NEW YORK — The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction brought a strong total of over $ 17.5 million during this year’s sale. The highlight of the 2021 sale was auction mainstay Charles M. Russell’s Roping a Wolf, 1904, which sold for over $ 1.7 million – the highest total for the influential Western artist in over seven years, and the tenth-highest total all-time. The largest single-auction event in the classical Western and American Art field saw over 30 lots eclipse the $ 100,000 price point, realizing a sales rate of over 94%. The Coeur d'Alene Art Auction held their 36th annual Fine Western & American Art auction on July 31, 2021 with online bidding available exclusively through Bidsquare for the sixth consecutive year.  Charles M. Russell, Roping a Wolf (1904), Sold for $1,770,000 in Coeur d'Alene Art Auction's Fine Western & American Art Auction W...Read More

Leading up to Pook & Pook's, Online Only Decorative Arts sales on July 28-29th, Cynthia Beech Lawrence reviews Lot 2368, a lithograph of George Washington enveloped in an opulent, oval frame - complete with a gilded eagle on top... Lot 2386, Patriotic gessoed frame, with spread wing eagle crest, crossed cannons, stars and shields, with a lithograph of George Washington as a Mason, published by Moore & Co., New York. Estimate $160-$220 What drew me to this pick of the week was the amazing patriotic gessoed frame. The frame is loaded with stars, shields, crossed cannons, and topped with a spread wing eagle crest. It is a wonderfully uplifting thing to behold. Then the lithograph caught my attention. One of many adaptations of Gilbert Stuart’s 1796 portrait of George Washington, this portrait had been altered to show Washington in Masonic rega...Read More

Pottery is emerging as the new-age mindfulness mantra in the Western world, where fast-paced urban life paves way for awareness of slow living. Many are rethinking on the lines of going back to basics. From learning to bake one’s own bread to growing one’s own vegetables in the kitchen garden, people are learning to reconnect with roots. It’s all about looking beyond instant gratification, an underlining aspect of the present-day lifestyles. Pottery aptly fits this exercise of relooking our vacuous way of life. Things can’t be rushed and this is the most important takeaway from pottery. Perhaps our wise ancestors knew this well. The best lessons of life arose from their kilns in the process of hand making and crafting each piece of clay. Jar by Katherine (Kathy) Pino, Zia Pueblo, New Mexico, ca. 1970 | On view in the Elizabeth M. and Joseph...Read More

When a local private vendor approached Sworders with a collection of Navajo Jewelry for inclusion in their forthcoming auction of Fine Jewelry and Watches, they felt compelled to delve deeper into history of the craft…   Pictured clockwise from top: Lot 275 - A silver Navajo turquoise squash blossom necklace, estimate £400-600 / Lot 277 - A silver Navajo torque style cuff bangle, together with a pair of silver Navajo earrings, estimate £100-150 / Lot 279 - A silver Navajo bangle, fitted with a ladies' stainless steel Omega automatic watch head, estimate £100-150 / Lot 278 - A silver Navajo turquoise set torque bangle or cuff, estimate £150-250/ Lot 276 - A silver Navajo turquoise set belt buckle, c.1970, estimate £200-400 The Native American Navajo tribe’s tradition of jewelry making dates back to the 19th century when tribe members began w...Read More

In Sworders' auction of Fine Jewelry and Watches on Tuesday 27 July, they offer an impressive single owner private collection of high-end jewelry by Royal Warrant holders, Hamilton & Inches, 87 George Street, Edinburgh. Hamilton & Inches, established in 1866, has been hand-crafting and carefully sourcing corporate giftware for centuries. The five-story George Street store reopened in April of this year after an extensive refurbishment to its showrooms and workshops, making it the ultimate "destination" for watch and jewelry enthusiasts to visit for a guaranteed marked occasion. Sworders upcoming auction will include selections from Hamilton & Inches With master craftsmen and women in workshops above the showroom, they are one of the only jewelers to be able to offer purchasers the opportunity to meet the craftsperson behind their treasured ...Read More

Sworders' upcoming Design sales on July 13 &14 include a cache of prints taken by music photographer Ed Finnell at legendary gigs held in Los Angeles in the 1970s - the very first time his work is available to buy at auction in the UK - including original photographs of Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Robert Plant and Elton John all performing in their pomp. Lot 561, Ed Finnell (American, b.1956) Ed Finnell (American, b.1956) 'George Harrison - Dark Horse Tour' Los Angeles Forum, 12 November 1974 gelatin silver print on Ilford Multigrade V RC paper Born in LA in 1956, Ed Finnell became interested in photography at the age of 10-11 years old, his subject matter turning to rock and roll in the late 1960s. He attended his first concerts in 1972, and thereafter shot every major band that came through his city. At the Pirate Sound Rehearsal Space in H...Read More

Born 1846 in Nancy, a hive of activity for French art, Émile Gallé became one of the most renowned figures allied with this area. Raised into the beginnings of a glass business started by father Charles Gallé, the material was never a mystery to him. Lot 15, An Émile Gallé cameo glass lamp, c.1900 During his early life, he had a wide education allowed by his entrepreneurial parents, studying a multitude of subjects. Undeniably, Natural Science had the greatest significance under the tuition of the respected Professor GA Godron, giving Gallé his first in-depth experience with botany and the natural world. Later, this style becoming a brand-like status of his work. Travels led Gallé to Germany completing the technical understating of glass production with time spent at the Saar glassworks. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870 led Gallé and his fat...Read More

Highlighted amongst the lots in Sworders' July Design sale are drawings by George Daniels (1854-1940) - perhaps the most accomplished British stained glass designer working in the late Gothic and early Renaissance idiom from the 1890s until the Second World War - including designs for an impressive five-light window in the north aisle of Manchester Cathedral and extant stained glass windows in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk churches. Lot 140, George Daniels (1854-1940) Designs for stained glass Chedburgh Church, Suffolk, 1925  A talented draughtsman, Daniels began his career as an apprentice to the London firm of Clayton & Bell. Peter Cormack, author and scholar on stained glass, describes him as “the firm’s dominant artistic personality and the creator of its scholarly and elegant ‘house style’ seen in many of the English cathedrals, including...Read More

The month of July; a month typically filled with family barbecues, beach days, and a bright, full sun in the sky. July also marks the end of the second quarter of 2021, making it a good time to reflect on how the Pop Culture collectibles market has changed. If you refer back to our Top Picks article from March, 2021 the market had been at an all time high compared to years past. Record results were continually being set and broken within weeks’ time. There was vast concern through the trade - is this a bubble fueled by the pandemic? Will there be a market correction with the world attempting to return to a post-COVID environment? Or with society beginning to return to normal with activities and entertainment would collecting enter a recession? I’m happy to report that restaurants are open, you can go to Disney World and none of those wonder...Read More

What is an NFT? That sounds like an innocent enough question, doesn’t it? However, the answer usually ends with the inquiring just wishing they hadn’t asked at all and the explainer drawing a deep breath as if to say, here we go again. Today, we’re breaking down NFTs pixel by pixel - because, believe it or not, it’s time you start understanding what an NFT actually is and why some people are willing to spend millions of dollars on them. May we remind you that Nyan Cat - a pixelated GIF of a rainbow riding, pop-tart-bodied cat just sold for $696,378 (300 ETH) as an NFT? We admit, it's pretty cute...   Nyan Cat [via GIPHY] GIF by Chris Torres. Sold for $696,378 (300 ETH) as an NFT on Foundation. What does NFT stand for? Non-Fungible Token What is an NFT? An NFT or Non-Fungible Token is a unique collectible digital asset. Inherit in its name (...Read More