Auction News Network

Vintage Dartmouth Posters At Swann’s

Since 1911, Dartmouth College has been staging its famous Winter Carnival. Back in the ‘40’s it even inspired a movie, on which F. Scott Fitzgerald was briefly—until he overindulged at the festival– a writer. As it happens, every year for the past hundred there’s also been a new poster for the event, featuring a winning student design. Next month, Swann Galleries will sell a number of these vintage classics from the ‘30’s, ‘40’s, and ’50 as part of its Vintage Poster auction.

Update: The top selling ski poster was Herbert Bayer’s 1946 “Ski In Aspen, Colorado,” which brought in $16,800.

New Collector Car Investment Fund

Want a share of a rare vintage automobile—say, a beautifully preserved Delahaye roadster?  A new Guernsey-based fund called IGA Automobile LP will invest in “iconic cars,” seeking rapid appreciation.

RM Kicks Off Phoenix Auction

RM’s auction of vintage motorcars begins tomorrow in Phoenix with “The British Are Back,” a sale devoted to British automobiles. The January 20 lineup is unusually diverse, offering such rare examples as a 1952 Tojeiro MG Barchetta Sports Racer (est. $200-$250,000), a 1952 Allard J2X Roadster (est. $175-$225,000), and a 1932 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost Phaeton originally owned by a Maharajah (est. $300-$450,000).

Update: RM posted a $19.6 million tally for the two-day event. Top seller was a1963 Aston Martin DB4 GT that brought in $1,001,000; a1967 Shelby Cobra from the famed Otis Chandler collection was the next highest lot at $632,500.

The World’s Greatest Toy Collection

Very few people have seen the world’s greatest collection of toys and trains. Until now, that is:   Sotheby’s is exhibiting selections from the astounding 35,000 piece Jerni Collection at its New York headquarters through February, Seeking a private sale, Sotheby’s is offering the collection, valued at $40-$50 million, as a single lot.

Lord Raglan’s Bugatti

For over 30 years, Fitzroy Somerset, the 5^th Lord Raglan, owned this bright red 1933 Bugatti Type 51 Grand Prix Two-Seater. Through the years, the former Chairman of the Bugatti Owner’s Club restored and raced the car extensively. “If Bugatti-worship were a religion,” wrote The Guardian in his obituary, “then the atheist…Lord Raglan would have been its pope.”  Bonhams will offer his Bugatti at its Motorcar auction on February 5^th in Paris, where it will carry an estimate of $1.3-$1.9 million.

Sotheby’s Old Masters Week

A multi-figure painting by Renaissance master Titian, one of the few remaining in private hands, highlights Sotheby’s Old Masters week in New York, where “Sacra Conversazione: The Madonna and Child with Saints Luke and Catherine of Alexandria” is expected to sell for $15-$20 million. Works belonging to the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art are also featured at the two-day sale beginning on January 26.

European Masters At Christie’s

Encouraged by the results of its Old Masters sale last month in London, which saw a lot of bidding from Asia and new markets, Christie’s is anticipating keen international interest in its massive, two-day European Masters sale in New York, beginning on January 26. Over 300 examples of 14^th-19^th century art will be offered, including a scene of Venice by Luca Carlevarijs (1663-1739) that’s expected to fetch $3.5-$4.5 million.

Keno Offers Winslow Homer & Americana

Americana specialist Leigh Keno, of Antiques Roadshow fame, launched his Keno Auctions with a sale last May. On January 18th,  he’ll stage another in New York, offering a mix of paintings, American furniture, decorative arts, silver, and items of Americana. Two highlights are an 1880 watercolor, “Five Boys at the Shore,” by Winslow Homer (est.$350-$450,000), and a number of sketches by Andrew Wyeth.

Update: the Winslow Homer sold for $340,000, just under the low estimate. A William and Mary veneered high chest of drawers scored a $260,000 sale, more than twice its high estimate, but a “monumental” Federal mahogany dining table, estimated at $60-$90,000, failed to find a buyer.

Rare Megola Motorcycle At Bonhams

Only 2,000 Megola motorcycles were produced in Germany between 1921 and 1925. Perhaps for good reason: the bike has a strikingly unorthodox design, with a 640cc five-cylinder radial engine built into the front wheel. Few examples survive; the one that Bonhams will sell on February 5 in Paris was restored circa 1990, and is expected to bring in $230-$318,000.

High-End Art Online

Will art collectors part with huge sums online? Traditionally, buyers have wanted to inspect the art they’re buying, but now all that’s changing. At the virtual VIP Art Fair, which begins next weekend and runs until January 30, online visitors will bid on blue-chip art offered by nearly 140 high-end galleries from more than 30 countries. The art includes works by Jackson Pollock, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Francis Bacon, and Damien Hirst.

A “Rediscovered” Warhol

Much of the biggest art world news of 2010 concerned the huge prices claimed by works of contemporary art, in particular those by Andy Warhol. Christie’s hopes to tap into that trend at its London Post-War and Contemporary Art sale on February 16, when it will offer a “rediscovered” Warhol self-portrait, in private hands since 1974. The massive painting is expected to bring in $4.7-$7.8 million.

Impressionist & Modern Art At Christie’s

All the big guns will be on display at Christie’s next month, when the auction house offers works by Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Georges Braque, among others, at its Impressionist & Modern Art sale in London. The highlight at the February 9^th sale is expected to be “Sunflower,” a Gauguin masterpiece that’s expected to sell for $11-$15 million.

Gooding’s Collector Car Sale In Scottsdale

Having scored the three highest automobile auction sales of 2010, Gooding & Company is looking to extend its streak in Scottsdale on January 21-22. Three cars from the estate of noted collector Benny Caiola highlight the sale: a pristine 2005 Maserati MC12 with just 730 miles (est. $1.1-$1.4 million); a 2006 Ferrari FXX Evoluzione (est. $2.2-$2.5 million); and a 1999 Ferrari 333Sp (est. $800,000-$1 million).

Churchill’s Cigar And A Fossilized Pig

How’s this for eclectic—Winston Churchill’s half-smoked cigar, a 35 million year-old fossilized giant pig, and Christmas presents from the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. These and other colorful items make up the assortment of offerings at Bonhams’ annual “Gentlemen’s Library Sale” on January 19 in London.

Update: The magic of Winston Churchill’s name continues to add value. One of Churchill’s dentures sold for $30,500, and his half-smoked cigar for $2098. More valuable than either was a worn leather cigar case that belonged to the memorably named  Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a noted Victorian-era engineer: it sold for a remarkable $41,970, and his folding rule snagged another $34,340. Fittingly enough for a Gentlemen’s Library Sale, the top lot was a pair of 1810 Library Globes, which fetched $57,232.

Huge Gold Lunker for Sale

A huge nugget, weighing  nearly 6.9 pounds of solid gold will go up for sale  March 15 in Sacramento at a no reserve auction by Holabird-Kagin Americana. A property owner found the“lunker” (as they’re called) in what was once part of the high Sierra California gold rush country.