Hello, fellow glass lovers!
So just how do we capture your attention at this point in all of our much too busy lives? Okay, not at all busy for most of us at the moment—but certainly we’re all overloaded, dare we say inundated … with news, data, information, occasional knowledge and that all-too-rare glimpse of actual wisdom. It’s a topsy-turvy world just now! There – so much for current events and archaic expressions. We’ll also try not to write a piece here that rivals the length of a Vanity Fair profile or an Atlantic expose… although they are both great periodicals!
Simply put, we at the Selman Gallery want to very briefly thank you for making Auction 74 a success. 91% of the lots sold, and many of you have already received your new paperweights. Notes we have received about what a lift the weights are bringing you make us feel really good about having cat-burgled our way back into the gallery’s building to get the winnings packed and shipped! Okay, so that was mostly just before the actual lockdown.
That’s right, we do have a note on our website that may have made you think we were all completely away for the month, and we apologize for any confusion. At the last minute we all decided to turn down the offer of a staff outing, facilitated by the unexpected arrival of free cruise ship tickets… (Remember, if it’s too good to be true…) So yes, with our own remote, isolated workspaces and HAZMAT gear, we’re virtually around, although not open to the public. But we’re responding to emails and if you call we will be forwarded your messages and we’ll get back to you. We’re able to function remotely almost as usual, including shipping. Everything on our website is available. In fact our new brochure will be finding its way to your mail boxes (the real ones) very soon, filled with fine art glass to help you welcome Spring. Yes, Spring is still scheduled!
And that art will help see us all through. Andre Malraux, the great French adventurer, writer, statesman and Minister of Cultural Affairs wrote in the classic, The Voices of Silence, “Art is Man’s Revolt Against Fate.” We bet it sounds even nobler in French. As long as we have the Arts, we’ll triumph. Okay, sure, fine rooftop dining and a private swimming pool would certainly add to the zest. That’s on you.
Back to the auction. You have all seen many fine paperweights over the years in your collecting. That makes us a little nervous and keeps us on our toes and keenly focused on the auction selection process each time at bat. But thus far, we seem to have succeeded in gathering an exciting number of sweet surprises for you to ponder, delight to, strive for and often acquire! (Okay, yes, occasionally there’s reason to lament…) And yes, Auction 74’s Lot 1 was special, (actually darn special) but so were so many other weights throughout this most recent carnival outing. Lot 1 was addressed thoroughly in the pre-sale auction blog and it’s obvious that the weight’s connection to the great James Bond and saving the Free World (go back and read the blog!!) played a big part in the battle for ownership. At least there were no mortalities this time around. Antiques acquitted themselves quite well in general with 35 of the first 40 lots finding new homes among you all.
Lot 1. Superb and rare antique Russian flower bouquet faceted paperweight.
You seemed happy with the selection of modern and contemporary weights as well, to judge by the excitement in many lots. Beginning, as is the norm with Paul Stankard classics, we moved on to James Kontes’ voluptuous flowers and fruits and then on to a striking Andrew Byers’ tribute to New Zealand marigolds. Next came the bidding on a glow-in-the-dark Johne Parsley, (more fun to say than “Vaseline”) Lot 101, which went the full 15 rounds! And you could have chipped a tooth going after the lifelike peaches in Rick Ayotte’s Lot 116. All but one of you has missed your chance at that. We think a New Yorker bought the Hunter Big Apple, and there were gorgeous Trabuccos and Tarsitanos to thrill the eye, and on and on and on…
Lot 101. Johne Parsley 1993 daffodils miniature paperweight.
We’ll end polishing the list of your newly adopted glass treasures right here (as promised)—although the auction is certainly fun to recap, what with the memories of your phone calls and inquiries, tensions and excitements. And we also enjoy each and every one of your reported pleasures upon receiving the artworks. It can actually be an emotional experience for us here, as we ride along with you all on the hunt. In other words, we at the Selman gallery take a real pride in being a part of all this. So in closing, we’d just like to say again, thank you. This is a trying time for us all and we can only hope to find the same strength and good will in our larger social networks that we already have and enjoy in our far flung but nonetheless tightly knit paperweight community. And do keep an eye out for our beautiful brochure, coming soon.
Lot 116. Rick Ayotte 2004 two peaches with blossoms paperweight.
Remember using the great old idiomatic expression, “See You in the Funny Papers?” Neither do we. That was the 1920s.
But we’ll be in touch, soon.
Stay Safe.
Your Friends at The Selman Gallery
