Thursday 18 October 2012

Art Auctions For Sculptures




Art auctions for sculptures are a great way to find new art for your home or office. I like to peruse the online auction sites for nice sculptures. I have found some very interesting items when I’ve looked.





There was a sculpture sold on eBay recently that was entitled Love. The art auction for this sculpture went above the estimated value. The piece was red and blue and made of polychrome aluminum. The French artist’s name was Robert Indiana. The art auction listed the item as six feet tall, six feet wide and three feet deep.





I liked a hall stand that was carved from wood that I found in an online art auction. The carving depicted a playful bear climbing a fir tree. There was a young bear cub carved into one of the branches. The branches were there to serve as garment hooks and there was even a mirror on the piece in a carved oak leaf designed frame.





There was an exquisite sculpture by a Russian artist that was sold recently in an art auction. The subject of the sculpture was a Bar Mitzvah boy and the medium was marble. I think that marble statues seem so timeless and elegant. It is an excellent medium for a sculpture.





The wife of artist Yitzhak Danziger signed a certificate for the brass sculpture her husband completed in 1969. Danziger is an Israeli artist. The piece looked very abstract to me. It did not do very well in the art auction and sold for less than it’s estimated worth.





I found a lot of bronze sculptures in the online art auctions. Most of them were of people, but the ones I liked best were abstract. My absolute favorite was a Harry Bertoia bronze sculpture called Bush. This piece is also known as a Brain or Coral. The bidding for this piece of art in the art auction was started at thirty nine thousand dollars. It didn’t get a bidder.





I saw little interest in the bronze sculpture art auctions for animal figures. I’m not sure if the reasons they didn’t get bidders were because of subject matter or because of price. Bronze is an expensive medium for an artist to work in and it takes a lot of training to be proficient.





I have a favorite glass sculptor. His work goes for so much in online art auctions that I will probably never own a piece of his work. Dale Chihuly is magnificent. There are permanent installations of his tremendous work all over the world.





Crystal sculptures look more like paperweights to me. Online art auctions for glass representations of animals and sea life are really neat. My favorite art auction recently was for a hand blown glass jellyfish. It was magical.





I liked another online art auction for optical crystal that had been turned into a work of art by artist Christopher Ries. The piece was small and called Lotus. It would look so pretty in a well lit display case.





I’m jealous of the buyer that gets to call this sculpture their own. They won the piece in the art auction for just under a thousand dollars. This artist uses blocks of pure, clear lead crystal cast from Schott Glass Technologies of Duryea, Pennsylvania. It is truly amazing art. His work is prominently displayed in numerous galleries and even in the Columbus airport in Columbus, Ohio.


Breweriana at Art Auctions




My father-in-law is very interest in beer art. Breweriana is the special name for beer related artifacts. I’ve been watching for special pieces to add to his collection at art auctions I’ve been attending.





The first breweriana piece that I acquired for my father-in-law was a 1940s Lone Star Beer sign. He was so happy with this find at the art auction that he asked me to keep finding him interesting pieces of beer history. I think that finding breweriana at art auctions is definitely a commentary on today’s society.





I found another really old piece of breweriana at the very next art auction I attended. It was another sign and it was from the 1930s for Ziegler Beer. I was at an art auction in Wisconsin and had to ship that sign to my father-in-law by freight.





My quest for breweriana has taken me to some art auctions that I would not have ordinarily attended and I’ve met people that I don’t ordinarily meet. I got into a bidding war with a Cajun man over a Jax Beer sign from the 1930s. The auctioneer said that it was a piece of New Orleans history.





The Cajun outbid me at every opportunity. I had a limit that had been set by my father-in-law and we were closing in on it when he finally stopped bidding. I won that piece of breweriana at the art auction for eight hundred dollars.





The porcelain breweriana signs are showing up at art auctions all over the country. I found another one from the 1930s for Supreme Beer that was double sided and oval. I was really pleased when I was able to present that one to my father-in-law.





The tin breweriana signs are actually not showing up as often at art auctions. I felt fortunate when I found one from the 1930s for Washington Beer. The ceramic breweriana signs are much more commonplace.





After my first few purchases of breweriana for my father-in-law he decided that his taste really did run to items from the 1930s and 1940s. I’ve tried to keep this in mind when I find new acquisitions.





I usually stay away from neon or illuminating breweriana. I just don’t think it fits in with the feeling of my father-in-law’s collection. The antique feel of everything is nice. He has taken up beer making as a hobby since his wife passed away, so it is not a far leap to beer art collecting.





The Goetz Country Club Beer sign that I won at an art auction in Indiana was a little more chipped than the other pieces I’ve gotten. I was intent on winning this sign because Goetz was my father-in-law’s mother’s maiden name. He was so happy with this old piece of breweriana because of the name on it that it instantly became the centerpiece of his collection.





I found two pieces of cardboard breweriana at an art auction in Ohio. I decided that they were going to sell so cheaply that I could buy them and frame them for the collection. I’m glad I went to that art auction.





I won a sign for Velvet Beer and another one for Stratford Beer. They both were from the 1930s and they were more colorful than tin breweriana signs that I’d purchased at other art auctions. The framer that I used framed both pieces for fifty dollars.





The art auction that I attended in Rochester, New York turned out to be very fruitful for my father-in-law’s breweriana collection. There was a Standard Dry Ale reverse painted glass sign up for auction. The sign had hung in a bar until the 1960s when the bar closed down.





The most recent piece of breweriana that I bought at an art auction was an original prohibition era Miller High Life Brew sign. The red and black sign looked great on the wall with the other signs in the collection. My father-in-law plans to build an old-fashioned bar in his home, at least the decorating is complete!


Wednesday 17 October 2012

Native American Art Auctions: Art Antiques




Whether traditional or contemporary, Native American artwork is both highly collectible and universally appealing. Native American art forms the basis of many exemplary public as well as private art collections. People that collect Native American artwork can be very passionate about their collections.





Older, more traditional Native American artwork and cultural artifacts are not merely revered and / or emulated by modern artists, they are also held dear as parts of art collections the world over.





Fine Native American art done by well known American Indian artists, such as Nampeyo, the Hopi potter, can raise the caliber of a private or public art collection quite significantly. Iris Nampeyo lived on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona. She made a good income making pots and selling them at local trading posts.





A remarkable aspect of Nampeyo’s work is that over time she became more ad more interested in making pots according to ancient ways, as opposed to the modern pottery that was being made by people at the time. The quality of her work, as well as her interest and use of ancient pottery techniques certainly add to the demand and high price tags of her work.





If you find yourself in the market for Native American art antiques, be prepared to pay the price. Particularly with Native American art, availability doesn’t correlate to demand or cost, as is the case with many other highly collectible art types.





Items such as early Plains beadwork or late nineteenth century basketry are certainly examples of what would be considered extremely rare finds in the world of Native American art auctions.





When choosing from various art pieces, compare styles, read and research. This is really the only way to educate oneself about the various types of American Indian art. Then it’s time to shop around. Just like anything else, you won’t know what’s available unless you take the time to comparison shop.





During the 1900s many of the Native American art and crafts that other peoples associate with American Indians began to be commercially produced, especially by Asian nations. These Native American fakes became so widely purchased that several millions of dollars were taken from the American Indian artists in the form of cheap imitation Native American art.





Before purchasing Native American art antiques it’s a good idea to perform additional research has to the authenticity of the piece or pieces. Unless you’re highly knowledgeable on the topic and have experience spotting fakes, this type of art can be extremely hard to verify by inexperienced sight alone.





All in all, collecting American Indian art antiques is just like collecting any other antique, the definitive and primary timeframe is anything that is pre-1950s. Although a name that is well known can seriously increase the value of an object, condition, workmanship and prevalence are factors that are just as important.





Increasingly, even seasoned art dealers that deal in American Indian art find it difficult to discern authentic art antiques from imitation pieces. For this reason, it is particularly important to opt for dealing with reputable sources. In order to ensure that your perfect Native American art antique is the real deal it’s worth taking the time to locate such a well known art dealer or museum.





There are specialized art museums and dealers that offer Native American art pieces. These organizations generally are most interested in promoting Native art and cultures. The better of these institutions and organizations directly invest many of the profits gained from the sale of art pieces back into the Native American community.





When it comes to collecting Native American art antiques or any other type of art, don’t buy it unless you absolutely love it. Your best pieces are going to cost a pretty penny. If you don’t fall in love with a piece, chances are you’re not going to like it any better once it’s on your wall. So hold out for the perfect piece, you’ll be glad you did.


Tuesday 16 October 2012

Finding Vintage Disneyana




Vintage Disneyana has become a personal passion of mine. I’ve been searching for it for years now. I attend art auctions regularly, but usually only find vintage Disneyana at a small percentage of them.





I found a darling 1938 Knickerbocker Mickey Mouse dressed in a Santa suit at an art auction a few years ago. This was an extraordinary vintage Disneyana find. There was some very fine crazing to the face, but no flakes in the paint.





I did some research after the art auction and it turns out that my vintage Disneyana has quite a history. This toy was a one of a kind Mickey Mouse toy made by Knickerbocker for a department store at Christmas and was given away for a contest. I was happy that the beard was real wool fur.





I searched for several years at art auctions until I found a Mad Hatter china teapot. This vintage Disneyana was made in 1951 by Regal for Disney. I always loved Alice in Wonderland and this teapot was very special to me.





My love of vintage Disneyana runs through lots of mediums. I buy figurines and paintings and anything else that strikes me as special while I’m at art auctions. If something is really rare or unusual and still has a whimsical feel to it, I’ll try to win it.





I found a painting that I fell in love with. It fit with my love of vintage Disneyana. The painting was created in 1949 and depicted the Cinderella castle. It was originally created for a Disney holiday card. I won the painting for four thousand dollars and felt like I had gotten a great deal.





The old Disneyland maps have become very expensive pieces of vintage Disneyana. I have been finding more of the old maps at art auctions, but they are usually not in good shape. The nicest map I’ve found was from 1958, which is also the year I was born.





The 1958 map of Disneyland was the first one that was made poster sized. The art auction I found this piece of vintage Disneyana at had numerous Disney lots up for auction that day. I had not expected to find such a great item. This map had been stored rolled and had never been folded. I paid two thousand dollars for it and it was worth every penny.





Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was my little sister’s favorite movie when we were kids. I look for vintage Disneyana that features it when I am art auctions. The best item I’ve found for her was figurines from the 1950s that were of Snow White and six of the seven dwarfs. There was one figurine missing, Sneezy.





My daughter has fallen in love with Bambi. She had me buy her the DVD and she has watched it over and over again. I was at an art auction and found a nice Bambi figurine while they were auctioning off vintage Disneyana. I gave it to her for her last birthday and she says that it is her most prized possession!





I was shocked at an art auction that I attended that had a wonderful 1930s Mickey Mouse lamp and lampshade. The art auction had not even advertised that they were auctioning vintage Disneyana. If they had advertised this item, I know that more people would have come to the auction. I won the lamp for five hundred dollars because I had no competition.





The most common vintage Disneyana that I find at art auctions is watches. I don’t like watches. I never buy any of the Disney watches. I am usually disappointed when an art auction advertises vintage Disneyana and all they have up for auction is watches.





I bought an autographed Fantasia album at a vintage Disneyana sale. The art auction had a lot of signed and autographed items and Disney items were among them. The signatures on my vintage Disneyana included Walt Disney, Leopold Stokowski (the conductor) and both of the original animators, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnson. This was a fantastic find for my collection.


Monday 15 October 2012

Art Auctions: Vintage Photography




Vintage photography gives us a glimpse into the past, and helps to allow people to gain some understanding of the world before us. Unlike many of the collections that are considered the staples of art collection, vintage photographs are truly a unique exploration of the recent past, and many eras of the current civilization have come to contribute their share of what makes up vintage photography. Though not the largest grouping of auctioned materials of artistic value, they are still valued for their recollections of past events, and even items relating to vintage modes of photography are included in the auctioning of these things.





Cameras and equipment, photographic books and photo postcards before 1940, and even Viewmaster reels are acceptable pieces of auctioning material. All these things have contributed to the overall history on film, and even as the motion picture took on a predominant role in culture, the photograph has still been a staple of this system forming the basis for it all. Much of what seems to have the most value are those photographs that come from eras predating this revolution in film, and even further back to those images captured years just after the invention of the camera. Some are standards to which we have become accustomed to considering is merely part of our past, and we have to know that these things also have worth.





It is with this in mind that one can better grasp the innate worth of the photographs that might have caught their eye, and to be most prepared for an art auction with vintage photographs as the focus a bit of research is in order, especially if you wish to get the most out of your money for a proposed purchase. Much as any other auction, the buying and selling of vintage photographs can done in a variety of places, and that even includes through the Internet. Today, the markets are wide open with many different examples from previous eras, and finding that photograph that can really capture your attention can be a difficult process well worth the effort.





There are many organized auction houses that conduct business every day, which could perhaps be of service for you and your needs for the art you choose to become more aware of, and you can learn much by consulting experts on such matters. For the most part, buying and selling art through auctions can be an easy process with the right amount of time and money spent in the right places, and you can always go back to your research when you happen to feel overwhelmed by how complex the bidding can get with these types of experience in life.





It is when you are considering the value of a piece that you already own, that consultation with an appraiser can be of much help, and the more professional ones will go out of their way to get you the best total for your items. When concentrating on just what you want, you be better adapted to finding those needs met more adequately, and you will have no need for fearing the system of rules when it comes to the art auction. The more research that you commit yourself to, the more worth your time it becomes, and the more you can have your money work for you.


Looking for Collectible Postcards




I’ve found that the best place to find collectible postcards is at art auctions. I was at an art auction in Eastlake, Ohio looking for stained glass and found them auctioning a lot of vintage collectible postcards. I bought the lot at the art auction and it contained almost three thousand beautiful collectible postcards.





About thirty percent of the collectible postcards were pre-linen. These are postcards that were all made before 1930. The linen collectible postcards were made from 1930 to 1945 and the lot I won at the art auction had thirty percent linen cards as well.





Forty percent of the lot I won at the art auction was for early chrome collectible postcards. Most of them were from the fifties and sixties. There were also collectible postcards from the British museum series from the seventies.





The collectible postcards that are my favorite are all turn of the century and were sent for holidays. Valentine’s Day collectible postcards from the early 1900s are very romantic. The Christmas postcards have some really nice artwork. I was really fortunate with the purchase at the art auction because the assortment was so varied.





My collection of collectible postcards contains many different themes. I like the non-US card. I found an art auction that had a shoebox full of these postcards and they were from places like Bermuda, Zurich, Rio de Janeiro, Dresden, Germany, Ireland and even Istanbul. I had never owned a collectible postcard from Niger before that art auction.





People who do not collect vintage collectible postcards just don’t understand their value. They are usually not even mentioned as being part of an art auction. I go to art auctions every other weekend on the off chance that there will be collectible postcards on the auction block.





I am always so pleased when I find linen ere collectible postcards at an art auction. The auctioneer at most art auctions does not even announce the lot as linen postcards; he usually just announces it as vintage or old collectible postcards. His lack of knowledge of the subject almost always works to my advantage.





I have various collections of collectible postcards within the main collection. I tried for awhile to complete a set of state views in all linen era postcards. I can’t even count how many art auctions I attended before I even had thirty of the forty eight states. I know that I finally tired of the pursuit and have just put it on the back burner.





The holiday collectible postcards go to collectors of more than just postcards. I’ve seen people buy holiday collectible postcards at an art auction just to frame and decorate with them during certain holidays. I actually found five really nice vintage Christmas collectible postcards at an art auction and had them framed for my mother as a Christmas gift.





I went to an art auction and estate sale of a man whose grandfather had been a colonel army officer. The collectible postcards that I found there were fantastic. The officer had amassed 353 different postcards from India. It was amazing. They had been tucked into an album and never used and were in perfect condition.





For awhile, I thought that I wanted to collect postcards from soldiers in WWI. I found a two hundred piece lot of this type of collectible postcards at an art auction in New Haven. The mix of cards was British, French and German. It was interesting because some of the collectible postcards were censored. I’ve never seen censored collectible postcards before.





The most I’ve ever spent on collectible postcards at an art auction was $530 for four postcards. They were all from 1904 and they depicted automobile racing. They were in pristine condition. I doubt that I will ever find any more even remotely like this the rest of my life. They were exceptional.





The lot of collectible postcards I found last weekend was really fun to look through. The art auction had a lot of things from a family that had emigrated here from Serbia. The postcards were all from either Serbia or Belgrade. This was a good lot and it went for the opening bid.


Sunday 14 October 2012

Art auction: contemporary art



It really is a wonderful thing, considering how much we receive from our appreciation of art is that it speaks about our own culture and the cultures which make up the world beyond our own volumes. It is very modern to understand something of what art is, how he tries to reinterpret our own scope of the world at an artistic level and still reveals all of the human nature behind his creation. Artistic spirit of today is no different in the fruit of reflections on a canvas surface, and some are obsessed with the same qualities that these works of art are considered classics have had previously.




In particular, there is that a unique perspective comes from much contemporary art, or if the label appears to include works of contemporary art, with uncertainties, due to the lack of a dominant School of thought or ideology. More modern art begins the direction in the 1960s, most of the illustrations, could easily be defined by specifics before that, and there were trends in these circles for the date itself through the 1980s. After the period modernist art was confirmed, much of the direction was to be quite uneven in periods of social and political change, and many distinctions within the art loosened considerably.




With a few critical opinions denouncing the current of modern art must be 'true beauty', critical Donald Kuspit was known to say that art had left the Studio and found his ' path in the street and it may not be that much worse with a blur of many lines at this time. " Today, contemporary art seems to take into account that these issues are that the world is facing, and to focus on policy seems to have intensified recently. Shift the drawing of ideal beauty and purity of a completely contradictory force of inspiration for art with a social vocation and often the appropriate cross-media limits.




Even though this is where the argument stops and the conjecture begins as artists and critics the two clash of opinion where the line lies between the different types of tanks, and he was beaten all other movements art is again in a similar way, to find the place that crosses between art, artist and the public and create a way for each of them to share space in the overall concept of the artwork. Make holes in the points between art and life less and create new ways to understand how the things that we see around us.




Exciting with impact on what the limits of perception through relevant issues shape the world as we know, and there are many schools and studios of modern art that seeks to help shape the mass culture of the practice of contemporary art which will result in the future, for us to see introspective in the thoughts of the artist. Create educational institutions that defies and defines what love and life can continue to limit, to analyze and further defined as multiple devices in a totally different from the sum of its 'parts."




When considering all these information can seem overwhelming at first, but art is not impossible to understand, if you focus on the understanding of what your tastes are. When these things do not think, it is easy to forget the value of what you buy and you may be able to get most of what you want to use. There are some lessons to be learnt, involving not something explanatory self-expression, we need closer to what appeals to them with a frugal yet open state of mind, it may be much easier to find a good deal with this state of mind at your finger tips.




Timing may sometimes need to be much more lucrative for the buyer, and with some auctions of art, it can be difficult to find some reasons to start the auction. However, with studious attention his film what you want your final goal should be, and you have found a way to acquire at least a type of fax to show for your efforts. Depending on how deeply you want yourself get involved in such activities as local screenings of work by contemporary artists and perhaps you would even find a way to see the stirrings of the creativity of Interior, befriended with local artists and networked.