Everard's June 17-18 auction presents premier fine & decorative arts from Southern estates and collections
Chippendale mahogany blockfront chest of drawers, circa 1760, probably of Boston origin. Per the consignor, a private collector from Savannah, Ga., the piece was purchased in the 1990s from legendary American furniture dealer Israel Sack, for $95,000. Estimate: $30,000-$50,000.
SAVANNAH, GA.—
Collectors can jump-start their summertime fun with a dip into Everard’s June 17-18 auction of fine and decorative art from prime Southern estates and private holdings. Highlight categories include American antique furniture, contemporary sculpture, Tiffany silver, exquisite jewels, World War I posters, and a noted photographer’s lifetime collection of prized cameras and other photographic equipment.
Charles Schulz’s (American, 1922-2000) original art for a Peanuts daily comic strip leads the auction with an estimate of $30,000-$50,000. The four-panel daily strip is an early production, from 1954, and depicts an amusing scene with Charlie Brown and Franklin observing Snoopy as he zooms back and forth with no apparent destination. Charlie Brown comments, “It must be frustrating to be able to run that fast and have no place to go...”
The art is ink-signed by Schulz and dated 10-13 (1954) on the last panel. The additional penciled notes “364” and “1 7/8” appear in the margin, and the syndicator’s copyright label is correctly applied inside the edge of the first panel. A United Features Syndicate stamp on verso includes the time-stamp SEP 17 1954 3 54 PM. The overall dimensions are 28¾ inches by 6½ inches. This pop-culture treasure’s unbroken line of provenance starts with its creator, Charles Schulz, who gifted it to fellow artist Frede Vidar (Danish/American, 1911-1967), followed by direct descent to Vidar’s daughter. A unique original artwork, it is estimated at $30,000-$50,000.
The Schulz strip was discovered while sorting through Vidar’s portfolio of World War II sketches and paintings which, themselves, will be offered on Day 2 of the auction. Vidar was a well-respected and accomplished painter, muralist, and art instructor. He was a significant figure in the Northern California art scene during the 1930s, when he was selected by the Public Works of Art Project as one of 26 artists to paint murals in San Francisco’s Coit Tower. During World War II, Vidar served as a combat artist, reached the rank of captain, and was awarded a Silver Star. After the War, Vidar continued his career as a fine artist while also working as a documentary and commercial artist for Abbott Laboratories and Life magazine.
A striking four-sheet lithograph by Salvador Dali titled Royal Insect/Metamorphosis is entered with a $2,000-$3,000 estimate. This large, flamboyant work is accompanied by several other Dali lithographs from a Port Orange, Florida (formerly Las Vegas) estate. Another highlight from that estate is a monumental five-panel screen, after Edgar Brandt, estimated at $8,000-$12,000. The original version of the artwork, titled The Oasis, an Iron and Brass Five Panel Screen, was exhibited at the 1925 Paris Exposition and sold at Christie’s on June 8, 2006 (Lot 80) for 1,916,000 Euros (US$2,174,085 by today’s rate of exchange). The auction example is 6ft 10 inches tall, with each of the five panels measuring 2ft wide and, according to an advertisement for the screen, made from 36-gauge sterling silver hand-pounded over hand-carved teak wood.
An etching by Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973), Vieux Marin et Jeune Prostituee, is estimated at $4,000-$6,000. From the same collection comes a Picasso Madoura pottery plate titled Mains au Poisson. Over 24 years, a creative partnership between Picasso and the artisans of the Madoura pottery workshop in Vallauris, France, resulted in many beautiful limited editions now highly sought after by art collectors. This whimsical plate is expected to make $5,000-$7,000.
Among the contemporary sculptures offered is a large-scale bronze bull moose by Sam Anton Terakedis (Montana, b. 1952-), The Bull in the Burn, estimated at $4,000-$6,000. Terakedis is an award-winning self-taught artist whose work is held in important private collections worldwide.
The furniture category is crowned by a stunning Chippendale mahogany blockfront chest of drawers, circa 1760 and probably of Boston origin. Per the consignor, who is a private collector from Savannah, Ga., the piece was purchased in the 1990s from legendary American furniture dealer Israel Sack, for $95,000. Estimate: $30,000-$50,000
An early 19th-century cast-iron table is one of several known to have been brought over from Russia on the Steamship Savannah after being gifted by Tsar Alexander to the ship’s captain and crew. The ship was financed by William Scarborough, and an almost identical table, except with a different top, is in the collection of the Ships of the Sea Museum, formerly Scarborough House, in Savannah. Estimate: $1,000-$2,000
The decorative arts are well represented by a rare 1871 Minton turquoise-ground gilded figure of a turtle estimated at $5,000-$7,000; and a silver-mounted George III knife box fully fitted with mother-of-pearl-handled, sterling silver cutlery.
The June 18 session will open with a beautiful array of sterling silver, jewelry, couture and clocks. More than 30 lots of finely-made timepieces, primarily American mantel clocks, are featured, all coming from a Naples, Florida, collector.
An especially elegant lot amongst the silver is a 19th-century coin silver tea service by Savannah silversmith Frederick Marquand. The set is estimated at $2,500-$4,000. Other silver highlights include a Tiffany & Co., 7-piece sterling tea and coffee service; Reed & Barton Francis I flatware, and an 1892 Gorham repousse water pitcher.
The top-tier selection of fine jewelry includes an eye-catching 18K gold and multicolor sapphire and diamond necklace estimated at $13,000-$15,000; and an 18K gold and Fancy Yellow Diamond ring estimated at $12,000-$18,000. Both are accompanied by GIA reports.
Also featured on Day 2 is the collection of the late United States Court of Appeals Judge Joel M. Flaum of Chicago. A self-described “picker,” Judge Flaum collected the works of early and mid-20th-century Chicago and Illinois artists, World War I posters, US Presidential memorabilia, and mementos of his extraordinary judicial and military careers. Originally from Hudson, New York, Flaum worked as a stockboy in his family’s small grocery store before graduating from Union College and moving to Chicago, where he received his JD and Master of Laws degrees from Northwestern University. He worked as a county, state and federal prosecutor before serving for nearly 50 years as a federal judge on the trial court and US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago. In 2024, at the United States Supreme Court, Judge Flaum received the Edward J. Devitt Award, the highest honor that can be bestowed on a federal judge. His eclectic collection, built over the span of his remarkable life, includes antique maps and prints of his native Hudson Valley, New York, to Abraham Lincoln presidential collectibles, and more.
The auction will conclude with a large collection of fine cameras – running the gamut from Hasselblads to Leicas – and high-quality camera equipment. Numbering almost 100 lots, all of the items are from the personal collection of Ray Cottingham, a retired chemical engineer who spent more than 40 years as a freefall camera flyer and recorded more than 12,000 skydives. As a member of the Screen Actors Guild, Cottingham shot and performed in skydiving scenes in such movies as Point Break, Terminal Velocity and Honeymoon in Vegas; filmed a vast amount of footage for TV programs and ads, and shot still photos for a wide variety of magazines. Cottingham’s extraordinary photographic library is a veritable history of skydiving, from the early years of round canopies through today’s most sophisticated advances in the sport.
Everard’s June 17-18, 2025 auction will start at 10am EST on both days. Bid absentee or live online via Everard, LiveAuctioneers, Bidsquare or Invaluable. The public is invited to a June 10 preview reception from 5-7pm at Everard Auctions’ gallery. Additional previewing available June 11-13, or by appointment. For more information on any item in the auction, call 912-231-1376 or email info@everard.com. Everard is located at 2436 Waters Ave., Savannah, GA 31404. Online: http://www.everard.com/.
