antiques
Garage Sale Friday
It’s not that I’ve been finding great stuff at garage sales these last weeks and then not posting about it; it’s not even that I haven’t been going to garage sales. I have. Every week, without fail. I just haven’t been buying anything. Some of the sales even had really nice stuff that I thought about buying. But I didn’t. In order for me to buy something at a garage sale, it has to be something that I’ve already identified a need for, or something that is a true Antiques Roadshow find. And those things just don’t come around on a regular basis. Such is the unpredictable and random nature of the garage sale.
In the past, friends of mine have heard about my great garage sale finds, and insisted on coming along with me on a Friday or Saturday morning. After we’ve visited 10+ sales and walked away empty-handed, they sometimes get a puzzled look, as if to say “OK, where’s those awesome finds“? And the answer is that we may need 20 more Fridays. We may have to go to 95 more sales. That’s just how it is. But I always enjoy the ride. I enjoy the heck out of the 95 sales that I have to go to find the treasure hidden in number 96. The people, the clutter, the stuff, the peek into the choices someone else has made in their buying, and, in the case of an estate sale, a true look into the stuff of their lives – their travels, their kids, their memories. In a lot of cases, the stuff that I buy is just an added perk.
Art at Auction: Why the heck didn’t this sell?!
Among the unsold lots from Treadway Gallery‘s Sept. 13 sale are some fantastic pieces that are worth sharing. The auction overall had a very nice selection; although I haven’t been following their auctions closely for the last couple of years (but having been a frequent buyer and consignor before then), the selection struck me as uncommonly good. As with any auction, however, there are lots that go unsold, and Treadway is kind enough to post these online along with purchase prices.
Paging Walker Evans? This is a fantastic image, and although the photographer is not a particularly well-known one, the purchase price is dirt cheap. How did this beauty go unsold in the first place?
I’m bullish on Caser. Because he’s associated with Illinois, I see his work on a regular basis. And Treadway is an auction house that frequently offers his work. His beautiful, delicate art nouveau style of painting is consistently top notch, regardless of subject matter. And lovely young nude ladies, as far as subject matter, is golden. His auction records have only recently begun to pick up the requisite steam, yet oddly this beauty did not sell. As icing on the cake, the frame, at least from the front, looks an awful lot like a Carrig Rohane, which would be worth the asking price all by itself. Totally fallen between the cracks, this one.
I heart Brown County art. Especially that of the heavy hitters such as Griffith. This painting has all the glory of his best pieces; the only reason I can imagine that it didn’t sell (because Griffith’s work almost always sells) is that the estimate might have been a tad high (though perfectly reasonable) for this market at 10-15k. The purchase price, however, is a bargain, and a fine investment.
Art at Auction: James D. Julia, the Brave
It was without a doubt an exceptionally bold move: in the midst of this economic slump, at the end of the summer, when many art buyers are typically doing other things anyway, James D. Julia, a Maine auction house, holds a spectacular 4 day auction, including upward of around 850 lots of fine art. That’s right: 850 lots. The offerings ranged from those estimated in the low hundreds to the six figures, many offered without reserve. Talk about a stimulus plan for the art market! And here’s what happened: the auction brought in 3.1 million. People bought art. The top lot in the auction, and cover lot for their catalog, the Stunning 20″ x 30″ canvas entitled “The Villa Borghese, Rome, 1871, by George Inness: 
Sold for $132,250
Because the offerings were so vast and diverse, it’s difficult, at the moment, to characterize the individual results with any broad statement. Looking only at the unsold lots, though, the bulk seem to have been among the paintings estimated at the mid-to-high four figure, and low five figure range. Perhaps this is the market sector that has been hit the hardest over the last year: the buyer of the 10k painting. Outside of this range, the results reflect really a rather strong auction. By their website’s own account, “Along with a capacity crowd, active internet participation and a telephone bank that, in several occasions showed 16 people standing, bidding was very active and proved that fresh conservatively estimated quality goods are still in demand and can fetch strong prices”. A heartfelt Bravo, James Julia, for taking such a chance on the art market. Encore!!
Picks from my Ebay Watchlist
I haven’t been wildly excited about the pickings in original art on Ebay lately. The worthwhile investment pieces have looked either fishy (in other words, likely fake), or have been offered with ridiculously high prices/opening bids. I have managed, though, to pool a nice assortment together to post:
A great 16 x 20 oil by Beaux Arts graduate and San Francisco artist Ethel Marjory Wallace (b. 1891). This painting has such a delicate appeal, and the gold ground is highly Klimt-esque. Ethel Wallace is a listed artist, but without any sales records that I can find, so the pricing is somewhat arbitrary. The buy-it-now price of 950 seems a little high for an artist without sales records, but given the style and subject matter, this could be a real sleeper of a painting. As more of her work comes to market, a solid price point will be revealed, and it is likely to be at least in the four figures, if her other work is on par with this painting. I would think a winning bid of 750 or less would be an excellent buy.
This oil painting is full of bells and whistles for me — A period 1930s modernist city scene that is simple and charming and……..WOW! Can that price be right? Seriously, this painting is easily worth twice or three times the buy-it-now price of $325. True, Green’s sales records have been very mixed for the last 10 years or so, but it looks like the market has also been flooded with some pretty sub-par work. His early auction records are very strong; up to $2500. The clincher for me is that it looks like a distant cousin to a work in Barridoff Galleries Aug sale that I much admired: Stefan Hirsch’s “City Nocturne“, estimated at 70-90k, sold for 110k.
Great painting by an early 20th century California artist who was very prolific, so sales records are plentiful. Judging from sales in the last couple of years, this painting would bring about 2k; the seller has it listed for $725. Good buy! Quality work by early California artists continues to be a good investment.
Garage Sale Friday
In lieu of today’s haul, I offer the following Golden Rule of garage sale-ing:
Never Buy Something Just Because It’s Cheap
I’ve seen it play over and over: Two ladies at a garage sale, one hold up a widget and says “Look at this, Janet!”. Janet looks and mutters “Umm hmmm…..but what are you going to do with it, Betty”? Betty shrugs and says “……..but it’s only a dollar“!! Janet shrugs, Betty buys the widget.
This is a slippery slope, my friends, and one that I have sailed down myself. Paying only a dollar for something is not a reason in itself to buy it. At a garage sale, or anywhere. This is how pack rats are made. I have seen many an estate sale of people who filled their basements with these garage sale finds, unopened boxes of things bought on the Shopping Channels, stuff with 10 year old tags still on it. Cheap stuff, that’s unneccessary and unused, becomes a burden. And you become poorer for it, albeit little by little.
Picks from my Ebay Watchlist
First of all, a hearty congratulations to the new owner of the fantastic Guy Pene duBois oil that was on my last list — at 2627, it was a magnificent bargain!
This time, I’ve got a couple more that have hit my appraiser’s sweet spot:
- Walter Krawiec Art Sketch Circus Drawing Horse Clown I have a weak spot for Walter Krawiec, and for that matter, most early 20th century circus artists. Because he is an Illinois artist, I do see his work on a fairly regular basis, and have watched his prices rise over the last 10 or so years, as his appeal is crossover (that is, collected by two different groups: collectors of 20th century American art, and collectors of circus memoribilia). $150 for this piece, which because it is a circus subject is premier for the artist, is very very reasonable.
- Indiana Gyberson- Portrait of a nude – Signed Another artist I have a weakness for. Sigh. Another Illinois artist that I see with regularity. In fact, this is a painting that I’ve seen with regularity over the last five years. It sold at a Chicago auction house in 2004 for a jaw droppingly low $800. I actually was there to watch. Oh, why didn’t I bid?! She re-appeared again in 2005 at a Boston auction house with an estimate of 3-5k, but failed to sell. I’m sure because all of the serious bidders knew from sales records that it had sold for only 800 the previous year. But even so, that was then. Since 2005, Gyberson’s prices have been climbing, bringing a sales record of 11k for a painting of similar size and subject matter last year. It could be that this particular painting has suffered from too much exposure in the art marketplace these last years, but Gyberson is a definite buy.
Let me count the ways………..to a more sustainable way of life
Stumbled upon the following website link today, which has a very helpful list of 100 things that you can do to help protect the environment — at work, at home, in your yard, ways to produce less waste. There are always so very many things that we can do that often don’t even occur to us. I learned a great number of things just by reading through the list (case in point, number 11: “Use a microwave whenever you can instead of a conventional oven or stove“. It does make sense, but just hadn’t occurred to me. Presto!), and although several on it are already close to my heart, I will leave you with number 100: “Buy used furniture – there is a surplus of it, and it is much cheaper than new furniture“. And probably better quality, as well.
Garage Sale Friday
Friday’s haul:
Ten dollars.
Better late than never! Friday was a very busy day, so I only had the time to squeeze in one garage sale. It was a nice one, and I found the pictured canvas bag of Ikea building blocks for the Little One. He’s just getting to the age where he is interested in trying to build things, so I was excited to find them. A little too excited, perhaps, because I found that $10 is kind of a lot to pay for Ikea blocks at a garage sale, so it was by no means a good deal. The Little One showed some passing interest (mostly just in dumping out the bag), then went to play with his legos.
On a better sale-ing note, the bread machine I picked up for two bucks a couple of weeks ago has been well worth the risk, having already made a loaf of basic white bread, and dough to pop in the oven for French bread. Super yummy, and it couldn’t have been easier. This could become a habit after all!
Garage Sale Friday
Today’s haul:
Two dollars.
Two garage sales and one estate sale visited. The bread maker came from a garage sale that a woman was holding for her parents, who were selling their house to move into assisted living. The house, though small and relatively nondescript, was immaculate. I would estimate that they’d been living in the house since the 1950s, and hadn’t updated a thing. But oh my did they take exceptionally good care of it. I figured that anything I bought at the sale would also be impeccably maintained, so I saw it as a good opportunity to shop seriously. If I had been in the market for a pristine 1950s wringer washer or vacuum cleaner, this was the place. They had both. But I did pick up this little guy, complete with all parts, instruction manual, and cookbook to boot. The daughter recalled her mom using it all the time, but it looks like new.
I had been thinking about getting a bread machine lately; wondering if I’d use one if I had it, or if it would be just another thing taking up space. I guess we’ll see about that one! Right now, I’m dreaming about fresh homemade rolls to go with dinner. If I can master the basic steps, I can make it a habit. Fingers crossed.
Garage Sale Friday
It’s summer! It’s Friday! Get thee out to garage sales! In my way of thinking, this is the best form of recycling. People shed the stuff they don’t want or no longer need, and the rest of us get a chance on a super bargain. Furnishings, books, clothes, household items, sporting goods, antiques, jewelry…….. This morning I stopped by two garage sales and one estate sale. I bought a small basket of the perfect size to hold the following stuff:
50 cents.
I could have paid more for a new plastic-y thing a la the one I saw in Target the other day, but consider it one less little thing that will end up in a landfill. Basket looks better anyway. Saw an adorable 1960s Lisa Larson for Gustavsberg pottery bulldog (seen here at an online shop) at the estate sale for $45. A steal, and I love her designs, but am sworn off knicky knacky things lately.
I have been garage sale-ing for about as long as I can remember. I have purchased an untold number of things from garage and estate sales. I have resold many of those things and gone on to buy more. Some highlights: A gorgeous small Julian Onderdonk painting, a first edition 1831 copy of The Personal Narrative of James O. Pattie of Kentucky, a large Gertrud and Otto Natzler bowl, a set of three Hans Wegner “The” chairs…………….a lowlight would be the 1982 Jaguar XJ6 that seemed so promising at just $250, if only I could have invested about 5 grand to get the thing running properly and exorcise the vomit-y small. A definite lowlight.
Will continue to post my garage sale Friday hits and misses. Aside from the wonderful and rare pieces, they have proven to be a wonderful source for kid stuff — lots and lots of very good quality kids stuff is to had, from toys to clothes to furnishings.
