Black History Month online auction ends Feb. 24 at UniversalLive.com Nearly 250 lots of Black Americana items, timed to coincide with Black History Month, are being sold in an Internet-only auction currently online that will end Friday, Feb. 24, at UniversalLive.com.
News-Antique.com - Feb 20,2012 - (NORTHBROOK, Ill.) – Nearly 250 lots of Black Americana items, timed to coincide with Black History Month, are being sold in an Internet-only auction that is currently online and will end Friday, Feb. 24. The auction is being conducted by UniversalLive, a firm that holds a host of themed online sales each month, often more than one a week, at www.universallive.com.
The Black History Month auction is featuring artwork (by noted artists such as Romare Bearden, LeRoy Neiman, Mary Ann Rose, Peter Mars, Nathaniel Barnes and Essud Fungcap), plus a wide range of Black Americana objects, including 19th century pipes depicting black faces, authentic iron slave leg shackles (est. $200-$300), 1960s-era concert posters and sports items.
The men and women depicted in the many artworks are iconic Black American figures that cross multi-generational lines. They include basketball great Michael Jordan, boxing legend Muhmmad Ali, political figures Barack Obama and Carol Moseley Braun and musical giants like Billie Holiday, Nat “King” Cole, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and others.
The sale’s expected top lot is an original portrait on canvas of a scene from the movie The King and I, by William Chambers (est. $20,000-$35,000). The oval image, titled We Kiss in a Shadow, originally appeared on a well-known collector plate distributed by The Bradford Exchange. It was the fourth in a series and had been held in Mr. Chambers's private collection.
Currently generating a good amount of online hit activity are a Civil War-era photo of black soldiers at Camp Brightwood, D.C. (est. $50-$75); a print of an original work by the black artist Archibald Motley titled Casey & Mae in the Street (est. $50-$80); and a signed letter and autograph photo of the renowned 19th century black figure Frederick Douglass (est. $100-$150).
LeRoy Neiman is one of America’s most famous contemporary sports artists, and this auction features numerous signed limited-edition prints. One, titled Muhammad Ali – Athlete of the Century, is double-signed, by Ali and Neiman (est. $7,500-$8,000). Another is a serigraph of Michael Jordan, shown surrounded by players from the Orlando Magic (est. $11,900-$14,375).
Speaking of Michael Jordan, three mixed media serigraphs depicting Jordan and signed by him and the artist, Carlo Beninati, carry pre-sale estimates of $4,000-$6,500. They are titled Free Throw, Next Point and Last Victory Dance. Also, a giclee of Jordan, signed by Stephen Holland (est. $5,900-$7,375), plus another of Kobe Bryant (est. $7,500-$9,375) are being sold.
Romare Bearden (1911-1988) is considered one of the most important African-American artists of the 20th century. His collages of photos and painted paper on canvas depict aspects of American black culture in a Cubist style. Signed, limited-edition serigraphs by Bearden in the auction include Sorcerer’s Village (est. $3,750-$5,770) and Two Women (est. $2,850-$4,380).
Antique cast-iron banks are enormously popular with collectors, and examples showing black figures have double the appeal. The auction features a Dinah mechanical bank, where the user places a coin in her hand, presses the lever on her back and her eyes roll and
