Max Kuehne Furniture And Fine Art To Be Featured At Kaminski's Estate Auction On June 20

June 8, 2015

On Saturday, June 20, Kaminski Auctions will feature an important piece of furniture by artist and craftsman Max Kuehne in its estate auction. Kuehne was born in Halle, Germany, and immigrated to this country in 1890. He settled in Flushing, N.Y., and began his formal art training at the New York School of Art, where he studied under William Merritt Chase and Kenneth Hayes Miller. Kuehne first visited Cape Ann in 1912 and painted "plein air" scenes of Gloucester Harbor. His works depicted the busy Gloucester, Mass., waterfront, and his style has been described as a combination of "Impressionism and Realism." After traveling in Europe for inspiration, he returned to Rockport, Mass., on Cape Ann, which later became his regular summer residence. An accomplished artist, Kuehne was also an expert woodcarver and craftsman.
Hard hit during the Depression years, he turned to woodworking, making decorative screens, tables, and picture frames incised with gold and silver leaf and stunning glazes on gessoed surfaces. His furniture creations are in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, and Cape Ann Museum in Gloucester.
Kaminski's Lot 6,114 is an exquisite Max Kuehne handcrafted library table with a gold leaf flowered surface and signed on the lower center top surface by the artist. It is conservatively valued at $3,000-$5,000.
Fine art in the sale will include a work by the French artist Georges d'Espagnat (1870-1950), titled "Woman on Red Sofa" oil-on-canvas, initialed "GDE." It was purchased at Christie's London: Impressionist and Modern Paintings, Watercolors, and Sculpture sale in November 1994, and will be estimated at $8,000-$12,000.
Other artists represented in the sale include American artists Anthony Thieme and Reynolds Beal, as well as works by Russian artist David Burliuk, and Dutch artists Anton Karssen and Niek van der Plas. There are also two Alexander Calder wall tapestries.
Jewelry offerings will include a pair of 18-carat yellow gold earrings, with cabochon sapphires, diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, valued at $3,000-$6,000, and a signed Russian Fabregé silver and 14-carat gold and enameled cigarette case with diamonds and sapphires valued at $2,200-$2,500.
Decorative items will include a collection of Russian icons, a 19th-century marble bust, and a pair of Chinese Gu vases. Rounding out the top lots in the sale will be a selection of antique and semi-antique Persian rugs to include a Keshan, Sarouk and Heriz.
Kaminski Auctions is located in Beverly, Mass.
For additional information, visit www.kaminskiauctions.com.

 

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