Sotheby’s will present furniture, fine art and decorative objects from the personal collection of the late, legendary interior designer Mario Buatta in a dedicated two-day auction that will take place during one of the busiest weeks on the New York art market calendar, alongside with both The Winter Show and the house’s Americana Week sales series in New York in January 2020.
Mario Buatta: Prince of Interiors will offer a diverse array of nearly 1,000 works that Mr. Buatta lived with in his Upper East Side apartment in New York City as well as the William Mason House – an historic gothic-style home in Thompson, Connecticut – and feature many pieces that have long been admired in showhouse rooms and shelter magazines over the years.
Mario Buatta’s Living Room, New York City. Image copyright Scott Francis OTTO
Most influenced by the understated elegance of Colefax and Fowler and the doyenne of exuberant American decor, Sister Parish, Buatta reinvented the English Country House style stateside for clients such as Henry Ford II, Barbara Walters, Malcolm Forbes, Mariah Carey, Patricia Altschul and for Blair House, the President’s guest quarters. The collection comprises: English and Chinese Export porcelain; English pottery and Dutch Delft; English enamels, silver, and glassware; numerous examples of English and Continental furniture, with a particular focus on lacquered, japanned and penwork items; an ensemble of fine art, accented by his well-known collection of dog paintings and many more eclectic objects that illustrate his incomparable personality. With estimates ranging from $500 to $50,000, the sale will present collectors and admirers at all levels with a unique opportunity to acquire a piece of Mr. Buatta’s influential aesthetic.
The New York auction on January 23 and 24 will be preceded by a public exhibition opening January 16 in Sotheby’s York Avenue galleries. (See below for dates and times.)
Americana Week 2020 will offer over a curation of more than 560 lots across the three live auctions. Viewings begin with the Outsider Art sale opening on January 11th at the Rockefeller Center galleries with the remaining two auctions, Chinese Export Art and Important American Furniture, Folk Art and Silver, opening on January 15th. In conjunction with the sales, Christie’s will host the annual Eric M. Wunsch Award for Excellence in the American Arts on Wednesday, January 22 at 6pm honoring Laura Beach, Lita Solis-Cohen, and Mira Nakashima, as well as a Christie’s Lates event on Wednesday, January 15 combining a preview of the auctions, music and specialist talks.
On January 17 Christie’s will offer 130 lots of Outsider Art featuring rare and important masterpieces from the category’s top artists, including Bill Traylor, William Edmonson, Henry Darger, Thornton Dial and Martin Ramirez, among others.
The sale presents a strong selection of 8 works by Bill Traylor, including Man on White, Woman on Red / Man with Black Dog (double-sided) 1939-1942($200,000-400,000), a double-sided work gifted from filmmaker Steven Spielberg to writer Alice Walker after the conclusion of filming The Color Purple, and Red Man on Blue Horse with Dog from The Louis-Dreyfus Family Collections ($150,000-250,000). A large scale watercolor and carbon transfer narrative work by Henry Darger, Untitled (188,189), double sided($400,000-600,000), a minimalist and modern sculpture by William Edmondson, Figural Birdbath, 1930s($250,000-500,000), and Augustin Lesage’s highly detailed and colorful Untitled, 1945($100,000-150,000) are among the additional top lots in the sale.
The sale features a strong selection of works by European and Asian artists, such as Adolf Wolfli, Guo Fengyi, and Hiroyuki Doi, as well as remarkable pieces by American artists including William Hawkins, AG Rizzoli, and Judith Scott. The auction includes important selection of works from The William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation, sold to benefit the Harlem Children’s Zone and the Foundation.
CHINESE EXPORT ART FEATURING THE TIBOR COLLECTION, PART II | JANUARY 23 | 10AM
Chinese Export Art Featuring the Tibor Collection, Part II, taking place in New York on January 24th, presents 166 lots of porcelain and paintings made for the great commerce between China and the West in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The variety on offer includes blue and white, famille verte, famille rose, armorial pieces and rare European subjects.
Leading the offerings from the Tibor Collection is a pair of Famille Rose Soldier Vases and Covers, Qianlong Period (1736-1795) ($100,000-150,000).
The sale is led by a rich assortment from the Tibor Collection, which encompasses every category of Chinese export porcelain – from small, charming teawares to massive pairs of important jars – gathered from Latin America, Europe and the U.S. The collector was drawn to figure and animal models, including lifelike Chinese porcelain birds, pairs of pups to mythical beasts and amusing packs of blanc de chine foo lions. Leading the offerings from the Tibor Collection is a pair of Famille Rose Soldier Vases and Covers, Qianlong Period (1736-1795) ($100,000-150,000).
Other private collections represented are the well-known Eckenhoff Collection of mugs and a private New York collection of ‘Pronk’ porcelain. China Trade paintings include a group of charming reverse-paintings on mirror and a rare pair of oil portraits of Commissioner Qiying and his consort.
IMPORTANT AMERICAN FURNITURE, FOLK ART AND SILVER | JANUARY 24 | 10AM
Peaceable Kingdom by Edward HicksJoshua Johnson, A Pair of Portraits: Boy with Squirrel and Girl with Dog ($100,000 – 150,000)Continue reading →
On Friday, January 24 at 8:30 p.m., two widely popular groups from Quebec—Le Vent du Nord & De Temps Antan—come together in Zankel Hall for an exuberant performance of traditional and contemporary dance tunes of French-Canadian culture. In a program entitled QuebecFest!, the groups perform on a host of instruments that include hurdy-gurdy, jaws harp, guitar, and accordion with richly harmonized songs and instrumentals.
Le Vent du Nord and De Temps Antan teamed up together in 2016 and have performed traditional Quebec folk music (often called “trad” in colloquial Québécois French) throughout Quebec, the US, France and Switzerland, and at the Royal Glasgow Concert Hall. In 2018, they released a recording that was awarded Album of the Year—Traditional at the Québec Association for the Recording, Concert and Video Industries (ADISQ).
The award-winning Le Vent du Nord (The North Wind) is a leading force in Quebec’s progressive francophone folk movement and a key group in the renaissance of Quebec’s traditional music. The group’s vast repertoire draws from both traditional sources and original compositions, while enhancing its hard-driving soulful music (rooted in the Celtic diaspora) with a broad range of global influences. Since its inception in August 2002, Le Vent du Nord has enjoyed meteoric success, performing well over 2,000 concerts over four continents and receiving several prestigious awards, including a Grand Prix du Disque Charles Cros, two Junos (Canada’s Grammys), a Félix at ADISQ, a Canadian Folk Music Award, and “Artist of the Year” at the North American Folk Alliance Annual Gala. The group has appeared regularly on Canadian, American, French, and UK television and radio; played recently at major festivals such as Celtic Connections, WOMAD Chile, WOMADelaide, and WOMAD New Zealand; and collaborated and performed with a diverse range of artists, including Väsen, Dervish, The Chieftains, Breton musical pioneer Yann-Fañch Kemener, Québecois roots legend Michel Faubert, singer Julie Fowlis, and the trans-Mediterranean ensemble Constantinople. Le Vent du Nord also created a symphonic concert, providing a bridge between the symphonic and Quebec traditional music. In 2018, the band—Nicolas Boulerice, Simon Beaudry, Olivier Demers and Réjean Brunet—became a quintet when André Brunet joined the ensemble.
De Temps Antan (Of Olden Times) is regarded as the most powerful trad trio in Quebec. Its members— Éric Beaudry, David Boulanger and Pierre-Luc Dupuis—have been brilliantly and skillfully exploring and renewing the Quebec traditional repertoire since 2003. Using fiddle, accordion, harmonica, guitar, bouzouki and a number of other instruments, these three virtuosos blend boundless energy with the unmistakable joie de vivre found in traditional Quebec music. Their sets include ancient songs, new tunes, uncontrollable fits of laughter, dusted-down verses, and the occasional unplanned side trip. De Temps Antan has five albums to its credit, including Ce monde ici-bas which won ADISQ’s 2014 FELIX Award for Best Traditional Music Album, and has toured North America and Europe. All three musicians have been members of various Quebécois groups, including the iconic La Bottine Souriante.
Fans are invited to relive the show’s biggest mysteries, meet their favorite stars and immerse themselves in all things ‘Twin Peaks’ during the unforgettable weekend.
Ticket packages go on-sale now
Nearly three decades ago, audiences around the country were glued to their televisions by the mysterious death of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), and next spring, April 3-5, 2020, fans of the series Twin Peaks will travel to Elvis Presley’s Graceland® for a once-in-a-lifetime fan celebration. David Lynch and Mark Frost created a mystery horror drama series that has continued to amass a cult following, even after its original series finale in 1991, and its impact on pop culture is never-ending. The Twin Peaks 30: Official Fan Celebration, under license from Showtime Networks and ViacomCBS Consumer Products, will be an unforgettable experience featuring Twin Peaks-themed parties, screenings of fan-favorite episodes and the chance for fans to relive their favorite show, accompanied by cherry pie and “damn good coffee.”
Twin Peaks Screenshot
The Twin Peaks fan celebration will immerse guests in everything they enjoyed about the series, including celebrating the show’s 30th anniversary with stars Mädchen Amick (Shelly Johnson), Dana Ashbrook (Bobby Briggs), Chrysta Bell (Agent Tammy Preston), Sherilyn Fenn (Audrey Horne), Michael Horse (Deputy Tommy ‘Hawk’ Hill), Sheryl Lee (Laura Palmer), James Marshall (James Hurley), Kimmy Robertson (Lucy Brennan) and Sabrina Sutherland (Executive Producer). They will share their favorite moments and behind-the-scenes stories from the show, answer questions from fans and participate in autograph signing and exclusive photo opportunities.
“Thirty years go by in the blink of an eye. Enjoy the dream and watch it fly by,” stated Twin Peaks co-creator Mark Frost.
Ticket packages for the Twin Peaks 30: Official Fan Celebration is on-sale now, and fans can visit www.graceland.com/TwinPeaks for more information. Fans in attendance will also have the option to purchase exclusive Twin Peaks merchandise only available to attendees.
In addition to all the celebrity-filled Twin Peaks-themed events, fans of the show will see first-hand why Graceland is rated USA Today’s #1 “Iconic American Attraction.” Along with tours of the iconic Graceland Mansion, they will enjoy special events held across the ever-growing Graceland Campus, including the AAA rated Four Diamond luxury resort, The Guest House at Graceland, Elvis Presley’s Memphis entertainment complex and new Graceland Exhibition Center.
For more information about upcoming events at Graceland, visit www.graceland.com.
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