Mimi Favre knows more than a thing or two about jewelry. A fine jeweler who has worked the benches of some of NYC’s pre-eminent jewelry houses, Mimi won AGTA Spectrum 2015 platinum honors in the classical category for an elegant pair of tourmaline earrings. So when Bidsquare offered a Jewelry Hunt at the Metropolitan Museum with lunch for four, as part of its Bidsquare Cares program, Mimi didn’t hesitate. Securing the prize with a winning bid, she lined up friends Holly Bauer and Kathleen Davidson and headed for The MET. Mimi Favre and (left) her award-winning tourmaline earrings For Mimi the day couldn’t have worked out better. Sarah Churgin, Director of Silver and Jewelry at Rago Arts and Auction, was their guide for the day. To Mimis great delight, Sarah brought along author and jewelry historian Janet Zapata as a surprise guest. The gir...Read More

Sore feet and satisfied smiles were in abundance last weekend as the hammer fell on the final lot of Rago Arts and Auction Centers mammoth Estates, Fine Jewelry, Unreserved Jewelry, Coins and Currency sale. With a healthy crowd both in attendance and online, the three-day auction realized $1,806,126 in sales for the auction house and its consignors. “We are extremely pleased with the results,” said David Rago. “In particular, with the strength and geographical breadth of the online bidders. We had participation from all points of the globe – Australia, India, Spain…it speaks volumes to the efforts made by Rago & Bidsquare to globalize our business.” Topping the sale was Lot 1168 (above), a Japanese Myochin School Iron Articulated Snake that brought a final bid of $118,750. Sold on day three as part of the Great Estates sale, the snake is co...Read More

It isn’t every day one gets the chance to buy pieces that once showed in admired collections at the MET. Yet in the Spring Couture and Textiles from Museum Collections sale, set down for April 24 & 25, bidders get that opportunity and so much more. Lot 530 (left) - a Silk Brocade Robe a L’Anglaise; Lot 566 (right) - Moire Silk and Velvet Gown with Embroidery This sale is an absolute must for anyone with a passion for the history of couture. Featuring over 175 lots of historical 18th & 19th Century costumes from collections that include The MET, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, FIT, and various Historical Societies, the two-day event offers price points for every buyer or enthusiast. Property from private collectors and estates will also be sold, including works by two of the nation’s most celebrated African American fashion designers: ...Read More

Stanley and Shirley Kritzik lived in Milwaukee for 50 years. Stanley, a partner at a property management firm in southeastern Wisconsin; Shirley, a supporter of art, ballet, music, and other cultural pursuits. The couple brought a sense of luxury and glamour to the Midwest, and Mrs Kritzik in particular, became a truly iconic figure in the region. Raised on a farm in Iowa, her impeccable eye for fashion was never compromised by her distance from the country’s trendsetting metropolises. Lot 220 (Pucci), Lot 458 (Oscar de la Renta) & Lot 224 (Halston) “Shirley was a woman who appreciated taste, style and culture, “ said Mr. Kritzik, who shared anecdotes about his wife during a visit from Leslie Hindman. “She was always a role model in style and fashion to those who knew her.” Lot 82 - A Chanel Red Patent Leather Jumbo Double Flap Bag Leslie H...Read More

Ask anyone with half an idea for his or her list of the coolest actors of the 20th Century and there’s a good chance it will include Paul Newman. Hud, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Hustler, Newman personified a cool that only the likes of Steve McQueen and James Dean could match. The Newman legacy comes under the spotlight April 19 & 20 when Leslie Hindman Auctioneers conduct their Important Fine Jewelry and Timepieces sales. Sold on the second day as Lot 67 of the Timepieces sale, the 1969 stainless steel “Paul Newman” Daytona Cosmograph, from Rolex comes with its original box and papers and an estimated price tag between $50,000-70,000. Daytona was a special place for Newman, a racetrack where he enjoyed tremendous success driving sports cars, so this is the perfect way to channel you inner “Butch Cassidy" and pick up a superlative timepiece...Read More

Bids were flying thick and fast in Downingtown, PA last Saturday when Pook & Pook held their sale of International Furniture, Fine Arts, and Accessories. With lots covering a vast range of categories and price points up for grabs, most bidders found ample opportunity to satisfy their needs. Auctioneer James Pook felt the sale was strong, particularly in the areas of European and Asian art and furniture. “We are very happy with the results, he said. Two lots shared the honor of topping the sale, the final bid on both pieces coming at $26,400. The first, an exquisite Chinese Hardwood Writing Table (above right) dating from the 19th Century, the other (above left), oil on canvas by French painter Louis Valtat, titled Femme au Châle and completed in 1912. Another highlight of the sale was Lot 1365, a stunning Chinese throne chair. Recently feat...Read More

A few years ago, just before we were to sell a large collection of contemporary wall art (paintings, prints, etc.), a dealer from NYC confronted me in my auction hall and asked who exactly was responsible for the ultra-conservative estimates. When I told him I was he said, flatly, and not with a little attitude, “You are doing the artists and the art a great disservice.” What he really meant was that our low estimates, often no more than 20% of what galleries (like his) sold the work for a decade earlier, were undermining the prices he was asking for pieces by the same artists. My response was appropriately bland, “If the work is so cheap, you should bid on it.” When you buy a work of art from a gallery (and sometimes from an auction), you should compare it to buying a new car you’ve just driven off the lot. You buy a car because you want i...Read More

Nothing signals the arrival of spring like the chirping of birds. NEST celebrates the alliance of innovative designers with the birding community by providing elegant accommodations for our avian friends. Contemporary homes arent just for people anymore! Designers and Architects concentrate their talents into producing birdhouses that range from functional to conceptual, minimal to multifaceted, and portable to permanent structures. Some projects address specific needs for regional birds like the American Robin or Black Capped Chickadee, some houses deter predatory attacks, while others are more conceptual art objects. Richard Levy Gallery is pleased to present NEST, an exhibition of visionary birdhouses created by award winning architects and designers. NEST features a 2 week gallery exhibit with a corresponding international online auctio...Read More

As amazing as it sounds, Henry Gasser had a lifelong love affair with New Jersey. Born in Newark in 1909, he lived, studied and worked in the Garden State right up to his death in Orange in 1981. A master of watercolors and oils, he painted everyday subjects - street life, back yards, old houses, as well as harbor and fishing village scenes. On Tuesday, March 24, John Moran Auctioneers will sell Gasser’s A Street Corner in Patterson, New Jersey, as Lot 51 in their California & American Art Auction. A painting typical of the artist’s work, it captures perfectly one of Gasser’s recurring themes – an atmosphere he liked to call "solitary silence." The work is done in casein on paper laid to paperboard under glass. Gasser earned his artistic chops at the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art, a school he returned to from 1946-54 to serve as ...Read More

Nothing gives a room a shot of much needed dignity more than the placing of a finely carved bust or sculpture in a well-lit corner. And while some consider it bad form to commission work based on your own profile (that’s you Mr. Hasselhoff), no one can complain when the piece in question is considered an artistic gem. Which brings us to Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ sale of the private collection of Lars Bolander, one of Sweden’s top interior designers and a pioneer of Swedish design in the U.S. After many years of having a showroom on West Palm Beach’s “Antique Row,” Mr. Bolander has decided to move on, and is selling his nearby home and personal treasures. Among his collection are some fine crafted sculptures, particularly the busts. Lot 101 is a striking pair of early 20th Century Venetian Terra Cotta Busts, each depicting a turbaned Moor ...Read More