MALVERN, PA.- Gordon S. Converse & Company will “march forth” into the New Year with a March 4th auction scheduled for its new gallery located at 57 West Lancaster Avenue in Malvern, situated between Routes 29 and 401 and not far from the People’s Light & Theater Company, where the firm had been holding auctions fairly regularly for the past several years.
“We’ll be occupying around 4,500 square feet of space, or about half of a spacious warehouse building that we actually occupied years ago,” said Gordon Converse of Gordon S. Converse & Company.”We moved out before the new owner renovated the interior. It only recently became available again.”
Converse snapped it up quickly, as the space is well on its way to serving as a full-service auction gallery, with generous seating for previews and sales. The inaugural event on Tuesday, March 4th will feature more than 300 lots of furniture pieces (both antique and modern), fine art, clocks and watches, a selection of lamps, decorative accessories and Asian arts.
“We have many larger items that are suitable for a gallery sale,” Converse said, and he mentioned a French armoire probably from Normandy that is more than likely the biggest piece in the auction. He added, “There are also many items of interest to people who live in the immediate area – traditional antiques for mostly conservative people. It will be a good sale.”
Furniture will include some very desirable Modern Design pieces, such as a pair of wire chairs by Herman Miller with upholstered seat pads in blue; and a “Space Station” coffee table with a fitted kidney-shaped glass top (64 inches by 33 inches) and a welded steel component base. Some antique furniture will also be sold, as will Asian furniture (mainly chairs and tables).
Timepieces will feature two 18th century English pocket watches, including a London watch in a sterling pair case, engraved-signed (John) Wood, with an inner case that’s hallmarked London, 1767. The parts are intact, including the fusee and chain. Also sold will be an early 19th century New England banjo clock, 32 ½ inches tall, with wood turned finial and brass side arms.
The fine arts category will have much to offer, beginning with an oil portrait by William Barraud (U.K., 1810-1850), titled Gypsy and Fairy and depicting the two Charles Spaniel dogs of England’s Lord Methuen. The work is signed and dated. Barraud’s work was exhibited at the Royal Academy over 50 times.
From British royal dogs to American “Dumpster Diving” comes a life-size sculpture made from found objects by the noted Philadelphia sculptor Leo Sewell (b. 1945), titled Seated Man. Sewell is a member of the so-called “Dumpster Divers,” whose artwork is fashioned from everyday objects of plastic, metal and wood. Sewell’s creations can be seen in over 40 museums.
Also sold will be a 50 inch by 42 inch abstract interpretation of the seasons by Anne E. Lisette Boysen, a Philadelphia artist who passed away in 2011 and whose artwork was featured prominently in a prior Converse auction in November 2012. The painting, titled Seasons Deux, is from Ms. Boysen’s Music Series. Her art is in many corporate and private collections.
Other expected top lots slated to cross the auction block include a carved marble bust of Augustus Caesar wearing cuirass armor, 32 inches in height and mounted on a round marble base; an imposing ceramic lion, about 42 inches long, showing a reclining lion with polychrome glaze; and a 79-inch-tall marble and bronze fountain, comprising a massive round variegated marble tub supporting a cast bronze putti statue that supports another bronze casting of putti.
Internet bidding will be facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com. Phone and absentee bids will also be accepted. Previews will be held on Monday, March 3rd, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and on Tuesday, March 4th, the date of sale, prior to the auction, which will kick off at 3:30 p.m. (EST).
Malvern is a city situated in eastern Pennsylvania, not far off Interstate 76, north and west of Philadelphia. Gordon S. Converse & Company is headquartered in Wayne, also located in eastern Pennsylvania. Gordon Converse has been an antique gallery owner for over 30 years, beginning in 1979. He has also served as an appraiser on the hit PBS series Antiques Roadshow.
Gordon S. Converse & Company is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To consign a single item, an estate or a collection, you may call them directly, at (610) 722-9004.
