From Modernist Prints to Grand European Interiors: Five Highlights to Watch This August

This August, Austin Auction Gallery presents its three-day Summer Signature Estates & European Antiques sale, bringing together fine art, furniture, lighting, decorative arts, and European antiques across three distinct sessions. Taking place August 21–23, 2026, the sale moves from the eclectic mix of art and design offered on Day 1, through the English country-house character of Day 2, before concluding with the grand-scale European furnishings and decorative arts of Day 3. With hundreds of lots offered each day, the sale has the feel of wandering through several very different collections at once—and plenty of opportunities for collectors to discover something unexpected.

Here are five highlights worth a closer look:

Kiyoshi Saito, Notre-Dame, Paris, 1960 (Lot 1116)
One of the most compelling works on paper in the sale comes from Japanese printmaker Kiyoshi Saito (1907–1997). His 1960 color woodblock Notre-Dame, Paris depicts one of the world’s most recognizable landmarks through Saito’s distinctly modern visual language.

Signed by the artist and numbered 84/100, the print is additionally marked “Self-Carved Self Printed Kiyoshi Saito,” a detail that speaks to Saito’s hands-on approach to the medium. The tall, narrow composition gives the familiar Parisian subject an almost architectural rhythm, making it an appealing meeting point between Japanese printmaking and European subject matter. It carries an estimate of $1,000–$2,000. 

Italian Murano Art Glass Eight-Light Chandelier (Lot 1165)
Lighting can completely transform a room, and this 20th-century Italian Murano glass chandelier is designed to do exactly that. The fixture combines yellow and colorless glass in an elaborate arrangement of curving arms, applied foliage, flowers, and flared floriform shades.

At approximately 34.5 inches high and equally wide, it has enough presence to become a room’s focal point without feeling overwhelmingly monumental. Even better for someone designing a larger or more symmetrical interior, it is one of a pair offered in the auction. Estimated at $600–$800, it offers the exuberance and craftsmanship that continue to make vintage Murano lighting so appealing to collectors and designers. 

Conrad Buff, Mountain Landscape (Lot 1170)
For collectors drawn to American landscape painting, Conrad Buff’s Mountain Landscape brings a quieter note to Day 1. The framed oil on paperboard is signed at lower right and bears an estate stamp with the official estate signature of Mary Elizabeth Buff on the reverse.

The painting measures approximately 16 by 24 inches and captures the kind of Western landscape imagery closely associated with the Swiss-born, California-based artist. With an estimate of $800–$1,500, it is an approachable opportunity to add an American landscape to a collection, and a work that could sit just as comfortably in a traditional interior as in a more contemporary setting. 

English Victorian Delft-Style Painted Tall Chest of Drawers (Lot 2188)
Day 2 shifts toward English and Continental furniture, including pieces with plenty of personality. This late-19th-century English Victorian tall chest of drawers is a particularly charming example.

The intentionally distressed case has been decorated later with blue-and-white, Delft-style faux tiles featuring chinoiserie landscapes, sailboats, figures, birds, and floral motifs. The decoration turns an otherwise traditional storage piece into something far more playful and decorative. Standing approximately 54.5 inches high, it has enough scale to anchor a bedroom, hallway, or living space while bringing pattern and color into the room. The estimate is $1,000–$2,000. 

Italian Neoclassical Style Marble-Top Walnut Dining Table (Lot 3195)
By Day 3, the sale has moved firmly into grand European interiors. Among the furniture highlights is this late-18th-century Italian Neoclassical-style walnut dining table, topped with a rectangular marble slab.

The restrained form is elevated by tapering square legs with stone inlay and distinctive arrow feet, giving the table the elegant geometry associated with Neoclassical design. Measuring approximately 65 inches wide, it is substantial without requiring the proportions of a palatial dining room. Like the Murano chandelier, this table is also one of a pair offered in the sale, an unusual opportunity for collectors furnishing a larger space. It is estimated at $2,000–$4,000. 

Part of the appeal of Austin Auction Gallery’s August sale is its range. A Japanese modernist print can share the weekend with Murano lighting, an American landscape, whimsical English furniture, and an 18th-century Italian table; and somehow it all makes sense. Beyond these five highlights, the catalogs extend into Western art, Art Deco and mid-century design, European porcelain, sculpture, garden ornament, and monumental furnishings.

Summer Signature Estates & European Antiques takes place August 21, 22, and 23, 2026, with all three sessions presented by Austin Auction Gallery and available to explore and bid through Bidsquare. Whether the goal is finding a statement piece for an interior or adding something unexpected to an established collection, this is a sale that rewards browsing beyond the obvious.

Register to bid on Bidsquare.com.