DALLAS, TX.- Heritage Auctions is honored to announce it will offer The Nelkin Collection of art, antiques, jewels and more in several auctions throughout 2024. The collection, amassed over decades by the late philanthropist Ruth Sylvia Nelkin of Stamford, Connecticut, and New York City, comprises nearly 5,000 objects, including iconic Japanese prints, fine and antique jewelry, remarkable Fabergé and Russian works of art, virtuoso pieces of French art glass and a landscape-focused trove of American paintings. Most of the items in The Nelkin Collection, which is expected to realize multiple millions of dollars, have not seen the market in more than 30 years, and all proceeds from their sale will go to charities that were close to the Nelkin family’s hearts.
Highlights of The Nelkin Collection include an impressive assemblage of 1,750 classic and modern Japanese prints. Among the standouts are many great works by the 19th-century Japanese printmaker Katsushika Hokusai, a beautiful Kawase Hasui group, and many bijin (beautiful women) of shin-hanga (new prints) and modern prints called sosaku hanga.
Nelkin’s family operated a successful jewelry business for many years, so it’s no surprise that her collection also includes a wonderful assortment of jewels, from a 7.51-carat unmounted diamond to a French Art Deco sapphire and diamond ring to a Cartier mystery clock.
“While the jewelry from The Nelkin Collection varies vastly across styles, periods, materials and forms, it speaks with the consistent and uniform voice of a true collector and connoisseur of fine and antique jewelry and accessories,” says Katherine Van Dell, Director of Fine Jewelry at Heritage. “This is evidenced by fine examples of mounted and unmounted diamonds and gemstones, as well as exceptional signed period pieces by makers who defined the aesthetics and craftmanship of their time.”
The Nelkin Collection also includes more than 250 Russian works of art. Nelkin concentrated primarily on Moscow enamels, as well as works in porcelain by the Gardner, Kuznetsov and Russian Imperial Porcelain factories, and her extraordinary collection features works by Carl Fabergé, Feodor Ruckert, Maria Semenova and the firms of Khlebnikov, Ovchinnikov and Grachev.
“Ruth Nelkin was a passionate collector of Russian works of art in one of the last periods of Russian sales in the United States before Russian buyers returned to the market in the 1990s,” says Nick Nicholson, Heritage’s Senior Specialist in Russian Works of Art. “Her jeweler’s eye for quality in enamel and metalwork led her to acquire masterworks of Russian art in enamel, gold and porcelain.”
On the American Art front, Nelkin had a fondness for Impressionist wintry landscapes, including works such as Edward Willis Redfield’s Winter Scene in a Small Town and George William Sotter’s House in Winter Evening. Other highlights in her collection include Norman Rockwell’s Study for a Winchester Stagecoach and J.C. Leyendecker’s Sketch of a Young Boy.
“This is an incredible collection of American Art with a focus on the American landscape, particularly in the Northeast,” says Aviva Lehmann, Heritage’s Senior Vice President of American Art. “Redfield and Sotter are classic examples of Pennsylvania Impressionism.”
Among Nelkin’s other treasures are 1920s Steuben glass, Nakashima furniture, Royal Copenhagen “Flora Danica” porcelain, Asian ceramics, Wedgwood pottery and a fine selection of French pâte de verre.
“Pâte de verre is the rarest and most exquisite of all French art glass, made in an ancient technique revived in France in the late 19th century,” says Nick Dawes, Heritage’s Senior Vice President of Special Collections. “Illuminated pieces, or veilleuses, have been hard to find for decades, and this may be because Ruth Nelkin owned almost 20 of them. Our specialists are greatly enjoying handling the collection as Ruth Nelkin clearly did, and each of them confirms her remarkable eye for quality and the love and respect she had for great objects.”
The Nelkin Collection will be offered according to the following auction schedule:
April 18: Pursuit of Beauty: Art Nouveau, Art Deco & Art Glass Signature® Auction
April 23: Illustration Art Signature® Auction
May 15: American Art Signature® Auction
May 16: Silver & Vertu Signature® Auction
May 17: Imperial Faberge & Russian Works of Art Signature® Auction
May 23: Design Signature® Auction
June 3: Decorative Art Signature® Auction
June 27: Japanese Woodblock Prints From the Nelkin Collection Part I
July 30: Illustration Art Signature® Auction
September 24: Asian Art Signature® Auction
September 25: Japanese Woodblock Prints From the Nelkin Collection Part II
September 26: The Nelkin Collection Showcase Auction
October 24: Pursuit of Beauty: Art Nouveau, Art Deco & Art Glass Signature® Auction
TBD: Japanese Woodblock Prints From the Nelkin Collection Part III
TBD: Fine Jewelry From the Nelkin Collection
