Auction Update: Serving up Rockwell
HERITAGE AUCTIONS SPONSORING TRAVELING EXHIBIT OF LEGENDARY ARTIST’S ‘FOUR FREEDOMS’
The first comprehensive exhibition of Norman Rockwell’s 1943 depictions of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s wartime defense of humanity’s fundamental human rights is going on the road.
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The Norman Rockwell Museum’s “Enduring Ideals: Rockwell, Roosevelt & the Four Freedoms” is sponsored by Heritage Auctions. “Rockwell’s artistic interpretation of these rights sparked a national movement in America and abroad, inspiring generations for the last 75 years,” says Heritage Auctions President Greg Rohan.
Considered among the most indelible images in the history of American art, Rockwell’s Freedom of Speech, Freedom from Want, Freedom from Fear and Freedom of Worship oil paintings are on display at the New-York Historical Society until Sept. 2. The exhibit then travels to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich.; the George Washington University Museum and the Textile Museum, Washington, D.C.; Mémorial de Caen, Normandy, France; Museum of Fine Arts in Houston; and the Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Mass.
“The exhibition will show how Rockwell’s aspirational paintings shifted American attitudes towards engagement in World War II in defense of the free world, and, ultimately, helped to make the case for universal human rights,” says Norman Rockwell Museum Director Laurie Norton Moffatt.
“Enduring Ideals: Rockwell, Roosevelt & the Four Freedoms” will visit six cities over two years. Visit RockwellFourFreedoms.org for details.
Ken Burns Gala
Heritage Auctions representatives Lysa Rohan, Kathleen Guzman and Greg Rohan joined Ken Burns at the 2018 Ken Burns American Heritage Prize at New York’s American Museum of Natural History. This year’s recipient was artist, designer and environmentalist Maya Lin.
Gabor Estate Shatters Expectations
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A standing room-only crowd and fans from around the world participating online bid more than $900,000 in the Estate of Zsa Zsa Gabor Auction to acquire pieces from the Hollywood socialite’s personal collection. Total sales were more than triple expectations.
The auction was preceded by a lot-viewing event at Gabor’s home in Bel Air, Calif. The live auction was held at Heritage Auctions Beverly Hills.
Spanning the star’s 60-year career, the estate included keepsakes, designer couture, screen-used costumes and Hollywood memorabilia. Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt, Gabor’s last husband, said his late wife requested an auction to offer her private property to fans. Gabor died in December 2016. She was 99.
Top lots ranged from the sentimental to the luxurious. A portrait of the star by friend Margaret Keane realized $45,000, soaring past its $6,000 estimate to set a world auction record for the artist. Keane gained notoriety for her paintings of “big-eyed waifs,” the subject of the 2014 film Big Eyes.
PEOPLE
Cristy DuRoss is joining Heritage Auctions in Dallas as Luxury Accessories Consignment Director. Duross arrives with extensive experience in the industry, including stints with a Cole Haan boutique, Stanley Korshak, Anne Fountaine and, most recently, 17 years with Hermès.
Lena Park has joined Heritage Auctions’ New York office as a Luxury Specialist. Park previously worked as a product photographer and images editor for Boutique Patina, a vintage Chanel specialist. Her work in the secondary luxury market has included merchandising, consignments and customer experience.
This report appears in the Fall 2018 edition of The Intelligent Collector magazine. Click here to subscribe to the print edition.
