Mourlot Studios was founded in Paris in 1852 by François Mourlot. Also known as Imprimerie Mourlot, Mourlot Freres and Atelier Mourlot, the printing shop began by producing wallpaper and then expanded into the production of labels for chocolate companies, as well as maps and stationery. The Mourlot family print shop was taken over by Fernand Mourlot in the early 1920s who converted one of their locations into a studio dedicated to fine art lithography printing. Under Fernand, The Mourlot studio on Rue Chabrol was a hub of artistic activity, producing lithographs by Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, Miro, Braque, Leger, Giacometti and other artists who came to work directly on the lithographic stones. Mourlot regarded the lithograph as a painter’s medium and encouraged artists to treat it as such. The resurgence of interest in lithography offered a...Read More

There is a certain level of satisfaction that comes with wearing vintage and antique jewelry that just cannot be contested with present-day makes. For instance, clasping a Cartier bracelet around ones wrist that was forged for the likes of Hollywood stars such as Sofia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn conveys an air of tribute and elegance that demands prestige. Vintage and antique jewelry contains the histories and creative eyes of the times it was defining - adding a special dash of interest that just isn’t inherent in contemporary styles (yet).  Familiarizing oneself on how to tell styles like Art Deco, Edwardian and Art Moderne apart, not only makes for a clever conversation starter, but it makes browsing through auction catalogs much more exciting.  To get you started on the basics, we called upon John Colasacco, a specialist...Read More

Rago caught up with their 20th/21st C. Design Specialist, Jad Attal, to discuss his favorite piece in their September 22-23 Design Auctions: a ca. 1950 Model 2129 Cabinet designed by Gio Ponti for Singer & Sons. - When did you first become aware of Gio Ponti? Gio Ponti’s work was always all around me, I just didn’t know it until I began taking courses in the History of Architecture. During a class presentation of Ponti buildings and homes, I noticed furniture in the background of the slides that I’d seen in local shops, including a flip-top console/dining table I had previously spotted in a Montclair, NJ antiques shop. It stood out because of its angular legs, simple materiality and ease of function. I bought it, but I didn’t stop there. Before long I found a set of stainless steel Ponti flatware at a garage sale and purchased it for the sa...Read More

Here at Bidsquare, we believe in putting our best foot forward - especially if that foot is gigantic, orange and able to accomodate your friends during movie night.  If you're the type that prefers to sink yourself into a vinyl sole, hunker down into the palm of a golden hand or likes to store your belongings in curiously shaped cabinets, then we have just the sale for you.    Lot 2157, Nicola L, Orange Foot Sofa, France, late 1960s; $2,500 - $3,500 On September 23rd, Rago will host their Modern Design auction featuring a rambuctious group of designs by makers such as Yves Boucard, Wendell Castle, Shiro Kuramata and Pedro Friedeberg as well as massive sculptures by Albert Paley. Headlining the sale will be a spectacular single-owner, fresh to market collection of Harry Bertoia works as well as over forty lots of Mira and George Nakashima wo...Read More

Ahead of Rago's September 22-23 Design Auctions, they sat down with Suzanne Perrault, the Co-Director of their Design Department, to get to know a little bit about one of her favorite pieces in the sale: "Battuto Pool Balls" by artist Richard Marquis. - When did you first become aware of Richard Marquis? Our first professional experience with Marquis’ work involved selling several of the “Noble Effort” pieces Marquis made with Ro Purser in the late 1990s and early 2000s. They were very pretty, simple shapes with murrines (cross-cut pieces of glass) blown into the surface. I didn’t realize back then what an eager market there would be for his work. - What do you find special/unique/exceptional about him and his creations? A couple of things, actually. I appreciate his quirkiness and sense of humor, and his use of repeated motifs in his creat...Read More

The fall Asian Art auctions are well underway with multiple sales occurring during New York Asia Week! Not to be outdone, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers will be offering their own spectacular Asian Works of Art auction on September 17th. This sale features over 600 objects from China, Japan, Korea, the Himalayan region, and India.  Lot 256, A Large Chinese Blue and White Porcelain Dragon and Phoenix Moonflask; Estimate $30,000 - $40,000 One of the star pieces from this sale is lot 256, a large Chinese Blue and White Porcelain Dragon and Phoenix Moonflask. Dated to the Late Qing Dynasty, this flask features a six-character Qianlong mark to its base and pays homage to earlier 18th Century examples. Its body contains an impressive design of an imperial phoenix and dragon surrounded by heavenly clouds, and the handles feature the heads of archaisti...Read More

By all accounts, Joan Mitchell was as tough as they come. Aggressive. Defiant. Unapologetic. Contemporaries remember her voice as being like a worn cello. Her vocabulary rivaled a sailor’s. She was unique company. She brooked no opposition. She also was a great artist. Born in Chicago in 1927 and educated at Smith College and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Mitchell moved to New York in 1949 and became a central figure in the emerging Abstract Expressionist movement, exhibiting with Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning in the now famous Ninth Street Show in 1951. In 1959, she emigrated to France living first in Paris and then in Vétheuil, 65 kilometers northwest of the capital where Claude Monet had worked between 1878 and 1881. Monet haunted Mitchell throughout her life despite her fervent denials to the contrary. (Fact. Repro...Read More

As Earth's largest and most populated continent, Asia and the exquisite works of art found there, represent nearly half of the world's artistic traditions. Within this one category, art enthusiasts can relish in a myriad of civilizations, religions and skillful techniques stretching back thousands of years.  In the auction world, many of us observe in awe as pristine Asian Art objects become available for public view, and at how often these works find themselves, (rather, re-find themselves) being purchased by buyers with a profound understanding of this ancient and complex subject. There are countless points of intrigue within Asian Art; golden threads conjure the menacing grins of silk dragons, nirvana rattles inside the metal bodies of meditating deities and elegant ink trails deliver folklore by the tip of a horse hair brush! Here to he...Read More

The rebellious ribbon handles and collapsing folds that mingle around George Ohr's vases seem to behave themselves just fine once they reach Rago's high-end, fall catalogs. It is with Rago, and more specifically David Rago, that the utter strangeness of George Ohr can be taken seriously - very seriously.  David Rago has been auctioning ceramic wonders by George Ohr since the 1980s, well before the 19th Century eccentric gained recognition in the art market. The consistent consignment of stunning rarities at Rago, along with steadily growing interest in the artist (over the course of several decades) has nurtured a passionate desire for Ohr that burns as hot as his fire-red glazes. Lot 236, George Ohr, Exceptional Tall Vase with Ribbon Handles, Raspberry, Green, and Gunmetal Glaze, Biloxi, MS, 1897-1900; Estimate $37,500 - $42,500 Here to fl...Read More

With the start of another highly anticipated autumn art auction season, Skinner in Boston is showcasing 588 lots for their Asian Works of Art sale on September 14. This auction includes objects from China, Japan, Korea, India, the Himalayan region and the Islamic World. Many different categories are represented including furniture, religious objects, textiles, porcelains, paintings, jade carvings and earthenwares. Lot 25, Jamini Roy, Bride and Two Companions, India, Gouache on paper; Estimate $15,000 - $25,000 One of the highlights of the Skinner sale is lot 25, a painting of a Bride and Two Companions by Indian modernist master Jamini Roy (1887-1872). Known as one of the forefathers of the Progressive School of Indian painting, Roy was classically trained in the Western painting styles with a preference for landscapes and figures. However,...Read More