Combine the unique flair of Latin American art with bold Japanese aesthetics and you get the work of Luis Nishizawa. In 1918, born Nishizawa-Flores, to parents of Mexican and Japanese descent - his atmospheric work frequently depicts the Mexican countryside. Yet having studied etching in Tokyo, Japan there is always a hint of the Japanese asymmetrical embellishment found in the simplicity and tranquility of his compositions. Perhaps his voice also stems from the solitude of his youth on a farm, and his further expression in many artistic mediums – music, sketch-drawing, Asian jewelry-design, Asian painting, graphic art, engraving, murals, even Asian ceramics and Asian sculpture. He continued his contributions as an influential teacher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and a lifetime of worldwide exhibited work – many within p...Read More

When gold was discovered at Sutters Mill in Coloma, California in January 1848, gold rush fever soon swept the nation and the greater world beyond. In what was considered the first ever world-class gold rush, over 300,000 “Forty-Niners” made their way to the Golden State fields - half by sea and half over land, in a bid to make their fortunes. Among those bitten by the bug was Edward Dickson Hicks II. The California Gold Rush proved a pivotal point in Americas expansion across its continent At his home on Devon Farm in Nashville, Tennessee, Hicks laid his plans. In a Diary beginning January 1, 1850 he wrote: “Have California Fever on high order. I am resolved to go.” Hicks kept the diary through to April 1851, describing his journey in great detail. “The amount of suffering on the road will be very great,” he wrote. “All of the emigrants st...Read More

No one can doubt the iconic status of Coney Island and its amusement parks. Launched in 1880, it reached a historical peak during the first half of the 20th Century, when, as the largest amusement area in the U.S., it contained three major players - Luna Park, Dreamland, and Steeplechase Park – all competing for the millions of patrons who visited yearly. Electric lights, roller coasters and baby incubators are among Coney Island innovations, and for a short while, from 1885 to 1896, the Coney Island Elephant was the first sight to greet immigrants arriving in New York. On Saturday, July 23, Potter & Potter Auctions offers bidders a bridge to the golden age of Coney Island when they sell Lot 443 in their Three Ring sale. A 1920 antique wooden carousel horse with carved corncob at the cantle and American flags at its sides; in a former life ...Read More

A painting by legendary artist Charles M. Russell, with an estimate of $1M, headlines the 31st annual Coeur d’Alene Art Auction, set to take place July 23 with exclusive online auction on Bidsquare. The sale of The Tenderfoot, fresh to market after spending the past 100 years in a single-family collection, should see spirited bidding at a sale that continues to be the high point of the Western auction calendar. The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction has a well-earned reputation for selling the highest quality Western paintings and sculptures. Hailed as "The Biggest and Most Successful Auction of Western Art" by The Wall Street Journal and named "One of the Top Auction Houses Worldwide" by Blouin Art+Auction, the Coeur dAlene has netted over $230,000,000 in sales over the past ten years from its perch as a clear industry leader. Lot 113 - The Tenderf...Read More

As this season of political mayhem unfolds it becomes increasingly obvious just how much the world needs non-profits like Arts Letters & Numbers. Located in Avril Park, New York, Arts Letters & Numbers is an arts, education and publishing organization dedicated to creating creative exchanges across a wide range of disciplines including architecture, visual arts, theatre arts, film, music, humanities, sciences and social sciences.  Arts Letters & Numbers is running an online benefit art auction ending this Tuesday, June 28. Curated by David Gersten, the collection includes over 100 works donated by 70+ artists that make up Arts Letters & Numbers’ broader community, and features works by renowned artists including Larry Brown, Marguerite van Cook, Manya Javadipour, Adeline Kueh, Lisa Lawley, Scott Nobles, James Romberger, Homa Shojaie and mor...Read More

A quick glance below shows you that the golden era of car design is well behind us. These days, despite the sophisticated technology put into even the most basic of models, automotive design has taken on a fairly generic look, and without their logos it would be hard to tell a Lexuss from a Mercedes from a Ford or an Audi. Yet there was a time when car designers brought individual flare to the table. When visionaries launched their dreams from backyard garages and turned them into automotive history. On Thursday, June 23, Skinner offers car buffs a chance to tap into that rich epoch when they kick off their 20th Century Design sale with ten cars and a motorbike, timeless gems all sure to be the center of spirited bidding. Lot 11 - a 1937 Cord Phaeton 812 - is sure to be one of the stars of the sale. Designed and built in Indiana, the car ca...Read More

What began for Marylyn Dintenfass as a methodical, process-oriented exercise, exploring the expressive and technical possibilities of circles, grew into a meditative celebration of the architectural Oculus. The circle motif has been one of the constants in the visual lexicon that Dintenfass has employed throughout her work. Evoking a wide range of mathematical, historical and philosophical references—from cellular microcosms to celestial macrocosms—Dintenfass has sustained a perceptive investigation of this iconic, essential shape. Whereas some of her oculi are made with strong gestural marks, revealing the presence of Dintenfass hand, others make use of a highly controlled, hard-edge matrix derived from ring-like templates of her own design. The tension between these two modes, organic and mathematical, becomes a critical element of the se...Read More

A 19th Century doctor might be a little bemused if he hopped in a time machine and saw people in the 21st Century bidding so enthusiastically on the former tools of his trade. Yet such is the sheer beauty of many of these products, crafted in a time when things were obviously made to last, that their eventual collecting was surely bound to happen. Sometimes, quality is a little hard to resist! On Saturday, June 18 Leland Little Auctions offers bidders a look into this bygone era when they hold their sale of Dr. & Mrs. John Gimeshs Medical Collection. 475 expertly curated lots are set to go under the hammer from a single-owner collection that includes a broad range of vintage medical related items, plus antique medical and surgical books.  The contrast between medicine bottles of the past and present couldnt be more extreme, a point made obv...Read More

When it comes to travel, it’s easy sometimes to regret not living in a different, quainter time. Sure, ours is an age where we zip from one end of the planet to the other at truly mind-boggling speeds, but one gets the feeling, as technology evolves, that people have come to take the whole thing for granted. The miracle is now the mundane – the sense of wonder is gone. Yet not so long ago, back before the Wright Brothers took to the skies, people marveled at the ability to travel. Everything beyond one’s backyard was unknown and exotic, and journeys were always exciting, usually difficult, and often treacherous. People rarely left their state of province, never mind the country. The historic broadside advertised a journey aboard a steamer named for industrialist Moses Taylor On Friday June 10, Cowan’s Auctions gives bidders a taste of this ...Read More

Fernando Cueto Amorsolo is one of the most important artists in the history of painting in the Philippines. He is well known as a portraitist and painter of rural Philippine landscapes and for his craftsmanship and mastery in the use of light. Fernando Cueto Amorsolo, Image source: The Fernando C. Amorsolo Art Foundation House on the Lake recently came to auction at Kodner Galleries. The work depicts a grass hut on the edge of a waterway bordered by bamboo in rosy glowing light. The work demonstrates the artist’s superb craftsmanship and mastery of the use of light previously mentioned. It has been suggested by an expert on a group of Filipino artists, some of whom are followers of Amorsolo, the work is likely a plein air work rendered in a single sitting characteristic of the prolific Amorsolo. Fernando Cueto Amorsolo, House on a Lake, 1926...Read More