of integrity and customer service.


• Leslie Hindman Auctioneers Expands to West and Southwest Region with New Office in Denver, Colorado



Leslie Hindman Auctioneers Expands to West and Southwest Region with New Office and Saleroom in Denver, Colorado

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers Opening in Denver’s Golden Triangle This February

Chicago, Illinois – February 23, 2012 – Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, one of the nation’s leading fine art auction firms, announces the February opening of a new auction facility in Denver, Colorado. The office is located in Denver’s Golden Triangle, 960 Cherokee Street, situated just blocks away from the Denver Art Museum and the new Clyfford Still Museum. Leslie Hindman Auctioneers has been in expansion mode over the past two years opening salerooms in Naples, Palm Beach, Milwaukee, Denver and coming soon to New Orleans.

“The current market is creating the perfect environment for the expansion of our firm,” says Leslie Hindman, CEO/President of the firm bearing her name.  “People are interested in selling their valuable personal property in an effort to raise capital or retire debt.  Additionally, the influence of the global art market and strong prices realized have resulted in consecutive record years for our company.”  “We are delighted to better serve our clients in the West and Southwest, both buyers and sellers, by being available and in closer proximity” says Jim Sharp, Director of Regional Offices.

The Anne S. and Robert E. Clay Collection of Native American Art is scheduled to go on the block at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ Denver saleroom on March 11, 2012. The sale will include over 300 lots of Pueblo pottery, Navajo rugs and Southwestern jewelry.   Mr. and Mrs. Clay were active members of the Douglas Society at the Denver Art Museum.  Over the years the Clays made donations from their collection to the Denver Art Museum, The Wheelwright Museum in Santa Fe and made loans to other institutions in the area.

The Denver office representatives, Maron Hindman and Annie McLagan, both worked previously with Leslie Hindman Auctioneers in Chicago.  Ms. McLagan was a Director of Salvage One in 1984-1995, then the largest antique architectural salvage company in America and owned by Leslie Hindman.  Ms. McLagan relocated to Denver with her family.  She has been involved as the representative for Leslie Hindman Auctioneers since then.  Maron Hindman was the Director of Marketing at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers in Chicago from 1988-1996 before relocating to Denver in 2010.

The Denver facility will be fully supported by Hindman’s specialists in each department including: Fine Art, Jewelry and Timepieces, Books and Manuscripts, Asian Works of Art, Furniture and Decorative Arts and Vintage Couture and Accessories. The saleroom will hold three auctions a year and regular appraisal appointments. To view information on the forthcoming auction and appraisal schedule, please visit www.lesliehindman.com.

About Leslie Hindman Auctioneers

For three decades, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers has been an industry leader combining recognition as one of the nation’s foremost fine art auctioneers with a global base of buyers. Founded in 1982, sold to Sotheby’s in 1997 and reopened in 2003, Leslie Hindman has remained a constant force behind high profile auctions of everything from contemporary paintings and fine jewelry to French furniture and rare books and manuscripts, and always achieves the highest prices while maintaining the highest levels of integrity and
customer service.

• Leslie Hindman Auctioneers bids to fill market niche



http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/leslie-hindman-auctioneers-bids-to-fill-market-niche-2152345.html

Of the $40 million in annual sales that Leslie Hindman Auctioneers has tallied up in recent years, about 10 percent of that total alone came from jewelry consigned by customers in Palm Beach and the surrounding area.

“We needed to be in Palm Beach,” said Leslie Hindman, president and chief executive officer of the Chicago auction house she founded. “This is an underserved market.”

So, Hindman has opened a satellite office at 324 Royal Palm Way to meet what she calls a “great demand.”

While the major international auction firms, Sotheby’s and Christie’s, have had a presence on the island for decades, they have often referred clients to Hindman, as they have moved away from the so-called middle market, which is the specialty of the Chicago auctioneer.

“The big New York auction houses are not interested in property valued under $25,000,” said Hindman, 57, who previously worked for Sotheby’s in Chicago.

“We serve those who have pieces ranging in value anywhere from $2,000 to $50,000 mostly, though, of course, we will handle things above that.”

Hindman holds about 40 auctions a year, featuring everything from furniture and decorative arts to paintings and sculpture, jewelry, vintage couture, memorabilia and other collectibles.

“Having Leslie Hindman in town fills a niche,” said David Ober, the Palm Beach-based southeast chairman of Sotheby’s. “We have been sending people to her for years, as she is, above all, reliable and competent, and now local, which makes it all the more convenient.”

The need for a Palm Beach office became obvious after Hindman opened a Florida branch in Naples in 2010.

“We were getting so many calls from Palm Beach consignors there, that I said we’d better do something here,” she said.

“Initially, she said she wanted to open a salesroom on the island as well, conducting auctions on a regular basis, but learned that town ordinances forbid such practices.

“For now, we will sell all Palm Beach consignments at our Chicago location, which has always been the case,” said Hindman, adding that she may consider opening a sales venue off island at some point in the future.

Hindman’s expansion over the past few years includes salerooms in Milwaukee and Naples, with soon-to-open locations in New Orleans and Denver.

Hindman expects to work out of the island office four or five days a month, with day-to-day operations handled by Maura Ross, the director of the Palm Beach location, who worked previously for Hindman in Naples.

For information about Hindman’s auction and appraisal services, call 833-8053.


• Inaugural Auction of Works by African American Artists



Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, one of the nation’s leading fine art auction houses, is pleased to announce its inaugural auction of Works by African American Artists on March 1, 2012.

In addition to the March 1 auction, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers will hold a separate selling exhibition featuring Works by African American Artists. These works will be listed for private sale and offered during the week leading up to the auction.

Heading the sale are a variety of abstract contemporary works, including Alma Woodsey Thomas’s acrylic and gouache on paper Abstract Composition ($8/12,000), Sam Gilliam’s mixed media work White (Tre) ($2/4,000) and Paris, a mixed media work by Ed Clark ($3/5,000). Metal works by Richard Howard Hunt and a carved wood sculpture entitled African King by Lorenzo Pace will be included in the sale. Also featured are a number of works from the collection of Paul King and Associates, Chicago, Illinois. Rounding out the sale is a Hudson River School painting by Robert Scott Duncanson entitled The Apennines, Italy ($30/50,000).

The selling exhibition will include Cheryl Warrick’s Voices of the Heart, Tree on the Lake by Samuel Akainyah, and Abstract Composition in Colors by Calvin Jones. Also featured are fine prints by Elizabeth Catlett, Survivor, and Romare Bearden, Dreams of Exile. Sculpture offered for sale comprises a series of doors by Alonzo Davis and a stoneware vase by William Ellsworth Artis.

The auction preview and selling exhibition will be open on Saturday, February 25 from 10am to 3pm, as well as Monday March 27th through Friday March 2nd from 10am to 5pm. The auction will take place at 6:00pm on Thursday March 1st.

For three decades, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers has been an industry leader combining recognition as one of the nation’s leading fine art auctioneers with a global base of buyers. Founded in 1982, sold to Sotheby’s in 1997 and reopened in 2003, Leslie Hindman has remained a constant force behind high profile auctions of everything from contemporary paintings and fine jewelry to French furniture and rare books and manuscripts, and always achieves the highest prices while maintaining the highest levels of integrity and customer service.



Alma Woodsey Thomas, Abstract Composition Estimate: $8,000-$12,000



Robert Scott Duncanson, The Apennines, Italy Estimate: $30,000-$50,000



Hughie Lee-Smith, Acropolis II Estimate: $20,000-$30,000




• The Art of the Deal



http://www.modernluxury.com/cs/articles/the-art-of-the-deal

Taking a quick-paced tour through her Lake Street offices, it’s easy to grow a little jealous of Leslie Hindman. “This is our main exhibition space,” says the iconic auction house owner, gesturing across an impossibly high-ceilinged showroom packed with 19th-century oil paintings, Venetian urns, gilded French clocks, Edwardian bureaus and every other kind of antique imaginable. Few people on earth, it’s clear, spend as much time surrounded with beautiful “stuff”—“it’s a technical term,” she jokes—as Hindman and her 60-plus staff.

For Hindman, though, what’s long been a rewarding business has recently enjoyed a quantum leap of success: After 30 years of operating in Chicago, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers has, in the past two years, opened offices in Naples, Milwaukee and Palm Beach, and plans to open locations in New Orleans and Denver in the next three months. Business is booming.

Her secret? Long the largest auction house in the Midwest, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers is currently enjoying a substantial two-pronged push: An Internet-generated, off-the-rails global market for beautiful things, coupled with (thanks to the troubled economy) an increased need for cash from sellers as well as investors looking for dry ground.

“When I started, people thought that if you had a major painting it needed to be sold in New York or London,” says Hindman. Now, she says, it’s easy for an auction house of her prominence to put such a work on the global market.

On that point, the auction business has become so dominated by the Internet, one wonders why physical offices are even necessary. “People don’t take you seriously unless you have a physical presence,” says Hindman. So she’s choosing her locations with care, establishing herself in monied cities neglected by the big boys. “Naples is a very Midwestern-focused city and a good city, with a wonderful philharmonic and a sophisticated downtown,” she says. “We opened there and it was ridiculous how well it was going. Then we were getting so many calls from Palm Beach we thought we should open there, too.” Milwaukee also was a sleeping tiger—“an old city with a lot of money and sophisticated people and great institutions,” she says.

It’s such a success story, in such a buzzy business, that one wonders if the reality TV cameras can be far behind. “The shows they’re doing now don’t interest me,” says Hindman, who previously had two shows on HGTV. “When I was on, I loved it. It wasn’t boring, but people really learned something.” For Hindman, there’s clearly no need to sensationalize an already fascinating biz: “It’s interesting and fun, and I love it,” she says. lesliehindman.com


• Property from the Estate of Cole Porter to be Sold on February 12



Leslie Hindman Auctioneers is pleased to announce that Property from the Estate of Cole Porter will be included in the February 12-14, 2012 Fine Furniture and Decorative Arts auction. The forty-one lots include Continental and Asian furniture, Chinese ceramics, English silver, Baccarat and Steuben stemware, and other fine table wares. A pair of Italian bergères come from Porter’s Manhattan library, which the decorator Billy Baldwin famously outfitted with brass étagères fabricated by P.E. Guerin. The property comes to the auction house from the living trust of Porter’s first cousin’s daughter, Louise Cole Schmitt.

Cole Porter was born on June 9, 1891 in Peru, Indiana, the only child of a well-established family. Porter’s talent and affinity for music became evident at a young age and was central to his studies at Worcester Academy and Yale University. After his education at Yale, he moved to Paris where he kept a luxurious apartment. It was there that he met his wife Linda Lee Thomas and received his first commission for music.

Cole Porter’s brilliance as a composer and songwriter, in particular for Broadway musicals, made an indelible impression in the history of American popular music. The sophistication evident in his musical compositions carries over to his masterfully cultivated collection of furnishings.

Cole Porter passed away in 1964. He is buried with his wife in his hometown of Peru, Indiana and his property has withstood descent through the family for more than forty-five years. Leslie Hindman Auctioneers is honored to conduct the sale of these objects in memory of one of twentieth century music’s greatest luminaries. Preview exhibition for the sale begins February 8. For more information please contact Corbin Horn at 312.280.1212.

For three decades, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers has been an industry leader combining recognition as one of the nation’s foremost fine art auctioneers with a global base of buyers. Founded in 1982, sold to Sotheby’s in 1997 and reopened in 2003, Leslie Hindman has remained a constant force behind high profile auctions of everything from contemporary paintings and fine jewelry to French furniture and rare books and manuscripts, and always achieves the highest prices while maintaining the highest levels of integrity and customer service.

Click here to view complete catalogue.




• O’Hara’s Gallery Auction at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers Achieves Over $1.5 Million



For Immediate Release – January 25, 2012
Proving once again that global demand for the best and most unique property is as strong as ever, the sale of property from O’Hara’s Gallery realized $1,539,060 at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers on January 22-24. The extraordinary results of the sale were largely due to strong online activity, with an average of nearly 800 bidders each day.

The highlight of the sale was a Chinese carved hardwood opium bed with inset marble panels that sold to a bidder in Hong Kong for $53,680 after much competitive bidding. Fine European furniture also realized exceptional prices. A suite of French giltwood parlor furniture decorated with Vernis Martin lacquer work sold for $23,180, and an impressive pair of Empire gilt bronze thirty-six-light chandeliers brought $21,960.

Prices throughout the sale were outstanding for Sèvres-style porcelain and Continental champlevé items, many of which doubled and tripled their estimates. A pair of gilt bronze mounted cobalt urns brought $10,370 and a French champlevé and porcelain mounted mantel clock brought $9,300.

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ next sale of Fine Furniture and Decorative Arts takes place February 12-14. That auction will include additional items consigned by O’Hara’s Gallery. For more information or to order a printed catalogue for the sale, please call 312-280-1212 or click here to browse the on-line catalogue.

For three decades, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers has been an industry leader combining recognition as one of the nation’s foremost fine art auctioneers with a global base of buyers. Founded in 1982, sold to Sotheby’s in 1997 and reopened in 2003, Leslie Hindman has remained a constant force behind high profile auctions of everything from contemporary paintings and fine jewelry to French furniture and rare books and manuscripts, and always achieves the highest prices while maintaining the highest levels of integrity and customer service.

PH 312.280.1212 WWW.LESLIEHINDMAN.COM



A Chinese Hardwood Opium Bed sold for $53,680



A Pair of Gilt Bronze Mounted Sevres Style Covered Urns for $10,370



A Louis XV Style Giltwood and Vernis Martin Decorated Parlor Suite for $23,180



An Empire Style Gilt and Patinated Bronze Center Table for $13,420




• What the Pros Know: Buying Art and Antiques



http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/January-2012/Leslie-Hindman-on-Buying-Art-and-Antiques/

What’s hot among auction buyers?
Midcentury modern furniture is one thing that’s hot right now, which can mean that it’s overpriced. If people like English and French furniture, they should buy it now because it’s relatively cheap. But really, people shouldn’t buy something just because it’s hot. You need to discover what you really like—paintings, furniture, jewelry, whatever. Invest some time learning about these things and then buy what pleases you. The first rule of collecting: Only buy things you like, because you can never be guaranteed they will be a good investment.

So what’s fashionable shouldn’t trump what’s tasteful?
Some people think they don’t even know what they like. One way to determine what you like is simply to go to a museum and walk around. Or get an art history book. And pretty soon you’ll realize that you do know what you like. You like abstract expressionists? Buy the best John Little painting you can afford instead of a poor-quality Willem de Kooning.

Why?
An artist’s best work tends to appreciate. We always recommend buying the best of a lesser-priced artist rather than the worst of a higher-priced artist. Among Chicago imagists, buy a great Jim Nutt, not a bad Ed Paschke; British sculpture—buy a great Lynn Chadwick, not a bad Henry Moore; watches—buy a stainless steel Patek Philippe, not an 18-karat-gold Movado; crystal—buy a top-of-the-line Steuben rather than a lower-end Tiffany. You get the idea.

How does a know-nothing like me follow art prices?
It’s easier to follow the art market now, including what sold for how much, than it was in 1982, when I first opened an auction house, thanks to sites like Artnet.com, Artfact.com, AskART.com, Artprice.com, and Artinfo.com.

Auctions seem so dramatic. Do regular people belong at one?
We have 30 to 40 auctions a year, and some people are intimidated because of what they’ve seen on television or in the press—all those very, very high-end auctions in New York or London. People call and ask me, “What should I wear?” Wear whatever you’re wearing, I say. You can buy something for $5,000 or even $500 at auction. At a jewelry auction we had in September, we sold a 7.52-carat diamond ring, beautifully set in platinum, for $268,000, but we also sold a group of coral necklaces for $223.20.

What do you buy?
Oh God, please don’t ask me what I collect. I don’t buy anything. I can’t afford what I really would like to own, like a Mark Rothko or Franz Kline painting. I have a drawing that looks like a Franz Kline—it’s from the fifties, and it cost $5,000. Mostly I have a lot of taxidermy. My friend Mike Sneed, the Sun-Times columnist, always hits her head on the mounted zebra head that sticks out of my dining room wall. She hates it. For some reason, it appeals to me.

• Fine Jewelry and Timepieces Auction Realizes $4.4 Million



December 5, 2011 – For Immediate Release
The continued strength and international appeal of investment grade diamonds was evident in the fantastic prices realized for Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ December Fine Jewelry and Timepieces auction. An impressive 10.56 carat emerald cut diamond drew interest from a diverse group of important collectors and exceeded all expectations by realizing $632,000 against a pre-sale estimate of $300,000-350,000. Other large diamonds in the sale also outperformed their estimates including a 5.69 carat pear shape diamond which sold for $115,900 and a 6.93 carat marquise cut stone that brought $59,780.

Combining fine Colombian emeralds and diamonds with exquisite Art Deco aesthetics, a platinum, emerald and diamond bracelet achieved an impressive $436,000. The bracelet attracted over 20 serious collectors, both foreign and domestic, in the most heavily contested lot of the sale.

Vintage signed jewelry by important makers drew international interest. A selection from Cartier had stellar results including a rare pair of Tutti Frutti earclips that sold for $63,440 against an estimate of $15,000-20,000. An Art Deco platinum, diamond and rock crystal brooch, one of Cartier’s more iconic designs, brought $51,240, while a Cartier platinum charm bracelet realized $36,600.

The sale offered the rare opportunity to acquire sought after works by artist Daniel Brush. The selections, from the Ralph Esmerian Collection, included an intricate mastodon ivory, ebony and gold necklace that realized $61,000 as well as a textured steel and gold sculpture that sold for $48,800.

A strong timepiece session was highlighted by vintage complications and premier manufacturers. An antique 18 karat yellow gold minute repeating chronograph pocket watch brought $8,540 and an 18 karat yellow gold Cartier roadster watch realized $15,860. A pair of Patek Philippe references also met with eager bidding when a vintage yellow gold Ref. 2526 sold for $18,300 and a yellow gold Travel Time Calatrava realized $13,420.

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ next Fine Jewelry and Timepieces auction will be held March 25-26, 2012. Consignments are invited for upcoming auctions. Contact Alexander Eblen at 312.334.4233 for more information.



A Platinum and 10.56 Carat Emerald Cut Diamond Ring sold for $632,000



An Art Deco Platinum, Emerald and Diamond Bracelet sold for $436,000



A Platinum and 5.69 Carat Pear Shape Diamond Ring sold for $115,900



A Pair of Platinum, Diamond and Multi Gemstone Tutti Frutti Earclips, Cartier, sold for $63,440



A Platinum and 6.93 Carat Marquise Cut Diamond Ring sold for $59,780




• New Palm Beach Location Will Serve Clients and Museums Throughout South



(Palm Beach, Florida) December 2, 2011 – For Immediate Release Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, one of the nation’s most renowned fine art auction houses, announced the opening of a new office in Palm Beach, Florida, located at 324 Royal Palm Way. The new Palm Beach location will allow the company to better serve the Southern region.

“Our auction house has experienced record sales this year. This is partly attributed to our opening in Florida two years ago. Our Naples location has continued to grow and we have received a substantial increase in auction and appraisal requests from the Palm Beach area,” said Leslie Hindman, President and CEO. “We have seen significant collections of fine jewelry, paintings, prints, drawings and sculpture, European and American decorative arts, and Asian works of art on the East Coast of Florida and this new office will allow us to better serve Trust and Estate professionals, private collectors and institutional clients.”

Since opening in Florida several notable estates have been sold from the East Coast of Florida. The Estate of William Moore of Hobe Sound realized over a million dollars. Highlights included a white jade lidded vase, which sold for $230,800 and a jade scholar’s object depicting shells and sea animals, which sold for $122,000. In December of 2010, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers handled a single-owner sale for The Estate of William N. Roos of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a well known interior designer whose clients included Veronica Lake and Esther DuPont. In addition to these estates, an impressive jewelry collection from the Estate of Mary Porter of Fort Lauderdale realized over $400,000.

“This is an exciting time for our company, as we are growing and opening in new areas” said Jim Sharp, Director of Regional Offices. “The Naples location has proved to us that Florida is an ideal market for seeking consignments and selling property. Our new Palm Beach location will enable us to assist a greater number of people seeking a full-service boutique auction company that has the ability to handle a wide selection of property.”

Maura Ross, Julie Parker, and Larry Sirolli will work in the Palm Beach office. Maura Ross, a Washington, D.C. native, worked for the global public relations firm, Edelman, before moving to Florida two years ago to help open and run the Leslie Hindman Naples location. Julie Parker, a native of Palm Beach, spent several years working for an auction house in New York City. Larry Sirolli worked for twenty-three years with Sotheby’s in New York in varied expert departments and management roles as Director of the English Furniture Department and Director of Sotheby’s Arcade sales. Using his breadth of knowledge and expert advice, he will provide valuations for the Palm Beach office.

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers is a full-service auction house that specializes in Fine Art, Fine Books and Manuscripts, Fine Jewelry and Timepieces, Fine Furniture and Decorative Arts, Asian Art and Vintage Couture and Accessories. For more information on the Palm Beach office or to schedule a complimentary auction appraisal, please call 561-833-8053 or visit www.lesliehindman.com.

About Leslie Hindman Auctioneers For three decades, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers is one of the largest fine art auction houses in the nation. Founded in 1982, sold to Sotheby’s in 1997, and reopened in 2003, Leslie Hindman has remained a constant force behind high profile auctions. From contemporary paintings and fine jewelry to French furniture and rare books and manuscripts, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers maintains a practice of achieving the highest prices while maintaining the highest standard of integrity and customer service. In January 2010, Hindman opened an auction facility in Naples, Florida and this fall opened a second satellite location in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.


• Vignos Estate Auction Achieves Over $3 Million



Jasper Francis Cropsey Sells For $660,000

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers auctioned the personal collection of accomplished Cleveland rheumatologist Dr. Paul J. Vignos Jr. to a packed room of bidders and thousands of others on the telephones and internet. The November 6-8, 2011 auction included American and European paintings and prints, English, French and American 18th and 19th century furniture, European and American silver, porcelain and glass, antiquities, sporting decoys and angling and fishing equipment.

Competitive bidding resulted in a successful sale total of $3,018,378 and set numerous auction records. John Bunyan Bristol, Gate, St. Augustine, Florida, sold for $73,200, becoming the highest price ever paid for a work by Bristol. Jasper Francis Cropsey, Dawn of Morning, Lake George, sold for $660,000, setting an auction record as the fourth highest price ever paid for a work by the artist.

Other highlights included William Trost Richards, Rocky Coast, sold for $170,800 more than doubling its estimate of $60/80,000. A Greek pottery skyphos, sold for $41,480 and a gilt and patinated bronze figural mantle clock sold for $34,160.

“Dr. and Mrs. Vignos were consummate collectors,” said Leslie Hindman, President and CEO. “We are thrilled to have handled their extensive collection in a single-owner auction. The collection is reflective of their style: thoughtful, elegant and magnanimous.”



Sold for $666,000



Sold for $34,160



Sold for $170,800



Sold for $73,200



Sold for $41,480




• Leslie Hindman Auctioneers to Sell Rare Disney Cels and Babar Illustrations



(Chicago) November 7, 2011. On Tuesday, November 15, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers will auction an impressive collection of original illustration art belonging to Ralph Esmerian, including early Disney animation cels from the 1930’s and 1940’s and original story-board watercolors from the beloved French children’s series, Babar the Elephant. The collection is expected to bring over $50,000 at the sale next Tuesday.

In the Golden Age of Animation, from 1928 to 1942, Walt Disney studios produced five of the most spectacular feature-length animated films of all time: Snow White and Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi. Their influence remains today, as the studio continues to re-release them from “The Vault” for a new generation. Each scene was hand-crafted carefully with the combination of original production cels and original production watercolor backgrounds. Together, these “key master set-ups,” as they are termed, from Disney’s early animated features are exceedingly rare.

Ralph Esmerian’s collection contained a number of these key master set-ups, including two from Snow White and Seven Dwarfs and four from Pinocchio. Scenes include Snow White kissing Dopey on the forehead, Dopey placing diamonds in his eyes, Gepetto creating Pinocchio, Pinocchio crawling across the floor of Gepetto’s workshop, Gepetto discovering Pinocchio’s donkey ears, and Pinocchio dancing for the evil puppet-master, Stromboli. “We believe this to be one of the most significant collections of original Disney animation art to have ever been offered at auction in recent years,” says Mary Williams, Director of Fine Books and Manuscripts at Leslie Hindman, “and we expect it to do extremely well.”

The collection also contains original story-board watercolor drawings from the popular children’s book series Babar the Elephant, by Jean de Brunhoff and, later, his son Laurent de Brunhoff, each estimated to sell between $4,000-6,000. Babar the Elephant, dreamed up from the bedtime stories of Cecil de Brunhoff, is one of the most iconic, and, at times, controversial, children’s book characters of all time, with over 30,000 publications in 17 languages and an animated television series that broadcasts in over 150 countries. Esmerian’s collection includes original story-board illustrations by Jean de Brunhoff from Le Voyage de Babar (1932) and by Laurent de Brunhoff from Babar Comes to America(1965). Also included is an original watercolor of Babar and his family signed by Laurent de Brunhoff with a matching signed lithograph and a hand-painted lithograph signed by Jean de Brunhoff from Le Roi de Babar.

Public previews for the sale will be held Saturday, November 12, 10am – 3pm, Sunday, November 13, 12pm – 5pm, and Monday, November 14, 10am – 5pm. A fully illustrated catalogue is available at http://www.lesliehindman.com. For questions regarding the upcoming auction, please contact Mary Williams at 312.334.4236 or .



(BABAR) DE BRUNHOFF, JEAN, 7 1/2 x 9 1/4. Property from the Ralph Esmerian Collection, New York, New York



(WALT DISNEY) SNOW WHITE. Snow White and Sneezy on the Doorstep, 1937. Property from the Ralph Esmerian Collection, New York, New York



(WALT DISNEY) PINOCCHIO, Gepetto Creating Pinocchio, 1940. 11 1/2 x 12 inches. Property from the Ralph Esmerian Collection, New York, New York




• International Bidders Drive Asian Works of Art Auction Past Pre-Sale Estimate, Bringing Over $3 Mill



“We are thrilled to be experiencing continued success in our Asian Works of Art sales. Our Asian sales prove just how global the auction market has become, as international bidders enthusiastically competed on the internet, telephone and in the room to secure the top lots,” said Leslie Hindman, CEO and President.

The highlights of sale included a damaged 17th/18th century carved rhinoceros horn cup (lot 59) which sold for $292,000, a stained ivory and hardwood screen which brought $244,000 (lot 72), and a spinach jade brush washer which brought $97,600 (lot 96) and a pair of huanghuali armchairs at $122,000 (lot 64). Other highlights in the sale were drawn from the Chicago Estate of Dr. Joseph and Donna Lee Boggs, including a mark and period Qianlong vase which brought $272,400 (lot 63) and a carved cinnabar lacquer treasure box which went for $97,600 (lot 62).

“We have seen that attractive estimates, traditional taste, high quality and fresh property are what the Chinese collectors seek and are willing to pay top dollar to obtain them,” commented Andrew Lick, director of Asian Works of Art. Traditional Chinese taste ruled the sale with ivory, jade and hardwood objects rising to the top. Included in this genre were a number of 18th century snuff bottles, including an enameled Qianlong mark bottle which brought $51,240 (lot 39). The Japanese session which included netsuke, ojime and inro, drawn mostly from two private collections, saw positive results as well, bringing over $180,000.

Consignments are now being accepted for our May 2012 Asian Works of Art auction. For more information on consigning Asian works with Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, please contact Andrew Lick at or call 312.334.4222.

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• Frank Lloyd Wright Urn Sells for $772,000



Property from The Ralph Esmerian Collection boosts auction total to $3.17 million

An important American copper urn designed by Frank Lloyd Wright from the Edward C. Waller house in River Forest, Illinois sold for $772,000 on Monday at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers. The urn, estimated at $400,000-600,000, sold to a Florida private collector. It is not clear how many urns were produced or have survived, but only five others are known to exist in public collections. The urn came from the collection of Ralph Esmerian, bankrupt former owner of Fred Leighton jewelers and a collector of folk art, arts & crafts and art nouveau. Mr. Esmerian was sentenced in July to six years in prison for financial frauds totaling more than $210 million. A pair of ivory and silvered bronze lamps depicting Leda and Ganymeade, also from his collection, realized $158,600 at the auction against an estimate of $60,000 to $80,000. A pair of Wharton Esherick oak side chairs and a pair of armchairs realized $43,920 and $67,100, respectively. Mr. Esmerian also owned two Frank Lloyd Wright maquettes on paper in crayon and pencil. Executed in 1927 as studies for the cover of Liberty Magazine, the drawings sold for $51,240 and $21,960. This November and December Leslie Hindman Auctioneers will offer additional Property from The Ralph Esmerian Collection including jewelry, fine books and paintings.

In addition to Ralph Esmerian’s collection, the two-day Fine Furniture and Decorative Arts auction featured property from the Estate of Ruth Regenstein. The Regenstein family is well known in Chicago for their numerous philanthropic gifts. Ms. Regenstein’s collection of 17th and 18th century needlework and enameled etui cases drew attention from textile experts worldwide, who traveled to Chicago to see the material in person. Rarely are single objects seen that employ such a variety of techniques, worked in high relief with stumpwork, beadwork and crewel work. A 17th century table casket from Ms. Regenstein’s collection sold for $85,400 in the room after more than twelve phone bidders vied for it. The bead-worked lid of another dressing box sold for $31,720 to the same floor bidder. Ms. Regenstein’s estate also included fine Georgian and Edwardian furniture that achieved extraordinary prices.

In total the October 2nd and 3rd sale brought $3.17 million against a pre-sale estimate of $2.07 million. Consignments are now invited for Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ next Fine Furniture and Decorative Arts auction, planned for February 12, 2012. Please call 312.280.1212 for more information.



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• Prominent Cleveland Physician’s Estate to be sold by Leslie Hindman Auctioneers



Chicago, Illinois – September 29, 2011 Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, one of the nation’s leading fine art auction houses, is pleased to announce the single-owner auction of the Estate of Dr. Paul J. Vignos, Jr. on November 6-8, 2011. Dr. Vignos, who passed away in June 2010, was an accomplished rheumatologist at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio, as well as a generous philanthropist, avid sportsman and art lover. Over the course of their lives, he and his wife, Edith Ingalls Vignos, established a sophisticated and diverse collection including American and European paintings, silver, porcelain, Asian and ethnographic objects and other property.

“Dr. and Mrs. Vignos were consummate collectors,” said Leslie Hindman, President and CEO. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to offer their extensive collection in a single-owner auction. The collection is reflective of their style: thoughtful, elegant and magnanimous.”

Dr. Vignos’ zest for life is apparent by the zeal with which he pursued both his career and his interests. He was born in 1919 in Canton, Ohio. He attended the University of Notre Dame and Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Throughout the course of his medical career, he participated in breakthroughs in the field of rheumatology. Dr. Vignos discovered the gene behind Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and his research helped children afflicted with the disease retain their ability to walk far longer than had previously been possible. He published and lectured internationally, and he was known worldwide for his contributions to the treatment of muscle disease.

He was also deeply involved in many philanthropic functions as Trustee, Vice-President and President of different councils and committees of the Cleveland Orchestra (life trustee), the Cleveland Museum of Art (life trustee), Cleveland Institute of Art, John Carroll University, Lake Erie College and The United Way of Greater Cleveland.

In 1946, Dr. Vignos married Edith Ingalls, who came from a prominent Cleveland family. The couple shared a passion for art and antiques. In 2003, the Ingalls Foundation endowed the Paul J. and Edith Ingalls Vignos Curator of European Painting and Sculpture at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Along with the Snite Museum at the University of Notre Dame, the Cleveland Museum of Art will benefit from the sale of their collection.

They also loved to hunt and fish, and they amassed an impressive collection of decoys and distinctive fishing reels and rods, which will be included in the sale.

Highlights of the auction include important paintings by American artists Jasper Francis Cropsey, Martin Johnson Heade and William Bradford. Additional artists represented include William Trost Richards, John George Brown, Louis Comfort Tiffany, John Whorf, Adrien Thomasz Key, Giovanni Tiepolo and Jean Baptiste Mallet.

Other items featured include French and American 18th and 19th century furniture, American and European porcelain and silver, a Tang Dynasty glazed horse, numerous bronzes and pre-Columbian works of art.

Public preview for the sale will be held Wednesday and Thursday, November 2-3 from 10 a.m – 6 p.m., Friday, November 4, 10 a.m. – 6:30 p.m., and Saturday, November 5, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. For more information on the auction, preview days or to schedule an appointment for a complimentary auction appraisal, please contact Leslie Hindman at 312-280-1212.

Images:



Jasper Francis Cropsey (American, 1823-1900) Dawn of Morning, Lake George, 1868 oil on canvas signed J.F. Cropsey and dated (lower right) 20 x 32 inches.

Provenance: James L. Brumley, 1868 Edward Brumley, by 1944 Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, 1963 Acquired from the above, 1965

Exhibited: New York, New York, Macbeth Galleries, American Paintings of the Early 19th Century, 1944, no. 9 (as Dawn of Morning, Lake George) New York, Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Selections from the Collection of Hirschl & Adler Galleries, no. 9, (as Evening at Lake George) San Francisco, California, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, The American Scene, 1963



Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819-1904) Calm Sea at Sunset, Near a Lighthouse, ca. 1860-61 oil on artist's board signed M. J. Heade (lower right) 7 1/4 x 14 1/4 inches.

Provenance: Victor D. Spark, New York Kennedy Galleries, New York

Literature: Theodore E. Stebbins, The Life and Works of Martin Johnson Heade, New Haven, Connecticut, 1975, no. 39, p. 219 Theodore E. Stebbins, The Life and Works of Martin Johnson Heade, New Haven, Connecticut, 2000, no. 73, p. 216



William Bradford (American, 1823-1892) The Steamer Panther Among Icebergs at Sunset, 1873 oil on canvas signed W. Bradford and dated (lower right) 20 x 30 inches.

Provenance: Victor D. Spark



William Trost Richards (American, 1833-1905) Rocky Coast, 1887 oil on canvas signed Wm. T. Richards and dated (lower left) 27 x 47 inches.




• Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ Fine Jewelry and Timepieces Auction Realizes Over $3 Million



September 20, 2011 – An audience eager for antique jewels helped make the September Fine Jewelry and Timepieces auction a resounding success, realizing over $3 million. Fine jade jewelry, in particular, was in high demand from an international group of collectors. A pair of platinum, sapphire, diamond and carved jade pendant earrings sold for $10,980, quadrupling the pre-sale high estimate, while a fine “glassy” jade bead strand sold for $12,200. According to jewelry specialist Alexander Eblen, “Demand from the Asian market for fine quality was evident in the strong prices realized for jade jewelry.”

Important diamonds were the high point of the sale, indicative of the current market’s desire for fine quality and large size. A vintage Van Cleef & Arpels platinum ring containing an excellent 7.00 carat emerald cut diamond and two triangular brilliant cut side diamonds outperformed its pre-sale estimate bringing $244,000. Similarly, a beautifully cut 7.52 carat emerald cut diamond ring realized $268,000. Fancy color diamonds also made an impression. A 5.33 carat radiant cut fancy yellow diamond ring realized $53,680 amidst substantial competition. Additionally, a rare fancy purplish pink pear shape diamond of 1.10 carats brought $43,920 while an elaborate necklace containing a fancy yellow diamond, an emerald and numerous white diamonds sold for $18,300.

Signed works fared particularly well in a sale where collectors were ready to compete for fine examples. A contemporary yellow gold and lapis lazuli collar necklace by Elsa Peretti for Tiffany sold for $10,980 and a vintage Van Cleef & Arpels carved coral ring sold for $6,710. The rich tones of high karat gold jewelry resonated with the audience and were in high demand. A 22 karat gold, baroque pearl and rose cut diamond bib necklace brought $18,300 against an estimate of $3,000-5,000. Antique and vintage timepieces performed well including a rare Edwardian platinum and diamond pendant watch by Patek Philippe and wristwatches from the 1960s were also highly sought after.

Important natural colored gemstones proved their collectible value in the current market by achieving excellent prices. A fine pair of certified Colombian emerald earrings sold for $17,080 while an exceptional certified natural Sri Lankan sapphire in an Edwardian bracelet brought $26,840. An intricate platinum, diamond and sugarloaf cabochon cut emerald vintage ring captured the attention of buyers and sold for $24,400.

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ next Fine Jewelry and Timepieces auction will be held December 2, 2011. Consignments are invited for upcoming auctions; contact Alexander Eblen at 312.334.4233 for more information.




• Leslie Hindman Auctioneers Fine Art Auction Realizes 2.7 Million



Leslie Hindman Auctioneer’s fall auction of Contemporary, Modern, American and European art achieved exceptional prices, realizing over $2.7 million. The highlight of the sale was Wassily Kandinsky’s Composition No. 26 from the estate of John and Valere Butterwick, which sold for $454,000 (est. $300-500,000). Russian buyers competed aggressively for works sold to benefit the acquisition fund of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, with Natalya Nesterova’s The Dragon Flies selling for $23,180 (est. $800-1200). Other contemporary highlights include Victor Vasarely ‘s Photon B which achieved $24,400 (est. $ 8-12,000) and Ibram Lassaw’s Apsaras which achieved $29,280 (est. $12-18,000).

The American auction session was headlined by Reginald Marsh’s Spooks, from the collection of Majorie and Charles Benton, which realized $85,400. Bidders fought over two Hudson River School paintings from the estate of Chicago collector H.M. Barbour, with an Alexander Helwig Wyant selling for $31,720 (est. $3-5,00) and a Homer Dodge Martin luminist work achieving $21,180 (est. $8-12,000).

European Impressionist paintings performed well, with Gustave Loiseau’s Champ de blé selling for $85,400 (est. $30-50,000) and Pierre Eugene Montezin’s Les Cygnes achieving $36,600 (est. $30-50,000). Jacques Martin-Ferrieres’ Old Pot of Marseilles with Notre Dame de la Garde realized $36,600, the second highest price for the artist at auction.

The prints session saw steady bidding, with Francis Bacon’s Study for Bullfighter No. 1 selling for $54,900 (est. 35-45,000). Andy Warhol continues to be in demand with his Mao achieving $32,240 (est. $20-30,000), Flash Series achieving ($34,720) and Flowers $12,000 (est. $8-12,000). Other highlights include Joan Miro’s Le Matador which achieved $36,600 (est. $20-30,000) and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s Divan Japonais which achieved $20,740 (est. $10-15,000).

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ next auction of Modern and Contemporary Art, and American and European Art will be on December 11th, and Fine Prints, Photographs and Multiples on December 12th. Consignments are invited for upcoming auctions; contact us at 312.280.1212 for more information.

Highlights:

Wassily Kandinsky, Composition No. 26, Sold for $454,000

Reginald Marsh, Spooks, Sold for $85,400

Natalya Nesterova, The Dragon Flies, Sold for $23,180

Frances Bacon, Study for Bullfighter No. 1, Sold for $54,900

Gustave Loiseau, Champ de blé, Sold for $85,400

• CURATED SELECTIONS from the EBONY FASHION FAIR Archives to be sold AT LESLIE HINDMAN AUCTIONEERS



(Chicago, Illinois) August 26, 2011 - On October 22, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers will hold an auction of select pieces of the historic couture and clothing collection from the Ebony Fashion Fair show. This collection was assembled over the course of fifty years by Eunice W. Johnson. Each item from the Ebony Fashion Fair Show, the world’s largest traveling fashion show, which raised more than $55 million for black charitable causes, was hand selected by Mrs. Johnson. Mrs. Johnson traveled to the world’s fashion capitals to find the most avant-garde designs to bring high fashion to black American women throughout the country.

The 707 lot auction includes items from Chanel, Dior, Halston, Bill Blass, Givenchy, Valentino, Vivienne Westwood and countless others. A capsule collection from Eunice Johnson’s personal archive will also be offered for sale. A tag sale will be held online at http://www.lesliehindman.com, from September 30- October 14, and at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers in Chicago which will give buyers the opportunity to own a piece of the historic collection in keeping with Mrs. Johnson’s vision that high style belonged in the everyday lives of all women.

Ebony Fashion Fair attendees were introduced to creations by world-renowned American, Italian, French, British and Japanese designers. Through the show Mrs. Johnson showcased black designers including Stephen Burrows, James Daugherty, and B. Michael. It also launched the careers of many of America’s top black models and celebrities, among them Pat Cleveland, Dianne Carroll, and Richard Roundtree.

“Using the show my mother was changing the way in which people from vastly diverse walks of life experienced fashion” said Linda Johnson Rice, Chairman of Johnson Publishing Company, LLC, which is the publisher of EBONY and JET magazines, and owner of Fashion Fair Cosmetics, a global prestige cosmetics brand for women of color. “At the same time she was inspiring black women to experiment with fashion, embrace their beauty, and challenge the conventions of what was considered chic. I am so pleased to make available to the public items from this collection so that those who were inspired by the show and who love fashion can own a piece of fashion history.”

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ auctions are free and open to the public. An exhibition will be held October 15th through October 21st; the auction will take place October 22nd at 10:00 am CST.

For more information, please contact: Abigail Rutherford, 312-280-1212, Alex Rosenfield, 212-397-4562,


• Auctioneer Leslie Hindman expands to Milwaukee, Palm Beach, Fla.



http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-07-24/business/ct-biz-0724-confidential-hindman-20110724_1_auction-houses-auction-market

July 24, 2011|Melissa Harris' Chicago Confidential - By the end of the year, Chicago auctioneer Leslie Hindman will open two more auction houses, in Milwaukee and Palm Beach, Fla., as her eponymous firm expects to reap a second year of record sales.

Multiple trends are working in Hindman's favor: Stubbornly high unemployment is driving people to sell their possessions; art is transforming into a valid investment class; and the Internet is providing Hindman easy access to a growing number of global art consumers, particularly in Asia. Last week, she hired her first Mandarin speaker in her Asian Works of Art department.

"The Chinese have become very aggressive and passionate about buying back their heritage," Hindman said via phone from her office in Naples, Fla., where she hosted a party for about 100 bankers and estate lawyers Thursday night. "If we're auctioning a Chinese jade item, we'll probably sell it to someone in China."

With macroeconomics seemingly on her side, now would be the time to break into Palm Beach, a market flush with New Yorkers as well as connections to New York auction houses.

But Sotheby's has abandoned and Christie's receded from — not exited — the lower end of the market, where Hindman specializes. Prices at Hindman's May auction of American and European modern and contemporary art, for instance, ranged from $183 for a Frances Foy watercolor to $134,200 for a Roy Lichtenstein silkscreen.

Hindman said she expects to do $25 million to $30 million in business this year. She has 50 employees.

"It is the enigma of the current recession that no economist ever discusses," the International Herald Tribune wrote in fall 2009. "Every analyst worth his salt will tell you that people are holding back as much as possible on expenses. Yet, this is not happening at the bottom end of the auction market, which is precisely the area that one would expect to have been worst hit."

Hindman said the market has held up because more people can afford a $50,000 work by late Chicago artist Ed Paschke than a $20 million Monet. And she's now capable of reaching Paschke fans around the globe quickly and cheaply via the Internet.

"We really are a marketing firm; that's all we are," said Hindman, who founded her company in 1982, sold it to Sotheby's in 1997 and reopened in 2003.

A former host of two HGTV shows, she is a regular on the charity and event circuit: Art history "degrees aren't as important as being around, and I've been around forever."

To illustrate the importance of marketing, a 19th-century illustrated wood block book on falconry — in Japanese, no less — owned by the estate of avid falconer George Kotsiopoulos is set to be sold at an Aug. 9 auction of rare books. Kotsiopoulos died in 2003 and owned a crepe restaurant in Chicago and Evanston.

His collection of books on falconry is among the world's "most extensive," Mary Williams, Hindman's director of books and manuscripts, said in an email.

One would think few would be interested in such a book, valued at $6,000 to $8,000, but not so, Williams said.

On the list of groups to alert about the sale: U.S. falconry associations; the Idaho-based Peregrine Fund, which holds the most comprehensive English-language falconry library in the world; the Japan Falconers Association; the National Conference for Japanese Falconry; wood block collectors; and then ornithology and general natural history book collectors, dealers and institutions.

"So our market is quite large," Williams said.

Hindman, who collects gavels, began expanding her firm last year with an auction house in Naples, describing the city as "the Midwest of Florida." A Milwaukee location follows that Midwest-centric logic; the office will be one block from the Pfister Hotel and open Sept. 1.

A lease on a Palm Beach office has not been signed yet. She is opening an auction house there because one of the leaders of her Florida operations, Maura Ross, has moved to Palm Beach.

She hopes customer service will set her apart. Since the financial crisis, Hindman said her company has lent about 20 consigners money against the sale of their property. Other firms, she said, "might not have done that for people who need $20,000."

• Frida Kahlo Never-Before-Seen Artist’s Book to Be Sold at Auction



(Chicago, July 18, 2011) A beat-up copy of The Works of Edgar Allan Poe is expected to sell for over $20,000 at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers on August 9th. It is no ordinary used book – it belonged to the celebrated Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo, who covered the book with doodles, inscriptions, paint and collaged leaves. To Frida, the book provided an outlet for her to engage in dialogue with the Poe’s mysterious and macabre poetry, and the result is one of the most intriguing artist’s books to appear on the market.

The most interesting inscription appears at the beginning of the book, where Frida has the written following in crayon: Pues si, Frida Kahlo, Auxocromo Cromoforo, 1922, 1945, 23, 12, 35, always. A close reading, offered by Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and Mexican Modernist expert, Luis-Martin Lozano, points directly to Frida’s relationship with her husband, Diego Rivera: Frida Kahlo met Diego Rivera in 1922; she wrote in the book in 1945; she met Diego when she was 12 (actually 15, but she claimed she was born in 1910 to appear younger) and he was 35; the 23 refers not only to the years between when Frida wrote in the book and when she met Diego (1922-1945), but also to their difference in age. These numbers and connections are coupled with the word always and the symbol for infinity. Auxocromo Cromoforo, a phrase repeated at the end of selected poems throughout, further alludes to Frida’s relationship with Rivera; the phrase first appeared in a poem Frida wrote in her diary, which translates: My Diego, Mirror of the Night ... You could be called Auxocromo - the one who takes color. I Cromoforo - the one who gives the color. You are all the combinations of the numbers. The book was previously in the collection of Teresa Proenza, Diego Rivera’s secretary until his death.

“The inscriptions and collages form an extraordinary record of the artist’s creative process,” notes Director of Books and Manuscripts, Mary Williams. “Kahlo’s works are exceptionally rare. On the occasion one does appear at auction, prices quickly exceed $200,000, with the highest price ever fetched being $5.6 million in May 2006. “The present collaged work is without precedent at auction,” Williams adds. “We expect the artist’s book to exceed its pre-sale estimate of $20-30,000.” The book was previously in the collection of Teresa Proenza, Diego River’s secretary and close personal friend of Frida Kahlo. For more information, please contact Leslie Hindman Auctioneers at 312.334.4236 or . A fully illustrated catalogue is available at http://www.lesliehindman.com.

• Asian Buyers and Diversification—Seeking Investors Lift Fine Art Market to New Highs



http://www.cnbc.com/id/43772003

This is a guest post from Zac Bissonnette, a contributing editor with Antique Trader, where he recently covered trends in the antiques market on display at Brimfield. He recently spoke with Marketplace about the financial benefits of furnishing your home with antiques and vintage finds.

When Chicago-based Leslie Hindman Auctioneers held its Asian arts sale in May of this year, they expected sales of somewhere around a million dollars.

The sale ended up racking up $4.2 million—with 80% of the buyers coming from China.

Leslie Hindman, the founder of that auctioneer and the former host of HGTV’s At the Auction, told me that “Jade that we thought would bring $6,000 to $8,000 was bringing $50,000.”

2010 was Hindman’s most profitable year in three-decade career in the industry, and 2011 is looking even better. Following difficult results in 2008 and 2009, the art and antiques market appears to be positively booming.

“The degree to which the art market lost value during the recent economic downturn was a fraction of the downturn in the securities markets,” says Jim Hedges, President of Montage Finance, an investment advisory firm specializing in fine art. “The recovery in the art market was quite quick because there are a large number of global investors who are putting more to work in art as an investment class.”

The rebound in the fine art market has also benefited equity investors who were able to see it coming. Between October 2007 and February 2009, shares of Sotheby’s [BID 43.79 -1.11 (-2.47%) ] cratered from a high of $54.17 to $6.47, very nearly a multi-decade low. They have since recovered almost all of that value, and profits have rebounded too: from a loss of $6.5 million in 2009 to a net income of just over $160 million in 2010. That swing was driven by a revenue increase of 60% —the largest in the company’s history.

Don Thompson, author of The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art, says that art market has been buoyed by the developing world.

“There are five contemporary museums being built and stocked, two in Abu Dhabi, one in Quatar, two in China,” he said in an email. “Just the five are buying 450-550 museum-quality works a year, for probably a billion dollars. That is the market.”

Political changes have also driven the rise of the developing world into art market savior.

“Forty years ago, it was illegal to own a piece of art in China. These days, it’s the second-largest art market in the world,”

MarketWatch reported last month. “A new wealthy class, along with a lack of investment options, has propelled China’s ascendancy in the global art trade, which last year was worth around $63 billion.”

In the developed world too, according to Hedges, art is being taken seriously as an investment class in a way that perhaps it wasn’t in the past.

“There are an increasing number of people recognizing that art is an investment class and part of wealth management,” he says. “Given inflationary fears, people view art as a diversification away from securities.”

“I believe that you’re going to see more people utilizing art as an investment tool for diversification and superior, equity-like returns,“ Hedges added. “It is a global currency and people will use it as a substitute for liquidity in their own currency.”

Hindman echoes that assessment. “Rich Americans are investing in tangible They're calling and saying ‘We've got a lot of cash, we don't want to put it in the market. We're thinking of buying some contemporary art.’ People who aren't even serious collectors are looking to buy tangible assets.”

But just as the doom and gloom of three years ago marked an inflection point, with rising prices comes rising risk. Sotheby‘s results have leveled off a bit in recent months, reports Art Market Monitor, noting that “[auction price] estimates have caught up with the market”, and strong sales results are no longer a surprise, with perennially high expectations now raising the risk that anything less than near-record prices could spook the market.

In the long run though, the financial benefits of fine art, however substantial they may be, don’t even represent the greatest part of the return. As Goethe wrote, “Collectors are happy people.”


• City Attracts Top Auction Gallery



May 12, 2011 (NewsBuzz) - Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, one of the top such galleries in the country, plans to open a branch in Milwaukee on East Mason Street, adding to the artsy ambience of that area of town. Hindman is based in Chicago and also opened a branch in Naples, Fla. This will be the third location for the auction gallery.

Milwaukee has been good to Hindman. In 1991, her auction gallery made worldwide headlines when she sold a previously unknown Van Gogh painting found in a Bayside farmhouse for $1.43 million. “It was a record for Chicago, or perhaps anywhere in the U.S. outside of Manhattan,” news reports said.

Now Hindman is banking on Milwaukee as a good place for a satellite facility. She is negotiating a lease with developer Joel Lee for space at 414 E. Mason St.

“We’ve always done a lot of business in Milwaukee,” Hindman says. “It is an old, old city, and there are other old, old cities in Wisconsin … It’s a wonderful city, I like going there. Especially with Schrager no longer in business, I thought it would be time, and I’m negotiating a lease now.” (Schrager Auction Galleries closed last May after more than a half century in business, leaving a void in the marketplace.)

Hindman cites the breadth of Milwaukee’s collections and the thousands of once-invisible, ordinary folks with extraordinary possessions that have recently come to light thanks to cultural phenomena such as E-Bay, Antiques Roadshow and even her own television appearances.

Her firm is the go-to choice when institutions like the Milwaukee Art Museum and Marquette University’s Haggerty Museum of Art choose to deaccession their holdings.

“Do you know (Haggerty Director) Wally Mason?” Hindman asks. “I love him!”

An upcoming sale at Hindman will feature many paintings and prints collected by the late Peg Bradley. “They are from the Garden,” Hindman says, referring to what is now the Lynden Sculpture Garden in River Hills (but the works are from the old house on the grounds). The sale will benefit the garden.

Hindman got her start with Sotheby’s in the late ‘70s as an assistant earning $8,700 a year and started her own auction house in 1982. She found a niche with mid-level collectors and sellers, like the Van Gogh owners. Still anonymous, they are described only as an upper middle class, retired suburban couple who inherited a still life of flowers from a relative who had immigrated to Milwaukee from Switzerland in the ‘40s. (That probably narrows it down to thousands of couples in the metro area.)

Hindman’s instincts for showmanship, including a sale held at Comiskey Park, helped bring her firm attention and business. It was the largest house in Chicago and fifth-largest in the nation when she sold it to Sotheby’s in 1997.

Sotheby’s wanted to court the middle class market, but the effort did not succeed. So Hindman reopened the business under her name when the contract with Sotheby’s expired in 2003.

But why the bricks-and-mortar approach in the era of electronic auctions? Hindman says her business model integrates the best of the old-school and the new. An increasing number of her auction sales result from electronic bids. But a physical presence, along with a professional staff that can better evaluate items and an appraisal service and physical showroom offer an inducement to collectors and sellers.

Hindman seems eager to embrace the city’s downtown. Her space would be across the street from the Pfister and Metro hotels, and on the same block as the building that houses George Watts & Son and DeLind Fine Arts.

“I love Watts and I love DeLind!,” she exclaims. “The synergy is wonderful – we’re by the Pfister – there are many synergies. We weren’t planning on announcing this until July. But now that you know, we hope to open in September with a big party.”

Hindman’s arrival is good news to Bill DeLind. “I see this as a big plus for me and look forward to having them as neighbors,” he says.

DeLind says Hindman visited his gallery and also met with Sam Watts. “She spoke of perhaps some sort of joint festive party … a ‘welcome to the neighborhood party,’” De Lind said. He added that Hindman’s move here “is prompted by the closing of Schrager and the large amount of business she gets from Milwaukee, both buying and selling.”

• Marathon Asian Auction Brings Over 4.5 Million



May 3, 2011 - With a saleroom packed full of international buyers, the majority from mainland China, almost 600 bidders online and the auctioneers’ book full of absentee bids, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers sale which carried a pre-sale median estimate of approximately $1 million grossed over $4.5 million.

Auctioneer Leslie Hindman said, “The auction market for Asian Works of Art is astounding. The prices realized today were as strong as prices realized at the spring sales in Hong Kong and New York. This market is truly global.”

Asian Works of Art specialist Andrew Lick said, “Vigorous buying throughout the marathon eight-hour auction underscored the Chinese market’s strength and desire to buy traditional works of art.”

The auction’s top lot, a pair of rare Chinese imperial bronze vases valued at $80,000 to $120,000, sold for $660,000 after spirited bidding by no fewer than ten bidders. An in-house Chinese buyer won the lot as a crowded, noisy saleroom cheered.

Two carved rhinoceros horn cups sold for $394,000 each. A white jade lidded vase sold for $230,800 while another surprise came in the form of a jade scholar’s object depicting shells and sea animals. Connoisseurs relished the object’s careful use of natural inclusions to portray the crustaceans, and it sold for $122,000. Both jade prizes came from the Estate of William H. Moore in Hobe Sound, Florida.

Consignments are now being accepted for our October 4 Asian Works of Art auction. For more information on consigning Asian items with Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, please contact Andrew Lick at or 312.334.4222.


• Fine Jewelry and Timepieces Auction Brings Phenomenal Prices at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers



April 12, 2011 – A room crowded with auction attendees applauded when an exquisite 8.48 carat diamond ring sold for $292,800. The diamond, in a ring designed by Michael Beaudry, was a GIA certified cushion cut stone set within a handmade and hand engraved platinum setting. The sale of the ring to an anonymous private buyer capped off an exciting run of fine large diamonds to end the first day of the sale.

 

The Fine Jewelry & Timepieces sale capitalized on a revitalized market eager for certified diamonds, signed works and fine vintage jewelry. The auction, extending Sunday and Monday, grossed $2.60 million in sales and attracted eager bidding from local and international collectors.

 

Larger diamonds dominated the high prices realized in the sale. Two additional Michael Beaudry rings achieved notable success. A platinum and yellow gold ring containing a 6.21 carat radiant cut internally flawless fancy yellow diamond sold for $97,600. A platinum ring containing a 7.02 carat E color cushion cut diamond sold for $231,800. Signed works also resonated with collectors eager for all things unique. An Arts and Crafts Tiffany & Co. brooch far exceeded the auction estimate of $4,000-6,000 to sell for $36,600. A David Webb gold, turquoise and diamond flower brooch sold for $13,420 above an estimate of $5,000-7,000.

 

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ next Fine Jewelry and Timepieces auction will be held September 18, 2011. Consignments are invited for upcoming auctions; contact Alexander Eblen at 312.334.4233 for more information.

• Gladys Knight gowns to hit auction block in Chicago



March 15, 2011 - And speaking of the '80 (see previous post), a collection from Gladys Knight's sparkling wardrobe will be auctioned off next month in Chicago by Leslie Hindman's eponymous auction house.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/section/blogs?blogID=shia-kapos&plckController=Blog&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&uid=32246edb-06fb-4784-9008-b3233e7480b9&plckPostId=Blog%3a32246edb-06fb-4784-9008-b3233e7480b9Post%3a9adeea1d-a731-47f3-a29a-ef998f9546b1&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest


• Rare Signed Photograph of Jesse James to Sell at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers



The notorious outlaw Jesse James has been an American obsession for over a century. Most of his life, however, remains a mystery. What is more, he left few artifacts behind to help fill in the gaps, which has in return intensified the demand for all James-related historical memorabilia, especially photographs and signed documents. On April 5th Leslie Hindman Auctioneers will sell the only known signed photograph of Jesse Woodson James. The albumen print portrait, showing a bust of James as a young man with his hair slicked back and dressed in a suit and tie, is the most iconic image of the outlaw. James’ signature is exceedingly rare, with only one other signed item selling at auction, and the present signed photograph is expected to greatly exceed its $20,000-30,000 presale estimate. The provenance of the photograph is excellent. It was obtained by Andrew MacKellar, Captain of the Cunard Line of the RMS Queen Mary from 1954 to 1959, from Calvin Tilden Owns, husband of Ethel Rose James (the granddaughter of Jesse James), who confirmed the authenticity of the signed photograph, which was bequeathed to her by Jesse James’ widow, Zee, as part of an inheritance. The photograph has been in private hands since it was purchased from Captain MacKellar in 1958. The signed photograph will be a featured in the Americana session of the Fine Books and Manuscripts Auction to be held Tuesday, April 5th, at 1338 W Lake St. at 12:00pm. The items will be on public display Saturday, April 2nd, from 10:00am to 3:00pm, Sunday, April 3rd, from 12:00pm to 5:00pm, and Monday, April 4th, from 12:00pm to 6:00pm. For more information, please contact Mary Williams at 312.334.4236 or .


• Time to dig out the attic: Appraisal event coming to Oak Park



History can come from the strangest places, so Oak Park residents will have a chance to have that old painting or sculpture checked out before they try to sell it at a yard sale for a few bucks.

 

The Oak Park Historical Society will be hosting an appraisal event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  Feb. 19 at the Nineteenth Century Club, 178 Forest Ave. The event is in the same vein as the television show “Antiques Roadshow” where people dig out items from their attics and basements to see what, if any, historical or monetary value they may have.

 

Read more at http://triblocal.com/oak-park-river-forest/2011/01/14/time-to-dig-out-the-attic-appraisal-event-coming-to-oak-park/

• Record Collection of Jazz Icon Dick Buckley at Auction at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers



(Chicago, Illinois) January 10, 2011 - Leslie Hindman Auctioneers is proud to announce the sale of the Jazz collection of beloved Chicago radio-host Dick Buckley on Thursday, February 17, 2011. Buckley, who passed away on July 22, 2010 at 85, was a radio deejay in Chicago for over 50 years, spreading his passion for Jazz to thousands of eager listeners.  He is best remembered as the host of a weekend radio show on Chicago Public Radio (WBEZ). He was known for his encyclopedic knowledge of the subject, his soft voice, and his relaxed speaking style, with his signature phrase, “the good old good ones.”  His last show aired July 27, 2008, after 31 years on-air.

 

The sale will consist of over 8,000 Jazz LPs, 45s, 78s, EPs, mixed tapes and CDs, including many home-made compilations, comprising Buckley’s personal archive. Also included in the sale are books and original reel-to-reel broadcasts of his radio programs. The extensive collection will be offered in 92 box lots of approximately 100 items each, grouped by style, artist, instrument and format.

 

Interested parties may peruse the items during one of the two days of previews held at the gallery on 1338 West Lake Street on February 15 and 16, from 10am to 5pm. The auction will take place live on Thursday, February 17, at 5pm. For more information on the auction, please contact Mary Williams at 312-334-4236.

• Leslie Hindman Auctioneers Partners with Historical Society for Appraisal Event



January 4, 2011 - Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, the Midwest’s leading fine arts auction house, is partnering with the Historical Society of Oak Park & River Forest in a one-time opportunity for the public to have their family treasures and other valuables appraised by experts for a nominal fee.

 

Family Heirloom or Flea Market Find: What’s It Worth?will be held on Saturday, February 19 from 10 am to 2 pm at the Nineteenth Century Club, 178 Forest Avenue, Oak Park. Parking is available in a garage adjacent to the Club.

 

Specialists will be available to appraise jewelry, fine art (Modern and Contemporary Art, 19th and 20th Century Art, Fine Photographs, Prints and Works on Paper, etc.); furniture (large items can be appraised from photographs taken from various angles); decorative arts (porcelain, textiles, ceramic, wood, fine silver, etc.) and fine books and manuscripts.

 

Cost of an appraisal for one item is $10. Bring three items to be appraised for $25. Pre-registration is suggested. Register online at www.oprfhistory.org or call (708) 848-6755. 

Authorities in topics related to antiques will also be available for consultation the day of the event.  Get expert advice on insuring your valuables, framing your art, decorating with antiques and refinishing and reupholstering your furniture.

 

All proceeds benefit the Historical Society, a not-for-profit community organization.

 

“We’re excited to be coming to Oak Park and working with the Historical Society to give people a better understanding of the provenance and current value of items they cherish,” said Leslie Hindman, an industry leader whose West Loop auction house has a global reach of clients. 

 

“Certainly people would love to be told their treasures are rare and valuable finds. But having our expert appraisers fill in the blanks with information on the provenance, craftsmen or manufacturer and materials is just as important.”

• Antique Jewelry Market Winners



The fall sales in Geneva, Switzerland—Christie's fine watches on November 15, 2010, and jewels on November 17 and Sotheby's jewels on November 16—produced some unfathomable prices realized for magnificently crafted pieces of jewelry that many of us have seen only in catalogs or in on-line searches. These elite sales, along with two auctions in the States—of fine jewelry on September 15 in Chicago at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers and "The Nature of Opals" on November 10 in San Francisco at Bonhams & Butterfields—give us a broad picture of some of what's happening in the jewelry market.

 

Read more at http://www.maineantiquedigest.com/stories/?id=2287.

• The Estate of Distinguished New York Interior Designer Achieves Top Dollar



Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ sale of property from the Estate of William Nicholas Roos drew fervent bidding on Sunday, with only 30 lots going unsold out of nearly 400. A saleroom full of active bidders underscored the market’s enthusiasm for new property from prominent estates. The auction brought $660,142 in all.

 

“We were honored to handle such diverse objects from a person as interesting as Mr. Roos,” said President and Auctioneer Leslie Hindman. “It was doubly exciting to see so many aggressive bids coming from buyers in the room and on the phones, given the Internet’s role in our business today.”

 

Mr. Roos, an interior designer who lived in both New York City and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, traveled and acquired extensively from the 1960s until he passed away earlier this year. He counted Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Veronica Lake, Katharine Hepburn and Esther DuPont among his clients and friends. Mr. Roos’s collection included eighteenth and nineteenth century French furniture, fine silver, bronze sculpture, numerous antiquities and Asian works of art. Two Chinese famille rose bowls sold for $29,760 against an estimate of $1,000/1,500, and a Chinese famille verte brush pot with a carved jade finial sold for $14,640 against its estimate of $800/1,200. A Continental bust, carved of marble after an earlier antique, was expected to sell for $800/1,200 but brought $10,370. A pair of Louis XVI style sconces, cast after a model by Pierre-Philippe Thomire, sold for $8,540.

 

“William Roos clearly cherished his collection, and we are thrilled to have achieved such strong results,” Hindman said. “It is an appropriate tribute to a sophisticated and fascinating man.” 


• Experts reveal value of ‘treasures’ at art museum



(Rockford, Illinois) October 17, 2010 - What is it? Second Appraisal Day at the Rockford Art Museum. Who was there? Rock River Valley residents curious about the history or value of their rare possessions had them appraised Saturday by experts from Leslie Hindman Auctioneers of Chicago.

 

Read more at http://www.rrstar.com/carousel/x549833405/Experts-reveal-value-of-treasures-at-Rockford-Art-Museum.

• Phenomenal Diamond Prices Highlight Fine Jewelry Auction



September 17, 2010 – Amid a crowded sale room with spirited telephone and online bidding, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ September 15 Fine Jewelry and Timepieces auction realized $1.56 million, with 92% of lots sold. Diamonds of important size and color led the sale, along with natural pearls and signed contemporary and vintage jewelry.

 

“We are experiencing an unprecedented period of growth in the history of our firm. As buyers around the world seek reliable material investments, we are capitalizing on the fine jewelry market to achieve extraordinary prices for our consignors,” said President and Auctioneer Leslie Hindman.

 

The highlight of the auction’s diamond selection, an octagonal step cut weighing approximately 15.20 carats set in platinum with baguettes, sold for $158,600 against an estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. A marquise cut weighing approximately 10.39 carats set in platinum sold for $109,800 against an estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. A yellow gold ring containing an oval brilliant cut diamond weighing approximately 3.62 carats with D color and VVS2 clarity brought $97,600. Prices for colored diamonds also exceeded expectations; irradiated green and yellow diamonds realized $56,120 and $43,920, respectively.

 

Other exceptional results included a pair of platinum and diamond “Snowflake” earclips by Van Cleef & Arpels, which sold for $36,600. A single strand graduated necklace containing mostly natural round and baroque pearls was offered at $800 to $1,200. Interest in large natural pearls drove the bidding to an astonishing $17,080.

 

“This auction saw record bidding on fine diamonds,” said Gemologist Alexander Eblen. “The sale’s most contested lots drew as many as 18 telephone bidders. We continually hear from high net worth clients that they are actively and deliberately putting money into jewelry as a tangible asset.”

 

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ next Fine Jewelry and Timepieces auction will be held December 15, 2010. Consignments are invited for upcoming auctions; contact Alexander Eblen at 312.334.4232 for more information.

• Lewis & Clark Among Top Lots at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ August 12 Auction



(Chicago, Illinois) August 24, 2010 – A crowded sales-room, busy phone lines and aggressive internet bidding contributed to strong prices realized at  Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ highly successful Fine Books and Manuscripts auction in Chicago on August 12. In addition to fine private and institutional collections, maps and atlases, books with plates and travel books were featured among the many highlights. Director Mary Williams said, “We are delighted with the results, which show an impressive upswing in the market for cartographic works and books with ornithological or botanical plates.”

 

Private collections with property fresh to the market continued a trend of far exceeding pre-sale estimates. An impressive private collection of antiquarian maps and atlases included a first state of Henricus Hondius, Nova totius terrarum orbis, 1630, sold for $6,344 (estimate $4,000-6,000); and Nicholas Visscher, Orbis terrarum nova, c. 1658, sold for $3,904 (estimate $600-800). The highlight of the collection was a rare first English edition of Gerard Mercator’s Atlas, 1636, which sold for $35,380.

 

Fine examples of travel literature included the top lot of the sale, a first printing of Lewis and Clark, History of the Expedition … to the Sources of the Missouri, which sold for $46,360 against an estimate of $8,000-12,000. Other significant travel works include a German edition of Arnoldus Montanus, Die unbkejante Neue Welt , 1673, sold for $4,392; a hand-written and illustrated Royal Naval Academy manuscript, c. 1800, sold for $3,904; and a deluxe signed edition of Henry Stanley, In Darkest Africa, 1890, sold for $3,416.

 

The sale included a substantial group of 16th century military fortification treatises, each with detailed engravings of structures and plans. Highlights of the collection included Pietro Cataneo, I Quattro Primi Libri di Architettura, 1554, sold for $3,904; and Gabriello Busca, Della Espugnatione et Difesa delle Fortezze, Libre due, 1585, sold for $2,684. Reflecting a similar excitement for books with prints, two volumes from the octavo edition of John James Audubon, Birds of America, 1840, sold for $9,150 (estimate $3,000-5,000). 

• Supply and Demand



http://www.review.net/section/detail/supply-the-demand/

Read the Gulf Coast Business Review's profile of Leslie Hindman and the opening of our new Naples office.


• Impressive Timepieces, Signed Vintage Jewelry and Colored Gems Highlight December 6-7 Sale



(Chicago, Illinois) November 30, 2009 – Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, the Midwest’s leading fine art auction house, will present to collectors and connoisseurs its annual winter sale of Fine Jewelry and Timepieces on December 6 and 7. More than 650 lots valued at nearly $1.5 million will be sold during the two day sale.

A session of 82 wrist and pocketwatches, one of the finest selections ever offered by the house, leads the auction on December 6. Rolex collectors will appreciate a superb group highlighted by a platinum Presidential wristwatch with a platinum dial, replete with diamond bezel and numeral demarcations weighing approximately four carats total. The watch is expected to sell for $20,000 to $30,000.


An 18 karat yellow gold wristwatch, Breguet, $40,000 to $60,000.
A late 20th century 18 karat white gold Pagoda wristwatch by Patek Philippe, part of a limited edition of 250, is in pristine condition, having never been worn and in sealed packaging. It has a matte rose dial, silvered Roman numerals, white gold feuille hands, a subdial for seconds, flared rectangular case, and is estimated at $30,000 to $50,000.

Also included are fine examples manufactured in the early 20th century through 21st century by A. Lange & Söhne, Ulysse Nardin, Roger Dubuis, Vacheron Constantin, Daniel Roth, F.P. Journe, Audemars Piguet, and others. The session’s star lot, an 18 karat yellow gold tourbillon by Breguet, is expected to sell for $40,000 to $60,000. It features a matte guilloche dial, blued steel moon-style hands, and an exposed tourbillon with blued steel second indication.

Staff Gemologist Alexander Eblen says, “Comprised of the most storied names in horology, this selection has been assembled from the private collections of several enthusiasts. A number of the world’s most sought after watches are in absolutely pristine condition, having belonged to a collector who preferred to admire rather than wear them regularly.” The watch session also represents a cross section of rarer features. “This grouping emcompasses several of the most captivating complications, from a tourbillon to an hour striker, that astute collectors are hungry for,” Eblen says.

Property following the timepieces session, from numerous private collections and prominent estates, includes both signed and unsigned antique, period, and vintage jewelry, cultured and natural pearls and colored jewels. Three exceptional platinum, gemstone and diamond rings will be offered: one with a Burmese ruby weighing 3.07 carats ($10,000 to $15,000), one with a 6.01 carat cushion cut sapphire ($15,000 to $20,000) and one with a step-cut emerald weighing 3.71 carats ($10,000 to $15,000).  

Other highlights include a platinum and emerald cut ring with 5.24 total carats of diamonds ($20,000 to $30,000) and a platinum three stone ring with princess and triangular brilliant cut diamonds weighing 8.27 carats total ($40,000 to $60,000). A white gold and diamond necklace with 64.66 carats of cabochon emeralds is expected to sell for $30,000 to $50,000.

The sale’s two most unusual lots, a David Webb cuff bracelet with diamonds and a 50 carat cushion cut amethyst ($30,000 to $50,000) and a circa-1968 Donald Claflin for Tiffany & Co. brooch depicting a large Chinese dragon figure and fashioned out of platinum, gold, diamonds and rubies ($10,000 to $15,000) are sure to attract admirers of uncommon jewels. An identical Claflin for Tiffany & Co. brooch is currently on display at Chicago’s Field Museum exhibition The Nature of Diamonds.

The preview exhibition will be held December 2 through 4 at 1338 West Lake Street, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, and on December 5 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

• Celebrated Joffrey Ballet Choreographer’s Personal Collection to be Sold at Auction




(Chicago, Illinois) October 20, 2009 – Leslie Hindman Auctioneers will offer property from the estate of Gerald Arpino, who spent four decades leading the Joffrey Ballet to international renown, on November 1, 2009. Arpino spent the last years of his life in Chicago, and the sale of his personal belongings will reveal the complex influences behind his choreography.
Gerald Arpino, 1923-2008.

Arpino served in the Coast Guard during World War II, when his military service brought him to Seattle. There he met Robert Joffrey through a family connection, and the two eventually moved to New York, where Arpino studied at the School of American Ballet. Arpino and Joffrey co-founded the Joffrey troupe in 1953, and in 1956 set out with five other dancers for the group’s debut tour.

A portrait of Robert Joffrey from the estate of Gerald Arpino, artist unknown
Mr. Arpino rose to prominence as the troupe’s chief choreographer, a role he maintained for the rest of his life. He took over as artistic director when Joffrey died in 1988, and in 1995, when the troupe faced financial trouble in New York, suggested a controversial move to Chicago. Though less prolific later in his life, in 2005 and well into his eighties Arpino accomplished one of his most important ballets. “Ruth, Ricordi Per Due” was the story of a man whose deceased lover returns as a haunting memory. Arpino passed away late last year.

The sale of Mr. Arpino’s estate, part of Leslie Hindman’s November 1 auction, will include more than 130 lots of personal belongings that bring to light Arpino’s approach to the arts. Ballerina Maia Wilkins told the Chicago Sun-Times in 2008 that “he believed art could make people look at the world in a fresh way.” Besides furniture, books, and paintings that reflect Arpino’s interest in the humanities, the auction will feature some rare photographs and memorabilia related to Robert Joffrey and the Joffrey Ballet.

Public exhibition of property from Gerald Arpino’s estate begins October 29 though October 31 at 1338 West Lake street. The auction will take place November 1 at noon.

For more information, please contact John Walcher at 312.280.1212.
Additional images available upon request.
# # #



• CS Interiors: MOD Squad



CS Interiors magazine profiles Leslie Hindman and the success of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers and the auction industry and highlights from several past auctions

From their Summer 2009 issue                               

    





• Elvis’s Hair, Other Memorabilia Up For Auction



http://cbs2chicago.com/local/Elvis.hair.auction.2.1222237.html

"More than The King's voice lives on. Elvis Presley's hair is still here. Really."

• Gun that killed Dillinger can be yours



By Sandra Guy of the Sun-Times

A Colt Army Special revolver used by East Chicago, Ind., police Capt. Timothy A. O'Neil to fatally shoot John Dillinger could be yours for what auctioneers say may be much more than their conservative $8,000 to $12,000 estimate.

The .38-caliber, 5-inch-barrel gun and its holster will be auctioned at noon July 28 -- six days after the 75th anniversary of Dillinger's fatal shooting -- at Chicago's Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, 1338 W. Lake. The new Dillinger movie, "Public Enemies," premieres in Chicago tonight and opens July 1.

An image of the gun, owned by O'Neil's family, will be projected on a screen at auction because Chicago bans handguns and automatic weapons within city limits. Anyone who wants to view the gun must go to Shore Galleries at 2218 W. Devon in Lincolnwood, where it is stored. Potential bidders must comply with state and federal gun laws.

O'Neil, dubbed "Dillinger's nemesis," is credited with either firing the fatal shot or firing one of five shots that killed Dillinger after the bandit left the Biograph Theater on July 22, 1934, according to newspaper reports of the day.

O'Neil and fellow East Chicago police Sgt. Martin Zarkovich provided the tip that the "lady in red" would finger Dillinger, and they, along with three FBI agents, fired shots at Dillinger after he emerged from the theater. O'Neil and Zarkovich split a $5,000 federal reward for "information that led to the slaying of Dillinger." They received letters of commendation from FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.

Zarkovich's gun sold at auction for $17,550 on Nov. 20, 2007.

Local newspapers reported in September 1945, when the movie "Dillinger" opened in theaters, that O'Neil, Zarkovich and the rest of the East Chicago police department were haunted by the slaying of three of their fellow officers by members of Dillinger's gang. The newspapers noted other northwest Indiana connections: that Dillinger plotted in the Indiana Harbor section of East Chicago the escape of his gang from the state prison at Michigan City, and Dillinger made his famed wooden-gun escape from the county jail in Crown Point.

O'Neil later became deputy state fire marshal in Indiana and served as vice president of the Grand Lodge Fraternal Order of Police in East Chicago.

More information is available from Mary Williams, head of books and manuscripts, at , (312) 334-4326.

• Hindman says Internet has ‘revolutionized’ auction industry



Getting insight into the auction business and finding out just what that butterfly broach might be worth drew 50 seniors to the Women's Club luncheon at the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Senior Center April 16.

Leslie Hindman, of the namesake Chicago auction house and a North Shore regular, was the guest speaker for the noon luncheon and talk.


"A lot has changed since I opened my business," Hindman told the audience.


The biggest change? The Internet.


"That has completely revolutionized our industry," she said.


Even small local auctions have gone from selling to people in the auction room to a global audience, thanks to real-time linkups.


"Eighty percent of what we sell today sells to people outside Illinois," Hindman said. At a recent auction of an art piece by an Eastern European painter, the group of live bidders included two from the Czech Republic and one from Poland.


And that makes for good business for Hindman and the owner who hopes to bring in the highest bid possible. With the Internet, buyers worldwide can view catalogs of upcoming items to be auctioned at auction houses all over the world.


"I'm looking for a chaise lounge right now," Hindman said. "I can look online and find every single chaise available in the world."


Web sites she recommends are artnet.com, askart.com, artprice.com and artfact.com.


While 75 percent of what Hindman auctions comes from estates, she said the auction industry long has been driven by the three Ds: Death, divorce and debt. In the current economy, the last D is motivating sellers.


"We're seeing a lot of people selling because they took a hit in the stock market and need extra cash," she said. Parting with works of art is one way to bolster their income.


Her company also handles many sales for institutions, such as college's that have unneeded and unwanted art collections, and museums that typically have a lot of pieces they cannot display and that no longer fit in with their strategic direction.


"We can sell their unwanted pieces so that they can buy pieces they want," she said.


Hindman explained the 10 criteria for determining the value of an object: Authenticity, provenance, rarity, condition, historical significance, fashion, medium, subject matter, size and quality.


"You or a lot of people you know probably own things that are more valuable than you think," she said. "Always check what you have."


Items selling for substantially more than anyone anticipated "happens a lot more than you think," she said.


Leslie Hindman Auctioneers has emerged as an industry leader in vintage couture.


Old Chanel dresses and the like "are the big thing with young people," she said. "We're the biggest couture dealer in the world."


When buying jewelry, art or other collectibles at auction or elsewhere, Hindman offered the following advice: "Buy the best you can afford; buy quality, not quantity; seek expert advice; and never buy on impulse," she said.


Hindman welcomed the women to contact her office any time with questions.

 

By LINDA BLASER




• Abigail Rutherford dishes on the art and commerce of designer duds.



Our Director of Vintage Couture and Accessories, Abigail Rutherford, is featured in the April 2nd edition of Time Out Chicago’s "Inside Job" column in which she explains the consignment process and how her position has lead her to see fashion as "an art form and less of a commodity."  Artcle recopied below.

 

Time is on her side A testament to the power of having been in the “right place at the right time,” Abigail Rutherford landed the job as director of vintage couture and accessories at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers in 2006 with nearly no formal education in fashion. The 27-year-old Kenilworth native studied art history as an undergrad at Lafayette College and worked as a wine purveyor after graduating while taking classes in fashion construction at the International Academy of Design and Technology in Chicago. While attending a preview event at Leslie Hindman, she “just happened to talk to [Leslie] about [her] knowledge of fashion,” says Rutherford. As luck would have it, the director of the fashion department was moving on at that time, and Rutherford was ripe for the job.


The way it works Over the course of a three-month period, sellers from around the world approach Rutherford with garments and accessories, which she either accepts on a consignment basis (if the seller agrees with the projected profit) or rejects. After garnering an average of 500 lots—either single items or a collection, such as 20 clip-on earrings sold as a set—she photographs the items, produces a catalog, hosts a preview for potential buyers and, finally, produces a live auction. Shoppers from around the globe, including vintage-couture shop owners and budding enthusiasts with just a few hundred bucks to spend, show up in person, call in or visit via the Internet to place bids. Prices range from $100 for a snakeskin patchwork clutch from the 1980s to $20,000 to $30,000 for an Hermès crocodile-skin Birkin bag.


Learning curve To identify and authenticate items, Rutherford turns to the Internet and books to supplement her hands-on daily experience. “You start to train your eye to look for certain things, like types of zippers,” she says. Still stuck? Experts schooled in particular designers such as Chanel help her nail down the history. “Everyone is willing to help and thinks this is such an important art form that’s been brushed off along the way. It’s really gaining momentum right now,” she says. “[For instance,] museums are finding that any fashion exhibitions are bringing new life.”


Selling points “So much of my industry is driven by what’s current, so I really have to keep on top of what’s on the runway,” she says. “Whereas in early 2007, it was mostly ’60s, now it’s comprised mostly of ’80s.” And not just any designer label will do. “We won’t even take St. John or Escada. We want the cream-of-the-crop inspired fashion garments. For instance, [with] Yves Saint Laurent, we want ’60s and ’70s, or his small stint with Dior, whereas his ’80s and ’90s just doesn’t sell that well. We generally want the top ten designers that are synonymous with that decade and any sort of avant-garde fashion at that time.”


Eye on design “I kind of stopped shopping at, for lack of better words, janky stores,” she says. “You really understand why you’re paying such a [high] price for something. I have a better grasp of the craftsmanship that goes into everything. I’m seeing it much more as an art form and less of a commodity.” In addition to shying away from inferior fabrics and shoddy construction, she bristles at knockoffs. “[Working here] really opens up your eyes to who is inspired. It always comes from the avant-garde. People like Alexander McQueen and Martin Margiela, you know you’ll be seeing them in 20 years, and their stuff will have withstood the test of time.”


To wear or not to wear Buyers fall into one of two camps: museum and institution types who essentially leave their collections in glass cases, and those who shop for items to wear. “They butt heads, obviously, because they think two opposite schools of thought,” she says. As for her personal collection, she understands both sides, leaving the few collectibles she purchases for herself—mod pieces by Courrèges and Pierre Cardin—at home to appreciate in value, and actually wearing less valuable items like her gold-leopard Judith Leiber belt because “it’s simply ghetto-fabulous.”


By Jessica Herman (TimeOut Chicago)
Photograph by Nicole Radja
Source: http://chicago.timeout.com/articles/home-living/73079/leslie-hindman-auctioneers-vintage-couture-and-accessories-specialist

• Regional Auction Houses Find Opportunities in Market Downturn



NEW YORK—Amid the economic crisis, Christie’s and Sotheby’s, the largest auction houses in the world, have recently announced layoffs and salary reductions, and have all but eliminated guarantees and loans extended to consignors and buyers. Meanwhile, several smaller, regional auction houses have been hit less hard by the market downturn, and have been finding ways to attract new buyers and consignors while retaining their current clients.

 

The Burchard Galleries auction house in St. Petersburg, Florida, which handles estate sales including lower-priced antiques and fine and deco-rative art, attempts to keep the proportion of lots with reserves to about 5 percent in any given sale as a way of encouraging buyers. “If people know an item is going to be sold [without reserve], they may be more enthusiastic in their bidding,” Todd Burchard, the house’s director of fine arts, said.

 

People are still buying, the houses say, but they may be unsure about how much to spend. According to president Nicholas Lowry, Swann Galleries, New York, has lowered estimates and reserves in its more recent sales, which sometimes leads to tension with prospective consignors. “We’re being much pickier with consignments and have to say no to some consignors. I don’t want anyone to lose money, but I want things I can sell,” he said.

 

New York auction house Doyle has sought to broaden the services it offers to consignors, and now offers the option of purchasing objects outright from estates rather than taking them on consignment. “We do this so that people don’t have to wait for months for an auction to get their money,” said Doyle spokesperson Louis Webre.

 

Leslie Hindman, an auctioneer in Chicago, said she has also been making contact with people who represent estates, letting them know that the house is very interested in items that are valued under $20,000. “The big auction houses are focusing on the high end,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to ship something to New York that’s going to sell for a few thousand dollars.” Hindman is also opening a consignment gallery for furniture and decorative arts in the auction house’s new, larger space, as well as increasing its private treaty and Web sales.

 

Massachusetts auction house Skinner Inc. recently moved its main operations from the town of Bolton to a larger facility in Marlborough. Stephen Fletcher, executive vice president and one of three co-owners, said that because of the move, Skinner expects to increase its number of local buyers and has adjusted its marketing and advertising to achieve that goal.

 

In St. Louis, Ivey-Selkirk auction house has beefed up its local radio and television advertising, according to Mark Howald, the company’s executive vice president. Ivey-Selkirk has also stepped up postsale activity, which he said has cut its final buyin rate in half. “As soon as the auction is over, we get on the phone and on the computer to people who have shown interest,” he said. “We’ll tell them the reserve price and give them a period of time in which they can buy at the reserve.”

 

Part of auction houses’ process for repositioning themselves in a down market is focusing on the categories that have generated the best sales and on where their largest group of buyers lives. Ivey- Selkirk has been “doing more in the area of modern and contemporary art,” said Howald, which includes decorative art and design, while Leslie Hindman found that “the photography market looks pretty good, relative to other categories.”

 

Shannon’s auction house in Stamford, Connecticut has “been trying to target contemporary art, which we don’t usually sell. I’m trying to hybridize things,” auction house president Gene Shannon told ARTnewsletter.

 

All of the smaller auction houses surveyed reported a greater use of the World Wide Web, partly as a channel for taking bids—Litchfield County Auctions in Connecticut, for example, conducts all of its major auctions through iGavel.com—as well as a means of sending out downloadable flyers and brochures by e-mail to reduce their printing and mailing costs. —Daniel Grant

 

ARTnewsletter, February 17, 2009

• February 1 and 2 Furniture and Decorative Arts Auction a Huge Success Despite Shaky Economy



Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ Furniture and Decorative Arts auction on Sunday, February 1 and Monday, February 2 kicked the New Year off with a strong start despite the shaky economy. The sale total was $1,215,000, exceeding the high estimate of $1,113,540 for the 83% of the lots sold. The auction included English, American and Continental furniture and decorative arts; silver; 19th and 20th century glass and decorative arts; rugs and carpets; antiquities; and Asian works of art.

Highlights included a Qinglong Pale Celadon Jade Vase that sold to a Hong Kong dealer for $96,400, far surpassing its pre-sale estimate of $15,000-20,000. Bidders competing for the vase included international phone bidders, collectors and dealers in the salesroom as well as internet bidders from all over the globe. Other highlights from the Asian Works of Art session included a Near White Jade Lidded Koro which sold for $31,200.

The Furniture and Decorative Arts session was especially exciting with a French Porcelain Mounted Gilt Bronze Singing Bird Automaton Mantel Clock attracting nearly twenty bidders and selling for $27,600. Other notable lots included a Daum Cameo Glass Crocus Vase which brought $18,300 against its pre-sale estimate of $8,000-12,000; a Louis XVI Style Gilt Metal Mounted Vitrine which nearly doubled its estimate of $4,000-6,000 selling for $10,370 and a Continental Parquetry Commode, which sold for $9150 against its estimate of $2,000-4,000. English silver also fetched strong prices, with nearly every lot selling for over the pre-sale estimate.

The next Furniture and Decorative Arts auction will take place May 5 and 6. Please contact us by email at or phone at 312.280.1212 for more information.

• Live Bidding on www.lesliehindman.com to Launch with January 18, 2009 Marketplace Auction



Leslie Hindman Auctioneers is pleased to announce the launch of our live bidding platform this month, starting with our Sunday, January 18, 2009 Marketplace auction.

As you now know, eBay discountinued its live auction platform at the end of 2008. In its absence, we will be providing a full live bidding experience on our website.

Everything from bidding to browsing our online catalogues, auction calendar and auction updates will now be only a click away.

 

Learn more about LHLive.

 

• Why Auctions Thrive In A Bad Economy



While the stock markets were tanking Wednesday, the opposite was happening at Christie’s New York auction house. There, a jewelry auction was taking place, and from the bidding and final take, one would never know the economy is struggling.


The auction sold 69% by lot and 82% by value, resulting in a total haul of $29 million. The highlight of the auction, two Ponahalo Diamonds, sold for $4.1 million and $2.2 million each.

“In a volatile market when the Dow lost 700 points in a day, nearly $30 million of jewelry and precious stones changed hands at Christie’s in less than five hours, thus demonstrating the relative stability of the jewelry market and the long dependability of gems as a store of portable value,” Rahul Kadakia, Christie’s head of jewelry, said in a statement.

And this isn’t the only time auction houses have shown how immune they can be to tough economic conditions.

Mere days after Lehman Brothers’ collapse, a yellow diamond ring went for $144,000, four times the expected price, during a Sept. 22 sale at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers in Chicago. Three days later, a sapphire and diamond Van Cleef and Arpel’s ring sold for $656,500 at Sotheby’s, more than double its pre-sale estimate.

“Whenever things get rocky elsewhere, like the stock market, we always find jewelry and diamonds do very well,” says Joanna Hardy, head of jewelry at Sotheby’s London. “These investment pieces are something you can put in your pocket, and are more reassuring than assets sitting in stocks.”

As luxury consumers lose their liquidity, they tend to start considering other forms of investments that can hold their value in bad times--and skyrocket in price when times are good. Contemporary art is a prime example.

“What other form of art can you get the crème de la crème for only 10,000 pounds [$17,279]?” says Kerry Taylor, owner of Kerry Taylor Auctions in London.
There are closer-to-earth bargains, too. For 100 pounds ($172.80) a bidder can snap up an original 1950s ball gown. Those looking for investment pieces can find a couture Chanel suit or Yves Saint Laurent gown for a fraction of the cost at retail--and perhaps turn around and sell the items later.

“It’s a great value for the money,” Taylor says. “These vintage pieces are well made, with fantastic fabrics, and a majority of the time are better quality than any item you will find today.”

And the prices are on a steady rise, Hardy says, since consumers are educated as to what items are of higher quality. “They have become more appreciative and discerning,” she says, and that’s what pushes up prices over time.

What also makes auctions of interest during difficult times is the sheer flood of items that go on the block. The economic downturn has been a driving force behind new consignors showing up at auction houses. Hardy says Sotheby’s Dec. 9 jewelry auction has 430 lots, while its last major auction on Sept. 25 had just 130 lots.

“Especially when it comes to jewelry, many people have items sitting in their safety deposit boxes that they don’t need and haven’t worn for years,” says Leslie Hindman, owner of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers. “They are looking in their closets and seeing what they can sell to make some quick money.”

What are you buying or selling on the auction market? Weigh in. Share your experiences in the Reader Comments section below.

In some cases, the pre-auction hype far exceeds expectations. The highly anticipated Hip Hop Crown Jewels auction at Phillips de Pury & Company in New York has been pushed back to March 5, 2009, from Oct. 1, to “accommodate the increased demand from consignors and buyers who wish to participate in the sale,” according to a statement by the auction house.

But this doesn’t mean auction houses and their clients aren’t skittish going forward--the rug could be pulled out from under them with plenty of consignors but no buyers. Most houses are taking a wait-and-see approach since they’ve seen troubles in other corners of the world.

After Sotheby’s Hong Kong auction on Oct. 7, where big stone after big stone went unsold and the total missed pre-auction estimates, the house’s stock price dropped 5.8%.

“For auction houses, you are only as good as your last sale,” Hardy says.

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