The late Texas and Oklahoma oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens left quite a legacy.
Many of the items he amassed over the years are being auctioned over a four-day period, Sept. 12-15 by Dallas-based J. Garrett Auctioneers.
The auction will be held online, via LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com, with phone and absentee bids accepted. There will be no live gallery bidding. Auction times are 12 noon Central on September 12 and 13, and 11 am Central on September 14 and 15. Over 2,300 quality lots will come up for bid over the course of the four days.
From the auction house:
The auction’s fine art category is extensive and will feature original paintings by masters old and new, sculptures, works by Texas artists such as Robert Wood and Frank Klepper, offerings from major European artists like Marcel Dyf, Alfred De Breanski Sr. and Sir Thomas Lawrence, many never-before-sold connoisseur Boehm pieces, statuary, religious icons and reliquaries, and more.
One lot certain to draw attention is the stunning marble and bronze depiction of Othello by Pietro Calvi (Italian, 1833-1885). The museum-quality sculpture, executed in Milan circa 1870, is 36 inches tall and includes the rare original handkerchief and a bronze lion placard with inscription. It’s estimated to bring $60,000-$80,000. A companion pedestal will be sold as a separate lot.
Another lot expected to get paddles wagging is a snowy New York street scene by Guy Carleton Wiggins (American, 1883-1962), titled Winter at 57th and 5th (est. $40,000-$100,000). The oil on panel work, measuring 16 by 20 inches (sight, less frame), is artist signed front and back and dated (“1948”). It’s in the Catalogue Raisonne for the complete works of Guy Carleton Wiggins.
Picasso and Rembrandt in the same auction? You bet. An early etching on paper by Rembrandt, of Jan Cornelis Sylvius (Eusticke’s 1st State of 3, 1633), is 6 ½ inches by 5 ½ inches (sight, less the double-matted 24 inch by 26 inch frame). It is in excellent condition (est. $15,000-$25,000).
Lots 474 and 475 (near the start of Day 2) is a pair of etchings by Picasso, each with an estimate of $10,000-$15,000 and both with an assessment letter from Sotheby’s. One is an Odalisque Au Collier de Chien etching, #36 of 50, 22 1/1 inches by 23 inches; the other is an Odalisque Bloch 1893 etching, #34 of 50, 75 inches by 21 ¾ inches. Both are signed and in excellent condition.
Two gorgeous portrait paintings attributed to the British artist Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830) will come under the gavel. One is a large oil on canvas portrait of King George IV in a heavy gilt frame measuring 49 inches by 79 ½ inches (est. $35,000-$60,000). The other is an oil depiction of Maria Augusta Dorothea Rumbold, 33 inches by 38 inches framed (est. $10,000-$12,000).
Oil paintings by other British artists will include a rare vertical work by Alfred de Breanski, Sr. (1852-1928), titled The Close of an Autumn Day, in a 44 inch by 32 inch frame (est. $10,000-$12,000); and a figural depiction of a young woman with the title, Wildflowers, by John Lindsey Lucas (1807-1874), in the original 74 inch by 50 inch fine giltwood frame (est. $6,000-$9,000).
A pair of paintings by Marcel Dyf (French, 1899-1985) will also be offered. Both have estimates of $5,000-$10,000. One is an oil on canvas figural work of a young woman reading a book or magazine, titled Claudine a la Lecture (1973), 21 ¾ inches by 18 inches (sight, less frame). The other is an undated oil on canvas titled Still Life Floral, 29 inches by 33 inches (also less frame).
From America, a painting by the Texas artist Robert Wood (1889-1979), titled Spring in the Catskills, 35 inches by 30 inches (sight, less frame), in excellent condition, should command $6,000-$12,000; while a Western-themed oil on canvas by Joe Rader Roberts (1925-1982), titled Temptation, signed lower left, in a 41 inch by 35 inch frame, is expected to hit $8,000-$12,000.
In the market for a carved stone tub? This sale’s got two and both are outstanding. One is a very rare Italian tub carved from a single block of onyx in a shell form and made for Sherle Wagner, the international bathroom fixtures company, heavy and large at 60 inches by 38 inches by 28 inches (est. $5,000-$10,000). The other is an incredible French carved stone tub, made from blue limestone with Neo-Classical carvings, 76 inches by 27 inches by 36 inches (est. $3,000-$5,000).
A reliquary is a container for relics, often objects associated with saints or other religious figures. This auction features a late 19th century Italian carved gilt and silvered bishop reliquary, large at 52 inches tall by 22 inches wide (est. $2,000-$4,000); and an 18th century Italian reliquary, in a condition commensurate with its age, 30 ½ inches tall by 16 inches wide (est. $800-$1,500).
A beautiful 19th century figural bronze clock, 29 inches tall by 25 inches wide, has an estimate of $100-$10,000; while a 16th century Spanish crucifix previously owned by Mary Carnegie, the African American educator and author in the field of nursing famous for breaking down racial barriers in the field of nursing, 27 inches by 16 ½ inches, should change hands for $800-$1,500.
J. Garrett Auctioneers Ltd. is a full-service auction company with over 50 years’ combined auction experience in the antiques field. The firm specializes in estate auctions and works with private individuals, trust and estate attorneys and family executors to offer a comprehensive approach to all aspects concerning an auction. J. Garrett also purchases entire estates outright.
To learn more about J. Garrett Auctioneers and the four-day Texas Billionaires auction event planned for September 12th-15th, visit www.jgarrettauctioneers.com. Updates are posted often.