Evolving as countless other businesses have in recent weeks, Larchmont’s Clarke Auction Gallery has shifted to an online-only bidding model for its upcoming auction on Sunday, April 26, at 10 a.m.
“Because we already had a strong online footprint, we can continue to service our buyers and consignors and communicate with our audiences,” owner and auctioneer Ronan Clarke said in a statement. “People are already comfortable with online bidding and they enjoy being able to continue to participate in auctions.” The auction house is delivering and picking up items as normal and is also offering curbside pickups. Video chat appraisal services are also available via several online platforms.
The auction features fine art and decorative items from European paintings to contemporary bronzes. Expected to lead the sale is a Gerald Laing bronze titled “An American Girl” ($20,000 to $50,000 estimate), a signed number two in an edition of three. The 1978 work came out of a Larchmont estate and measures 25½ by 26 by 31 inches. “An American Girl can be seen as the culmination of the ‘Galina’ series of sculpture in which I worked through various formal and abstract figurations,” the artist said in 1999.
Rounding out the fine art category is a signed oil seascape by Daniel Hermann Anton Melbye ($8,000 to $12,000) and a portrait after Hippolyte Flandrin depicting Napoleon III in uniform of a major general at the Tuileries, 1862 ($3,000 to $5,000).
René Lalique’s works figure prominently in this sale, including two large glass chandeliers estimated at $4,000 to $6,000 and $3,000 to $5,000. An (attributed) Vladimir Kagan Comete sofa suite ($3,000 to $5,000) would look striking underneath either.
Asian art offerings feature an Akio Takamori ceramic figure ($2,000 to $3,000), signed, 25½ by 18 inches, and a Kinkozan-signed porcelain Satsuma vase ($600-$900), 9½ inches tall.
When it comes to jewelry, it’s usually the three Cs (cut, color and clarity) that matter to buyers, but here it’s the three Ds – designers, diamonds and diversity. Highlights include a Bvlgari Tubogas 18-karat yellow gold watch ($2,000 to $3,000) with a Favre-Leuba Swiss movement, from the familial estate of the founding owner of the Buffalo Bills, and a platinum and diamond bow form ring ($1,500 to $2,500), which has a central round brilliant-cut diamond flanked by tapered baguettes and single-cut diamonds. In the silver category, a shining star is an International sterling “Avalon” flatware service for 12 ($1,400- $1,600) with serving pieces.
Rounding out the auction will be an antique Continental bronze mounted marble top console ($2,000 to $3,000) with carved and gilded griffins; an 18th-century Continental tapestry ($1,000 to $1,500), 8 feet, 7 inches by 8 feet, 1 inch; and a vintage, life-size, patinated bronze figural candelabra ($2,000 to $3,000), 20th century.
Online bidding is available through ClarkeNY.com, LiveAuctioneers, Invaluable and Bidsquare. For more, visit clarkeny.com.
