Date: Fri 02-Apr-1999

Publication: Ant

Author: LIZAM

Quick Words:

Cyr

Full Text:

Rare And Curious At Cyr

with 30 cuts

By Bob Jackman

GRAY, ME. -- On February 24, a bright sun warmed the town of Gray and added

enthusiasm to a Victorian and Arts and Crafts sale conducted by the Cyr

Auction Company. Excitement was produced by 20 unique Arts and Crafts items

from the Cranestone cottage in Maine and numerous other rare items. The event

totalled $695,000.

Numbering 600, a crowd of dealers, collectors, and curators overflowed the

spacious gallery and about 100 enthusiasts observed the first two hours of the

sale from the lobby wing. Jim Cyr ran a quick, efficient auction spiced with

occasional wry comments. After the first 200 lots, he and assistant auctioneer

Todd Voilette picked up the speed. Eight hundred lots were sold in less than

seven hours.

An experienced staff under the leadership of John Morrison and Lou Black kept

merchandise moving efficiently to and from the stage, and there was a relaxed,

friendly atmosphere within the hall.

Of Tabourets and Pickup Trucks

The top furniture lot in the sale at $21,450 was an early Gustav Stickley

tabouret with a Grueby tile octagonal insert.

Tabourets which feature the combined work of Stickley and Grueby are rare in

the market, and this example had an interesting variety of joining techniques.

The tendon of the legs, for example, extended to the top of table. The joint

was clinched with a wedge that ran diagonally across the tendon.

The table's consignor profited nicely. He had acquired the piece several

months earlier while visiting a friend. Given a beverage and urged to rest his

glass on the tabouret, the visitor offered his host $1,000 for the piece, but

the owner declined. Undaunted, the consignor presented his old pickup truck -

worth $3,000 - to the owner a week later and came away with the tabouret.

Cyr himself discovered another sale highlight: a triple door bookcase by L &

JG Stickley. In the course of business, it was necessary for the auctioneer to

visit a notary public's office. Looking about the room, Cyr suggested the

bookcase might do well at auction. It was consigned and sold for $16,500.

Cranestone

Many fine furniture lots came from Cranestone, a home built for the warden of

Thomaston State Prison. Some of the furniture and furnishings in the home were

purchased commercially. Lots sold included a Gustav Stickley sideboard, which

fetched $20,900; a Gustav Stickley cross stretcher dining table, which

garnered $9,900; a set of five Gustav Stickley ladder back side chairs, which

brought $3,025; and an L & JG Stickley sideboard, which realized $7,150.

Experts were impressed by furniture from Cranestone, which had been crafted by

Thomaston's inmates. "I like this stuff," enthused Jim Messineo of Boston's

JMW Gallery. "It has a strong, clean design."

The identity of the furniture's designer is no longer known, but he seems to

have aggressively interpreted principles of the Arts and Crafts movement. The

wood used in these items was primarily fashioned from oak cut on the property.

In contrast to much of the commercial furniture of the era, this wood was not

ammonia-fumed to produce a dark color.

Eight of the Cranestone lots were purchased by Maine State Museum, which was

represented by Douglas Hawes, Curator of Historical Collections. Hawes

expressed his delight with the pieces and reported that they will be displayed

in a future exhibition at the museum entitled `Maine Life.'

"After the warden died, his widow continued living at Cranestone," he

explained. "When she died, she left the property to the state for a

conservation camp. Later it was sold and has been operated as a private

conservation camp. Given a century of use, the furniture is remarkably well

preserved."

"We did not spend any tax money today," Hawes continued. "After Jim [Cyr]

notified us of the estate, we contacted supporters. They contributed to a

special fund specifically for this sale. We greatly appreciate our

supporters."

Fine Art

The top painting of the sale was an Art Nouveau-inspired oil on canvas

by Jessie Arms Botke (1883-1971), which sold for $41,250. The creative work

fully displayed the artist's skill as a colorist and her flare for fantasy.

The central image was a peacock whose tail fan extended across most of the 34

by 40 inch canvas. Borders were formed by two blooming cherry trees the height

of the peacock. Eighteen other species of birds encircled the scene.

Victorian Offerings

The top Victorian lot at $14,300 was a tall clock by Elliot of London. Above

its deeply engraved brass main dial was a revolving dial showing moon phases.

The mechanism connected to a nine tube Westminster and Whitington chimes. The

pendulum's swing could be seen through a glazed oval door on the waist. The

surface of the clock was extensively carved with Classical motifs.

Several curious lots involved the theremin, the first electronic musical

instrument. These lots were consigned by the estate of virtuoso H.

Whipple Abbott, who had presented theremin concerts in Carnegie Hall and other

significant venues.

"Our Internet site really helped sell those theremins," commented Rose Cyr

after the sale. "A theremin in working condition sold for $6,325, another

needing repairs sold for $3,080, and a lot of five ephemera items brought

$963."

Many of the top Victorian furniture lots in the sale came from the Abbott

estate. Cased pieces from the dining room included a corner cupboard, which

sold for $7,425; a buffet, which brought $3,850; and an oak server, which

fetched $2,750. The Abbott's tall clock sold for $6,600. Dealers who bought

aggressively in this field were Royal Feltner of Amesbury, Mass., and Gerry

Keyer of Northhampton, Mass.

Architectural Art Deco

Architectural panels from the Barbizon Hotel in New York City led Art Deco

offerings. The panels ranged in height from four to five feet and in width

from 2.5 to three feet. They were fashioned from a metallic alloy, which

created a velvety surface without the glare of polished metals.

The panels had originally come on the market about a decade ago when the hotel

was renovated and the metal exterior examples were removed. At this sale they

brought $9,350, $9,900, and $10,450.

Arsenault Pottery

Another interesting, mid-century grouping contained 17 works by potter Norman

Arsenault, a studio potter who founded the ceramics department at the museum

school of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Prices ranged from $55 to $1,210. A

peach bloom glazed bowl sold to Dedham Pottery expert Jim Kauffman for $358.

"I'm interested in that particular bowl because the Robertson family attempted

to produce that same glaze at Chelsea Ceramic Art Works," Kauffman stated.

Prices quoted include a ten percent buyers premium.