Important estate sale to be held June 24 by A-1 Auct'n On Sunday, June 24, A-1 Auction will hold an important estate sale, most of it comprising the estate of Ida Fendrich, at the Maitland Civic Center in Maitland, Fla. About 350 lots will be offered.
News-Antique.com - Jun 01,2007 - HIGHWAYMEN ART, GALLE AND DAUM NANCY CAMEO GLASS, BRONZES, REGINA DISC PLAYER AND MORE TO BE SOLD JUNE 24 BY A-1 AUCTION IN MAITLAND, FLA.
(Maitland, Fla.) - A-1 Auction, based in Orlando, is preparing for what could be its most important sale in years. On Sunday, June 24, the firm will offer about 350 lots, most from a single estate. Included will be original art by Florida's legendary Highwaymen; cameo glass by Galle, Daum Nancy, Richard and de Vez; bronze sculptures; a Regina 21” double comb disc player; and more.
The auction will be held at the Maitland Civic Center in Maitland, Fla., considered part of Greater Orlando, near Winter Park. The sale will begin at noon, with a preview the day of sale, starting at 10 a.m. “I've been literally preparing for this sale for twenty years,” said Doug White of A-1 Auction. “I saw many of these items when I sold some things for the consignor's sister, around 1987.”
The items belonged to Ida Fendrich, formerly of Maitland. Following her death about seven years ago, the bulk of her lifetime accumulation of antiques and collectibles – comprising most of the June 24 sale – was put into storage, where it has remained until now. “Ida was a serious collector,” Mr. White pointed out. “I urge everyone to mark their calendars. This is one sale you won't want to miss.”
Nine original paintings by the Highwaymen – the name given to a loosely associated group of young African-American artists living in the Fort Pierce area of Florida from the 1950s to the 1970s – will be sold. They include two works each by Sam Newton, Roy McLendon, Willie Daniels and Al Black; and one painting by James Gibson. The paintings depict idyllic views of the Florida landscape.
The Highwaymen were so-named because they'd sell their works – often still wet – on the roadside, or out of the trunk of a car. The paint surface was usually inexpensive roofing material. All 26 painters (and all were men, except for one woman, Mary Ann Carroll) latched onto art as a way to escape a more grueling fate: picking or crating oranges under the hot Florida sun in the local groves.
It is estimated the Highwaymen produced 50,000 paintings before unofficially disbanding in the 1980s, when the popularity of the genre waned and they turned to other jobs. But today – fueled by the nostalgia for a Florida that is gone forever, plus the burgeoning popularity of folk art in general – an original work by a Highwayman can easily bring thousands of dollars. The record is $36,000.
Ms. Fendrich's collection of French cameo glass represented some of the best ever made. Included will be eleven pieces of Galle; seven pieces of Daum Nancy; four pieces of Richard; two pieces of de Vez; and one piece of Le Gras and La Verre. Cameo glass is single-layer glass, covered by at least one layer of glass in a contrasting color. Pieces
