Auction Finds

Our European & American Furniture and Decorations auction is this Saturday at 10am.  There are some fantastic finds in the sale!  Here are a few of my personal favorites:

Lot 265, Limoges Gilt Decorated Dinner Service, Royal China, Circa 1920

Estimate $1,000-1,500

Lot 290, Set of Twelve Gilt Decorated Royal Crown Derby Plates, Pattern 3309

Retailed by Davis Collamore, New York, Dated 1900
Estimate $500-700

Lot 326, Federal Maple Triple-Chair Back Caned-Seat Settee

New York or New England, Second Quarter 19th Century
Estimate $800-1,200

Lot 334, Classical Gilt Convex Mirror, American or English, First Half 19th Century
Estimate $800-1,200

Lot 400, Pair of Continental Baroque Style Giltwood Pricket Candlesticks, Circa 1900
Estimate $700-900

Lot 453, Pair of Louis XVI Style Ormolu Mounted Parquetry Kingwood

and Tulipwood Chiffonières, Early 20th Century
Estimate $1,500-2,500

Lot 455, Louis XVI Style Giltwood Gros and Petit Point

Upholstered Fire Screen, Early 20th Century
Estimate $600-800

Lot 468, Louis XVI Light Blue and Greenish-Gray Painted Bergère
Estimate $3,000-5,000

Lot 491, Biedermeier Parcel Ebonized Birchwood

Secrétaire a Abattant,Circa 1825-1830
Estimate $1,500-2,500 

Lot 552, Victorian Brass Mounted Mahogany and

Elmwood Campaign Secrétaire Chest, Mid-19th Century
Estimate $500-700

Lot 552-open

Lot 554, Set of Four Regency Style Parcel Gilt Olive-Brown Painted

Beechwood Caned Armchairs, First Half 20th Century
Estimate $1,500-2,500

Lot 556, William IV Brass Mounted Mahogany Adjustable

Bedside Reading Table, Circa 1835
Estimate $600-800

Lot 560, Victorian Brass Mounted Mahogany Campaign

Chest of Drawers, Last Half 19th Century
Estimate $500-700

Check out the rest of the catalogue here!  What are your favorites?

{images via Weschler's}

Degas's Dancers at the Barre

The Phillips Collection's new exhibit, Degas’s Dancers at the Barre: Point and Counterpoint, just opened this past Saturday...and I'm dying to go!  The exhibit focuses on Degas's ballerinas-the anatomy of the dancers and flow of their movements.  Around thirty works have been brought together, including paintings, sculptures and works on paper.  Here's a sneak peak:

Ballet Rehearsal, oil on canvas

Dancers at the Barre, oil on canvas

Dancer Adjusting Her Shoe, pastel on paper

Two Dancers Resting, charcoal on paper

Dancer Moving Forward, Arms Raised, bronze

Dancers in Rose, pastel on paper

Can't wait till I can get to Dupont Circle to see the collection!

{images via The Phillips Collection}

Monday Inspiration: Start of the Season

I'm back!  After a busy month and half, we had a successful first auction this past weekend!  I find there's nothing more inspirational than the beginning of the auction season, a fresh start.  After a summer of collecting works, here are a few of my favorites:

Lot 601 Hubert Emile Bellynck (French b. 1859), Sailboats at Sea 
oil on canvas, 19-3/4 x 25-1/2 in (50.2 x 64.8 cm) 
estimate $600-800, realized $800

Lot 606 Michel Henry (French b. 1928), Inlet with Sailboats 
oil on canvas, 11-3/4 x 9-3/4 in (29.9 x 24.8 cm) 
estimate $800-1,200, realized $450

Lot 616 Ruskin Spear (British 1911-1990), At the Dressing Table
oil on panel, 24 x 20 in (61 x 50.8 cm) 
estimate $15,000-25,000, did not sell

Lot 618 Richard Forsyth (British 20th Century), Low Tide, Crail Harbor 
oil on canvas, 28 x 36 in (71.1 x 91.4 cm) 
estimate $400-600, realized $800

Lot 630 Attributed to Jane Stuart (American 1816-1888)George Washington at Dorchester Heights 
oil on canvas, 36-1/4 x 24-1/2 in (92.1 x 62.2 cm) 
estimate $5,000-10,000, realized $16,000

Lot 639 Francis Daniel Devlan (American 1835-1870), After the Storm 
oil on canvas, 42 x 60 in (106.7 x 152.4 cm) 
estimate $5,000-10,000, realized $8,500

Lot 647 James Francis Day (American 1863-1942), The Bather 
oil on canvas, 24-1/4 x 20-1/4 in (61.6 x 51.4 cm) 
estimate $2,000-3,000, realized $5,500

Lot 663 Mary F. R. Clay (American d. 1939), Cagnes sur Mer 
oil on canvas, 21-1/4 x 25-1/4 in (54 x 64.1 cm) 
estimate $400-600, realized $800

Check out the rest of the catalogue here!  What are your favorites?

{images via Weschler's}

Monday Inspiration: Random Harvest

When my mom was in town two weekends ago, we went to three out of the four Random Harvest locations!  Saturday we stopped by the Georgetown shop after brunch, Saturday afternoon we swung by the Arlington location on on our way home and Monday we popped into the Alexandria store during a little detour through Old Town. A little absurd and wonderfully perfect.  Here are some of my favorite finds.

I always find a Random Harvest trip is exactly the boost I need to become inspired to "finish" my home...atleast until I think of the next project!

What are you favorites??

Friday Fave

The Corcoran Gallery of Art has an upcoming exhibit Washington Color and Light featuring the works of the Washington Color School.  The exhibit, opening June 25th, will highlight the  local D.C. artists' passion for color and urge for exploration.  Gene Davis, Kenneth Noland, Howard Mehring, Paul Reed, Thomas Downing and Morris Louis-who never thought of themselves a group-first showed together in the exhibition, Washington Color Painters, in 1965.  While their individual styles varied, their experimentation with acrylic paint and optical color patterns are the common thread among the artists.

Below is a delightful acrylic by Gene Davis.  Davis is best known for his brilliant stripe paintings.  When I first came to D.C. I couldn't understand what was so impressive about his works--seeing them in a book or on a computer screen is simply not the same as standing in front of one of his massive paintings.  While he did do smaller works,  most of his paintings are LARGE! 48 x 48 in, 57 x 57 in, 60 x 70 in, 95 x 115 in...Nothing can compare to seeing a canvas with teeny, thin vivid stripes that's larger than you!

Gene Davis (American 1920-1985), Red Chatterbox, acrylic on canvas
Auctioned by Sotheby's Arcade, New York on June 22, 2005
price realized: $10,800 (including buyer's premium)

I'm enchanted by the playful, bright colors and summery nature of this work!

Have a wonderful weekend!

{image via AskArt}

Hidden Oasis

Right now in DC we're experiencing day two of an incredible heat wave. When I woke up this morning at 6am the temperature was already 80!  The air is sticky, the sun is brutal and the heat is consuming. 

What I wouldn't give to escape to this Cleveland Park hidden oasis created by landscape architects Scott Fritz and Leslie Gignoux...

Hope it's cooler where you are!

{image via Home & Design}

Abstract Love

I recently fell in love with a piece of art that came into our auction house.  It was an abstract, slightly impressionistic landscape by local artist Elzbieta Sikorska (Polish/American 20th Century).

I loved it...but after days of obsessing, worrying about the large size (3-ft by 4-ft) and stressing about the impact on my other potential home improvements, I decided I'd place a conservative bid and see how it turned out.  Unfortunately, it was fated to not to be mine.


It did, however, spark a renewed interest in bright, whimsical abstract works and how they can drastically impact a room.  I fell in love all over again!

{image via House Beautiful}

{image via Willow Decor}

{image from Things That Inspire}

{image from Things That Inspire}

{image from Things That Inspire}

{image via House Beautiful}

{image via Perch}

{image from Things That Inspire}

{image from Things That Inspire}

The art truly transforms each environment...imagine a traditional landscape or portrait in the same space.  The room would awaken an entirely different emotion and ambiance!