Ansel Adams / Taos Pueblo The photograph shows a single page from Ansel Adams' book "Taos Pueblo" (published in 1930 in an edition of 108). The image is “Saint Francis Church, Ranchos de Taos”. This extremely rare book includes images hand printed by Adams and bound together with text by Mary Austin. Both Adams and Austin autographed each copy of the book. This book was purchased in a box lot at a Chicago auction gallery and sold days later for more than $30,000.
Barovier / Oriente Vase We discovered this blown glass vase while undertaking a household appraisal consisting of a wide variety of decorative arts including fine porcelains. The client had placed the vase in front of a door to keep the door open on a windy day. When we saw the vase, we recognized it as an example of the very scarce Oriente style of glass designed by Ercole Barovier and made by Barovier & Toso circa 1940. The vase is signed on the bottom and the condition is excellent. During the past twenty years, Italian glass – made primarily in Venice on the island of Murano – has become aggressively sought after and collected. The prices have risen accordingly. Items once seen as little more than decorative are now seen as fine craft or art and often, if sold in appropriate markets, sell for large amounts. Though used as a doorstop – albeit a fragile one – and deemed by the client to be of little interest or value, we suggested placement in a sale at a modern gallery and it brought $6,000. Ironically, this “doorstop” proved to be of greater value than many of the antique Meissen porcelain figures that we had first been called upon to assess.
Schatz / Heifetz Lamp We found this simple lamp during an estate appraisal. It consists of little more than a bent steel tube, through which an electrical cord has been threaded and to which a conical aluminum shade and reflector have been attached. Although modest in terms of design, it is also an important example of modernist / 20th century lighting in the starkly minimalist aesthetic of the early 1950’s. It was designed by Zahara Schatz, produced by Heifetz Manufacturing Company and, in 1951, won a design award at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. For many years, design of this kind and period were out of favor in the market and were dismissed by most as trivial and uninteresting. Even today, it is the sort of thing that can sometimes be found at estate or house sales for only a few dollars. To collectors of modern design, however, this lamp is attractive and desirable and, during the past ten years, many examples have been sold in the range of $6,000 to 10,000.
Ram Kumar / Varanasi Painting Ram Kumar (1924 - ) "Varanasi" (Benares) Oil painting on canvas. 27” height by 51” width. It was painted in 1965 by Ram Kumar, one of the great modern Indian painters. It represents, in abstract terms, the sacred Indian city of Varanasi (Benares). This painting was purchased by a Chicago collector in the early 1970’s for only a few hundred dollars. During the past ten years, with the rising strength of the Indian economy and the interest in modern Indian culture, paintings in this category have soared in market value. The clients suspected that the paintings might have some value, but were happily surprised at the values that we determined and suggested.
We were hired by the collector’s heirs to broker the collection, which included additional paintings by Ram Kumar and paintings by other great modern Indian painters including Maqbool Fida Husain, CKS Paniker and Jamini Roy. This painting was eventually placed for sale in the Modern Indian Art auction at Sotheby’s in New York City in September of 2008 and sold for $194,500. The annualized rate of return upon the painting over the past 36 years has been 19.71%; it increased in dollar value by 65,000% during this period! During this same period, the CPI increased by 424%. At the CPI rate, the painting would have appreciated in value to only $1,572. This is an excellent example of value advancement in a rapidly developing market.
Our representation included working with a certified appraiser (because we were acting as brokers in this case, we could not also act as independent appraisers), conservators, research assistants, property managers for appropriate storage and moving, insurance considerations and the provision of written provenance and catalog entries for the paintings. We performed market assessments for the clients and provided detailed results and recommendations in written form. We negotiated third party terms and contracts and oversaw all aspects of the sale including post-sale assessments and a complete accounting. Our services – and the artwork – were bonded and insured throughout the process.
