The AAPA Convention Kicks Off this Week, Auctions from Toomey and Treadway: The Week At A Glance

compiled by Kate Nixon

 

The Ira Simon Collection: Sold for the Benefit of the Art Institute of Chicago

April 27th at 10:00 AM CDT

Toomey & Co Auctioneers

 

Toomey & Co. Auctioneers presents a single-owner sale, The Ira Simon Collection: Sold for the Benefit of the Art Institute of Chicago. Curated by Vice President & Senior Specialist John P. Walcher, this significant offering features over 300 lots with many rare and important examples of art and design from several movements, including Arts & Crafts, Art Deco and other periods. While this auction heavily features the works of  Tiffany Studios and Émile Gallé, the lighting and metalwork items for bid are fine additions to any Arts and Crafts collection. Among the Arts and Crafts items up for bid in the sale are rare Tiffany Studios items, including a rare Jeweled Drop Head Dragonfly table lamp with the shade attributed to Clara Pierce Wolcott Driscoll and a rare Scarab Humidor box made from walnut, blue and gold Favrile glass, Cypriote glass, and bronze. A collection of The Kalo Shop works include flatware, an early and large Samovar, a large tapered vase, and a paneled pitcher among others; bowls by Robert Riddle Jarvie, a large collection of Carence Crafters metalworks, and tableware by Gorham Mfg silver is well represented at the April 27th auction.

Ira Simon was a Chicago-based graphic designer who, in the 1970s and 1980s, began putting together one of the most impressive collections of late 19th and early 20th century material. Eventually, Simon’s passion and expertise allowed him to make a full-time transition to buying and selling antiques and conducting appraisals for auction houses and private clients. Ira became an expert on the works of Louis Comfort Tiffany, especially lamps, candlesticks, and inkwells, and he was the proud owner of a fabulous one-of-a-kind Tiffany mirror.

Toomey and Co will be open to the public for in-person bidding on auction day. In-person previews are currently happening and are available prior to the sale as well as virtual preview with additional condition details and/or photos by request. Please contact [email protected] if you would like to attend the auction, to place absentee or telephone bids, or to preview in person or virtually.

 

See the full catalog at Toomeyco.com

 

The American Art Pottery Association Convention

April 27th – May 1st

Embassy Suites by Hilton Cincinnati Northeast Blue Ash

This week kicks off the return of the American Art Pottery Association Convention and Shows in Blue Ash, Ohio and Cincinnati, Ohio; this convention marks their return after a two-year absence. Taking place at the Embassy Suites in Blue Ash, Ohio, this week will include a number of tours at Cincinnati Landmarks, the Rookwood Pottery tour, and the Cincinnati Museum of Art, social hours at the hotel including a “Meet & Greet” and “Conversations After Dark” to catch up with friends and a small auction.

Among the 50 lots of art pottery in the auction is an offering from the National Arts and Crafts Conference: one Arts & Crafts 2-person, 2-night weekend package at the Grove Park Inn during the 36th National Arts and Crafts Conference & Shows at the Grove Park Inn! One lucky bidder can win a stay at the Grove Park Inn Friday night and Saturday night of the conference (February 17th and February 18th respectively) and the following benefits:

  • Friday and Saturday nights at the Grove Park Inn;
  • Continental breakfast Saturday and Sunday mornings;
  • Dessert and coffee social hour Friday and Saturday nights;
  • Use of the Grove Park Inn Sports Center;
  • Early entry to all three exhibitor shows on Friday, Saturday and Sunday;
  • Entry to all of the seminars, discussion groups, demonstrations, Grove Park Inn tours, and special exhibits for all three days;
  • Conference tote bag and The Conference Catalog

 

The weekend will include the presentation of three seminars on Friday, April 29th. The evolution of the Newark Art Museum ceramics collection is explored by its former Chief Curator Ulysses Grant Dietz, the new ideas, insights and intrigues of the Rookwood Legacy by author of the new book Rookwood Bob Batchelor, and the inspiring story of the family of Overbeck sisters whose homegrown pottery firm produced ceramics that are still in important collections today, told by collector and enthusiast Bob Ammerman. Friday also included wheel throwing demonstrations by artist Teri Kern. On Friday evening, the American Art Pottery show preview will start for AAPA members only before the show is opened to the general public on Saturday.

Decorative Arts Auction, hosted by Treadway Gallery

May 1st at 11 AM EST

Online, phone and absentee bidding only

Private viewings available April 25th – April 30th, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM EDT

A Newcomb vase that survived a fire, a rare Frederick Rhead tile, and a set of eight GPI chairs: a large selection of Arts and Crafts works up for bid is coming May 1st and collectors all over the country can bid online, over the phone and via absentee bid with Treadway Gallery. The quarterly Decorative Arts auction on May 1st in Cincinnati includes ceramics, metalwork, furniture, lighting, fine art and art glass in multiple eras of design.
Ceramics up for bid include two items from Newcomb College: a painted and high-glaze creamer ($4,500 to $5,500)  as well as a large (14 inches high) matte glaze vase at $9,000 to $12,000 with a story. While the present owner took ownership of the large vase in the 1990’s from her mother-in-law from New Orleans and this large and impressive vase survived the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, CA. One particular Pewabic vase with an iridescent glaze is estimated to sell in the $3,500 to $4,500, range while a detailed and rare tile out of Santa Barbara, CA by Frederick Rhead is expected to bring upwards of $5,500. The tile is inscribed on the back: “Mission Ridge and the Sea from Foot Hills in Mission Canyon.” Also includes in Treadway’s range of ceramics — early Grueby, Van Briggle, Rookwood, Rozane, North Dakota School of Mines, a collection of Niloak, Weller pottery, Fulper, Saturday Evening Girls, and Marblehead.

For furniture offerings, a classic Gustav Stickley chalet desk ($1,500 to $2,500) will be offered next to a number of Roycroft works, including a meditation chair for $1200 to $1700, two very nice armchairs, a dining table, and a very rare set of Grove Park Inn dining chairs. Originally made in 1919, the chairs are offered in their original finish with minor variation. One chair out of the eight has the Roycroft orb and cross on the front. The eight-chair set will start at $4,000 and has a $5,000 to $7,000 estimate.

Fine art includes woodcuts by Arthur Wesley Dow and Helen Hyde, colored etchings and paintings by E.T. Hurley, and paintings by Carl Rawson, Frederick Grant and Colette Heldner. A number of works by Mary Louise McLaughlin will also be offered.  

The auction begins at 11AM EST Sunday May 1st. All lots are available for preview. Please call 513-321-6742 or email [email protected] to arrange a time for private viewing. The sale will be closed to the public but there will be bidding via phone, absentee, and the internet via Live Auctioneers and Invaluable. As usual, everything is guaranteed and shipping is available worldwide.

To see the remainder of the catalog, please visit treadwaygallery.com

 

The Re-Opening of the Craftsman Farms Log House – tours available
Saturday, April 30, 2022
https://vimeo.com/user113675213/review/701883605/606807a1db

Architect Eric Holtermann, of HMR Architects, reviews the Annex/Kitchen plans with guests including Glenn Ceponis from the NJ Historic Trust, in the new Education Center. Photo courtesy of Hector Vilches and Barbara Weiskittel.

After two long years, the Log House at Craftsman Farms will re-open its doors for tours during limited hours. Starting Saturday, April 30th, three types of tours will be offered: a one-hour docent-guided Log House tour, the director’s tour with Executive Director Vonda Givens, and a Collections In-Depth tour with Director of Collections Jonathan Clancy.  The tours will have limited hours due to the ongoing construction of the Annex and the new efforts to restore Gustav Stickley’s Log House kitchen.

Earlier this month on April 9, the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms broke ground on its Annex Rehabilitation and Log House Kitchen Restoration project. This project to rebuild the Annex (the structure adjacent to Stickley’s Log House), which was severely damaged by an uprooted tree during Tropical Storm Isaias in 2020, also will include the long-awaited restoration of the Log House kitchen and key improvements to both buildings. Executive Director Vonda praised the work and efforts of several organizations just to get the first step of the new project going. “We were happy to commence the Annex/Kitchen project with officials from the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills and from the New Jersey Historic Trust, whose joint support have made the Annex/Kitchen project possible, and with the museum’s Board of Trustees, Advisory Council, and volunteers. Projects like this only come together through the hard work and dreams of many people, and it was exciting to mark this occasion together.”
Tours of the historic log house will be available by signing up through the Stickley Museum website OR click here to be taken to the tour sign up page.  “This is the first time we’ve been able to re-open for Log House tours since August of 2020, after a tropical storm left severe damage on the property,” said Exec. Dir. Givens. “We’re excited to share the property with you again, and we hope you’ll return when we open with a newly rebuilt Annex and a restored Log House kitchen.
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