Oscar B. Erickson, “Early Morning Rockport”, Oil on canvas c. 1940
OSCAR B. ERICKSON (1883 – 1970) American
Early Morning Rockport c. 1940
Oil on canvas
Marks: Original exhibition label verso: THE NORTHWEST ART LEAGUE,
INC., Oscar B. Erickson, Early Morning Rockport, oil
For brief bibliographical listing see: Who Was Who in American Art,
(Madison, Conn.: Sound View Press, 1985), p. 189.
Canvas (sight): H: 21” x W: 23”
Frame: H: 26 1/2” x W: 28 1/2”
Oscar Erickson was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He studied painting and printmaking at the Milwaukee Art League and later at the Herron Art Institute of Chicago. He exhibited at the Chicago Academy of the Fine Arts, the Hoosier Salon from 1927 to 1942, the Illinois State Museum, and the Norwegian Club.
Gianni L. Cilfone “After the Rain” Oil on canvas 1928
GIANNI L. CILFONE (1908-1990) USA
“After the Rain” 1928
Oil on canvas, contemporary quarter sawn oak pegged frame with yellow gold filet.
Signed: Cilfone, 1928 (lower left corner)
Marks: Illinois Academy of Fine Arts, Second Annual Exhibition 1928, Gianni L. Clifone, 905 South Ashland Boulevard, “After the Rain,” $500 (paper label).
Exhibited: Illinois Academy of Fine Arts, Second Annual Exhibition 1928, Art Institute of Chicago 1928
For more information see: Who Was Who in American Art (Madison, Conn.: Sound View Press, 1985) p. 115.
Canvas: H: 30” x W: 40”
Framed: H: 38” x W: 48”
Gianni Cilfone emigrated with his family from San Marco, Italy to Chicago at the age of five. After studying at the Art Institute of Chicago, Cilfone took lessons from Hugh Breckenridge and John F. Carlson. His consistently won many prizes from the Chicago Gallery Association throughout the 1930s and 40s. He exhibited at the Hoosier Salon between 1949 and 1958, at the North Shore Arts Association, at the Association of Chicago Painters and Sculptors, and at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1919 and 1928.
Harold Christopher Davies, “Pacific seascape”, Oil on canvas c. 1915
HAROLD CHRISTOPHER DAVIES (1891 – 1976) USA
Pacific seascape c.1915
Oil on canvas
Marks: HHG #4010, Hoover Gallery, 1681 Folson Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 (on wooden stretcher), the estate mark of the Harold Christopher Davies estate is on the reverse of the canvas
Exhibited: Hoover Gallery, San Francisco, CA, 1975
For more information: Harold Christopher Davies 1891-1976: A Retrospective Exhibition (Stockton, CA: The Haggin Museum, 1982); Susan Landauer: The San Francisco School of Abstract Expressionism (Berkeley/Los Angeles, CA and London, UK: University of California Press, Laguna Beach, CA: Laguna Art Museum, 1996)p. 8;Art in the San Francisco Bay Area 1945-1980: An Illustrated History (Berkeley, CA: University California Press, 1985)
H: 16” x W: 20”
Framed: H: 27 11/16” x W: 23 5/8”
Born in Seattle, WA on May 26, 1891, the Davies family moved to Cherrydale, VA when Harold was an infant. Davies began his formal art education at the age of fourteen, enrolling in the Corcoran Art Institute in Washington, D.C. Later he continued his studies at the San Francisco Institute of Art.
The talent of Harold Christopher Davies was evident in his early California Impressionist landscapes such as this Pacific Ocean seascape which demonstrates his remarkable use of color and the bravura of his brushstrokes. An Abstract Expressionist, his later works are similar to those of De Kooning and Hans Hofmann. Harold Christopher Davies was a member of the Oakland Art League, the San Francisco Art Association and the Huntsville (Ala.) Art Association.
After living in a variety of cities around the United States, Davies moved to Inverness, California in 1969 where he was free to devote all his time to his art.
Louis F. Berneker, The Three Graces, Oil on Canvas c. 1910
LOUIS F. BERNEKER (1872-1937) USA
“The Three Graces” c. 1910
Oil on canvas, gilt Arts & Crafts style frame
Signed: Louis F. Berneker (lower left)
For more information see: Who Was Who in American Art
(Madison, Conn.: Sound View Press, 1985) p. 50
Canvas: H: 25 1/8” x W: 30 1/8”
Frame: H: 35 5/8” x W: 40 5/8”
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Louis Berneker first began his art training at the St. Louis School of Fine Art. From 1903 to 1904, he studied at the prestigious Académie Julian in Paris under J.P. Laurens. Upon his return to the United States, he lived primarily in New York City and later in Gloucester, Massachusetts, where he died in 1937. An accomplished painter in oils and watercolors, he was a member of the New York Watercolor Club, American Watercolor Society, the National Arts Club, and an associate member of the National Academy of Design. In 1930, the painter won prizes for works exhibited at both the National Academy of Design and Allied Artists of America’s juried shows. Berneker exhibited his work at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from 1910 to 1914 and again in 1921, as well as at the National Academy of Design in 1930 (prize), Art Institute of Chicago, and the Society of Independent Artists. His works are housed in the Church of St. Gregory the Great, New York City; the Belmont Theatre, both in New York City, the Chicago Theatre, and the Dallas Art Academy.
Arthur N. Colt, “The Wrestlers”, Oil on canvas c. 1938
ARTHUR N. COLT (1889-1972) USA
The Wrestlers c. 1938
Oil on canvas
Signed: A. N. Colt in lower right corner
For more information on Colt see: Who Was Who in American Art (Madison, Conn.: Sound View Press, 1985). p.125. Hove, Arthur, ed. Wisconsin Alumnus Vol. 61, No. 9 (January 1960), “Portrait Patterns” Art Digest v. 9 (December 15, 1934) p. 7
Canvas: H: 29 ½” x W: 34”
Framed: H: 38 ½” x W: 43”
Arthur Colt studied painting at the Art Institute of Chicago and in Paris. He was not only an important Wisconsin painter but also an influential teacher. He taught at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, founded a summer art colony at Black River and Devil’s Lake, WI and went on to form the Colt School of Art. Arthur Colt exhibited at the Madison Salon of Art Exhibition in 1934.
Gerrit V. Sinclair “Town along Railroad”, Oil on board, gilt frame c. 1942
GERRIT V. SINCLAIR (1890-1955) USA
Town along Railroad c. 1942
Oil on board, gilt frame
Signed: GV Sinclair (lower right corner on front of painting)
For more information see: Who Was Who in American Art (Madison, Conn.: Sound View Press, 1985) p. 571.
Painting H: 15” x W: 20”
Framed H: 20 7/16” x W: 25 7/16”
Price: $29,500
Gerrit V. Sinclair was born in Grand Haven, Michigan in 1890. He studied art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1910 to 1915. His most well known teachers at the Art Institute were John Vanderpoel and John Norton. In 1917 the artist enlisted in the Army Ambulance Corps and served in northern Italy and Austria. Scenes from his experience abroad are recorded in his works of the early 1920s. Following the war, Sinclair settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he became a member of the faculty of the Layton School of Art upon the school’s founding in 1920. He continued to teach at the Layton School and at the Oxbow Summer School of Art in Saugatuck, Michigan until his retirement in 1954. Sinclair is recognized both as an important artist and teacher from the Great Lakes region. During his lifetime Sinclair’s paintings were exhibited at the Salon d’Automne in Paris, the Salon Printemps in Paris, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the National Academy of Design, the Whitney Museum in New York, the New York Watercolor Club, the Brooklyn Museum, the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh, the Art Institute of Chicago and in many other museums and galleries. He received numerous prizes and commissions for his work including a W.P.A. mural commission for the Federal Building in Wassau, Wisconsin. Sinclair was a member of Wisconsin Painters & Sculptors, Wisconsin Federation of the Arts and the Wisconsin Painting Museum. His style is a blend of realism and Impressionism but is clearly modern in its abstract concern for composition and color. Sinclair is best known for his regionalist paintings of rural and urban Wisconsin. His farm scene entitled ”Spring in Wisconsin” was exhibited at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York. Gerrit V. Sinclair died in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1955.
Arrigo Varettoni de Molin, “Cocktail Hour”, Oil on canvas 1937
ARRIGO VARETTONI DE MOLIN (1902-1985)
Cocktail Hour 1937
Oil on canvas
Signed: Arrigo V de Molin (on front of canvas), #4 Cocktail Hour, Arrigo Varettoni de Molin, 323 West 4th Street, 79 Horatio Street (paper label attached to back of frame)
Listed: Who’s Who in America, Series II, no. 11 (November 1, 1941) p. 6.
Exhibited: The Society of Independent Artists, 1939; Vendome Art Galleries, 1941
Painting reviewed: “Three Newcomers Enliven the Season’s Beginning” Roy Finch, The New York Herald Tribune (September 7, 1941).
Grosfeld House New York (attr.) Modern / Art Deco Lucite Stool c. 1940
Grosfeld House New York
Lucite stool circa 1940.
Cylindrical lucite base stool with gold lucite wrap like connecting elements, silk upholstery.
H: 16 1/4″ x W: 13 1/2″ x D: 16 1/2″
Grosfeld House Furniture Company manufactured some iconic designs of the twentieth century. Some of the great designers that work for the company were Vladimir Kagan and Lorin Jackson. They produced some of the earliest chairs using Lucite starting in the 1930’s and through the Post War Era.
Guttierez Vega / South American Art Deco Sterling Modernist Coffee / Tea Set c. 1935
GUTTIEREZ VEGA (active 1930s) Bogotá, Columbia
Four-piece modernist coffee / tea set c. 1935
Radical form cone and triangular shaped four piece sterling silver with bold design exotic handles.
Marks: T.A.N. Sterling (Maker’s mark), serial number F925
Coffee pot H: 5″ x L: 10 1/2″
Teapot H: 4 3/8″ x L: 10 1/2″
Creamer H: 3″ x L: 8″
Sugar bowl H: 4 1/2″ x L: 7 3/4″
In the 1930s, Colombia began to embrace modern and Art Deco architecture. The new Liberal Party government tore down many older buildings to reject the conservative past. In their place, it constructed modern buildings with an international flavor and interiors and decorative arts were designed to complement these newly stylized buildings.
Jan et Joel Martel / Primavera French Art Deco Courting Fantail Pigeon Sculptures c.1930
JAN ET JOËL MARTEL (1896-1966) France
PRIMAVERA Paris
Pair of courting Faintail Pigeon Sculptures c.1925-30
Black glazed earthenware with silver / platinum decorative dot motif.
Marks: PRIMAVERA FRANCE, 12684
For related model: The Art Deco Style in Household Objects, Architecture, Scupture, Graphics, Jewelry, Theodore Menten (New York: Dover, 1972), p. 179.
For more information see: Joël et Jan Martel: sculpteurs 1896-1966, Christophe Vital, et al. (Paris: Gallimard / Electa, 1996), pp. 127-9
H: 8 1/16” x L: 9” x D at tail: 5 1/4”
H: 7 1/8” x L: 10” x D at tail: 5 1/4”
Jan & Joël Martel (the Martel Brothers/Twins, born in Nantes on 5 April 1896, both died in 1966)
The twin Martel sculptors were among the founding members of Union des Artistes Modernes, and their original works include ornamental sculptures, statues, monuments and fountains displaying characteristics typical of the Art Déco and Cubist periods. The brothers took part in a number of Paris exhibitions including the Salon des Indépendants, Salon d’Automne, Salon des Tuileries and the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs in 1925. In 1932, they created the Claude Debussy monument which sits on the boulevard Lannes in Paris. Between 1924-1926, Robert Mallet-Stevens designed a studio for the Martel twins at 10 Rue Mallet-Stevens in Paris’ 16th Arrondissement.
Wolfgang Gessl / Scandinavian Modern Sterling silver teapot with arching handle 1990
WOLFGANG GESSL (b. 1949) Austria / Sweden
Teapot 1990
Hand wrought and hand hammered spherical silver teapot with cylindrical handle and spout elements, maple and padouk wood layered arching handle
This is No. 2 out of the edition of 3 models.
Marks: Wolfgang Gessl (script impressed signature), 2/3, WO.GE (in a rectangle), Swedish assay mark for Stockholm, 925 (silver guarantee in a rectangle), E11 (in a rectangle), LF
Exhibited: Glänsande Geometri, Mettalum, Stockholm, Sweden
Illustrated: Gold and Silversmith Wolfgang Gessl: Exceeding Geometry, Kerstin Wickman, p. 16.
H: 10” x W: 16 ½” x D: 5 ½”
Price: $32,000
Wolfgang Gessl was born in 1949 in Vienna, Austria and trained as a goldsmith with Professor Hans Angerbauer. Upon moving to Sweden, Gessl studied under the eminent silversmith Sigurd Persson at Konstfack, the National University of Art, Craft and Design in Stockholm, Sweden.
Wolfgang Gessl has had fifteen solo exhibitions including shows at The National Museum, Stockholm and The Royal College of Art in London. His metalwork has been widely exhibited in Sweden, Europe and the U.S and his pieces can be found in many private collections throughout the world. He has taught at Konstfack for more than twenty-four years, and continues to live and work in Stockholm.
Robert Schellin American Studio Pottery Hand Thrown Floor Vase 1958
ROBERT SCHELLIN (1910 – 1985) USA
“Calligraphy” Floor Vase 1958
Hand thrown earthenware with a light and dark brown glaze with a stylized abstract calligraphic motif encircling the body
Marks: various marks and estate stamps Robert Schellin, Made in 1958, P88, C118 (paper labels)
For more information see: Schellin, A Retrospective (Milwaukee: School of Fine Arts, The University of Wisconsin, 1975); Who Was Who in American Art, (Madison, Conn.: Sound View Press, 1985), p. 547.
H: 23 1/2″ x Dia: 7″
Price: $9,000
Robert Schellin’s life as an artist was consistent, productive, and based on firm philosophical foundations. Regarding his own progress, he had always been aware, as a young art student and later as a mature artist, that deliberately narrowing the focus of his interests to assure a more constant public notice would run the risk of his becoming highly expert, but sterile in expression. From the beginning of art student days Schellin moved from very satisfying periods of drawing and painting to work in three-dimensional
Media, frequently in the medium of ceramics.
Schellin left the W.P.A. in 1937 to teach at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. After a year he moved to East Orange, New Jersey, supervising art in the public schools. It was during this stay in the New York metropolitan area that he studied with Hans Hoffmann at his Eighth Street School and witnessed at first hand the changing art scene and the growing commercialism of the artists market. Robert Schellin later returned back to Milwaukee rejoining the faculty of the University of Wisconsin (UWM). His works have been exhibited for many years in Wisconsin and national shows including the Wisconsin State Fair; the Art Institute of Chicago, 1944; the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, 1946; and the Milwaukee Art Institute numerous times between 1939-1960. He was included in the USIA European Traveling exhibition 1959-61.
Jan Van Der Vaart / Dutch Avant-Garde Pottery “I-beam” Vase, 1991
JAN VAN DER VAART (1931-2000) The Netherlands
I-beam vase 1991
Matte bronze glazed stoneware
Signed: 91 VD VAART (incised)
For more information on Van der Vaart and his work see: Jan van der Vaart, Ceramics, Marjan Unger, et al. (The Netherlands: Stichting Harten Fonds, 1991); Jan van der Vaart Multipels 1967-1997, Allaard Hidding (Leeuwarden: Keramiekmuseum Het Princessehof, 1997), illus. 88, p. 88.
H: 9 1/2” x W: 10 1/8” x D: 5 1/2”
Price: $8,000
Jan van der Vaart, born in 1931, is one of the Netherlands’ best known potters. He was not only a trend-setting artist and industrial designer, he also taught an entire generation of Dutch ceramicists while teaching at the Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam (1968-1990). His work is in the collection of many Dutch museums, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Kishimoto Kennin Japan Hand Thrown Monumental “Iga” Stoneware Vase, c. 1995
KISHIMOTO KENNIN (b. 1934), Japan.
Monumental “Iga” vase, circa 1995.
Hand thrown and handbuilt stoneware vase with a natural ash glaze in rich salmon rust, celadon, grey and black glaze
H: 20″ x Dia: 22″
Price: $20,000
1934 born in Nagoya 1953–1955 attends college in Nagoya 1960 moves to Mino, Gifu Prefecture 1965 establishes his own studio 1970 builds an anagama in Mikuni-Sanroku, where he lives and works until today 1976 appointed member of the Japan Crafts Association (Nihon kôgei-kai) Group exhibitions 1967 Asahi Ceramics Exhibition (Asahi tôgei-ten) 1968 Exhibition of Japanese Ceramics (Nihon tôgei-ten) 1970 International Exhibition of Chûnichi Ceramics (Chûnichi kokusai tôgei-ten) 1972–75 Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition (Nihon dentô kôgei-ten)
One man shows:
1979 Takashimaya Gallery, Tôkyô; since then again in 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1990.
1982 Hankyû Gallery, Ôsaka; since then again in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987.
1984 Maru’ei Gallery, Nagoya; again in 1986.
Mazzega Murano / Italian Art Glass White opalescent tube top vase c. 1975
AV MAZZEGA MURANO (Italy)
Vase c. 1975
White opalescent blue blown glass with a bottom tube support and a flared
test tube style top
For related information see: Italian Glass Murano Milan 1930-1970, Helmut Ricke and Eva Schmitt (Munich: Prestel, 1997) illus. 66, 67; I Vetri di Fulvio Bianconi, Rossana Bossaglia (Torino: Umberto Allemandi & C., 1993) illus. 17, 21; Murano Glas 1945-1970, Marc Heiremans (Antwerpen: Galerij Novecento, 1989) illus. 181; I Vetri Venini, Franco Deboni (Torino: Umberto Allemandi & C., 1989) illus. 105.
Overall matte finish art glass vase with an elaborate mosaic technique inset with red rectangular patchwork sections and blue murrina jewels all on a chocolate brown body with a black glass foot
Marks: Tsuchida Yasuhiko 99, 77
For more information see: Tsuchida Yasuhiko, exh. cat., Franco Schiavon (Murano, Italy: Palazzo del Vetro, 2000).
Provenance: Pauly & Co. Venice
H: 4 3/4″ x Dia: 5 1/8″
Price: $5,450
Yasuhiko Tsuchida was born in Osaka, Japan in 1969. In 1988, soon after graduating TSUJI Culinary Institute, he left Japan to explore food and art in Paris. Since 1992, he has lived in Venice, Italy. Tsuchida has been making glass work in Murano Island since 1995, and next year assumed the office of art director at Schiavone Glass Co. Ltd. In 1996 he presented a glass sculpture entitled “Bamboo Collection” with Japanese motif of bamboo. The work was highly acclaimed, which gave him a chance to start to hold solo exhibitions around the world. In 2000, Tsuchida became a member of the board of directors at Venetian Glass Institute, and a chief director there in 2003. In 2004, he won Honorary Technique Prize in Düsseldorf, Germany, and in 2008, received Award of Contribution to Cultural Promotion from Grosseto city, Toscana. In the same year, he represented Japan at International Open Exhibition of Sculpture, and won the Grand-Prix. In 2010, Tsuchida was invited to the Issei Miyake “IM10” Project Competition, and held a solo exhibition at Lorusso Gallery, Andria, Italy. Tsuchida continues to exhibit in many solo shows around the world.
Borek Sipek Bagatti Valsecchi Art Glass Goblet c. 1994
BOŘEK ŠĺPEK (1949-2016) Prague, Czech Republic
Goblet “BAGATTI VALSECCHI” c. 1994
Blown clear glass with blue bow details
Exhibited: The Twenty One (Millenium) Exhibition, Arzenal Gallery, Prague, 2000
For more information see: Sípek, Philippe Louguet, Dagmar Sedlická (Paris: Éditions Dis Voir, 1999); Borek Sipek and Christian Tortu: Collection Twentyone 2001 (Prague: Arzenal Edition, 2001)
H: 12″ x Dia: 4 1/2″
Price: $1,150
The Czech architect, furniture designer, and glass artist Borek Sípek was born in Prague in 1949. From 1964 to 1968 Borek Sípek studied furniture design at the Prague School for the Applied Arts. In 1969 he began to study architecture at the Hochschule für bildende Künste in Hamburg. In 1973 he studied philosophy at Stuttgart University. From 1977 until 1979 he was an academic assistant at the Hannover University Institute of Industrial Design. Borek Sípek took his degree in architecture at Delft Technical University. Then he taught design theory at Essen University until 1983. In 1983 Borek Sípek also opened an architecture and design practice in Amsterdam. He founded Alterego, a design business, with David Palterer. In the 1980s, Borek Sípek designed Postmodern furniture and glass objects, which brought him international renown. Borek Sípek’s designs are formally distinctive, both ingeniously conceived and sumptuous, and are often executed in unconventional materials and combinations of materials. Borek Sípek views design as an interpretation of culture. For this reason, he rejects the functional and rational approach to design and does not want striving for technical perfection to lead to disregard of individuality. In 1983 Borek Sípek designed “Bambi”, a fragile-looking tubular steel chair with brass fittings and a back covered in silk. In 1991 Borek Sípek designed the “PCSS” table with blue glass legs and metal fittings. Borek Sípek’s superlative glass objects are executed by glassblowers in Murano and Novy Bor. Borek Sipek is also known worldwide as an architect and has received prestigious commissions. Between 1993-2002 Borek Sípek worked on the Het Kruithuis Museum in ‘s Hertogenbosch (the Netherlands). In 1994 Borek Sípek designed the Kyoto Opera Houseentsteht das Opernhaus in Kyoto. In 1995 Borek Sípek designed a Paris boutique for Karl Lagerfeld. In 1990 Borek Sípek became a professor of architecture at the Academy for the Applied Arts in Prague, where he taught until 1998. Since 1999 he has taught at the Universität for angewandte Kunst in Vienna.
His works are included in major international museum and private collections throughout the US and Europe including Museum of Modern Art, Stedelijjk Museum, Denver Art Museum, The Corning Museum of Art, The Hauge Municipal Museum, Kunstmuseum in Düsseldorf and Design Museum in London.
Rose Cabat / American Studio Ceramics “Feelie” Porcelain Vessel, c. 1980-85
ROSE CABAT (1914-2015) USA
“Feelie” c. 1980-85
Thin walled porcelain vessel with a silky satiny matte drip glaze
Signed: incised CABAT on bottom
For more information on Rose Cabat see: Rose Erni Cabat Retrospective 1936-1986 (Tuscon, AZ: Tuscon Museum of Art, 1986)
H: 4 3/4″
Price: $2,500
Rose Cabat is an American studio ceramicist living in Tucson. Considered one of the most important ceramic artists of the Mid-century Modernist movement, Cabat is best known for her innovative glazes on small porcelain pots called “feelies” which she developed in the 1960s. Her organic forms often resemble the shape of onions and figs, and her glazes range from organic to jewel tones. Cabat was born in 1914 in the Bronx, New York, began to work in ceramics in the late 1930′s, and moved to Arizona in 1942, where she continued to make innovative ceramics.
Feelies:
Feelies are described as onion, fig, cucumber, and saucer-shaped ceramic vases terminating in an upward closed neck. Bruce Block, an avid collector, has described them as sensual and tactile with a very specific unforgettable texture, spiritual seeming to contain a type of energy. Rose Cabat had developed a silky satiny glaze, and it wasn’t until around 1960 that she had hit upon the first of the appropriate form, svelte and sleek to match the glaze. She exclaimed, “Now this one’s a feelie.”, coining the term. Upon developing the new glazes, she felt that she needed new forms to apply the glazes to, different from what she made before, “craft fair” style coiled heads and wind bells. She is quoted as saying, “The old things did not look good … I wanted simpler shapes that went with the glazes.”They are typically globular in shape, tightening down to a minuscule neck glazed to a satin surface. The tactile experience is most important. The nature of the neck is such that it is closed, so narrow that it cannot hold anything. Cabat would reply when asked why the necks of her feelies are so narrow, “A vase can hold weeds or flowers, but can’t it just be a spot of beauty?”
Ohlsson & Rice Rare Streamline American Art Deco Tether Race Car Model No. 88 with Trailer c. 1950
OHLSSON & RICE (founded 1941) Los Angeles, CA
Tether Race Red car Model No. 88
Gas powered tether car racer 1950
Steel and various metals with the car and trailer details painted red, rubber tires and cork details
The license plate reads: California, 19-50, 61U421
H: 5″ x L” 13 1/2″ x D: 7 1/2″
Price: $3,000
In 1941 Irv Ohlsson teamed up with Harry Rice, and the firm of Ohlsson & Rice was founded producing model race cars and propellers. No other engines at the time combined the reliability, ease of maintenance, simplicity of operation and unlimited life of the Ohlsson & Rice engines. The Second World War put a temporary hold on their success, however, as all manufacturing facilities were turned over to military production. By the time the war shut down their production, they had produced about 75,000 engines.
As soon as the war was over, Ohlsson & Rice got back into production. Even with a shortage of needed materials and machines somewhat worn out by 3-shift a day wartime production use, they jumped back into a market that had a seemingly endless demand for their products. Modelers were hungry to get back into flying, and O & R took advantage of the market by buying the machinery needed to meet the huge demand.
Ohllson & Rice die cast tether cars were first manufactured in 1946. The early model cars had solid rear brake drums. open air front grill, 10 air vent slots in the seat, windshield, manual fuel pump, external hand brake lever, 4 nerf bars or radius rods, and plated front axle. The cars were fitted with a .23 or .29 Ohlsson and Rice engine. The easiest way to tell their plane engines from the car engines was the exhaust port. The cars have a straight cut exhaust and the planes had an angled cut port. However they are interchangeable except to be estetically correct. Basic colors included white, black, red , blue and yellow. The .29 engine were available in either spark ignition models or with a glow plug. In the early days Ohlsson and Rice had trouble with their engines and discovered a lot of the problems were due to inferior fuel sources. To rectify this they started to manufacture their own Nitro Glow fuel. This seemed to cure their engine problems. The later models in the fifties went to a closed front grill , 1 air vent slot in seat, hollow brake drums, no windshield and a smaller .049 engine. The last of the midget racers were made in 1959.
Donald Deskey (attr.) / American Streamline Modernist store display c. 1928-30
DONALD DESKEY attributed (1894-1989) USA
DESKEY-VOLLMER, INC. (maker)
Modernist intersecting-circles store display c.1928-30
Chrome-plated sphere and cylindrical shaft and details, original plate glass shelves and mirrored base
***This store display piece is exceptional quality and survives in mint condition.
For more information and related designs see: Donald Deskey: Decorative Designs and Interiors, David A. Hanks and Jennifer Toher, E.P. Dutton: New York, 1987, pages 12-17 and 96-98 (Abby Rockefeller table centerpiece)
Gilbert Rohde / Herman Miller American Modernist Clock and Thermometer c.1933
GILBERT ROHDE (1894-1944) USA
HERMAN MILLER CLOCK CO. Zeeland, Mich.
Showroom sample clock and thermometer/barometer c. 1933
Block of seven stacked wood varieties with three brushed chrome bars, chromium-plated rings and original convex glass clock faces
For related Rohde clock designs: American Modern 1925-1940: Design for a New Age, J. Stewart Johnson (New York: Harry Abrams & Am. Federation of Arts, 2000) p. 142-43 The Machine Age in America: 1918-1941, Richard Guy Wilson, Dianne H. Pilgram and Dickran Tashjian, exhibit. Cat. (New York: The Brooklyn Museum and Harry N. Abrams, 1986), vintage Herman Miller catalog.
Just Andersen Denmark Art Deco Grand bronze vase c. 1935-40
JUST ANDERSEN (1884-1943) Denmark
Grand vase c. 1935-40
Rich deep brown patinated bronze, neck with three sets of four incised lines, with flaring rim and gilt edge
Marks: DENMARK, JUST (in a triangular cartouche), No. B 2055
For more information see: “Just Andersen: Manden og Vaerket” by Svend Rindholt in Samleren: Tidskrift for Kunst og Kunstindustri (Attende Aargang, 1941) pp. 171-194; Dansk Biografisk Leksikon. Første Bind (Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 1979) p. 199. The Design Encyclopedia. Mel Byars (New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1994) p. 23.
H: 13 1/2″ x Dia: 8″
Designer Just Andersen trained with Peter Hertz and Mogens Ballin, the premier silversmith in Copenhagen. He was also employed as a designer for Georg Jensen before he decided to open his own silver and metal studio in 1918. The elegant, simple forms and richly-patinated surfaces are highly characteristic of Andersen’s high level of design and superlative craftsmanship.
Signed: B. SPADE, DECORATEUR, PARIS (metal plaque)
H: 17 5/8″ x W: 31 5/8″ x D: 18″
After WWI, Marseilles-native Batistin Spade started a workshop for cabinetry and textile design. During the years between the wars he gained recognition for his refined and sumptuous furniture and interiors. The designer worked on some 30 ocean liners, including the Île de France (1926) and the Normandie (1935). In the early 40s, Mobilier National chose Spade to create office interiors for numerous ambassadors and government officials.
Tiffany & Co. / Albert Barney American Art Deco sterling demitasse pot 1936
ALBERT BARNEY (? -1955) American
JOHN C. MOORE (1907-1947) New York
TIFFANY & COMPANY (1868-) New York
“Century Modern” chocolate or demitasse pot 1936
Handwrought sterling silver, fiber handle and finial
Stamped: TIFFANY & Co. MAKERS, 22172 (pattern/date system number), 5244(order number), STERLING SILVER, 925-1000, m (John C. Moore, designer), 5 GILLS
For a related modernist service and information about Century Modern silver exhibited at the 1939 New York World’s Fair see: Tiffany Silver, Charles H. Carpenter, Jr. (New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1978) pp. 256, 259-261
For more information see: Tiffany Silver, Charles H. Carpenter, Jr. (New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1978) pp. 256, 259-261; Modernism: Modernist Design 1880-1940, The Norwest Collection, Norwest Corporation, Minneapolis, Alastair Duncan (Woodbridge, Suffolk, England: The Antique Collector’s Club, 1998), p. 240.
Georges Serré / Art Deco Warm ivory /sand colored glazed stoneware vase c. 1925
GEORGES SERRÉ (1889-1956) France
Vase c. 1925
Warm ivory /sand colored glazed stoneware with hand incised stylized leaf and floral motif with a top collar and lower half in a softened geometric repeat pattern all in a light brown tonality.
Marks: G Serre (hand incised signature)
For more information see: La Céramique Art Déco, Edgar Pelichet (Paris: Bibliothèque des Arts, 1988), p. 47.
For more information on Serré see: Georges Serré, exhib. cat. (Paris: Galerie Landrot, 1992).
Marcel Bouraine, Pair of French Art Deco “Dove” Bookends c. 1930
Marcel Bouraine (active 1925-1930) France.
Pair of Art Deco “Dove” sculptural bookends, circa 1930.
Silvered bronze (sand cast technique) in the form of doves with openly displayed and fan shaped tail feathers perched on roof pan tiles.
Marks: Bouraine (2x), #’s 52 and 53.
For more information and other works by Bouraine see: Les Echoes D’Art (May 1927), p. 21; Art Deco Sculpture, Bryan Catley; The Art Deco Style, Selected by Theodore Menten (New York: Dover Publications, 1972), p. 172; Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs, E. Bénézit, vol. 2 (Paris: Librarie Grund, 1976), p. 231, An Encylopedia of Art Deco, Edited by Alastair Duncan (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1988) pp. 26,28-29,31,104; Art Deco, Victor Arwas (New York, Harry Abrams,1980) pp. 163, 269.
Cloisonne enamel in a fantasy of archaic Chinese motifs in red, royal blue, black white and sand colored abstract designs on a bronze body with a turquoise enameled underside and interior.
Christofle / Luc Lanel French Art Deco Dinanderie Vase c.1930
LUC LANEL (1893-1965) France
ORFÈVRERIE CHRISTOFLE Paris
Ovoid form with a foot and flared lip design with a polished copper body with an overall stepped rectangular and square motif geometric design
Marks: CHRISTOFLE (large script with wave lines below), B 173, G
For more information see: Mobilier et Décoration d’Interieur ( 1924-25), p. 10; Les Arts Décoratifs Modernes (France), Gaston Quènioux (Paris: Librairie Larousse, 1925), p. 176; 150 Ans d’Ofèvrerie Christofle, Henri Bouilhet ([Paris]: Chêne/Hachette: 1981), pp. 241 and 230.
Norman Bel Geddes Art Deco Streamline Medal 25th anniversary of GM 1933
NORMAN BEL GEDDES (1893 – 1958) USA
Medal 1933 (Commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of General Motors)
Silvered bronze
Signed: Norman Bel Geddes [copyright mark ] 1933
Exhibited: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, May 16-Jan. 7, 2001, Mint Museum of Craft & Design, North Carolina, May 3-July 28, 2002
Illustrated: Johnson, J. Stewart, American Modern 1925-1940: Design for a New Age, Harry N. Abrams & The American Federation of the Arts, 2000, p. 127
Diameter: 3″
This medallion, commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of General Motors, is an example of the Streamlined style that dominated architecture and design in America from the late 1920s to the end of the 1930s. With its abstracted, teardrop-shaped vehicle form depicted in motion, with the tall winglike element rising from its center, the overall effect is one of speed and movement—characteristic of the Streamlined style and appropriate to the automobile and airplane age. Norman Bel Geddes was trained as a theatrical set designer but best known for another project for General Motors, the Futurama exhibition at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. This exhibit, through which visitors were propelled on a giant conveyor belt, depicted a utopian vision of America in the near future, a world dependent on the speed and efficiency of the automobile for work and recreation.
Wilhelm Kage / Gustavsberg “Nude” Farsta Studio Bowl c. 1940
WILHELM KÅGE (1889-1960) Sweden
GUSTAVSBERG Gustavsberg, Sweden
“Nude” Farsta bowl c. 1940
Glazed stoneware with hand inscribed sgraffito decoration of a nude
Marks: Kage, Studio Gustavsberg; FARSTA
Dia: 8″
Originally a painter, Wilhelm Kåge was employed by Gustavsberg as an art director to rejuvenate the pottery´s production. He was faithful to the company for 32 years. In 1942 he started the legendary Gustavsberg Studio with the mission to create unique artistic pieces. His lively imagination brought forth a great variety of forms. Kåge was an artist of contradictions. In the 1940´s and 50´s he designed several geometrical, almost cubist, vessels in the “Surrea” series which stands in striking contrast to his soft formed, organic shaped tableware from the same period. Kåge designed more than 30 different dinner services, of particular importance was the inexpensive “workers” service, intended for a wider audience. Kåge´s pride, however, was the Farsta series of unique vessels made of heavy stoneware with carved surfaces and earth coloured decorative glazes. The clay for which was taken from the Farsta bay area very near the Gustavsberg pottery. He began experimenting with the Farsta line of studio ceramics already in the 1920´s. Art historians and collectors today consider the Farsta pieces the culmination of Wilhelm Kåge´s artistic production.
Cellini-Craft / American Art Deco Grand handcrafted “Argental” Center piece / bowl c. 1934
CELLINI-CRAFT Evanston, Ill
Grand “Argental” center piece bowl c. 1934
Hand wrought and hand hammered aluminum in a curvacious ovoid form with applied curlique handles.
Marks: ARGENTAL, XXX, HANDWROUGHT
H: 3 1/4″ x D: 13 3/4″ x L: 21″
CELLINI CRAFT was founded by Walter Gerlach & Hans Gregg in 1914.
The company created jewelry and tableware and was noted for their use of aluminum alloy “Argental.” In 1957 Cellini Craft was purchased by Julius Randahl. In 1965 the patterns and rights to “Argental” were sold to Reed & Barton.
Jean Serriere Rare French Art Deco Dinanderie Bowl c. 1925
Jean Serrrière (1893-1968) France
A. Hebrard (closed 1937) Paris
Footed dinanderie bowl, circa 1925
Hand wrought copper with silver incrustations in a repeating triangular motif and contrasting black patination on a rich brown ground.
Marks: JS (artists monogram) A. Hebrard, Paris
For more information see: Art et Décoration Revue Mensuelle D’Art Moderne, Tome XLVII. (Paris: Librairie Centrale Des Beaux-Arts) p.217; Silver of a New Era: International Highlights of Precious Metalwork from 1880 to 1940, (Rotterdam: Museum Boymans van-Beuningen, 1992) p.68, cat.no. 61; La Dinanderie Française 1900-1950, Dominique Forest and Marie-Cécile Forest (Paris: Les Éditions de l’Amateur, 1995) p.231-233.
Emil Hoye / Marius Hammer Four-quadrant silver sweets tray c. 1910
EMIL HOYE (1875-1958) Bergen, Norway
MARIUS HAMMER (1847-1927) Norway
Four-quadrant sweets tray c. 1910
Handwrought silver with fluted border detail
Marks: MH (conjoined monogram of Marius Hammer), 800 (silver standard mark), 5294
For further information see: Silver of a New Era: International Highlights of Precious Metalwork from 1880 to 1940 (Rotterdam: Museum Boymans van-Beuningen, 1992), p. 218; Art Nouveau and Art Deco Silver Annelies Krekel-Aalberse (New York: Abrams, 1989) pp. 243, 255
Louis W. Rice / Apollo Studios “Skyscraper” American Art Deco hand mirror 1928
LOUIS W. RICE (Designer) USA
APOLLO STUDIOS, BERNARD RICE’S SONS, INC. New York
Skyscraper vanity hand mirror 1928
Silver-plated brass, original beveled mirror
Stamped marks: APOLLO STUDIOS, NEW YORK EPNS within a rectangle, SKYSCRAPER, REG. U.S. PAT. OFF.
For related Skyscraper objects see: (cocktail shaker) Silver in America, 1840-1940: A Century of Splendor, Charles L. Venable (Dallas/New York: Dallas Museum of Art, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1995) p. 288; (teapot) Modernism: Modernist Design 1880-1940, The Norwest Collection, Norwest Corporation, Minneapolis, Alastair Duncan (Woodbridge, Suffolk, England: The Antique Collector’s Club, 1998); (cocktail shaker) American Modern 1925-1940, Design for a New Age, J. Stewart Johnson, exh. cat. Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York: Harry N. Abrams, American Federation of Arts, 2000) p. 48.
L: 18 1/2″ x D: 5″
The same model can be found in the collection of the New York Historical Society.
Pedro de Lemos / Art Deco Orange glazed American Pottery Clydesdale Horse Sculpture c. 1930
PEDRO DE LEMOS (1882-1945) Bay Area, California
Clydesdale horse sculpture c. 1930
Hand modeled orange glazed terra cotta.
Marks: De Lemos Palo Alto (sticker on the bottom), various pencil notations on the foot bottom
H: 9 1/8″ x D: 3 1/2″ x W: 9 1/2″
Pedro Joseph de Lemos (25 May 1882 Austin, Nevada – 5 December 1945) was an American painter, printmaker, architect, illustrator, writer, lecturer and museum director. He started his art career in the Bay Area. He studied under Arthur Frank Mathews at the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art in 1900, later was a student of George Bridgman at the Art Students League in New York and of Arthur Wesley Dow at Columbia University Teachers College. The influence of traditional Japanese woodcuts is clearly seen in his work.
Pedro’s father Francisco, a cobbler, emigrated from the Azores in 1872, and settled in Oakland, California where Pedro was educated. Pedro and his brothers Frank and John all followed careers in art. Pedro was employed by Pacific Press Publishing Company between 1900 and 1906, afterwards starting the Lemos Illustrating Company with his brothers in 1907. Later this became known as the Lemos Brothers Art and Photography Studio, which offered art classes in copper, leather and landscaping as well as the traditional media of drypoint, etching and illustrating.
Lemos worked from a studio overlooking Lake Merritt and taught art at the University of California, Berkeley, working at the same time as illustrator and designer and giving classes in decorative design and etching at the San Francisco Institute of Art, where he had earlier studied when it was the Mark Hopkins Institute. He helped found the California Society of Etchers and an aqua print of his was acclaimed at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, for which he helped organise the California print exhibition. He filled the position of Professor of Design at Stanford University and became director of the Stanford University Museum of Art in 1919. Besides being the first president of the Carmel Art Association, he was an affiliate member of several art organisations such as the California Society of Etchers, the California Print Makers, the Palo Alto Art Association, the Chicago Society of Etchers and the Bohemian Club. In 1943 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in London.
Richly patinated handwrought boule vase with a double large triangle silver overlay motif, square palm wood attached base
For more information see: Art et Décoration Revue Mensuelle D’Art Moderne, Tome XLVII. (Paris: Librairie Centrale Des Beaux-Arts) p.217; Silver of a New Era: International Highlights of Precious Metalwork from 1880 to 1940, (Rotterdam: Museum Boymans van-Beuningen, 1992) p.68, cat.no. 61; La Dinanderie Française 1900-1950, Dominique Forest and Marie-Cécile Forest (Paris: Les Éditions de l’Amateur, 1995) p.231-233.
Jean E. Puiforcat / French Art Deco Sterling Box c.1930
JEAN E. PUIFORCAT (1897-1945) France
ORFÈVRERIE PUIFORCAT Paris, France
Sterling silver with sterling and bone gear-like finial detail
Marks: JEAN E. PUIFORCAT, French Guarantee mark for 950/1000 pure silver, E.P. insignia (Emile Puiforcat)
For related works of Puiforcat see: Jean Puiforcat, Françoise de Bonneville (Paris: Editions du Regard, 1986) p.171; Jean Puiforcat: Orfèvre Sculpteur (Paris: Flammarion,1951).
H: 3 1/4″ x Dia: 3 1/2″
Jean E. Puiforcat is the most famous name of Art Deco silverwork. This is a gently tapered round footed and covered box of beautiful form and proportion with a contoured gear-like bone and silver finial. Overall it is a signature example of French Art Deco silver and dates from the late 1920’s and bears the early mark of Jean E. Puiforcat spelled out in addition to all of the appropriate French silver standard touchmarks. It is a really perfect example of French Art Deco silver by the French master of them all, Puiforcat!
Margaret Postgate / Cowan Pottery Studio American Art Deco Cubist Elephant bookends c. 1929
MARGARET POSTGATE (1879-1953) USA
WAYLANDE GREGORY (1905-1971) USA
ARTHUR BAGGS (1886-1947) (glaze development) USA
COWAN POTTERY STUDIO USA
Cubist Elephant bookends 1929
Ceramic bookends with a black gunmetal glaze
Signed: Cowan studio mark (under glaze) Cowan bookend numbers 840 and 841
For more information and illustration see: Cowan Pottery and the Cleveland School, by Mark Bassett and Victoria Naumann (Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 1997).
H: 4 1/2″ x W: 5 1/2” x D: 3 3/4”
Margaret J. Postgate was born in Chicago, IL on September 29, 1879 and died at a hospital in the Bronx, NY in 1953. Her family moved to Manhattan around 1910 and then Brooklyn around 1925 and she remained a Brooklyn resident right up until her death. Her parents were both born in England: John W. Postgate and Margaret Postgate nee Derry. She had siblings, a brother George and one or two sisters, Mary and/or Mae. Margaret studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and Cooper Union School of Art in New York. In 1925, 1925, and 1926 she participated in soap sculpture carving competitions, some sponsored by Procter & Gamble Corporation in Cincinnati, Ohio. Pamphlets exist as well as exhibition brochures and others on “how-to” carving penned by Postgate. Margaret Postgate designed for Cowan from 1929-1930 where she adapted a few of the designs she had rendered in soap for ceramic sculptures for the Cowan Pottery. She also executed a few pieces of sculpture that were cast in bronze for the bronze division of the Gorham Manufacturing Company.
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