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January Issue
2010
4th Charleston
Art Auction in Charleston, SC, Excites National Collectors
Charleston Art Auction
sold to another packed house on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009.
Enthusiastic bidders for the fourth annual event included recognized
collectors from the Lowcountry as well as telephone and absentee
buyers from fifteen states throughout the country.
For the first time, a rare bronze sculpture, Irish Memorial
Maquette, by the noted American artist, Glenna Goodacre led
the sale when it was purchased by an Ohio collector for $20,700
(presale estimates $15,000 - $20,000). Other notable results
included two watercolors by Ray Ellis, Heyward Point (estimated
$7,000 - $9,000) that fetched $11,500 and Old Blue, (estimated
$20,000 - $30,000) that sold for $18,000, both on the telephone
to another collector also from Ohio.
Bid caller for the evening event was Gerald Bowie who kept the audience alert with his quick pace and engaging manner as he, with son Mark and grandson John Mark serving as ringmen, represented three generations of auctioneers from the nationally acclaimed Auction Way Company in Georgia. "Entertaining and exciting" was how spirited bidders described the sale as they exited the Renaissance Hotel on Wentworth Street in historic Charleston, SC.
Phone lines were filled for several lots by contemporary masters including Stephen Scott Young's Cutting up Bait (estimated $12,000 - $15,000) that brought $11,500 and Dan Gerhartz's Cameo (estimated $12,000 - $15,000) that hammered down at $11,500 to collectors in Alabama and New Jersey. Dancing, by Augusta Oelschig (estimated $3,000 - $5,000) achieved $8,050 in heated competition between the telephones and the audience and a collection of eight naïve works consigned by a Massachusetts collector by unknown artists in the 1930's and 1940's exceeded expectations.
Leading artists from the Charleston Fine Art Dealer's Association network (CFADA) included, William Berra, James Calk, Marc Chatov, John Carroll Doyle, Ted Ellis, Lindsay Goodwin, Russell Gordon, Chris Groves, Betsy Havens, Nancy Hoerter, Mark Horton, George Pate, Joan Potter, Jennifer Smith Rogers, Shannon Runquist, Betty Anglin Smith, Linda Kyser Smith, Shannon Smith, Sue Stewart, Rhett Thurman, Karen Larson Turner, Mary Whyte and Mickey Williams.
It was also CFADA's 11th Charleston Fine Art Annual weekend, featuring twenty five nationally recognized artists creating plein air paintings in Washington Park on Saturday morning. The finished pieces were then rushed to the hotel for a cocktail preview at 5pm and then incorporated into the main auction with all proceeds benefiting the Charleston County High School's fine art programs. Proceeds at the end of the evening exceeded $20,000 which brought the event's total effort to over $160,000 since its inception in 2004.
Attendees noted a more diversified offering this year and solid bidding throughout the evening suggested that, despite rumors of a soft economy, the art market in Charleston, South Carolina is alive and healthy. Sale date for 2010 has been set for Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010.
For further information
contact Jack A. Morris, Jr. of Morris & Whiteside Galleries
on Hilton Head Island, SC, by calling 843-842-4433 or e-mail at
(jack@morris-whiteside.com). You can see the full results of the
auction at (www.charlestonartauction.com).
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc. Copyright© 2010 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts Online, Copyright© 2010 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.