LYNBROOK, NY.- A beautiful oil on canvas portrait of a Japanese girl by David Burliuk (Ukrainian/American, 1882-1967) – part of a fresh-to-market, never before offered collection of works by Burliuk – sold for $39,100 to take top lot honors in an online Estate & Art Auction held September 16th by Weiss Auctions. Overall, the 550-lot sale grossed nearly $500,000.

The portrait painting, measuring 13 inches by 17 inches on a relined canvas, was signed lower left by Burliuk and dated (“1922”). That painting, as well as some others, came from the estate of Ella Jaffe Freidus, a renowned art dealer who lived in Lloyd Harbor, N.Y. She was a longtime friend of Burliuk’s. The nephew of the consignor was, at one time, Ms. Freidus’s caretaker.

“There were many other lots that sold in the thousands of dollars, but the Burliuk portrait took the top prize,” said Philip Weiss of Weiss Auctions. “We had over two thousand registered bidders on LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com, and over one thousand of them were viewing live at the same time. It was probably the strongest bidding I have seen in years.”

The catalog was highlighted by 40 lots of important Wedgwood pieces (including tri-color pieces, Egyptian series, Sphinx candlesticks and Basalt statues), high-end Nippon, original oil paintings by important listed artists plus works on paper, Lalique lamps, Russian icons, Theo Faberge eggs, Murano and art glass, jewelry (including gold, silver, platinum and diamonds).

Following are additional highlights from the auction. All prices include the buyer’s premium.

A 14kt gold handmade custom flute, engraved by the maker, “Verne Q. Powell, Boston”, dated to 1951 or 1952, played a sweet tune for $17,825. The flute, serial #1299 engraved on the body, featured non-gold valves and the original fitted leather case with a name plate on the cover.

A circa 1900 Seth Thomas Regulator No. 60 wall clock, in a walnut case with an early finish, chimed on time for $17,250. The all original clock featured an 8-inch brass pendulum, beat scale, weight, key, hands and face having a 14-inch diameter painted metal dial with Roman numerals.




An oil on canvas painting by French artist Michel Delacroix (b. 1933), titled Le Chariot Bleu, signed lower left and signed and titled on verso, went for $15,600. The canvas measured 28 ¾ inches by 23 ¾ inches. Delacroix paints rich, bustling, Parisian street scenes in the “naif” style.

A Parisian scene depicting the village of Montmartre by Hiro Yamagata (Japanese/American, b. 1948), titled simply Montmartre, 25 ¾ inches by 21 ¼ inches (sight, less frame), made $12,000. The lovely oil on canvas rendering was signed, titled and dated (“76”) lower left bottom edge.

A gorgeous oil on canvas painting signed by the Danish/American artist Johann Berthelsen (1883-1972), depicting Riverside Church and Grant’s Tomb, reached a respectable $9,200, despite some areas of craquelure. The work was housed in a 37 ½ inch by 32 ½ inch frame.

A scarce Wedgwood Black Jasperware bolted vase, 12 inches tall, showing rams’ heads in high relief and exhibiting no flaws at all, finished at $3,000. Also, a Nippon blown out humidor with a nautical motif, showing a fisherman in a boat, 8 inches tall, found a new owner for $2,040.

A large oil on canvas by the Russian-born French artist Constantin Kluge (1912-2003), titled Le Café Du Coin, signed lower right and housed in a 44 inch by 37 inch frame, realized $5,100; and an oil on canvas by Maxime Camille Louis Maufra (French, 1861-1918), titled Windmills, 25 inches by 21 inches (sight, less frame), pulled from a Southampton, N.Y. estate, rose to $6,900.

An untitled lithograph in colors by the renowned Spanish artist Joan Miro (1893-1983), pencil signed lower right and pencil numbered (“5/300”) lower left, with an image size of 19 ½ inches by 25 ½ inches, brought $4,680. Also, an oil on canvas painting by Benjamin Osro Eggleston (American, 1867-1937), titled The Marble Bench, in a spectacular frame, gaveled for $3,840.

Weiss Auctions has several big online auctions planned for the rest of fall. They’ll kick off with a rare books auction on Wednesday, October 21st, at 12 noon. The sale will be highlighted by 200 lots of mystery and detective fiction books from the Otto Penzler collection, along with single better books, some author and group lots, a collection of science fiction books and more.

That will be followed by a toys, trains and toy soldiers auction – more than 500 lots in all – on Thursday, November 5th, at 10 am Eastern time. The trains portion will feature more material from the Neil Padron estate, with high-grade and rare Lionel post-war trains. Toys will include Part 2 of a toy airplane collection, with many lots of Japanese friction and battery-op examples.

Then, on Thursday, November 19th, Weiss Auctions will present a sale featuring 500 lots of interesting and fresh to the market lots in several collecting categories, including sports, comics, comic art, historical memorabilia. An expected top lot: the original handwritten lyrics to the classic Elvis Presley song Heartbreak Hotel, by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden (1955).