ALAMEDA, CA.- Michaan’s is the first California auction house to offer Banksy’s “Girl with Balloon,” a top lot in the Winter Fine Sale on Friday, December 17. This auction promises to make December 2021 a big month for Michaan’s, with collectors of all sorts already lining up their bids. December brings three exciting auction events to Michaan’s, with the Winter Fine Sale followed by the monthly Gallery Auction on December 18, and preceded by the popular three-day Annex Auction -- home of incredible finds and deals -- on Monday through Wednesday, December 13-15.
Michaan’s offers Banksy’s “Girl With Balloon” hot on the heels of “The Art of Banksy” exhibition at San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts, an unauthorized show of more than 80 Banksy works from private collections. “Girl With Balloon” is the image immortalized in Banksy’s sensational self-shredding work, “Love Is In The Bin,” which Sotheby’s just sold in October for $25.4 million, a record for the artist. The sale price, 18 times what the work sold for in 2018, was a leading news story in the art world this year. Michaan’s estimates “Girl With Balloon” at $100,000-$150,000 in the auction on December 17 -- it’s one to watch. The piece to be sold was purchased by the current owner in the early 2000s at a flash sale Banksy put on in a London warehouse.
The great American landscape painter, Albert Bierstadt, is also featured at Michaan’s in December. “The Hudson” is a quintessential Bierstadt subject of a figure walking through a rainbow-illuminated landscape. In oil on paper laid to panel, Albert Bierstadt’s “The Hudson” is estimated at $20,000-$30,000 in the December 17 auction.
The Winter Fine Sale offers prints by Robert Rauschenberg, Sam Francis, Robert Indiana, Alex Katz, Jean DuBuffet, Romare Bearden and Keith Haring. Andy Warhol’s “Soup Can” screenprint is featured: a 1966 edition, printed on a paper shopping bag for an exhibition at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art. From a private collection in Bolinas, CA, five of these Warhol “Soup Cans” are offered, each estimated at $1,500-$2,500. Warhol’s “Lincoln Center Ticket” color screenprint will also be sold; the sale includes two from the unsigned edition of 500 (each estimated at $2,000-$3,000).
Manuel Neri, celebrated Bay Area sculptor of evocative figural works, is also featured in December, when Michaan’s becomes the first auction house to offer a large-scale Neri work since the artist’s passing on October 18 of this year. The life-sized female figure on a wall is estimated at $20,000-$30,000 and is expected to attract much attention and many bids, as is the rare large bronze sculpture by Richard Hunt (b. 1935).
When is a huge, spectacular diamond ring more than *just* a huge, spectacular diamond ring? Answer: when it comes from the estate of Lois Lehrman, herself an incomparable gem among San Francisco’s grande dames of society and local business leadership. Lehrman (1931-2021) transformed the Nob Hill Gazette into the glossy, colorful, publication it is today: the essential guide to life among San Francisco’s bold-faced names. The Gazette’s range is expansive, covering not only society and philanthropy news but also the influence of icons such as Dolores Huerta, interviewed in the current issue. It reflects the savvy and panache of Lois Lehrman, whose estate jewelry is featured, with pride, by Michaan’s this December. Winning bidders will take home beautiful jewels that belonged to a woman so beloved for her warmth and good works, the San Francisco Mayor’s Office made a formal declaration of “Lois Lehrman Day.”
Chief among the Lehrman estate pieces is the breathtaking diamond and platinum ring centering a Vs 1, “I” stone of more than four carats (estimated at $30,000-$50,000 in the Winter Fine Sale on December 17). The diverse selection of Fine Sale jewels includes gorgeous Victorian bangle bracelets of 14k yellow gold and black enamel, set with pearls and diamonds ($2,000-$3,000 for the pair). Tiffany & Co.’s Art Deco emerald and diamond ring is a rare find estimated at $4,000-$6,000. It centers one sugarloaf cabochon emerald flanked by faceted diamonds. Jewelry of fine jadeite jade with diamonds, various styles and periods, is certain to ignite fierce bidding. The selection of unique gold estate jewelry includes the 18k yellow gold link bracelet ($2,000-$3,000), an understated knockout you won’t find anywhere else.
Also featured are luxury timepieces such as the Ladies’ Helvetia 18k gold covered wristwatch ($3,000-$5,000), fashioned as a chic link bracelet of generous proportions and classic style. The yellow gold wristwatch with leather band by Patek Philippe for Brock & Co. is one for the ages, and for the connoisseurs ($5,000-$7,000).
If diamonds are forever, the same is surely true of Chanel. On December 17, Michaan’s is thrilled to offer, from Coco Chanel’s atelier, a pair of rare hundred-year-old pieces which have remained in the family of the original owner until this auction. Sold in separate lots, these incredible finds are in good condition and feature beautiful details on Chanel’s signature sleek silhouettes. The fur-trimmed coat, embroidered throughout with geometric designs characteristic of the period (1922-1924), is estimated at $20,000-$30,000. The ethereal black silk embroidered robe incorporates silk jersey, an example of Chanel’s fabric innovation. With an overlay of pastel-embroidered black silk chiffon, this auction lot is sheer perfection estimated at $8,000-$12,000.
Legendary property in the Winter Fine Sale extends to the decorative arts as well, case in point the “Peacock Window” art glass panels from Bardelli’s Restaurant. The panels’ image of a peacock bathing in a fountain also graced the menus at Bardelli’s, the landmark San Francisco restaurant on O’Farrell Street from the 1940s to the mid-90s. Estimated at $15,000-$25,000, this auction lot is one of a kind, and a piece of San Francisco history.
Top furniture highlights of the Winter Fine Sale are the leather bench by Jean-Michel Frank for Hermes, exuding luxury and timeless good taste, and the lyrical bronze and glass oval table, circa 1965-1970, by Michel Mangematin; each estimated at $8,000-$12,000. Also offered is the seldom-seen monumental brass and glass hanging lantern ($5,000-$7,000), a wonderful ceiling fixture in the Versailles style decorated with scallop shell, foliate and figural elements, topped by a crown.
Collectors of Asian art have much to discover at Michaan’s in December, led by the monumental Chinese folding screen offered in the Winter Fine Sale. A rare and fabulous find, the eight-panel carved rosewood screen is set with blue-and-white porcelain panels depicting scholars and sages, some inhabiting interior scenes, others in beautiful garden settings. The best qualities of Chinese art are on full display here: an eye for beauty, a talent for storytelling, and a passion for fine detail. Estimated at $7,500-$10,000, this is the piece that will elevate a collection to the next level.
A 19” bronze seated figure of Buddha, possibly Ming Dynasty, is estimated at $6,000-$8,000 in the auction on December 17. The lime green ground famille rose porcelain ribbon vase ($3,000-$5,000) is just one of many fine Chinese porcelains in the sale. Archaistic jade is on offer, the carved dragon motif wine vessel estimated at $2,000-$3,000. “In the Asian art market, demand is absolutely outpacing supply this year,” notes Annie Zeng, “and Michaan’s is delighted to bring these great opportunities to collectors.”
And the opportunities roll on after the last hammer has fallen on December 17, with the monthly Gallery Auction set for the following day. Asian art highlights in the Saturday sale include fine Chinese plaques of carved cinnabar and carved white jade, and a group of Laotian Buddha figures with shrine. Mid-Century Modern and Modern furniture pieces are featured; designers include Hans Wegner, Arne Jacobsen and Le Corbusier.
Adding excitement on December 18 is property deaccessioned from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, previously from the DeYoung residence, as well as nine unique painted decorative panels by Albert Herter (1871-1959), previously in the Herter house at 2970 Broadway. Albert Herter was the son and nephew of the Herter Brothers, founders of New York’s premier furniture and interior design house in the mid to late 19th century. This is the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to buy all nine panels, and reassemble one of the prettiest rooms of the post-WW1 period.
Lois Lehrman’s estate jewelry is again highlighted in the December Gallery Auction on December 18, where her fabulous brooches can be found. One features gleaming red coral and a spray of cultured pearls amid textural swirls of 18k yellow gold ($800-$1,200); another is a charming multi-stone design by Iradj Moini in the form of a cricket ($500-$700). Diamond jewelry includes rings, brooches and the Art Deco necklace of diamonds and amethysts set in yellow and white gold ($700-$900).
