Thomaston Place Auction Galleries’ 2024 Summer Grandeur Sale on August 23, 24 and 25 will feature a selection of Maine art, Moxie collectibles, sports vehicles and heavy equipment, and great home decor items.
“The amazing inventory of this year’s summer sale includes a mix of antiques, vintage pieces and modern pieces. And with the many rare items specific to Maine, this is an auction you don’t want to miss,” said owner and auctioneer Kaja Veilleux:
Offered is one of the largest private collections of Moxie advertising and memorabilia as well as vintage pieces from Moxie impersonators. Featured pieces include an embossed Moxie Hall of Fame metal sign with the text “Eclipses Everything, Drink Moxie, Distinctly Different,” a 1910 metal sign for Phenix, a Moxie copycat brand, and a rare 1933 metal sign depicting Moxie’s signature horse-drawn mobile driving past a billboard.
The group of Maine artworks features a watercolor of an abandoned schooner in Camden painted by Jamie Wyeth (1946-) at age 12; an 1870 graphite drawing by Winslow Homer (1836-1910) titled “Boy with a Cap”; along with works by Don Stone (1929-2015), Lynne Drexler (1928-1999), Andrew Winter (1893-1958), Imero Gobbato (1923-2010), Jay Hall Connaway (1893-1970), Bernard Langlais (1921-1977), William Thon (1906-2000), Emily Muir (1904-2000), Charles Greenough “Chippy” Chase (1908-1998), Frederic Kellogg (contemporary), and others.
There will also be a selection of modernist works, such as “Mujer” (Woman), a 1945 painting by Amelia Pelaez (1896-1968), and “Mammy” by Andy Warhol (1928-1987), a signed and numbered limited edition screen print. In addition, paintings by Edward Willis Readfield (1869–1965), Scott Leighton (1849–1898), John Sargeant Noble (1848–1896), Albert Pinkham Ryder (1847–1917), James Fitzgerald (1899–1971), George Inness (1825–1894), John Singleton Copley (1738–1815) and many others will be on display.
The auction features 11 sport and heavy equipment vehicles, including a 2017 Toyota Tacoma SR5 crew cab pickup, a Yamaha Big Bear 400 ATV, a 2015 GMC 3500 truck with snow plow, a John Deere MDL 3038E tractor with loader and brush cutter, and a 1920s fishing guide boat and trailer.
Items of historical interest include an 1862 gangway board from the USS HartfordAdmiral David Glasgow Farragut’s steam/sail ship during the Civil War; an 1864 appointment signed by President Abraham Lincoln appointing JH Goodenow of Maine as U.S. Consul General in Constantinople; a 19th A 19th century portrait of shipbuilder and captain Anthony Morse of Brunswick, ME, and a hand-crafted model of the steamboat Castine, named after the vessel that served the Penobscot Bay region for 44 years until it was shipwrecked in Vinalhaven in 1935.
The auction features a wide selection of modern designer furniture, including a brutalist metal console table by Paul Evans Jr., a “Power Play” chair and ottoman by Frank Gehry for Knoll, (2) leather-upholstered Eames chairs and ottomans by Herman Miller, and a mid-century teak folding bar by Torbjørn Afdal for Norway’s Mellamstrands Mobelfabrik.
Fine custom-made furniture includes a two-piece Italian Chinoiserie-style secretary, a set of six custom-made Queen Anne-style mahogany dining chairs from Karges Furniture Co. (Evansville, IN), and a Chesterfield sofa upholstered in maroon leather. The antique furniture on offer includes: a 19th A 19th-century French neoclassical bronze and malachite guéridon table, an American Queen Anne style cherrywood tall chest of drawers and a Hepplewhite period huntboard inlaid with mahogany make up the butler’s desk.
Notable pieces in the jewelry category include: a 2.92 carat loose round brilliant cut diamond, a 14k white gold Art Deco style ladies’ ring with aquamarine and diamond, and an 18k yellow gold necklace with five brilliant cut diamonds by Shreve Crump & Low.
The gold and silver collection includes an 80-piece sterling cutlery set by Georg Jensen in the Scroll/Saga pattern, a Russian love cup made of silver and cloisonné enamel by Feodor Rückert (1840-1917) and a silver-plated cocktail shaker by Meriden from the 1930s in the Boston Lighthouse design.
This auction will sell 31 lots of art pottery by Brother Thomas Bezanson (1929-2007), lovingly cared for by the monastic community of Weston Priory (Weston, Vermont). There will also be an extensive offering of art glass, including pieces by Tiffany Studios, Daum Nancy, De Vez, Galle and Thomas Webb.
Among the many fine Asian lots will be a signed Japanese six-panel folding screen from the Edo period by the artist Gakyojin Hokusai (active 1800-1806) of the school of Hokusai, depicting a battle scene during the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592, and a Balinese kris handle of 22-carat gold and jewelled imperial quality.
Other items of interest include: a Steinway Model B grand piano, a life-size copper-clad moose head, and a wide selection of string instruments, including sixteen vintage guitars.
Finally, the sale will feature an excellent selection of the following items: marine items, tea caddies, decoys, weather vanes, vintage lighting and oriental rugs.
The auction starts daily at 11am. The gallery will be open for previews on Saturday, August 10 and 17 (12pm to 4pm), Monday to Friday, August 12 to 16, and Monday to Thursday, August 19 to 22 (9am and 4pm). A preview is also possible on the auction days Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 23, 24 and 25 August from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
All lots can be viewed on the Thomaston Place Auction Galleries website at www.thomastonauction.com. Live bidding on site, telephone bidding, absentee bidding and online bidding on three internet platforms are available for this auction.
The Thomaston Place Auction Galleries are located on Route 1 in Thomaston. Thomaston Place is a leader in antique and art treasure discovery, offering free appraisals in the gallery every Tuesday, hosting fundraising events for civic and charitable organizations, and providing appraisal services through home visits. Thomaston Place’s expertise in researching and marketing antiques and art has earned it the respect of buyers, collectors and experts around the world.
