Full Text:

HARLOWE-POWELL FALL SEASON

(with cuts)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. -- From early October through mid-December,

Harlowe-Powell Auction, Ltd, conducted a series of estate auctions attracting

bidders from all parts of the country.

On October 4, the firm's fall season started off with painted French furniture

at the estate auction of Mary Jane Dwyer of "Lagniappe," just outside

Charlottesville, Va. The top lot was an Eighteenth Century French commode with

a painted surface of faces, architectural elements, urns and flowers. It

brought $12,100.

Other lots included an unusual painted French cabinet, with caryatid and

floral decoration, only eight inches deep, which brought $4,675, and a painted

serpentine cabinet, with a classical lady in a landscape and a faux marble

top, that went for $3,575.

Following the Dwyer sale, an on-site auction conducted on October 10 offered

the property of Elizabeth Curry Washington, including a Newcomb College vase

with a water lily design, signed by Olive W. Dodd. Although the vase had a

large chip and a number of hairlines and small chips, it brought $9,570 over

the phone.

At a gallery sale on October 17, several Hudson River Valley paintings did

well. An unsigned Nineteenth Century view showing the signal tower at West

Point sold for $4,950, and an unsigned oil on canvas of the Hudson River full

of sailboats brought $2,530. An oil by Thomas Addison Richards reached $1,980.

An on-site auction on November 21 featured the estate of Dr Stephen Goodyear,

the son of A. Conger Goodyear, the first president of the Museum of Modern

Art. Held at "Beaulieu" in Albemarle County, Va., the sale was conducted under

a large tent.

Although the weather was brisk, the crowd warmed up as the top lot of the

sale, a pair of Louis XV-style commodes, sold for $66,000 on the floor to a

Philadelphia dealer.

An unsigned Nineteenth Century oil on canvas of the ship Esther of Salem

brought $7,700, and a set of Rococo sterling candlesticks reached $6,710. An

unusual Italian commode with mirrored inlay sold for $5,830.

The weekend of December 4, 5, and 6 featured the estate of Mr and Mrs Elmer

Utt of Roanoke, Va., which was moved to the Harlowe-Powell gallery.

Highlights included an "Ideal Piccolo" table top music box, which sold for

$9,020; a Civil War drum, which brought $5,390; a Regina music box, which

reached $7,425; an Ohio corner cupboard, which rang up $3,575; a theodolite,

used on the Rogers and Clark expedition, which fetched $3,740; a bronze

figural grouping by Clodion, which realized $3,430; and a garniture of three

Argon lamps, which hammered down for $4,070.

Prices quoted include buyers premium. Harlowe-Powell Auction, Ltd, will launch

the new year with an auction at its gallery featuring the estate of Martha M.

Sanford of "Buttonwood," Keswick, Va., on Saturday, February 13.

For information, 804/293-2904.