Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Esmerian Sale sets Record at $12.95m

January 25, 2014 by Marion Maneker

20140125-162036.jpg

Sotheby’s is celebrating the success of its $12.95m folk art sale from the Ralph Esmerian bankruptcy which slightly eclipsed the previous record set in 1994 of $12.29m:

Top prices were achieved by superb examples across a remarkable range of disciplines represented in the collection, including carvings, portraits, weathervanes, painted furniture and more. The top lot of the auction was Samuel Robb’s carved figure of Santa Claus, which sold for $875,000 – multiples of its $250,000 high estimate (image attached). Robb created the work as a Christmas present for his daughter, Elizabeth, in 1923.

Other notable prices included: Ruth Whittier Shute and Samuel Addison Shute’s Portrait of Jeremiah H. Emerson, which fetched $665,000 (est. $150/200,000); a Rare Carved Pine Pheasant Hen Weathervane, probably Connecticut circa 1875, that brought $449,000 (est. $200/3000,000); and The Carver Limner, painted by an unknown artist in Freeport, Maine circa 1835 and depicting three members of the local Carver family, which sold for $521,000 (est. $100/150,000).

Scottsdale Wants in on Folk Art

July 12, 2010 by Marion Maneker

The Arizona Republic reports that Scottsdale is looking at Santa Fe’s three-day International Folk Art Market–which attracts 23,000 buyers and lookers. The market hosts more than 100 artists from 46 countries, selling indigenous art at a wide range of prices.

The Scottsdale Public Art and the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, under the direction of the Scottsdale Cultural Council, want to organize their own market, which could debut by fall 2012:

“A lot of people think of folk art as inexpensive things made for tourists,” said Tim Rodgers, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art director. “But this is high-end craft with traditions that go back generations.”Continue Reading

Folk Art Frenzy

May 8, 2010 by Marion Maneker

Lindsay Pollock reports on the surprise bidding battle for a work of American Folk Art at Keno Auctions in its inaugural Stamford sale. The Gansevoort Limner painting was estimated at $80,000 but the bidding drove the price to $1.1m, according to Pollock:

Portrait of Anna Brodhead Oliver, attributed to the Gansevoort Limner. (Photo: Keno Auctions)

Connecticut dealer David Schorsch bought the painting on behalf of a private American folk art collector he declined to name. He dates the work to 1739.

“I’m sorry we had to pay quite so much money, but it’s a masterpiece,” said Schorsch in a phone interview. Schorsch said there were four other bidders up to $500,000, and then he and another collector battled to the finish. “I was almost getting to my breaking point, so I’m glad he stopped.”

Bidders Chase Filthy 18th C. Beauty at Keno Auctions, Price Soars (LindsayPollock.com)

LiveArt

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor
 

Loading Comments...